Chapter 914 - 914: You Attack Once, I Kill One of You

"Ah, are you giving up here? To accept your fate so easily, it seems your mettle and backbone really are far inferior to that Crocodile lying on the ground."

Amid this suffocating silence, Rosse's voice, carrying a hint of regret and amusement, leisurely drifted over from the side.

He tilted his head slightly, his relaxed and carefree tone like someone watching a play from a theater box that had just reached its climax but was turning into a somewhat disappointing ending.

From the moment he arrived here, what Rosse wanted to enjoy was the humanity and ugliness displayed by these rats driven into a desperate situation when faced with a choice between life and death.

The unyielding choices of some people made him willing to give them a high evaluation in his heart, even as their enemy.

But the self-righteousness of others, and their endurance in abandoning their dignity for the sake of the bigger picture, made him shake his head again and again, his heart full of contempt and disgust.

Although, in this cruel world where the strong prey on the weak, everyone had the right to choose how they wanted to live, and there was no absolutely optimal answer.

But when a person clung to an unreachable hope, slowly throwing away their bloodlust, dignity, and even soul one by one while struggling to survive and seeking compromise, even if one day they really managed to survive until the moment when they could fulfill their dream, would that tainted dream still be the same shining dream they originally had when they went out to sea?

Was the dream of freedom that Shanks and the others originally set out to sea for really nothing more than living humbly like insects?

"Heh! Rosse. Your nasty personality hasn't changed at all. Don't waste your effort. Your provocation doesn't work on me. Either give me a quick death right now. Or..."

Shanks, kneeling on one knee and firmly holding Luffy down, raised his head and stared fixedly at Rosse. He had just gritted his teeth and was about to throw out a decisive threat.

But before he could finish, Rosse smiled and raised one index finger to his lips, casually interrupting him, "Shh. Don't be in such a hurry to die. I've said it many times. I'm not interested in your head right now, so I won't kill you. But..."

Rosse's eyes changed in an instant, becoming more sinister and terrifying than ten thousand years of dark ice, "If you say one more useless angry threat, I don't mind crushing Luffy's head right now."

[T/N: Tbh, I feel it is cheap on Rosse's part to threaten with same thing repeatedly. At least blind a eye of Luffy or something as a warning instead of just threatening.]

"You!"

The half-finished threat that Shanks was about to spit out was forcibly swallowed back with humiliation, as though a pair of huge hands had clamped tightly around his throat.

His voice came to an abrupt stop, and he could only glare furiously at Rosse like a maddened beast.

If gazes could really become tangible and kill people, that disgusting smiling face before him would probably have been cut into pieces by Shanks long ago.

How could there be such a vile ruler in this world?

He clearly possessed absolute force. As long as he was willing, he could crush all of them who resisted him like ants at any time.

But he simply refused to do so.

He insisted on using this cruel game of cat and mouse, gripping everyone's softest weakness and stripping away their dignity little by little, using the things they cared about most to trample on them for his amusement.

After subduing Shanks, Rosse's maliciously playful gaze slowly moved down again, landing on Luffy, who was being held down on the ground.

"Hey, Straw Hat brat. Your elder shouted at you a few times, and you've completely lost the courage to move? Is this the pirate's path you keep shouting that you want to choose every day?"

Rosse bent down slightly and stared at Luffy's eyes, which were filled with unwillingness. His tone was full of temptation and undisguised mockery, "You really look like a ridiculous clown. Pirate King? Pfft! I think you're nothing more than the King of Clowns, who can only hide behind adults."

"It's exactly like your previous king who died on the execution platform, the previous Pirate King Roger. All of you are useless idiots who can do nothing except shout slogans."

"Bastard!"

Hearing that Rosse had not only killed his companion right before his eyes, but was even brutally humiliating the dream he regarded as his highest faith, and even Roger along with it, Luffy could no longer endure it.

His eyes almost bulged with blood, and rough breathing like a dying beast came from his chest.

"Angry? Want to kill me? I'm standing right here."

Rosse chuckled. Not only did he not retreat, he instead brazenly released Makino, whom he had originally been holding in his arms.

He spread his arms, making a completely defenseless gesture, and took a large step forward with a smile, closing the distance between himself and Luffy.

"Come on. If you dare throw a punch at me today, I can magnanimously promise you that I personally won't counterattack or dodge at all. How about it? Want to try knocking me down, Pirate Clown?"

