Sabaody Archipelago, Island 79, Hotel Street.
Under the colorful lights of the night, pedestrians on the street suddenly moved aside, knelt down, and bowed their heads. The bustling atmosphere abruptly fell silent, replaced by a suffocating tension.
Right in the middle of the street, a group of people walked leisurely, as if they owned the world. The one leading them was a chubby young man wearing a white spacesuit-like uniform, a square hood on his head, and a rectangular vertical bun. He wasn't riding a horse or an ox, but on the back of a strong, muscular man!
The male slave, being ridden by Saint Charlos of the Celestial Dragons, wore a slave collar around his neck. His eyes were numb, his soul empty, and he merely crawled mechanically on the ground with his limbs. Formerly, he was Captain Ada Arthur of the Ada Pirates, with a bounty of 60 million Berries. After being captured by the Marines, because he had only committed robbery and no other serious crimes, he was sentenced to life as a slave. After changing hands several times, his fate tragically ended as a Celestial Dragon's slave.
Behind the two, there were also two people following, dressed in white suits and masks over their faces. Their gazes were sharp, watching their surroundings with full vigilance.
Wah, wah, wah, wah!
The silent street was suddenly broken by the loud cries of a baby.
Charlos Saint frowned. He looked in the direction of the sound and found that the source was a baby, still in diapers, being held by a young woman, who was crying incessantly. Startled by the sudden incident, the woman hurriedly covered her baby's mouth, her whole body trembling with fear.
"So noisy!" Charlos Saint snorted coldly, pulled a pistol from his attire, and without hesitation, pulled the trigger.
Wham!
The shot missed, not hitting the baby in the woman's arms, but piercing her forehead, causing the woman to fall instantly to the ground. Blood flowed, soaking the street.
On the fourth floor of an upscale restaurant, in a specific private room.
Smoker, who was also sitting by the window with Sephiroth at the time, immediately rose from his seat after witnessing the horrifying event. His eyes blazed with anger, ready to rush out the window and kill that barbaric Celestial Dragon.
However...
Thump!
Sephiroth, beside Smoker, lunged violently, tackling him to the ground and pressing hard on the back of his neck with his right hand.
Smoker instinctively elementalized, wanting to break free from the restraint, but he found that he couldn't break free no matter what, as if an invisible force was locking his body.
"What are you doing? Don't be impulsive!" Sephiroth immediately whispered. In his excitement, he didn't realize for a moment that the Busoshoku Haki he had long thought about had unknowingly awakened and was being used by him, binding Smoker's elemental form.
Smoker's eyes widened with rage, his tone filled with fury, he gritted his teeth and said, "I'll kill that bastard!!!"
"Calm down! Doing this is just asking for death..." Before Sephiroth could finish speaking, two more shots were heard from outside the window.
Thump! Thump!
After the gunshots, the baby's cries disappeared and the whole world fell silent, leaving a hush more chilling than the previous commotion.
Smoker, pinned to the ground, clenched his fists and his eyes widened. The anger in his heart was like a volcano erupting with lava, he wanted to beat that disgusting Celestial Dragon to death, no matter the consequences.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the private room felt incredibly oppressive. Although the others weren't as impulsive as Smoker, they instinctively clenched their fists, trying their best to suppress the anger in their hearts. The injustice felt piercing, provoking the darkest sides within them.
"Why did you stop me from killing that bastard..." Smoker said angrily, his voice hoarse.
Sephiroth forcibly suppressed the inexplicable emotions rising in his heart. He spoke in a calm, even somewhat indifferent tone, "If you go, you'll only be looking for death. Did you see the two people in white following that person?" Sephiroth gestured towards the window. "Those are the strongest shields of the Celestial Dragons, the CP0 organization, responsible for protecting the Celestial Dragons' safety. Almost everyone there is a master, at least comparable to a Marine high-ranking officer."
Sephiroth's words finally calmed Smoker, and he stopped resisting and struggling. The bitter truth hit him.
As Sephiroth released Smoker, he said in a calm tone, "This world itself is indeed cruel... The Celestial Dragons are far above, possessing supreme power... Even a Fleet Admiral or Admiral cannot offend them. You must learn to recognize reality and do what you can, instead of acting rashly based on anger..."
These words were a warning to both Smoker and himself. Currently, he had no background or influence, and his strength wasn't considered the best in this world. He couldn't act rashly and needed to think everything through carefully. If he wanted to intervene in unjust matters, he first had to consider his own situation and abilities.
With a sorrowful expression, Smoker rose from the ground. He glanced out the window at the woman lying motionless on the street and the baby who would never cry again. His heart sank. He patted the dust from his body, then sat back in his chair, took out a cigar, lit it, and took a deep drag. He held it for quite a while before coughing and exhaling the smoke.
Smoker seemed to choke on the smoke, his eyes red, with a hint of tears in the corners of his eyes, and he said in a hoarse voice, "Sephiroth... Aren't the Marines supposed to uphold justice? Was that Celestial Dragon just now? Or rather, were that woman and baby evil?"
These questions caused everyone in the private room to fall silent. At this moment, their hearts were filled with mixed feelings: anger, sadness, doubt... various emotions were present, and even their belief in the so-called Marine justice was severely shaken.
"Justice and evil are things that can only be decided by the winners..." Sephiroth's expression seemed indifferent. He took a spoon of soup and drank it mouthful by mouthful, but deep in his heart, something called ambition was growing.
"The Celestial Dragons established the World Government 800 years ago, the largest and strongest organization in this world, so they are qualified to decide everything, to determine what is just and what is evil."
In this turbulent era, as heroes rise, if the World Government can no longer maintain its power, the status and power of the Celestial Dragons will also crumble in an instant, like a fleeting dream. Previously, besides wanting revenge, Sephiroth was actually quite confused about his future. He just wanted to live freely and make his life enjoyable and comfortable. Whether Marine or Pirate, it didn't matter at all, as long as he followed his heart.
However, after experiencing this incident, his desire for power and influence reached an unprecedented level! If someone wanted to live freely, without absolute power and influence, it was merely an illusion. The Marines were ultimately just tools in the hands of the World Government, he needed to have influence that was solely his own, power that could change justice itself.
Everyone ate the meal in silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts, contemplating the bitter truth they had just witnessed.
After dinner, at Tokikake's suggestion, everyone chose a hot spring hotel to stay at. As for Sephiroth, under the pretext of having other matters, he temporarily bid farewell to his group and headed to Island 20, the island closest to Island 79.
He planned to go to the lawless zone of Sabaody Archipelago 20-29 to inquire about the whereabouts of the "Devil Fruit Encyclopedia." The Devil Fruit Encyclopedia wasn't an extremely rare book, but it wasn't common either. At the very least, he couldn't find any trace of it in Water 7 or Marineford town.
The Sabaody Archipelago was a gathering place for Pirates from the four seas. Logically, after sailing through half of the Grand Line, Pirates must have seen Devil Fruits, and it was impossible for them not to be curious about these secret treasures of the sea.
Where there's demand, there's a market. In the Sabaody Archipelago, even Devil Fruits flowed in and out. How could there not be just a "Devil Fruit Encyclopedia?" Sephiroth was certain, this was the best place to look for it.