Topman Warcury's smile lingered at the corner of his lips, but the cold glint in his eyes was clearly visible.
He leaned forward slightly, asking with a hint of mockery, "Did you think that after becoming an admiral, no one could control you anymore?"
The smile carried the unique arrogance of the Celestial Dragons, as if Jin-An was merely a somewhat overconfident pawn.
Jin-An didn't rush to respond, simply shaking his head lightly, his expression remaining calm.
His eyes were like a bottomless lake, with undercurrents surging, but the surface remained calm and still.
"This has nothing to do with becoming an admiral or not," he stated calmly, as if stating a fact, without any fluctuation.
Topman Warcury raised an eyebrow, looking at Jin-An with slight surprise.
The air seemed to freeze instantly, and everyone held their breath, waiting for Jin-An to continue.
Topman's smile gradually faded, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes, signaling Jin-An to proceed.
Jin-An's gaze remained fixed on Topman, without any evasion or fear, as if the Celestial Dragon before him was nothing special.
His voice was low and firm: "Power is merely an appendage dependent on strength. I am simply confident in my own strength."
These words landed like a heavy stone, stirring up invisible waves.
Jin-An's words were not intense, but the unwavering confidence made everyone present feel a jolt in their hearts.
Topman Warcury listened quietly, his eyes slightly narrowed.
On his face, which always wore a smile, a hint of coldness suddenly appeared, as if scrutinizing whether Jin-An had spoken too presumptuously.
However, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly again, revealing a smirk, with a hint of banter: "So, you are very confident in your strength?"
Jin-An didn't answer immediately, and the atmosphere on the scene solidified again.
The silence of a few seconds felt as long as suffocation.
This silence itself was a silent response, a confirmation that didn't need to be stated.
His silence revealed an unshakable belief, an unquestioning confidence in his own strength.
Topman Warcury stared at Jin-An, his eyes seeming to look straight into his heart through the surface, trying to find even a trace of wavering.
However, Jin-An still stood there, like a mountain, unmoving.
His back looked particularly stern, with an invisible sense of oppression, as if he could explode with shocking power at any time.
An unsettling silence filled the air, as if a storm was about to brew.
The surrounding guards and marines tried to hold their breath, not daring to make any moves during the confrontation between the two.
Unspeakable complex emotions flickered in Topman Warcury's eyes, while Jin-An remained silent, as if the whole world was irrelevant to him, and only the belief in his heart was unshakable.
Topman Warcury shook his head slightly, a hint of regret seeming to flash in his eyes, and sighed, "I originally had some goodwill towards you, and I said some good words for you in the internal talks of the Five Elders."
His tone seemed to carry a hint of regret, as if he genuinely felt sorry for Jin-An.
However, Jin-An knew that these words were just a hypocritical performance; Topman's regret was like crocodile tears, full of calculation and insincerity.
Jin-An sneered in his heart, looking at Topman coldly, without any reaction.
He saw it too clearly; such disguise was too easy to see through.
Seeing that he didn't respond, Topman's tone became more stern: "Now that I see you, you are indeed as they said, arrogant and disobedient, and most importantly—your origins are still a mystery!"
His words carried a hint of sharpness, as if trying to break Jin-An's confidence with these questions.
Upon hearing this, a faint smile appeared on Jin-An's face, his eyes full of disdain.
"Don't make it sound so high-sounding," his voice was low, but every word was like a heavy blow, hitting the air.
"Everything I have now has been earned with real swords and guns, and has nothing to do with you high-ranking figures," the mockery in his words was undisguised, carrying coldness and hostility towards the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.
He paused, as if to let the other party savor the weight of these words, and then said softly: "But, you must be feeling uncomfortable that I'm sitting in this position, right? After all, I escaped from 'God Valley'."
As soon as these words came out, it was like dropping a bombshell.
Topman Warcury's eyes narrowed slightly; he obviously didn't expect Jin-An to mention this matter so directly.
Even the Five Elders cautiously mentioned this secret existence, but Jin-An revealed it so lightly.
Although Topman's expression was calm, the fluctuations in his eyes betrayed his surprise.