"Luffy! Don't fall for it!"

Shanks and Yasopp's hearts suddenly tightened. The two had only just relaxed their strength slightly because Luffy had previously given up resisting.

Hearing Rosse's words, which had clearly laid out a trap, their expressions changed drastically, and they instinctively wanted to press Luffy down tightly again.

But just as they were about to exert force, an extremely terrifying invisible pressure suddenly descended upon the two of them.

It was not Conqueror's Haki, but merely the natural suppression that came from a difference in strength, causing the muscles throughout Shanks's and Yasopp's bodies to stiffen instantly. They could only watch helplessly as they lost control of their bodies, unable to move even slightly.

"You! Unforgivable bastard! AAAAAAH!!"

Having lost the restraint holding him down, how could Luffy have even the slightest hesitation or patience left?

With bloodshot eyes, he let out a roar that shook the forest.

His entire body was like a spring filled with endless potential, shooting up from the ground with a bang.

"Gum-Gum... Gatling!"

He was him, he was the hot-blooded, straightforward Monkey D. Luffy!

Even though Shanks had just earnestly explained the reasoning behind enduring and holding back, even though he knew the difference in strength was like heaven and earth, when his faith was trampled upon, his fists would always move faster than his mind could think.

If he really weighed the pros and cons in the face of anger and learned to think twice before acting, then he would no longer be that Luffy.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

A dense rain of punches tore through the air with sharp sounds. Luffy's rubber fists, infused with all his anger and strength, hammered heavily against Rosse's chest like a violent storm.

The dull sounds of flesh colliding continuously echoed through the quiet forest.

However, what was despairing was that Rosse, who had taken this entire furious barrage, had not moved even half an inch.

Not even the slightest expression of pain or surprise appeared on his perfect face. He was even still wearing that mocking smile.

Luffy's fists striking his body were practically like a breeze brushing across his face.

Not only could they not even count as scratching an itch, they could not even wrinkle his clothes.

The attack ended, and Luffy stopped in midair, breathing heavily.

Looking at the undisguisable shock in Luffy's eyes, Rosse brushed at the nonexistent dust on the front of his suit, the smile still at the corner of his mouth.

"Very spirited punches. However, since you chose to throw your fists, that means you've prepared yourself to pay the appropriate price."

"Gion."

Rosse did not even look at Luffy. He merely tilted his head slightly with a smile and gave Gion a glance.

The next second, Gion, standing behind them with an expressionless face, moved.

There was no sound, no flash of sword light.

The speed was so extreme that even Shanks's Observation Haki could only catch a blurred line of an afterimage left where the space had been torn apart.

"NO! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

Shanks's eyes nearly split with rage. He instantly broke free from that oppressive paralysis and let out a tragic scream.

He drew Gryphon from his waist without regard for anything, explosively unleashing all the strength in his body. Like a red bolt of lightning, he rushed toward the direction where Gion's afterimage had passed, attempting to use his own body to block that life-taking sword.

But the difference in speed was like a chasm.

By the time Shanks had only just started and crossed less than a meter, Gion had already crossed dozens of meters of space like teleportation and silently appeared behind her original target.

That target was none other than Bonk Punch, the veteran of the Red-Haired Pirates, who was standing among the group with a weapon still tightly gripped in his hand.

Bonk Punch did not even have time to blink before his pupils suddenly became unfocused.

Slash!

The sound of a sharp blade cutting through flesh and bone exploded through the air.

A dazzling blood flower once again bloomed cruelly in midair like a fountain.

By the time Shanks charged in front of Bonk Punch like a madman, sliding across the ground, and stretched out his trembling right hand in an attempt to catch his companion, Gion had already returned to Rosse's side. With a soft click, she once again completed the motion of returning her sword to its sheath.

She steadily returned to half a step behind Rosse, as though the instant kill that had just crossed dozens of meters had merely been an insignificant task. Her cold face still showed no change in emotion.

Before Shanks's eyes, a circular line of blood appeared around Bonk Punch's neck.

Immediately afterward...

Thud!

That head, filled with astonishment, rolled to the ground, while the headless body collapsed heavily into a sea of blood.

"PUNCH!"

Lucky Roux and the others, who had originally been standing guard behind them, saw this and felt as though all the blood in their bodies had been ignited at this moment. They let out heart-rending roars of grief and rage and rushed over madly with their weapons raised.

