Sabaody Archipelago, Island 71.
After a moment, on the bustling street, where pedestrians obediently knelt, a procession slowly emerged from the distance. A cold and repulsive aura enveloped them.
The central figure was a stout, curly-haired man in a strange white space suit, with thick lips and a perpetually snotty nose. He was the Tenryuubito, Saint Charlos.
He sat comfortably on a plush mat, carried on the back of a sturdy blond youth whose neck was encased in a slave collar. Saint Charlos himself held three chains: one connected to the youth's slave collar, the other two dangling from the necks of two beautiful women who followed him.
The women wore long, purple tulle gowns with matching purple tube tops wrapped around their bodies, and translucent, same-colored veils that concealed their captivating faces. These were twin sisters Saint Charlos had just purchased from the human auction house for 200 million Belly. Their almost perfect beauty, as if carved from the same mold, made them truly precious spoils.
"When I return to Mariejois, I will surely pamper these twins!" Saint Charlos thought with a lecherous grin.
Actually, if he was impatient for pleasure, he didn't need to bother returning to Mariejois. Sabaody Archipelago itself had many luxurious hotels. However, Saint Charlos was too disgusted by the "dirty air" in this "lower realm." That's why he always wore his special protective suit and a resin bubble hood on his head, to isolate himself from the air breathed by "lowly civilians."
With his slaves and loyal bodyguards, Saint Charlos continued forward on the street, his arrogant gaze sweeping over the kneeling crowd on both sides of the road. A wicked smirk was etched on his thick lips.
Suddenly, his gaze fixed on a beautiful woman kneeling on the ground. The woman wore a knee-length red dress, with a mesmerizing figure and long black hair cascading down to her waist.
Saint Charlos grunted with satisfaction, leaped off his slave's back, and strolled to the side of the woman in the red dress. He leaned in, staring at her from head to toe with a lewd gaze.
The woman in the red dress trembled with fear, her heart filled with extreme unease and panic. She knew ill fortune was about to befall her.
"I've decided! You'll be my wife!" Saint Charlos declared in a commanding tone, as if picking out merchandise.
"Ah!" The woman in the red dress gasped, startled. Her mouth opened slightly, wanting to object, but her courage failed her in the face of the vile Tenryuubito's aura.
A young servant in a black suit and sunglasses, who faithfully followed Saint Charlos, immediately bowed respectfully. "Then, I will immediately take care of the formalities for welcoming the Fourth Lady to Mariejois."
Hearing the conversation, a brown-haired youth in a white suit, who was kneeling beside the woman in the red dress, suddenly cried out in panic, "Wait! She... she's my wife."
Saint Charlos's face showed an expression of surprise, then he nodded slightly as if just understanding something. "Oh...!? So she already has a husband."
The woman in the red dress and the youth in the white suit felt a brief sense of relief, thinking they had escaped the clutches of the vile Celestial Dragon.
However, in the next second, without hesitation, Saint Charlos pulled a pistol from his waist. Its muzzle aimed directly at the white-suited youth's forehead, and his plump finger pulled the trigger.
BANG!
Along with the deafening gunshot, a crimson flower of blood bloomed on the youth's head. His body "puff!" and fell helplessly to the ground.
Witnessing the horrifying scene, the woman in the red dress's eyes widened, her hands covered her mouth, and she began to cry hysterically.
Saint Charlos casually returned the pistol to his waist, sniffed the snot dangling from his nose, then said with an indifferent expression, "Okay! Now she has no husband. Take her away!"
As he spoke, Saint Charlos sat back on his cushion on the slave's back, ordering the slave to continue towards the port of Island 65. Islands numbered 60-69 in the Sabaody Archipelago were areas where government and Marine ships docked for supplies, and his luxurious cruise ship was, of course, moored there, under strict guard.
The servant in the black suit bowed again, then said in a respectful yet threatening voice, "Fourth Lady, if you do not wish to suffer ill... Simply 'please follow us obediently!'"
The woman in the red dress was the object of Saint Charlos's lust. The servant naturally had to be polite, because if the woman served Saint Charlos comfortably that day and the Celestial Dragon didn't like her, one whisper in his ear could mean a miserable end for the servant.
The woman in the red dress turned with tear-filled eyes, glancing at her lifeless husband. Her body trembled slightly, then she stood and followed Saint Charlos's procession.
Inside the light green dimensional world Sephiroth had created, Gion watched all that transpired in the outside world. She gnawed at her silver teeth tightly, her left hand unconsciously gripping the hilt of her sword. Her heart burned, wanting desperately to rush out and instantly cut down that vile Tenryuubito!
But...
Gion's rationality halted her wild impulse.
If she killed a Tenryuubito, the Admirals and CP0 agents would never let her go. They would hunt her to the ends of the world with their full might, and the entire world would never be a safe place for her.
Never offend a Tenryuubito!
That was an iron rule established by the World Government. If anyone dared to "harm a Tenryuubito," they would be considered an enemy of the world and there was only one path: death!
After the "Dragon Human" had gone far, Sephiroth, expressionless, swung his Butcher Blade. The door to the air opened, and he stepped out, followed by Gion.
"Let's go! We'll just eat."
The silver-haired young man turned his head, looking at Gion who was still standing in the dimensional world, struggling hard to suppress her anger.
"You... don't seem to care much about what just happened..." Gion said in a difficult-to-understand tone, after she finally stepped out of the dimensional world.
Hearing that, Sephiroth only chuckled softly. "If you can see Tenryuubito causing similar things occasionally, after watching it for three years, I think you'll become as numb as I am..."
Gion walked ahead in silence, as if pondering something heavy, while Sephiroth followed without comforting or enlightening her.
The fact that the Tenryuubito were horrible was nothing new. Everyone knew it in their hearts.
Actually, if Sephiroth truly wanted to kill a Tenryuubito, it would be very easy. With one swing of his Butcher Blade, he could cut down an opponent to death, even from tens of kilometers away.
However, his terrifying attack methods had long since spread. Even if he disguised and hid it, his actions would certainly easily attract investigation.
Therefore, he wouldn't idly kill Tenryuubito if there were no conflicts of interest between those parties and himself. He didn't need to cause such a huge problem just for momentary pleasure.
After all, if not for the extremely high bounty, in terms of the harm caused to ordinary people, pirates were more ferocious than Tenryuubito. They just robbed women and killed people easily. In the world of pirates, that was standard practice. Many pirates carried out village massacres and destroyed cities.
"Forget it, stop eating! Let's just drink."
As she spoke, Gion grabbed Sephiroth's hand and dragged him to a bar.