The conversation between the two was like a sharp blade, cutting into the hearts of everyone present, stirring up滔天的波澜.
Those marines and guards standing beside them now all showed shocked expressions, their eyes full of disbelief.
They had never imagined that there was such a complex relationship between Jin-An and the Five Elders.
And what shocked them the most was the name "God Valley."
For the vast majority of people present, this name was completely unfamiliar.
They had never heard of such a place, let alone understand what its relationship with Jin-An was.
What secrets does God Valley hide?
Why do even the Five Elders care so much about it?
Even they, the people under the World Government, don't know, so they can know the weight of that place name.
Jin-An's words were like a heavy stone thrown into everyone's heart lake, stirring up countless waves.
Those people with flickering eyes were obviously already secretly calculating, trying to dig out some useful information from it.
However, Jin-An's gaze remained calm; he didn't care about these outsiders' conjectures.
Topman Warcury's expression was cold, and his gaze swept across the scene like a knife.
He stretched out his hand, casually pointed to Blackbeard, who was lying on the ground, barely breathing, and said in a flat tone: "I want to take this person away."
His words didn't carry a trace of emotion, as if he was just stating a trivial matter.
His voice seemed to carry an unquestionable power, as if everything he said was destiny, and no one dared to object.
This confidence came from the absolute authority he represented—the Five Elders, the symbol of the world's highest power.
The guards lowered their heads immediately upon hearing this, and a sense of fear rose instinctively in their hearts.
They were just small soldiers; how dare they say "no" to a figure like the Five Elders.
At this moment, all the guards were as quiet as chickens, afraid of attracting Topman's attention.
However, the reactions of the marines were different.
Although they didn't dare to easily disobey the orders of the Five Elders either, everyone quietly turned their gaze towards Jin-An.
Because Blackbeard was captured by Jin-An himself, and it could even be said that he alone suppressed the entire Impel Down rebellion.
The victory of this battle was Jin-An's glory and the capital that these marines were proud of.
Even if the other party was the Five Elders, the marines would not easily violate their inner judgment—they only looked at Jin-An's meaning.
Jin-An felt these gazes, but didn't respond immediately.
His eyes remained calm, looking at Topman Warcury indifferently, as if the other party's orders were just the sound of wind in his ears.
He knew that today's matter was not simple; it was not just a matter of the ownership of a traitor like Blackbeard, but also a challenge to his personal authority by the Five Elders.
Topman Warcury saw all of this in his eyes, a cold mockery flashing in his eyes.
He sneered in his heart: As expected, these marines are unreliable.
In the eyes of the Five Elders, the marines were just tools, and these tools dared to hesitate, and even dared to look at Jin-An for his opinion.
In his opinion, this behavior was extremely stupid, even carrying a hint of contempt.
"How laughable," Topman thought in his heart, a sneer appearing at the corner of his mouth.
He stood at the pinnacle of power, overlooking everything before him, like an emperor scrutinizing his subjects.
He didn't open his mouth to urge again, because he knew that Jin-An ultimately had no choice.
Jin-An stood quietly, the atmosphere around him seeming to be frozen.
Time seemed to stand still, and everyone's breathing became cautious, for fear of breaking the tense air. The marines held their breath, waiting for Jin-An's decision.
Finally, Jin-An smiled faintly, a smile in which you could not see a trace of emotional fluctuation.
He raised his eyes and said in a flat tone: "You can take him away, but he is still my prisoner, don't forget that."
Topman Warcury's eyes turned cold, and he was about to open his mouth to refute, but was interrupted by Jin-An's gaze.
In that gaze, there seemed to be endless sharpness, carrying an unspeakable sense of oppression, making Topman's heart tighten suddenly.
"This is not up to you," Topman Warcury's voice was lowered, carrying a hint of warning.
He was not used to being challenged, especially by a marine admiral who was just a pawn in his eyes.
Jin-An's smile remained unchanged, he took a step forward, stood in front of Topman, his eyes like electricity: "This person is my trophy, if you need it, bring me someone who meets my wishes."
"I'll trade with you."
...
