CHAPTER 94- “The Price of Betrayal”

Thousands of meters away, amidst the battered ruins, countless onlookers stared in shock.

Many of them couldn't help but gulp, their throats dry and palms clammy.

Even just recalling the scene from moments earlier sent chills down their spines.

A stone giant—several dozen meters tall—had been obliterated in a single blow.

If they hadn't witnessed it with their own eyes, no one would have believed it was real.

Not far off, Rayleigh stood frozen. At some point, the sake flask in his hand had been crushed to pieces, shards slipping from his fingers.

His aged face was marked by sheer disbelief.

Moments ago, he'd intended to observe Luo Yu's mastery over Conqueror's Haki, to see how far the young admiral was from that legendary pirate king of the past—Rocks D. Xebec.

According to Shakky, Rocks had not only mastered advanced Haki coating...

He had even reached the mythical realm of compression and release.

As a wielder of Conqueror's Haki himself, Rayleigh understood all too well just how impossibly difficult that level was to reach.

And yet... compared to what Luo Yu had just demonstrated—

The gap was staggering.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't believe Conqueror's Haki could be manipulated in such a way.

Taking the form of a beast... unleashing thunderous power…

It completely shattered everything Rayleigh thought he knew.

If, moments earlier, he had been comparing Luo Yu's ability to Rocks—

Now it felt more appropriate to ask how far behind Rocks was from Luo Yu.

Of course, Rayleigh had also noticed the flaw in Luo Yu's earlier technique.

The Blood Kirin and traditional Conqueror's Haki coating were vastly different in principle.

Advanced Haki coating focused on concentrated compression—applying a razor-sharp force to weapons to pierce through defenses.

But Luo Yu's Blood Kirin—its strength lay in the explosive release of overwhelming power, not in precision.

The more Haki used, the more devastating the result.

Two extremes—one sharp and lethal, the other violent and destructive.

And honestly, who else in the world could wield such vast Conqueror's Haki and freely mold it into beasts of destruction?

Only Luo Yu.

Rayleigh looked at his crushed flask and muttered quietly to himself:

"Could it be... Roger was right? That the one to shake this old world might really rise from the Navy...?"

—

Back on the battlefield, Luo Yu stood calmly amidst the rubble, staring down at the half-buried, barely-living body of Pica.

He took another slow swig of rustic sake, suppressing the lingering surprise in his heart.

That last strike had left him feeling slightly hollowed out—his Conqueror's Haki nearly depleted.

But as expected, anything crafted by his system... was nothing short of divine.

Using the Intermediate Mutation Card on his Haki had been the right move.

He'd originally thought the materialized impact form was already its final state.

Never in his wildest guesses did he expect that the card would mutate it into a beast—a mythical Kirin no less.

Sacrificing the twenty pulls from a Silver Chest to upgrade to a Gold Chest?

Absolutely the right call.

And if the Gold Chest could yield Platinum-tier rewards...

Luo Yu couldn't wait to try out his next ten-draw burst.

"Ain," he called out without turning, "Did Fleet Admiral Sengoku respond yet? How much bounty are the CP9 agents worth?"

Pulling his thoughts back to reality, Luo Yu casually scanned the wrecked plaza.

He raised an eyebrow at the sight of only three CP9 members lingering nearby.

"Hmm? Only three of you? Did the rest run off? Looks like I'll have to take care of that."

"No, no, Admiral Luo Yu!" Jabra quickly blurted out. "We only backed off during the fight—we never intended to flee! Being accepted into Marine Headquarters would be our greatest honor!"

Kalifa scrambled forward, practically crawling.

"We're worth a lot! At least a million apiece, right?!"

Behind her, Blueno and the others hastily followed suit.

After witnessing that heaven-splitting beast descend from the skies...

They were silently grateful that Jabra had insisted they stay earlier.

Otherwise, they might've ended up like Pica—buried, mangled, and barely breathing.

Looking at Pica's body half-swallowed by stone, his life hanging by a thread...

They still couldn't stop shuddering.

That clean, decisive display—one strike, one victory—left even the CP0 agents hiding in the shadows completely stunned.

This was supposed to be the strongest generation of CP9 in eight hundred years?

Where was all that famed spine?

Kalifa and the others had crumbled into meek submission in seconds, even assigning their own bounty values.

Spandine was speechless.

He knew that if CP9 were captured by any other faction, just the secrets they held about the World Government would be worth billions.

But in Luo Yu's hands?

Just a couple million.

The contrast was almost insulting.

Still... that only made Spandine more eager.

If things went well, perhaps they could still get CP9 back into their hands.

"Spandine," said Iga, "CP9's been taken by this new Admiral... What's the plan now?"

This mission had already come at great risk.

And after that divine Kirin split the sky...

Iga's palms were still sweating.

He wanted the reward Spandine promised—but not at the cost of his life.

"I have a really bad feeling about this," said Iher suddenly. "This kid doesn't play by any rules. Maybe we should forget it… report back to the Five Elders."

Compared to others, Iher had already experienced Luo Yu's ruthlessness—twice in just a few days.

And both encounters had felt like brushing shoulders with Death itself.

Now, watching Luo Yu still calmly standing atop the rubble, as if he had never lifted a hand…

Iher really didn't want to risk crashing headfirst into the Grim Reaper again.

"Don't worry," Spandine said with a cold smile. "I have a way to make him hand them over. There's no one who can resist this offer."

"Besides," he added, "don't forget—we're CP0. The Marines are just assisting us with the CP9 hunt. In the end, the prisoners still belong to us."

"He gets credit, we get our targets—everyone wins."

"Come on. Let's go have a talk with this new admiral. Don't forget—I promised you a very generous reward."

Leaving those words behind, Spandine stepped out from the shadows.

After a brief hesitation, Iga followed.

Iher watched their backs, torn, doubt gripping his heart.

He didn't want to go—but in the end, he clenched his jaw and chased after them.

Even now, he couldn't help but glance one last time at Luo Yu.

That man… who stood unmoved in a crater, his expression calm, his clothes barely ruffled...

"These people... belong to CP0 now."