Hearing Felix's declaration, the nobles of the four kingdoms couldn't help drawing sharp breaths.
So this was a pirate who had survived the back half of the Grand Line—
every one of them were monsters beyond reason.
Against the weak, he could trigger the fear in their hearts and kill them instantly.
Against the strong, he could amplify his own fear, turning it into power.
A Devil Fruit like this…
It was practically a bug.
Nothing like the abilities they knew.
But what shocked everyone even more—
was Longinus.
He had forced a notorious pirate like Felix to consider himself the weaker party.
No wonder even Rear Admiral Adergin admitted openly that he wasn't Longinus's match.
"Longinus!" Felix's voice shook with heat and nostalgia.
"You are one of the strongest I've ever met in the first half of the Grand Line.
To show my respect—
I'll kill you with my FULL strength!"
Longinus's tone remained calm.
"Then I'm afraid I must apologize.
Your destiny is to spend the rest of your life in Impel Down, atoning for your sins."
With masterful control over his body, Longinus stamped the ground dozens of times in an instant—
Soru unleashed to its absolute limit.
His form blurred like teleportation and appeared right before Felix.
"Trying the same trick again?"
Felix's pale face twisted into a mad grin.
Black mist surged from his body, condensing into a forest of solid spikes.
It was clearly a tactic to trade injury for injury—
the grin of a true masochistic maniac.
"Come on!
Let me FEEL you!
Let your strength make me TREMBLE!"
Felix had it all figured out.
He couldn't match Longinus in speed—
but who said he couldn't win by taking hits?
Every wound he suffered created more fear—
and every bit of fear strengthened him further.
By dragging Longinus into a war of attrition,
he planned to overwhelm him with sheer, ever-growing power.
An elegant strategy…
if questionable.
But Felix's grotesque grin froze.
Because—
click.
Longinus calmly locked a pair of seastone cuffs around his wrists.
Felix didn't even realize when it happened.
His eyes widened.
In a battle without Observation Haki, a Devil Fruit user facing a speed-type opponent was at a massive disadvantage.
A strong attack wasn't even needed—
just one instant, one touch, and the fight was finished.
And who else but Longinus would casually carry seastone cuffs around?
Felix fell silent for several seconds.
Then his expression twisted—
as if his lover had cheated on him,
or like a betrayed maiden crying over a scumbag.
"We were supposed to have a glorious showdown!
How could you—
HOW COULD YOU CHEAT?!"
"Idiot," Longinus muttered, lips twitching.
"Who promised you anything?
That was all in your own head."
Around them, nobles, pirates, and Marines were frozen with identical vacant stares.
We… took our pants off for THIS?
They'd expected a battle for the ages—
something that would be recorded in history.
Instead, they got…
A perfect case study.
The kind future Marines would use in lectures:
"When fighting as a Devil Fruit user, always stay alert.
Don't get drunk on your own hype."
Felix, unfortunately, would serve as the negative example.
Behind them, Felix's pirates were cursing silently.
So the captain was actually an idiot.
Why didn't a Devil Fruit user think to guard against seastone?!
They quietly inched away, hoping the Marines would take a second longer to react.
They didn't.
After two years shadowing Longinus, Marines at G-2 were experts at "finishing blows."
The moment they noticed the pirates' intent, they surrounded them instantly.
Cobra stared blankly.
"So that's it?
This was the great pirate my father put all his hopes on?"
The irony was suffocating.
He suddenly felt grateful Felix had betrayed Alabasta.
Had Felix remained loyal, the disaster awaiting their kingdom would have been far worse.
Instead, all the consequences had fallen on someone else—
their "designated scapegoat."
"This… this has to be a joke."
The King of Azca muttered, trembling.
"That was an 80-million-berry pirate!
How could a Marine Major defeat him so easily…
This must be an illusion…
Yes… that must be it…"
But the hostile stares surrounding him reminded him reality was far crueler.
Longinus approached calmly.
"King of Azca.
Based on your conduct in tonight's pirate incident, I have the authority to place you under arrest."
"Considering your royal status, I won't send you directly to Impel Down."
He snapped seastone cuffs onto the king's wrists.
"Instead, you will explain yourself to the government inspectors who will arrive shortly."
"Go… government inspectors?!"
Azca's king nearly collapsed.
He knew exactly who that meant.
CP.
Cold, ruthless, emotionless hounds of the World Government.
No one—
not even a king—
wanted to deal with them.
In panic, he dropped to his knees and babbled:
"M-Major Longinus—
no, Lord Longinus!
Please!
Pretend none of this happened!"
"Your proposal for the four-kingdom alliance—
I wholeheartedly support it!"
"Everything you say, I shall endorse!"
"And… yes!
Our kingdom will fund the Marines!
Ten million—
no, thirty million berries towards your military budget!"
He spoke with the courage of a hero offering his entire fortune.
Only—
thirty million berries?
Longinus's lips twitched again.
Tina has more than that in her monthly allowance.
Even if Azca was poorer than Hyska or Crete…
a kingdom offering thirty million was simply pathetic.
Longinus seriously suspected Felix's price for betrayal
was never meant to be paid at all.
No wonder Adergin called this king both greedy and stupid.
Even at his downfall, he remained cheap—
making him the perfect scapegoat indeed.
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