Meanwhile, Luffy, suspended in midair, saw this scene and felt as though he had been struck by five thunderbolts from heaven. In an instant, he fell from the peak of his anger into a cold abyss.

His entire body stiffened like a stone, even his fists going limp. He no longer tried to attack Rosse, instead scrambling and crawling toward where Bonk Punch had fallen, his face filled with terror.

But just as he stumbled into close range, a huge, fat figure charged over with uncontrollable fury and suddenly blocked his path.

Smack!

A crisp slap rang through the forest.

Lucky Roux, who always wore a simple and honest smile, was now like an enraged Wisdom King, viciously slapping Luffy across the face.

The enormous force sent Luffy spinning several times before he crashed heavily into the muddy ground beside them, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Get lost! You reckless troublemaker who doesn't know when you're going to die!"

Lucky Roux's eyes were bloodshot, the corners of his eyes strained, and he glared fiercely at Luffy in the mud with those bloodshot eyes.

At this moment, in the eyes of this man who had lost his reason because of his companion's death, Luffy was no longer the future who carried his captain's hope, but the murderer who had caused Bonk Punch's death.

"Shanks had already gone that far to protect you just now! Why the fuck wouldn't you listen? Why did you still charge forward like a brainless idiot?"

Lucky Roux pointed at Luffy's nose and cursed at him with a hoarse, furious roar, spit and tears mixed together, "Everyone clearly knew that charging forward would get everyone killed, and for the sake of your damn temper, you still went forward without hesitation? Is this your mettle as a pirate? Are the lives of everyone who are more important to us than the sky really worth so little in your eyes?"

"I..."

Luffy, his cheek swollen high, lay face-down in the mud, his entire body as though struck by lightning, his mind completely blank.

He opened his mouth, wanting to explain himself, but found that he could not say even half a word.

Intense guilt and helplessness overwhelmed him like a tide. He gritted his teeth tightly, tears falling uncontrollably onto the mud mixed with blood, and in the end could only lower his head in pain and silence.

Deep in his eyes was nothing but profound guilt over his impulsive actions.

He didn't know!

He really didn't know!

He had originally thought he was merely risking his life to have a fight, but he had never imagined that Rosse would not even bother to counterattack him.

Instead, he had imposed his cruel punishment on companions who had been completely unprepared.

He had not known that his momentary act of temper would directly lead to Uncle Punch, who had once poured him drinks and bragged with him, being separated from his head.

This pain was ten thousand times worse than killing him himself.

Luffy's hands dug tightly into the mud. He suddenly turned his head, his face covered in mud and tears, and screamed hysterically at Rosse, who stood not far away watching everything, "Hey! If you're a man then punish me! Why did you attack them? I was the one who hit you, so why did you kill Uncle Punch! If you've got the guts, cut my head off!"

Faced with Luffy's roar filled with the innocence and childishness of a young boy, Rosse did not become angry.

Instead, he seemed to have heard a joke. He even leisurely took a clean white handkerchief from his suit pocket and handed it to Makino beside him.

He let her, her face full of tears and sorrow, gently wipe her clothes, which did not have even a speck of dust on them.

"Straw Hat brat, you're still too naive."

Rosse smiled and casually tossed the returned handkerchief into the wind. The pure white handkerchief happened to land beside Bonk Punch's pool of blood, looking glaring and strange.

He spoke calmly in a condescending tone, "In this world where the strong prey on the weak, from beginning to end, there has never been such a thing as taking responsibility for your own action. There is only power and the price."

Rosse raised his leather shoe and took a step forward, the shoe crushing a fallen leaf with a crisp sound, "Since you found the courage to provoke the strong and dared to throw a punch at me, your entire team must be prepared to pay a painful price for that courage of yours."

"You attack me once, I kill one person among you and return it to you as interest. No matter how you calculate it, this is a very fair transaction."

Rosse gently spread his hands and chuckled, "Besides, if you put this matter out on the sea and let the people of the world judge it, they would instead think that I'm being somewhat too merciful."

Yes. He did not think there was anything wrong with what he had done.

He was the current ruler of the World Government, possessing the overwhelming power to suppress an entire era.

And what was Luffy? Nothing more than a clown who had only just figured out Haki and recklessly charged around under the protagonist's halo.

There was an insurmountable difference between the two, whether in strength or status.