**Rolandus Island, Grand Line:**
Rolandus Island, one of the most prosperous islands in the World Government allied country of Lennart Kingdom, was known for its thriving economy. However, beneath the surface of this bustling island, a massive and secretive black market for human organ trafficking thrived.
This island had earned its dark reputation as the largest human organ trading hub in the first half of the Grand Line.
The reason for this was the frequent involvement of the King of Assassins, Dolag Piekro, who regularly traded in human organs. Dolag, as the King of Assassins, would assassinate targets, extract their organs, and sell them. To further fuel his lucrative trade, he even captured and kept slaves to harvest organs from them.
In the underworld, he was one of the busiest figures, trading with other dark empire rulers and slave traders.
In the outskirts of Rolandus Island, beneath the ground, Dolag Piekro had established a secret base, one of his many hideouts where he conducted his business.
"Damn Sand Pirates' Guild! Ever since they appeared, they've taken away a significant portion of our business!"
Dolag Piekro, fuming with anger, ripped up the intelligence report in his hands.
As the King of Assassins, he was the best in the assassination business, which was widespread and involved powerful nobles and figures in society. When these figures wanted someone eliminated but couldn't do it themselves, they often contacted Dolag's assassination organization in the underworld.
But since the appearance of the Sand Pirates' Guild, anonymous bounties had started to appear, with many people preferring to post bounties through the guild, which was a more public entity. This made the guild a much more convenient option for many, and it had significantly affected Dolag's business. The number of assassination orders he received had dropped by half.
"The Sand Pirates' Guild is too powerful, and I can't win alone. It would be best to contact the Marines or the World Government to suppress them. After all, the existence of the Sand Pirates' Guild threatens the World Government's rule, and they openly offer bounties on the Marines."
Dolag Piekro had previously sought revenge on the guild by destroying two of their branches in the North Blue. But the next day, six of his assassin bases in the North Blue were destroyed.
Undeterred, Dolag tried again in the West Blue, destroying two more Sand Pirates' Guild branches, only to have eight of his own bases wiped out the same night.
After these events, Dolag realized he couldn't go up against the Sand Pirates' Guild. It had become painfully clear that they were not a force he could contend with.
The Sand Pirates' Guild had destroyed his bases in the West Blue, and he feared they could do the same in the Four Seas or even the Grand Line. He was forced to relent.
"Boom! Boom!"
Suddenly, loud noises came from outside, and Dolag immediately recognized that his base had been discovered!
"Go!"
Dolag Piekro quickly decided to escape rather than confront whoever had dared to invade his base.
As the King of Assassins, he had enemies everywhere, and it was clear that his pursuers were well-prepared to deal with him. This was not the first time he had encountered such a situation. In the past, he had attempted to repel or eliminate invaders, but over time, he had learned that the first thing to do in such situations was always to escape.
Dolag's body shifted into a lizard-like form as he activated his powers, becoming fully transparent and blending into the natural surroundings—an effect of his Zoan-type, Lizard Fruit, Chameleon Form.
This ability to blend into his environment made him a formidable assassin, and he used it to great effect. His base had an emergency escape tunnel, and only Dolag knew its location. After turning invisible, he immediately headed toward the tunnel.
"King of Assassins Dolag Piekro, you can't escape!"
However, just as Dolag reached the tunnel entrance, he saw a man wearing a black high-collared leather coat, holding a menacing longsword, blocking his way.
Dolag recognized the man instantly—Wei Zhuang, the top assassin of the Sand Pirates' Guild. Dolag hadn't expected it to be Wei Zhuang himself who had come for him. Was the Sand Pirates' Guild sending him to deal with him?
"Wei Zhuang, how could he have seen me?"
What confused Dolag the most was that it seemed like Wei Zhuang had detected his presence!
"Your invisibility is quite natural, and it does have a slight effect on blocking Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki), but this technique only works on weaklings who've just awakened their Observation Haki. In front of me, you cannot hide. Surrender now!"
