Swish!
The expressions of the Five Elders changed once again.
Alex's words had made one fact crystal clear:
the Arbiters had already failed!
And their plot—every last bit of it—had been completely exposed.
Damn it.
Did Alex truly possess power great enough to overturn everything at will?
In the end, they had still underestimated him.
Since that was the case, there was no longer any point in hiding things.
"Send us on our way?"
The swordsman among the Five Elders stopped pretending, letting out a cold snort.
"Alex, you're underestimating us far too much!"
The Five Elders were no mere figureheads.
Their strength likewise far surpassed that of the Four Emperors.
Shk!
But before the swordsman Elder could finish speaking, the sound of a blade cutting through flesh rang out.
A stream of scorching-hot blood erupted from his neck like a fountain.
Because his head had been severed—flying straight into the air!
What?!
Am I… dying just like this?
The swordsman Elder's consciousness had not yet fully faded.
As his head spun through the air, he saw his own headless corpse—and was utterly stunned.
Alex had merely waved his hand.
That was all.
And yet… he had been beheaded?
What the hell!
His strength, supposedly far above that of the Four Emperors, was so utterly insignificant before Alex?
He hadn't even had time to react before being killed?
Thud!
The next moment, the swordsman Elder's head hit the ground like a ball, rolling a few times before coming to rest.
"What?!"
"You—!"
The remaining four Elders were completely shaken, nearly popping their eyeballs out of their sockets.
Alex had killed a Five Elder!
He had actually killed a Five Elder!
How could he dare?!
These were the Five Elders!
The most powerful, most authoritative figures on the entire sea.
Anyone who met them had to kneel respectfully, not daring to breathe too loudly in their presence.
Even someone of Fleet Admiral Sengoku's stature was nothing more than a dog before them.
To put it bluntly, the Five Elders were the heavens of this world.
And now—
Someone had raised a butcher's knife against the heavens themselves.
If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, the Elders would never have believed such a thing possible.
But—
Alex killing the swordsman Elder was only the beginning.
Boom!
A deafening sonic boom erupted.
The remaining Elders felt their vision blur, and Alex vanished from where he stood.
Even with their Observation Haki, they couldn't track him at all!
Simply because Alex's speed was far too great—so fast that even Observation Haki couldn't keep up.
"This is bad!"
That thought flashed through the remaining Elders' minds at the same time.
Then—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Several terrifying forces, so immense that even the Five Elders couldn't endure them, slammed violently into their bodies.
Before they could react at all, the remaining Elders exploded on the spot, crushed into bloody fragments by that overwhelming power.
Each of them died miserably.
Just like that—
In the span of mere moments, the five godlike figures who ruled the world of pirates were completely erased from existence by Alex.
Clap.
Alex lightly dusted off his hands, as if he had just done something utterly trivial.
He didn't spare even a glance at the corpses on the ground.
Instead, he slowly turned his head, looking toward one of the walls.
His gaze was calm and piercing.
"You're really good at keeping your composure."
Beyond that wall—separated by who knew how many layers—
A man with Rinnegan-like eyes was staring expressionlessly at Alex.
Im.
The true ruler of the world.
The being even the Five Elders had to kneel before.
Swish!
The moment Alex's gaze landed on him, Im slowly rose to his feet.
His figure flickered—and vanished.
Almost simultaneously, Im reappeared right beside Alex.
He glanced briefly at the corpses of the Five Elders, then calmly looked away.
There was no change in his expression.
"You shouldn't have killed them,"
Im said flatly, as if discussing something completely irrelevant.
"I'm not just killing them,"
Alex shrugged, still as casual as ever.
"If you can't give me a satisfactory explanation, I'll kill you—and slaughter every Celestial Dragon in Mariejois."
"You're threatening me?"
A sharp glint finally flashed in Im's eyes.
"Yes,"
Alex nodded solemnly, admitting it outright.
Alex had expected Im to fly into a rage—but he didn't.
It was clear that someone of Im's level didn't lose control so easily.
Even the sharpness in his eyes vanished without a trace.
"Tell me, Alex,"
Im asked calmly.
"What is your true purpose in collecting Devil Fruits?"
"It seems you've misunderstood one thing, Im,"
Alex spoke Im's name aloud.
For the first time, shock appeared on Im's otherwise impassive face.
This man… knew his identity?!
Other than the Five Elders, someone else actually knew who he was!
Just who was this man?
Why had someone of this caliber suddenly appeared on the seas—someone Im had never known about before?
It was as if Alex had never existed in the past, only to suddenly emerge out of nowhere.
And yet, he knew Im's identity.
Who exactly was he?
Alex paid no attention to Im's reaction and continued calmly.
"Your dogs provoked me, so their debt falls on your head."
"I'm not here to chat. I'm here to settle accounts."
"You have only two choices now."
"One: prepare everything the Five Elders promised me."
"Two: I kill you—and wipe out every Celestial Dragon."
"You should know,"
Im said calmly once more,
"the strength you've shown so far is not enough to force me into submission."
Boom!
Alex's figure blurred again—and vanished.
Only a sonic boom remained behind.
"What?!"
At that very moment, Im finally lost his composure, his expression changing drastically.
But he didn't even have time to react—
His body shuddered violently as an overwhelming force struck him head-on.
Crack!
The sound of bones breaking rang out.
Im was sent flying like a cannonball, smashing through the great hall and blasting a massive hole through it.
He flew dozens of kilometers before finally crashing heavily into the ground.
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