Chapter 246: A Declaration to the World!
"No! Please!" Saint Rosward groveled, banging his head on the ground.
"You can't do this to me! I am a god!" Saint Shalria shrieked, her mind completely broken.
How ugly, Shane thought, a look of disgust on his face.
SWISH!
Two heads flew into the air, and two fountains of blood erupted from their necks. The plaza fell into a dead silence, broken only by the gentle pop of the mangrove bubbles. The gods... were dead.
Then, the dam broke.
"They're dead! The Celestial Dragons are really dead!"
"Gods? What gods?! Their blood is red, just like ours!"
An old man stumbled forward and fell to his knees before Shane, tears streaming down his wrinkled face. "Thank you... thank you, my lord! My daughter... that mushroom-headed monster took her five years ago... she was tortured to death... I never thought... I never thought I would see this day..."
His cries were echoed by others in the crowd. "My father was taken!" "My family, too!" "And mine!" Sabaody, being so close to Mary Geoise, had suffered more than any other island at the hands of the Celestial Dragons.
"Good riddance!" a woman holding a baby screamed, spitting on one of the corpses. "My father, my husband, and my eldest son... they were just dockworkers! They were shot in the street for being in their way! This is justice! This is retribution!"
The crowd, which had been held back by fear, surged forward. They threw rocks, they tore at the fine clothes, they smashed the severed heads into the ground... their centuries of pent-up rage finally unleashed.
Shane watched them, a small smile on his face. He calmly wiped the blood from his katana. Then, he turned to the nearest camera snail.
"Did you see that?" his voice, sharp and clear, boomed across the world. "Did you all see?! I can kill the Celestial Dragons! I can make them scream and beg! And so can you!"
"The Celestial Dragons are not gods! They are parasites in fancy clothes! Pigs on a divine throne!" He plunged his sword into the ground. "For 800 years, they have ruled through fear and lies! But today, starting here, on Sabaody, with me, Shane... this chain of fear will be broken!!!"
He looked up, his eyes seeming to pierce the heavens. "Hey, you undying old fossils in Mary Geoise! I know you're watching! Are you satisfied with my gift?"
The sky, which had been clearing, was suddenly torn asunder. A giant, black, five-pointed star appeared in the heavens, and a bolt of black lightning shot down toward the island. A presence, far more powerful than the Holy Knights, had descended.
"So, you finally decided to show yourself?" Shane grinned, a crimson light in his eyes. It didn't matter who it was—one of the Five Elders, Garp's old rival, Garland Figarland, or even Imu themself.
BOOM!
His own Conqueror's Haki met the descending pressure, and a storm of black lightning tore across the island, toppling the giant mangrove trees.
"Is he... smiling?" Fujitora, who was still locked in a stalemate with Z, murmured from the docks.
"Yes," Z grunted. "The fool is actually smiling."
He was. As another, even more powerful bolt of black lightning descended, Shane's laughter echoed across the island. "Hahaha! Come on! You call yourselves gods?! Then stop hiding behind your little portal and show yourselves! Let me see... if a 'true god' like you... can bleed!!!"
Divine Departure!
A slash of crimson light, a thousand meters long, tore the sky in two, ripping a gash through the five-pointed star.
"INSOLENCE!" an ancient, furious voice roared from the crack in the sky.
"Insolence to your mother!" Shane roared back, and with another slash, the portal shattered. A giant, hairy, black hand reached out, then hesitated, and retreated. The sky cleared, and the sun shone down once more.
Shane landed gracefully in a beam of light.
"Whoa!" Jack cheered. "That was so cool, Boss!"
Kuma just smiled. Kuina, her heart pounding, handed him a Transponder Snail.
"Alright, time for my close-up," Shane said with a grin. He turned to the camera. "Today's performance is almost over. But before I go, I have one last thing to say. Jack."
"Yes, Boss!" Jack stepped forward and pointed to himself. "The 'Curtain Call Pirates'... that's a name the World Government gave us! We are not pirates! We do not pillage, we do not murder, and we do not treat people like slaves!" He unfurled a giant, white flag. It had no skull and crossbones, only two crossed swords piercing a blue seagull.
"The meaning of 'Curtain Call'..." Kuma's calm, steady voice took over, "...is to bring down the curtain on this rotten, hopeless era."
"To that end, we will cut down all injustice and oppression!" Kuina's cold voice added. "Whether it is pirates, Marines, or these so-called gods!"
The camera turned back to Shane. He threw his arms wide and laughed. "That's about it! So remember this, world! If you are still bound by fear, remember Sabaody today! If you are still blinded by lies, look at the blood of these 'gods'!"
"And if you wish to walk this path with us, the Curtain Call Adventurers will welcome you! Oppressed civilians, righteous Marines, even good people who have been forced into a life of piracy! As long as you are willing to fight to end this rotten era, there will always be a place for you under my flag!"
"And for those who stand in our way..." The camera panned out, showing the four headless corpses lying at the foot of the white flag. "This is your fate!"
The broadcast ended.
For a moment, Sabaody was silent. Then, a single voice cried out, "Curtain Call!" And another, and another, until the entire island was chanting the name, a roar of defiance and hope.
"Curtain Call! Curtain Call!" a young Marine yelled, his face red with passion.
"Hey! Have you forgotten who you are?!" his superior officer hissed.
But he didn't listen. He just cheered louder. The old veteran beside him, who had been watching in silence, tore the Marine coat from his back and threw it to the ground. "I quit!" he roared. "What's the point of being a Marine on this island?! All we do is protect the Celestial Dragons and help them enslave people! Justice?! This isn't justice! I'd rather follow them!"
One by one, other Marines began to join him.
From the docks, Z watched, a toothpick rolling in his mouth. He was silent for a long time, then he sighed. "Sengoku... do you hear that? The bell of the new era... has just begun to toll."
"You see, old friend?" Fujitora said with a smile. "This is what Lord Shane meant when he said he would 'break the chains.'"
"Tch," Z grunted, but he didn't argue. He looked past the cheering crowd, at the white flag, at the young man standing in the sun. He was silent for a long time, then he spat out his toothpick and grinned.
"Not bad, kid. Not bad at all."
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