While Jessie remained deep in discussion with Rayleigh and Shakky inside the dimly lit bar in Grove 13, the atmosphere calm and heavy with secret knowledge, far from their quiet table, chaos was brewing on another side of Sabaody Archipelago.
Meruem had parted ways earlier, expressing a desire to explore the island on his own.
"I want to go there by myself" he had said, voice calm, yet eyes gleaming with restrained curiosity.
Now, Meruem soared effortlessly above the groves, his cloak fluttering like a shadow dancing in the breeze. His Nen aura was faint—restrained but always coiled like a predator, ready to strike.
The archipelago below was teeming with life—vendors, pirates, Marines in disguise, and the occasional bounty hunter. It was noisy, chaotic, and colorful. A stark contrast to the silent, death-filled world Meruem once ruled.
Then, something odd caught his eye.
Down on a paved clearing between Grove 1 and Grove 2, a commotion had taken over the street.
Meruem descended silently, landing atop a building. His piercing green eyes observed the scene below.
Two individuals strolled confidently across the open street, encased in floating transparent bubbles. Around them marched a heavily armed escort of World Government bodyguards, all dressed in white. These individuals carried themselves with arrogance, basking in the discomfort and fear they inspired. Everyone around had fallen to their knees, heads bowed deeply to the ground.
A heavy silence hovered like a storm cloud.
Meruem tilted his head.
"What… is this?"
He leapt down, his quiet steps landing without a sound. He walked calmly into the scene, completely ignoring the frightened civilians still bowing. His eyes locked onto the man leading the group, a pudgy individual wearing a bubble helmet, lavish robes, and golden rings on every finger.
The man wore the smugness of someone who believed he was untouchable.
A Celestial Dragon.
People whispered in panic as they noticed Meruem wasn't bowing.
"W-Who is that?"
"He's not kneeling…?!"
"Is he insane?! That's a Celestial Dragon!"
Even the guards tensed. But Meruem didn't care. He stood upright, unbothered, gazing at the group with faint interest.
He scanned the man with his En—a technique enhanced by his own evolved Royal Nen.
"…Weak. Pathetic. Like an ant."
The Celestial Dragon, annoyed by the presence of someone still standing, sneered inside his helmet. His voice cracked through the amplifier.
"You! Yes, you! I want that man as my slave!"
His words oozed entitlement.
"Guards, capture him."
The CP0 agents who guarded him shifted their positions instantly. One stepped forward, his masked face tilting toward Meruem.
"Kneel," the CP0 member said coldly. "You stand in the presence of a god."
Meruem said nothing. His posture remained perfectly upright, his eyes calm, unreadable, and far too confident for someone facing the most protected figures in the world.
He looked at the CP0 officer with the same gaze he'd once used for lesser Chimera Ants—cold and dismissive.
The CP0's hands moved.
In a blink, they were already upon him, their weapons drawn, techniques honed from years of government training. Their movements were fluid, precise.
But to Meruem?
They were snails.
He moved.
And they vanished.
In less than a second, all the Celestial Dragon's guards—ten elite white-uniformed bodyguards and three CP0 agents—had been reduced to floating heads. Their bodies disintegrated from pure impact. Nothing remained but fragments and silence.
Blood misted the air.
Even their souls barely had time to realize they were dead.
The civilians gasped in horror.
Screams erupted. People scattered in every direction.
"RUN! AN ADMIRAL WILL COME!"
"GET OUT OF HERE!"
"It's a massacre!"
The Celestial Dragon, who had been laughing earlier, paused in confusion. He turned around.
"W-What happened?"
He saw the heads lying on the ground.
He turned forward—and saw Meruem, still slowly walking toward him, expression calm.
The Celestial Dragon panicked. His pudgy hands scrambled to his side where a gold-plated pistol was holstered. With trembling fingers, he pulled it out and fired.
Bang!
The bullet hit Meruem's chest—and bounced off harmlessly.
Another shot. Another.
Still nothing.
Meruem's body was built for war. A god's bullet meant nothing to him.
"D-Do you know who I am?!" the Celestial Dragon screeched, fear creeping into his voice.
"I—I'm a Celestial Dragon! A descendant of the gods! The World Government will punish you for this—God will punish you!"
He stumbled backward, tripping over the bubble machine behind him.
Meruem stopped just a few steps away, towering over him. His presence was immense, suffocating, divine in its own right.
"God?" Meruem whispered. "You? You think yourself a god?"
His words were ice. "I've faced gods. You're a maggot in royal clothing."
"No! Stay away!" the Celestial Dragon screamed, crawling backward.
Meruem raised his hand—and with a single, swift strike, the so-called "god" was obliterated. Bones shattered. Blood splattered across the ground. The scream died mid-breath.
The Celestial Dragon was dead.
The entire area descended into stunned silence.
Nearby, a News Coo—one of the seagulls that delivered newspapers—had been hovering. Its camera flashed as it caught the entire event from above.
The News Coo didn't linger long. With swift wings, it soared high into the clouds toward Big News Morgans, carrying with it the scoop of the decade.
Meanwhile, at the World Economy News Paper headquarters…
Morgans sat behind his massive desk, sipping coffee.
Suddenly, a den-den mushi buzzed.
"Sir! We just received footage… It's huge. A Celestial Dragon was—was—!"
Morgans stood, feathers ruffling with excitement.
"Speak clearly!"
"A Celestial Dragon was killed. In Sabaody. By a mysterious man. His bodyguards—CP0—all wiped out. We got photos. A News Coo saw the whole thing!"
Morgans stared, then burst into maniacal laughter.
"HA! HAAHAHA! THIS! THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!"
He slammed the table.
"BIG NEWS! THIS IS BIG NEWS!!!"
He grabbed a pen and began drafting the headlines himself.