I used Slash and Dash at the same time to close the distance. I swung at his head, but he caught my blade on his saber and shoved me back, sending me skidding to where Luffy lay wounded.
"What did I say about not moving?" he snarled, turning back to Ace—and fired.
"Ace!!" Luffy screamed.
The bullet smacked the ground right next to Ace's head—it had veered off. Bluejam stared, shocked.
"Dadan!" Luffy shouted.
She was gripping his gun hand, forcing the muzzle aside. Bluejam blinked at her, confused.
"Stop it, you cretin! Let go of Ace!" she roared, swinging her poleaxe. He blocked with his saber, but the impact still shoved him back a few feet.
The mountain bandits rushed in from behind.
"What are you guys doing here?" Luffy asked.
Dogra, the turbaned bandit, scooped Luffy up. "You're hurt pretty bad, Luffy."
"Dogra…" Luffy rasped.
"I don't see Sabo," Dogra said.
"Sabo went home," I answered.
"You're the boss of the bandits at Mt. Colubo," Bluejam said.
"I'm the mountain bandit Dadan," she snapped. "I don't know why, but I'm their foster parent. I won't stand by and watch someone try to take my boys' lives—even if I'm not their real parent! Back away and I'll let you go. If you don't, I'll use violence."
"Try it, then," Bluejam sneered, calling her bluff.
"Oh yeah? Alright then—run!" Dadan barked over her shoulder.
"Yes, boss!" the bandits yelled.
"Ace, Sora—hurry!" Magra pulled at our arms.
"Ace, we're taking him," I said, eyes on Bluejam, tightening my grip on Shiro.
"Yeah." Ace shook free of Magra, iron pipe in hand.
"I… won't run," he said, staring at Bluejam and the raging flames.
"What're you saying, Ace?! Don't fight him! Bluejam's a real villain—he's not someone kids like you can beat!" Dogra shouted. Dadan looked back, startled at us both.
"Let me fight too," I said, shrugging off a bandit's hold.
"You all—take Luffy and go ahead!" Dadan ordered, smashing her poleaxe into the ground.
"I'll take responsibility for bringing Ace and Sora home," she added, stepping up beside us.
"BOSS!" the bandits cried.
"GO!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Now it was just me, Ace, and Dadan against this eight‑foot, ugly, balding man—while everything burned around us.
[DING][PASSIVE UPGRADED] Heat Resistance → Burn Resistance
Small burns stung less. I pulled a hot breath and let it out slow.
"A woman and two kids. Overestimate yourselves and you get hurt. Only the strong and the cowardly survive wars—the brave always die," Bluejam said, smiling.
"Is that so? Then you're pretty brave," I muttered—and we rushed him.
"Fools," he said, leveling the gun, still smiling as he fired.
I dashed and caught the first bullet on Shiro, but the impact knocked me back. He fired again at Ace—Dadan stepped in, took the hit on her shoulder, and kept charging, poleaxe chopping down. Bluejam met it with his saber. Ace took the opening and cracked him across the brow with the iron pipe. Blood ran down Bluejam's face.
"That hurt, kid."
"This will, too." I slipped behind him with Sneak and slashed. It didn't cut him in half, but it was a deep cut, blood splattered.
He spun. I blocked on instinct—the force slammed me into the ground. My vision flashed white.
"Sora!!!" Ace roared. He leapt and smashed the pipe into Bluejam's skull, knocking him into the fire.
"Sora, you alright?" Ace shook me from the daze.
"Yeah. I'll be fine—just a little bleeding."
Dadan jogged up. "Is it over?"
"I think so" I said breathing heavy.
A flaming figure staggered out of the blaze, face half‑melted—Bluejam. "Treasure!" he croaked, then collapsed, burning.
[DING][QUEST COMPLETED] Bluejam is defeated
I ignored the other messages for later.
"Let's get out of here." We ran, but the fire was a wall. "I'll lead—stay close!" Dadan ordered. She carved a path through the flames; we followed, coughing smoke. We finally broke out at the edge of Gray Terminal—Dadan was badly hurt, her sleeve charred and stuck to a burned shoulder, blood running down to her elbow. I looked back at the inferno.
"DAMN!" someone screamed in the distance. "I'm a dead man! The fire's everywhere! How did this happen all of a sudden? It's hot—it's hot! There's no way out! AHHHHHH!"
People inside Gray Terminal were losing hope as their world burned. The wind rose—hard—shoving the flames aside. Boom—a cyclone‑like blast punched a path through fire and junk straight to the shore.
"What just happened?"
"There's a path! The explosion left a path!"
"Oye, the path leads to the shore! I see a ship!" someone yelled. "We're saved! Go before the flames return!" Survivors sprinted for the waterline.
On the ship, a broad‑shouldered, hooded figure spoke. "How awful—to burn a place where people live. But how did you know about the situation in an outlying country of the East Blue? Is there something special about this place?"
A green‑hooded figure answered, "This country is an example of the world's future. There can be no happiness in a world where the 'undesirables' are thrown away. Someday, I will change the world."
He stepped forward toward the survivors gathering at the shore. "Those willing to fight for freedom—come aboard."