099 Wishing to Become a Demon and Slaughter the Entire World (3)

Chaos, riots, and the entire lawless zone ground to a halt.

"Hey! Hey! How is this possible? Is that the Golden Lion?" a voice rang out from the distance, brimming with shock.

A young man with wild blond hair, dark sunglasses reflecting a sharp glint, a pink feather coat draped over his shoulders, cropped trousers, and pointed shoes stepped out from the smoke and dust. He wore a rebellious, sinister smirk, his expressions vivid and erratic.

"Doffy, it seems we’ve arrived at the perfect time. If we take the head of the Golden Lion, your name will echo across the entire sea."

Beside him, a man draped in a quilt-like cloak, leaning on a cane tipped with a plum blossom emblem, with a trail of snot hanging from his nose, roared with excitement.

"Fufufufufu... that’s an interesting thought!" The youth called Doffy looked at the Golden Lion, who was locked in a standoff in the center of the fray, with keen interest.

"Huh! Who is that guy? To think he actually dares to fight the Golden Lion." On the other side, a man wearing a fur-trimmed hat with two distinct markings on his face watched Xuan Ye with astonishment.

"Fufufufufu... Navy Vice Admiral, Heaven Bird, Xuan Ye Tang." Behind his sunglasses, a pair of wicked eyes flickered with curiosity.

"Heaven Bird, Xuan Ye Tang? The one who ranked first in the Navy’s grand competition?"

"It must be him. It’s truly terrifying; he’s actually holding his own against the Golden Lion."

"Fufufufufu... keep watching. The moment an opening appears, our Donquixote Family will claim both their heads."

"Yes, Doffy."

"Yes, Young Master."

Elsewhere, a group of pirates had also emerged. Leading them was a hulking, strange-looking man who resembled a bat. He and his subordinates waited for their moment to strike.

"Captain, is that really the Golden Lion?" a man holding dual pistols asked, staring excitedly at the old man and the youth locked in battle.

"Yes. We intended to enter the New World, but it seems waiting a little longer won’t hurt." The man addressed as Captain wore an excited grin. "If we can steal the Golden Lion’s shadow, we shall dominate the New World."

"Yes, with Master Moria’s Devil Fruit ability, any expert is nothing but a paper tiger."

"Haha..."

"Yo! So the Golden Lion has finally appeared." In a hidden spot, a middle-aged man with gold and silver hair, wearing transparent glasses and sporting a vertical scar over his right eye, took a gulp of fine wine from his flask, his expression turning grave.

"The Captain is already dead. Has this man still not given up?" The middle-aged man frowned, watching the somewhat battered Golden Lion in the arena, a thought involuntarily surfacing in his mind.

"Haha... Golden Lion! As long as I kill him, my name will ring out across the world!"

"You lunatic, that’s the Golden Lion! The man who stood on par with the Pirate King! How could he be defeated by anyone?"

"Idiot, he’s old now, and even the Pirate King is dead..."

Ambitious upstarts and cautious pirates alike—every eye was fixed on the two figures.

----------------

In the arena, smoke filled the air. Waves of energy erupted from the Golden Lion, while flames coiled around Xuan Ye. Neither looked away, both waiting with grim intensity.

Back at Marineford, the Golden Lion had already sustained heavy injuries. As for Xuan Ye, from Enies Lobby to Marineford, he had maintained his "God-Mode," and the toll was equally immense. Consequently, both looked disheveled and deathly pale.

"Hah... hah..." Sweat beaded on his forehead. The high-intensity combat had left Xuan Ye gasping, yet even so, he was determined to leave the Golden Lion here, even if it cost him his life.

Every day, Xuan Ye lived in pain, worry, and self-reproach. In the dead of night, he often wondered: if he hadn't bought that Devil Fruit, if he hadn't eaten it, would he and Xiao Xi still be living happily together?

If he had held onto Xiao Xi tighter back then, would she be by his side now? If he had joined the Navy, could he have found a Devil Fruit to cure her heart condition, allowing them to live safely together?

But those were all "ifs"—nothing but products of his own imagination. Once the fantasies faded, all that remained was a tear-stained face and regret.

He blamed himself—it was all his fault for failing to protect her, leaving her fate hanging in the balance.

It was a soul-crushing pain. Every moment he grew quiet, his heart felt as if it were being squeezed, leaving him breathless, the agony piercing his very soul.

Because of this, he trained—he trained with a desperate fervor. For Xiao Xi’s sake, he could discard everything: kindness, compassion, mercy. He could seal those emotions away. He preferred to be a cold, heartless monster; as long as he could grow stronger, he feared nothing.

He didn't care how the world viewed him—disgust, scorn, fear—it meant nothing. From beginning to end, there was only one person he cared about. For her, he would gladly become a demon and slaughter the whole world.

Perhaps there would be friendship or romance in the future, but if he were forced to choose, he would choose family without a second thought, for family was the fuel that kept him alive.

At least for now, Xuan Ye only had space for family. Even if he found friendship, if that friendship were ever to betray him, he might harden his heart and end it himself.

But family—if family were to betray him, he would choose to forgive. Even if it cost him his life, he would have no regrets.

Such was Xuan Ye’s emotional world. Call him pathological, paranoid, cold-blooded, or worse than an animal—none of it mattered, for he held fast to the obsession in his heart.

Yet, he had his endearing qualities, for he was capable of doing anything—fearless and unyielding—for the sake of the one he loved.

In truth, Xuan Ye was quite ordinary. In his past life, he and his sister had relied on one another. Their days were plain and simple; he would cook her favorite meals, and seeing her smile was his greatest joy.

But people are shaped by their circumstances. In his past life, there was at least the law. Here, in a world ruled by the law of the jungle, there were no laws, no rules, no human rights. Only power was the absolute truth. If you wanted to live well, you had to be strong.

In his past life, he watched stories on television as mere entertainment, but after truly being integrated into this world, he realized how terrifying and desperate it truly was.

Therefore, whether for himself or for Xiao Xi, Xuan Ye had to become a powerhouse. Even if the path was paved with blood, he would stop at nothing to reach the summit.

And today, he would finally know the answer.