"Damn it!"
On the deck, the pirates stopped arguing when they saw Kuzan arrive and rushed towards Toki in a panic.
Then, while holding Toki hostage with their weapons, they shouted at Kuzan, "Don't come any closer!"
Of course, from Kuzan's perspective, that was the situation. However, in reality, those pirates were only moving closer to Toki, not holding her hostage.
Although they were warning Kuzan to stay back, they were also urging Toki to hurry up and use her ability to travel through time.
Kuzan didn't notice these things, but Kenji, with his Observation Haki fully activated, saw everything clearly.
'Indeed, these pirates already know she possesses the Time-Time Fruit.' Kenji nodded inwardly, then gestured to Kuzan with his eyes.
On the deck of the pirate ship opposite, Kuzan quickly stood up and used Soru to appear above the pirates. Immediately after, it was a one-sided slaughter.
Having gone through the blood and fire battle not long ago, Kuzan had no sympathy whatsoever at this moment and unleashed his full killing power. His physical strength far surpassed that of all the pirates present, they were completely powerless to resist and couldn't even react.
These pirates often had their heads pierced by Shigan before they could even react, only seeing the blood flowing before their eyes a few seconds later, then collapsing in a daze.
"Damn it! How dare you attack us?!"
Some human trafficking pirates roared in anger, attempting a final struggle.
"Behind us are the Celestial Dragons."
"You Marines, do you want to go against the Celestial Dragons?!"
"Stop it now!"
The human traffickers finally brought out their backing, threatening with the Celestial Dragons.
On the pirate ship, Kuzan's figure, which had been moving like the wind and slaughtering, suddenly froze, seemingly having some reservations after hearing the human traffickers' threats.
"Heh, Celestial Dragons?" Kenji chuckled, then curled his lips and said.
"A bunch of shady characters, no matter how big a tiger's skin they pull, it's useless."
"And... Celestial Dragons?"
Kenji's gaze gradually deepened, then he waved his hand, signaling to Kuzan and the other Marines.
The Marines present were all 'veterans' who had followed Kenji for a long time. Usually, a single glance was enough for them to understand Kenji's meaning.
Upon receiving the order, everyone immediately took action.
Kuzan stood up and continued close-quarters hand-to-hand combat, while the Marines on the warship raised their firearms, aimed at the pirates opposite, and began to fire in unison.
Bang... Bang... Bang...
Continuous gunshots echoed through the area, and Kuzan's figure was erratic, completely unaffected by the gunfire.
Blood splattered, and brains flew. In just a few minutes, all the pirates in the area were cleared out.
Afterward, the Marine soldiers began to clean up the battlefield, and incidentally, they gave follow-up shots to those pirates who had been shot but weren't dead yet, which could be considered helping them end their suffering early, a truly immeasurable act of merit.
Soon, the battlefield was cleaned up, all the supplies on the pirate ship were confiscated and stored in the warship's warehouse, and the pirate corpses were piled on the deck.
Later, as per custom, these pirate corpses would be burned along with the pirate ship to prevent the spread of plague or anything else.
And the only survivor on the pirate ship, Toki, was brought onto the warship by Marine soldiers.
Toki seemed unfamiliar with the Marine organization, as the era before her time travel might not have even had a Marine government, or even a World Government established.
However, the distinct uniforms of the Marines, which were different from those of the pirates, clearly put Toki at ease.
At least on the surface, these guys in uniforms seemed quite legitimate, didn't they?
Moreover, the Marine soldiers had already shouted ahead of time, informing Toki that they were the Marines, a righteous organization dedicated to eradicating pirates.
"Marines? Never heard of them." After boarding the warship, Toki looked around with wide eyes, muttering to herself.
"Is it an organization established hundreds of years later?"
Her self-talk was overheard by a nearby soldier, immediately attracting curious gazes.
"Our Marine Government has been established for several hundred years now." The soldier beside her looked at Toki with a surprised expression, as if looking at some prehistoric creature.
"You actually don't even know about the Marines?"
Upon hearing this, Toki's face flushed slightly, and she said awkwardly, "Sorry, I really haven't heard of it before... What exactly does your Marine organization do? Is it similar to the Black Dragon Society?"
"We Marines are a righteous organization with the goal of eradicating evil." The soldier said with his head held high and a resolute tone.
But soon, he seemed to remember something, thinking of certain people, and his confident demeanor immediately faded, becoming less confident.
"Oh, I understand." Toki nodded, seemingly understanding yet not quite.
"You're probably... an official organization, right?"
"In my era... those official organizations all called themselves that."
After chatting for a moment, Toki requested to see the highest-ranking officer on the warship.
After being granted permission, Toki was led to the Captain's cabin, in front of Kenji.
"Sorry for the trouble... I'd like to ask you to take me to a place." As soon as they met, Toki directly made her request.
"I come from... a very distant place."
"I came here to go to Wano Country!"
Kenji's expression remained unchanged after hearing this, he felt no surprise whatsoever.
He didn't directly refuse Toki, but simply explained, "Wano Country, you can't go there."
"Why?!" Toki frowned, her eyes filled with suspicion.
Clearly, she had begun to suspect Kenji.
Seeing this, Kenji remained unfazed, smiled, and continued, "Wano Country in this era is still in a state of closed borders."
"What is closed borders?" Toki looked bewildered.
"Closed borders means a country that lives by closing its doors, not welcoming outsiders, understand?"
"Oh, so that's how it is..."
Toki nodded after hearing the explanation, then she reached into her bosom, seemingly trying to pull out something.
Then, in the next moment, Kenji remained seated motionless, but [Conqueror's Haki - God's Domain] within him suddenly erupted.
In an instant, the room was filled with pressure, and the terrifying aura seemed to seal off even space itself.
Toki instantly froze in place.