The International Charity Alliance Temple.
To the outside world, it was a beacon of hope in the Pirate King's era.
But just like most "charity" organizations in York's previous life, the name was merely a slogan. Their true nature was to swindle donations, launder money, and hoard wealth while the poor starved.
The massive flagship of the Rocks Pirates docked at the island's harbor.
Charlotte Linlin, Whitebeard, and Shiki didn't wait for the gangplank. They launched themselves onto the shore.
"The looting competition has begun!!!"
"Wahahaha! Let's see who can grab the most!!"
York, as always, was the last to step onto the island.
He adjusted his coat and looked up at the magnificent, gold-plated temple. A faint, mocking smile played on his lips.
"Allow me to test whether your temple truly harbors virtuous monks... or just maggots in robes."
He clasped his hands together. Holy Light erupted from his body as he slowly walked through the main gate.
"Ugh...!"
"Hnnngh..."
Not long after entering the main hall, muffled groans echoed around York.
Linlin and the others had rushed ahead to the vaults, ignoring the monks who didn't fight back. So, the hall was still full of survivors—bald men in saffron robes clutching prayer beads.
However, the moment York's light touched them, their pious facades crumbled.
They curled up on the floor, writhing like worms. Their faces, previously set in fake serenity, twisted into expressions of grotesque, blissful ecstasy.
"A temple..."
York sighed, shaking his head with exaggerated disappointment.
"As expected. The holiest places hide the deepest filth."
He pushed his palm forward.
Zip! Zip! Zip!
Countless tentacles of solid light shot out. They didn't strangle the monks like snakes; they caressed them.
York dialed the output to maximum.
"Oh oh oh oh..."
The monks let out moans that blurred the line between pleasure and pain. Their eyes rolled back into their skulls. Their brains were flooded with an overdose of dopamine and serotonin.
"Since you have broken your vows of celibacy in your hearts," York pronounced his judgment, "then you shall die by the very lust you harbor!"
"Overload."
Under the catalysis of the Holy Light tentacles, the monks began to foam at the mouth. Their hearts raced beyond 300 beats per minute. Their blood vessels burst from the pressure.
One by one, they died of cerebral hemorrhages induced by sheer, lethal pleasure.
As York ventured deeper into the temple, the trail of bodies grew. He showed no mercy.
"I am still too kind-hearted, after all."
York stepped over a twitching corpse.
"I give them endless pleasure before they die. I believe they will not resent me when they reach Hell."
He killed his way to the inner sanctum.
The rest of the crew, who were busy stuffing gold into sacks, had killed fewer people combined than York had in ten minutes.
"Alas~ This is not my fault!" York declared to the empty room. "If these were true monks, my light would have no effect! They killed themselves with their own impurity!"
Finally, he reached the Grand Abbot.
The old man, with a long white beard that looked dignified in portraits, was currently lying on the floor, drooling and hallucinating.
"Hehehehe~~ Lady benefactor~" the Abbot giggled, reaching out to empty air. "You wouldn't want your husband to know, would you? Let this old monk comfort you..."
York looked down at the old man with cold, dead eyes.
"Disgusting."
The Holy Light tentacles lashed out, wrapping the Abbot in a cocoon of light.
"Pleasure Amplification: 50x."
"Awooo... AWOOOO!!!"
The Abbot's lewd giggle turned into a shrill, inhuman scream.
"I... I can't... Lady... please... STOP!!"
Blood leaked from his eyes and ears. A puddle of mixed fluids spread beneath him. With a final, convulsing jerk, the Grand Abbot of the International Charity Alliance died of a lust-induced heart attack.
"Not a single qualified monk in the whole building."
York sighed, wiping an imaginary speck of dust from his sleeve.
He looked towards the storeroom. The rest of the crew was there, hauling out chests of gold.
Stussy watched York approach. She silently swallowed a lump in her throat.
For the first time, she felt genuine fear.
Before, she thought his ability was just a tricky annoyance. But seeing the corpses of the monks—faces twisted in rictus grins of fatal ecstasy—she realized the truth.
If York caught you, you wouldn't even have the will to fight back. You would just... enjoy yourself to death.
The looting continued.
The temple's main vault was located in a subterranean cellar. It was a massive underground space, but it had only one small access point at the top—a primitive lift system.
Whitebeard, Kaido, and the newest recruit—an axe-wielding man named Silver Axe —went down into the hole to load the treasure.
Shiki stayed up top, using his Float-Float Fruit to levitate the heavy chests out of the hole as they were filled.
It worked efficiently. Soon, the vault was empty.
Shiki floated the last chest out. Then, grinning at the massive pile of loot, he floated himself out of the temple roof.
"Let's go! All the treasure is ours!"
Shiki yelled to the crew outside.
"Hey!!"
A furious roar echoed from the deep hole in the floor.
It was Whitebeard.
"LOWER THE LIFT! WE ARE STILL IN THE BASEMENT! YOU BASTARD!!"
Shiki froze in mid-air.
"Oh no! I forgot about those three!"
Wang Zhi (Ochoku) grumbled, lighting a cigar. "They're so noisy, Shiki. Just shut them up."
"Good idea."
Shiki grinned. He pulled a massive cannonball from his sash—where he got it, nobody knew—and dropped it casually into the hole.
"Bye bye~"
Down in the dark cellar, Whitebeard, Kaido, and Silver Axe looked up, waiting for the lift.
Instead, they saw a black sphere whistling down towards them.
"Huh?"
"Hmph?"
The three monsters collectively displayed a question mark over their heads.
BOOM!!!
A massive explosion erupted underground.
The structural integrity of the island gave way. The ground rippled like water. The entire temple collapsed in on itself, tilting dangerously as the foundation disintegrated.
"The temple is collapsing!" Charlotte Linlin screamed, clutching a sack of jewels. "The treasure is getting scattered! You idiot Shiki!"
York, looking disheveled, crawled out of a pile of rubble. He rubbed a large bump on his forehead where a stone had hit him.
"My mindset is still wrong..." York muttered, dusting himself off. "Logically, I know this is the Rocks Pirates. But I keep treating them like a normal crew..."
In this crew, the enemies weren't the scariest thing. Your own teammates were. You had to be constantly ready for friendly fire.
From the smoking crater of the basement, three figures emerged.
Kaido climbed out, looking at Shiki's floating figure. "I'm envious. I want a flight ability too."
Whitebeard, dusting soot off his coat, grunted. "What? A Devil Fruit? You'd best choose carefully, brat. A curse stays with you for life."
Kaido: "You're right."
While the two future Emperors had a casual chat about career choices, the third man was less calm.
Silver Axe stormed out of the smoke, his face twisted in fury. He raised a massive battle axe.
"HEY!! Who was it that plotted against us just now?!"
York didn't say a word. He silently pointed a finger at the sky.
Silver Axe looked up to see Shiki hovering there, whistling innocently.
"It was you, Shiki! You golden-haired bastard!!"
"Oh~ My little Silver Axe~ So you're still alive! I was so worried..."
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!"
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