Raaaaah!

Since the end of the Totoland Incident, almost 7 years have passed.

However, the turmoil caused by this incident has not subsided over time.

This can be seen from a man holding a headline newspaper.

Through the extensive coverage of the media, Nicholas's powerful defeating of Big Mom Charlotte Linlin and Kaido was basically spread throughout the entire Grand Line.

Moreover, with the notorious reputation of Big Mom's pirate crew and Kaido's frequent escapes from the Marines, the news of Nicholas's strength was further highlighted.

Although Nicholas's bounty has not changed since the Totland Incident, and even Nicholas and the entire Freedom Pirate Crew have faded from public view for more than seven years, his reputation has not diminished at all.

Such is the pirate world.

To quickly gain fame, fighting against strong opponents is the fastest way.

And with the activities of the remnants of the Rocks Pirates such as Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, and others on the sea, Nicholas is naturally mentioned by others.

The hot discussion in the outside world is still ongoing, and Nicholas and his party are still busy in the Udon District of Wano.

"They are?"

In a stronghold in the mountains, Nicholas stood in front of a prison cell with a large area, looking through the prison made of centuries-old pine at about a hundred men inside.

"Yo-ho-ho~"

Brook, who was in charge of guarding these people, smiled first, then explained, "They are samurai who were captured in battles in the past two months."

"Oh?"

Nicholas raised an eyebrow, not expecting that these guys, who had only recently learned to use sickles and hoes, would have such combat power so quickly.

It is worth noting that although the samurai in Wano are uneven in strength, being a samurai means that these people can basically handle weapons. When facing ordinary people, they can even easily handle ten or even a hundred opponents.

Simon, who was with Nicholas, looked at Nicholas with a speechless expression, implying, "Ahem, although there are swordsmen among the samurai in Wano, they are all important figures. These samurai, although their strength is good, are just ordinary people. It is already fortunate for them not to be killed by random gunfire when facing a systematic firearms unit."

Although firearms are like toys for strong individuals, the damage they can cause to the human body is still terrifying.

Nicholas suddenly understood the meaning behind Simon's words. Indeed, he had subconsciously ignored this point while engaging with strong opponents on the sea, just as ordinary soldiers in the Marines appear like ants in front of top-tier opponents.

However, if they encounter ordinary pirates with better equipment and more coordinated attacks, the relaxed offensive and defensive style of the Marines undoubtedly resembles the Grim Reaper.

"How do you plan to deal with these guys?"

Nicholas asked Simon while looking at the samurai.

"We originally planned to see if we could pull them into the resistance army. After all, as samurai, they can better infiltrate the enemy's ranks. But unfortunately, none of these people are willing. For them, their samurai spirit does not allow them to betray their lord and allegiance. And in their eyes, it seems that we are opposing the entire Wano."

Simon shrugged helplessly.

"It's a pity... Since they have no value, just get rid of them directly. Brook, it's a good opportunity to verify your Devil Fruit ability."

Nicholas said calmly.

Brook raised his staff-sword and looked at the samurai in the prison cell with a calm gaze. For him, killing was not much of a psychological burden, as he had been the former pirate of the Rumbar pirates and had acted as a deputy captain.

There was a slow sound of the staff-sword being drawn from its sheath.

Hearing the sound of the staff-sword being drawn, the samurai in the prison cell trembled violently. They all looked up in horror at Brook, who was slowly unsheathing the staff-sword, as if they smelled the breath of death, and the skeletal Brook seemed to be a messenger from the underworld.

Nicholas suddenly raised his hand and pressed down on Brook's arm, which was about to draw the sword.

Brook looked at Nicholas with confusion.

"Do you really understand the consequences of death?"

...

Half an hour later.

Dozens of dazed samurai followed Simon out of the prison.

Looking at their appearance, they looked as if they had just experienced a nightmare.

In the prison cell.

Nicholas looked at the bodies of the samurai on the ground, covered in ice chips, murmuring to himself, "Does the aura of the soul-soul Devil Fruit cause this freezing effect? Or is it freezing the soul itself?"

"Brook."

"Captain."

Upon hearing Nicholas's words, Brook looked at Nicholas involuntarily.

"Are the souls of these guys really sent to the Underworld?"

Nicholas was curious about the mysterious Underworld.

"...I'm not sure, but after these people were killed, something did disappear from inside their bodies."

Brook touched his skull with some hesitation.

…

Several days later.

In the training ground in the forest.

Several wounded members of the resistance lay on the ground, looking quite miserable.

Opposite them were the samurai from before. At this point, their injuries had mostly healed, indicating careful treatment.

Seeing the injured people moaning on the ground, the samurai felt quite satisfied. Although they couldn't kill them, giving these guys a lesson was still no problem.

At the beginning, these samurai also thought about escaping. After all, they had witnessed the situation in the prison cell, and in their eyes, these sinners who associated with demons would definitely be punished by the heavens. As long as they could bring back the news, they would definitely receive a big reward.

In one night, these samurai staged a riot. However, before they could cause any chaos, they were forcefully suppressed by the resistance army, which had been on guard against them all along.

In the end, out of the dozens of samurai, only these few lucky ones remained.

They were surrounded by the despised commoners, trying to uphold their samurai spirit and fight against the enemy. But in the end, what they heard was the sentence, "God bless America, Raaaaahh. 🦅🦅"

Then came a barrage of gunfire.

[AN- Its just a joke 😂😂😂]

…

In a room at the center of the stronghold.

Nicholas sat in a chair, manipulating thousands of lightning balls to constantly move and even form various shapes.

While accumulating strength for the future, Nicholas also didn't intend to neglect his own strength.

After all, in this world where power belongs to oneself, the stronger, the better.

The Goro Goro no Mi, as well as more potential to be developed, is just the beginning.

He would make good use of this time to further enhance the abilities of the Goro Goro no Mi.