"I'll make the whole town pay with its life!"

The aftershocks of the roar still lingered in the sky above Boro Town. As the invincible Yokozuna Urashima was blasted away by Luffy's palm, smashing through several luxurious buildings, wood chips and rubble rained down on the once bustling cobblestone street.

Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, the residents of Boro Town and the henchmen of the Beast Pirates, who were indulging in revelry, all gaped in terror, as if they had been collectively frozen in place.

However, this eerie silence did not last long.

"Boom!"

At the end of the street, deep within the series of ruins smashed by Urashima's massive body, a violent tremor suddenly erupted.

Immediately afterwards, a terrifying aura, accompanied by a strong smell of burning and the panting of a wild beast, shot into the sky like a volcanic eruption, completely overturning the ruins!

"Which damn fool dares to run wild on my turf and destroy my house?!"

A deafening roar, like that of a lion, filled with savage killing intent, exploded in the sky above Boluo Town.

With this roar, a tall, burly man dressed in exotic clothing walked slowly out of the billowing dust and into view.

The man's appearance was bizarre—on his abdomen grew an enormous, living lion's head with its mane standing on end like flames!

This was none other than Holdem the Lion, the highest-ranking officer of the Beasts Pirates stationed in Boro Town!

Holdem's face was so gloomy it seemed like it could drip water, and the lion's head "Niejiro" on his belly opened its blood-red maw, letting out a chilling growl, with faint sparks jumping between its sharp fangs.

He stared at the mansion reduced to ruins, his eyes bloodshot with extreme rage, fixed on Luffy and the others standing in the center of the arena.

The moment Tama saw the lion-faced man appear, her face turned deathly pale, as white as a sheet of paper, after she had felt a sense of satisfaction from Luffy's defeat of Urashima.

Her frail body trembled uncontrollably, her hands gripping Luffy's clothes tightly, her voice filled with undisguised terror:

"Oh no...oh no! It's a real fight with Holdem! Brother Luffy, we absolutely can't anger him here!"

Luffy turned his head, looked at Tama who was trembling all over, and asked with some confusion, "Why? Is that strange guy with a lion on his belly very strong?"

"No...it's not because he's strong..."

Ayu shook her head desperately, tears of despair welling in her eyes. "It's because if we hurt him here and anger the Beast Pirates, they'll summon even higher-level monsters!"

"That guy known as 'Drought' Jack, one of the 'Three Great Calamities,' will be here immediately to exact his revenge!"

Ayu pointed to the trembling, frightened civilians of Boluo Town around her and sobbed uncontrollably:

"Jack is a complete madman; wherever he goes, things wither and decay, leaving nothing but barren land!"

"If he comes, everyone in this town will be brutally slaughtered, and the place will be reduced to scorched wasteland in an instant!"

Upon hearing Tama's tearful warning, Usopp, standing behind her, gasped.

He pushed up his goggles and cursed through gritted teeth:

"Damn it! So that's how it is! No wonder these commoners, despite suffering so much oppression, dare not resist!"

"Those bastards from the Beasts Pirates deliberately built their base in a civilian town. Doesn't that mean... they're using everyone in this town as human shields and hostages?!"

"That's utterly despicable!"

Holdem clearly heard Usopp's curses.

Instead of feeling the slightest shame, he raised his head and let out a wild, cruel laugh:

"Hahaha! You long-nosed outsider, that's a really nasty thing to say!"

"This is a privilege granted to us by General Orochi and Lord Kaido!"

"Here, we are gods standing on their heads!"

"If anyone dares to lay a finger on me, I'll make every last one of these lowly people in this town pay with their lives!"

"Just as Holdem was laughing arrogantly, and the atmosphere was extremely tense."

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

On the wide main road of Boluo Town, a heavy, thunderous roar suddenly came from the sound of wooden wheels rolling over the bluestone slabs.

Accompanying the roar was a series of frenzied cheers, as greedy as hungry wolves.

"Oh! Oh! The treasure ship is here!"

"Lord Speed's treasure ship has arrived! We're in for a feast today!!"

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw at the other end of the street another real fighter—a centaur female Gifter named Speed, holding a longbow and riding a nimble horse, walking arrogantly at the front.

Behind her, a dozen strong mutated beasts were pulling a huge, extravagant wooden "treasure ship" that resembled a multi-story building, slowly sailing into the square!

The moment the treasure ship was fully exposed to the sunlight, the Straw Hat crew held their breath.

That enormous treasure ship was piled high with abundant food, as tall as a mountain!

Those unparalleled delicacies that people in Jianlou Village wouldn't even dare to dream of are now being piled up on the boat like cheap garbage.

There are huge, red apples that are crystal clear and exude an enticing aroma;

There is sweet mountain spring water, crystal clear and unpolluted, stored in transparent glass buckets;

It has top-grade Wagyu beef marbled meat that is neatly cut and has a beautiful marble-like texture;

There are also baskets of top-quality new rice that are white, shiny, and plump!

There was so much food that the treasure ship couldn't hold it all.

As the wheels jolted, plump red apples and bags of white rice tumbled off the ship, crashing onto the bluestone slabs and instantly trampled to pieces by the greedy minions of the Beast Pirates.

They screamed with excitement as they recklessly wasted food that could have saved countless lives!

"Gulp..."

Looking at the overflowing, dreamlike mountain of food, Ayu's eyes widened in disbelief.

Her stomach, which had just eaten a bowl of red bean soup, cried out in longing the moment she saw these fresh ingredients.

She subconsciously licked her chapped lips, and the extreme longing in her eyes was so intense that it made one's heart ache.

"Wow... there's so much food..."

Luffy stared blankly at the treasure ship, muttering to himself.

Standing to the side, Aju's clear eyes were already burning with anger.

She clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her flesh, and explained to the crowd through gritted teeth:

"That's food freshly picked from the 'Peach Blossom Farm' at the foot of that smokeless mountain!"

"That was grown using the last piece of clean land and water in Wano Country!"

"Every day, they use this treasure ship to continuously transport food into Boro Town, for these pirates and officials to squander!"

Listening to Kiku's explanation and looking at the apples trampled in the mud, Luffy slowly lowered his head.

The shadow of the straw hat completely obscured his eyes.

Everything that had happened that day flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.

He remembered how Ayu had drunk poisoned water in order to stop her hunger;

I recalled her agonizing spasms and pale face when the poison took effect;

I remembered how carefully she looked at that pitifully small amount of rice, as if she were looking at the most precious treasure in the world;

I remembered that little girl in the dilapidated thatched hut, desperately trying to suppress her hunger, yet forcing a smile and saying she wanted to be a female ninja...