Orion halted his steps, tilting his head slightly to observe Wang Zhi—whose obese form still radiated imposing might—and revealed a warm smile.
"Want to learn?"
"I can teach you."
As the words fell, Orion slowly raised his right hand, then flipped his palm to press lightly toward Wang Zhi's direction through the empty air.
Bzzzt—
It was as if an invisible mountain had crashed down from the heavens!
The Conqueror's Haki enveloping Wang Zhi and the three pirate captains beside him suddenly doubled in crushing weight!
"Urgh—"
A captain standing to Wang Zhi's left, who had been desperately supporting himself with his sword against the ground, tried to resist with his will.
But the force shattered all his defenses as easily as crushing glass.
After letting out a cry of unwillingness and despair, the pirate captain with a billion-berry bounty could no longer withstand Orion's Conqueror's Haki. With a thud, he prostrated on the ground with blood trickling from the corners of his mouth.
"Damn it, what kind of monster are you!"
"I refuse to accept this!"
"Fight me openly and honorably if you have the guts!"
"We'll settle both our superiority and our lives!"
Another captain let out a beast-like roar, his eyes bloodshot as he attempted to burn his life force to resist this imposing aura.
Yet, his struggle was futile and laughable.
As the Conqueror's Haki intensified once more, the light in his eyes gradually faded, and his body went limp as he collapsed, completely losing consciousness.
The last man, witnessing his companions kneeling one after another, had his psychological defenses utterly shattered.
He let out an inhuman shriek, dropping to his knees and trembling as he begged for mercy.
"Fleet Admiral, spare... spare my life! I—"
Before he could finish his sentence, the final pirate captain with a billion-berry bounty peacefully fell to the ground!
Only Wang Zhi remained standing before the castle gates.
But he was barely holding on.
The continuously intensifying Conqueror's Haki felt like countless steel needles, madly piercing every inch of his nerves.
His obese body trembled uncontrollably, and bean-sized drops of cold sweat rolled down his forehead.
However, Orion didn't even glance at him, his footsteps never faltering as he ascended the steps and walked straight past Wang Zhi's trembling form.
All the pride and dignity of this relic from the old era were utterly crushed beneath Orion's feet.
When Orion's figure completely disappeared through the castle gates and entered the main hall, Wang Zhi, who had been holding on by a thread, finally snapped under the extreme tension.
"Thud!"
With a dull sound, his massive body heavily knelt, shattering the hard stone slabs beneath him.
Immediately after, he could no longer support himself, collapsing forward like a dead dog, prostrate on the cold ground.
Witnessing this scene, Brook, who was following behind Orion along with the other apprentices, was the first to break the brief, oppressive atmosphere.
"Yohohohoho!"
"I thought a remnant of the old era like you could at least be a speed bump for the Fleet Admiral."
"Turns out, you're nothing special either."
Then, as if remembering something, he quickly added, "Come to think of it, I suppose I'm a lingering soul from the old era too, yohohohoho!"
At that moment, Perona, Yamato, and Hancock, who had been confronting each other in the square, suddenly erupted into action amidst their standoff.
"Negative Hollows!"
Perona struck first, waving her small hand to send a translucent ghost flying toward Hancock.
However, Hancock was well-prepared.
A trace of disdain flashed in her cold eyes as a powerful surge of Conqueror's Haki erupted, violently swatting the Negative Hollow away mid-flight!
"Huh?"
Perona was stunned.
The deflected Negative Hollow traced an eerie arc through the air, accidentally plunging straight into Wang Zhi, who lay prostrate and utterly despondent.
The next moment, Wang Zhi, who had been lying motionless, suddenly arched his back and knelt up again.
He lifted his head, his face no longer showing the previous terror and resentment but replaced by a state of lifeless negativity.
"I... I'm just an oversized piece of filth..."
"I live only to pollute the air, and only in death can I cleanse the world of trash... I beg you..."
"Please, purify me!"
"..."
Perona's lips twitched.
How did her Negative Hollows end up inside this ugly creature!
Yamato ignored Wang Zhi's little interlude.
Sensing the Conqueror's Haki emanating from Hancock, her fighting spirit instantly ignited.
"Conqueror's Haki? You actually possess it too?"
"Excellent! Then I'll join in!"
Before the words faded, an equally formidable Conqueror's Haki erupted from Yamato!
Black-red lightning violently clashed between the two, the shockwaves spreading outward in rings and sending Wang Zhi—who was kneeling on the ground begging to be trampled to death—flying through the air!
Seizing the moment, Hancock decisively activated her Devil Fruit power, aiming to petrify the troublesome Perona first.
Her red lips parted slightly, fingertips brushing against them before flicking outward.
"Cupid's Arrow!"
A pink heart-shaped arrow shot straight toward Perona, who was floating mid-air gleefully watching the spectacle.
"Horo horo, you can't hit me!"
Perona dodged effortlessly with a swift movement.
But the fired Cupid's Arrow flew unerringly and struck Wang Zhi—who had been sent airborne by the shockwave and was free-falling spread-eagled.
Instantly, Wang Zhi's bloated body was enveloped in pink light, petrified into a statue with an utterly despondent expression.
Boom!
The stone statue crashed heavily, shattering into countless Wang Zhi fragments scattered across the ground.
...
In the castle hall.
The moment Orion entered with Mihawk and a group of trainees, the royal family members of Portovia Kingdom fell to their knees as if seeing their savior, prostrating themselves toward Orion.
The King of Portovia reacted fastest, sliding into a kneel before Orion and clutching his leg while weeping uncontrollably.
"Orion-sama! I was wrong! I truly recognize my error!"
"My cooperation with that scoundrel Wang Zhi was solely because I feared retaliation from the World Government after our relocation to the Holy Land!"
Before he finished speaking, other royal family members immediately clamored to shift all blame away from themselves.
"Fleet Admiral! This was entirely the King's scheme!"
"We were all kept in the dark until we were deceived into coming to Hachinosu Island and learned of his malicious intentions!"
"Please investigate carefully, Fleet Admiral! We remain utterly loyal to the World Government!"
Orion's gaze was colder than ice.
More than Wang Zhi, what he most wanted right now was to kill this damned king.
"You recognize your error?"
Orion stepped forward, his voice cold. "Because of your 'golden cicada' escape plan, I lost an entire ship of Marines. If I spare you, how could I face the heroic souls who died on Hachinosu Island?"
As Orion spoke, Mihawk—who had been standing quietly beside him—suddenly removed the cross-shaped dagger from his neck and swung it through the air toward the King of Portovia.
A cold gleam flashed.
The King's pleas were cut short as a thin red line slowly appeared across his neck.