Wei Zhuang said, pointing his sword at Dolag with disdain, his tone dismissive.
"How much has the Sand Pirates' Guild paid you? I'll pay you three times as much!"
Seeing that Wei Zhuang had actually noticed him, Dolag tried to bribe him with money to resolve the situation.
"I'm more interested in your position as the King of Assassins. Would you be willing to give it to me?"
Wei Zhuang spoke as his body shifted into his Night Angel form. The surrounding darkness surged with energy, enveloping the entire underground base in an instant.
Though the base was underground, it had been well-lit, as bright as daylight. But with the arrival of the night energy, everything was plunged into darkness. The lights that once illuminated the entire base now only lit a small area around them, while the rest was engulfed by the dark aura.
Especially within a 200-meter radius of Dolag, the darkness grew even more intense.
"The rumors are true... Wei Zhuang has the Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit. This is bad!"
Dolag Piekro felt a wave of dread rise within him as he watched the spreading darkness.
"You want the position of the King of Assassins? You can have it, but..."
Dolag tried to stall, but before he could finish his sentence, he noticed Wei Zhuang charging toward him at incredible speed!
"Damn it!"
Wei Zhuang's speed was far too fast. Dolag unsheathed his emerald green long sword and quickly coated it with Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) to block, but he couldn't react in time.
"Cross Blade Technique—Shadow Slash!"
Wei Zhuang's special powers merged with his Busoshoku Haki, making his sword, the Budou Yusou, emit a dark, soul-devouring power, similar to that of a true Night Angel's weapon.
"Clang!!!"
The Budou Yusou collided with Dolag's sword with immense force, forcing Dolag's hands to tilt, making his sword strike his own body. Dolag was knocked back tens of meters, crashing into the wall.
Wei Zhuang, taking advantage of the momentum, didn't relent and immediately charged again.
At the same time, five identical figures of Wei Zhuang emerged from the darkness, all charging toward Dolag Piekro.
"How could there be six Wei Zhuangs?!"
Dolag, embedded in the wall, managed to break free and swallowed the blood rising in his throat, his face pale as he looked at the six Wei Zhuangs charging toward him.
"Sixfold Slash!"
Before Dolag could figure out which one was the real Wei Zhuang, all six Wei Zhuangs unleashed a tremendous surge of sword intent.
"One Sword Style—Shadow Flash!!!"
Realizing there was no way to dodge, Dolag gathered all his strength into his sword and swung out his strongest slash!
A flash of black light cut through the air, aimed at all six Wei Zhuangs.
However, just as the black light was about to hit, all six Wei Zhuangs vanished into the shadows and reappeared right next to Dolag.
Using six different sword techniques, they all struck at Dolag from different angles, completely blocking all his escape routes.
"How is this possible?!"
Seeing his full-force attack being avoided, Dolag was left stunned!
Wei Zhuang didn't care whether Dolag was stunned. His Budou Yusou sword struck him directly!
"Riiip!!!"
The six strikes landed simultaneously, and the overwhelming sword energy tore through Dolag Piekro's body, ending his life.
Lying on the ground, Dolag Piekro could only feel intense pain as he fell.
"Without your invisibility, you're just a lamb ready for slaughter—weak and defenseless!"
Wei Zhuang looked down at Dolag's lifeless body with contempt, and the dark aura around him flowed back into his own body.
"Great Blade, Twenty-One Works—Ghost Venom!"
Wei Zhuang picked up Dolag Piekro's weapon, recognizing it instantly.
It was a long, slender, emerald-green sword, its blade infused with a deadly toxin known as Ghostly Poison, a toxin so potent that even an elephant would fall within ten seconds. It was an extremely dangerous poison.
"La Fiete, the outside enemies have been dealt with. We're now wrapping things up!"
Raftel came flying over to report.
"Good. Hand me your Zantou. I'll have a powerful blacksmith merge it with this Ghost Venom sword to create a more powerful blade. Just let me know the shape of the sword once it's done."
Wei Zhuang nodded with satisfaction.
*(End of Chapter)*