Finally, the child couldn't hold on any longer.
"Daddy—!"
He screamed as he fell from the tree.
"It's alright! I'll catch you!"
The father threw himself forward, landing on a thorny bush on the ground.
Thud—!!!
Dozens of thorns pierced through the father's body.
The child landed on the "cushion" made by his father's body.
Though still injured, at least his life was spared.
The father struggled to lift his head, looking at the child in his arms and forcing a comforting smile:
"It's okay... Daddy's here..."
Then his head tilted to the side, and he stopped breathing.
Sommers watched this scene, shaking his head with feigned regret:
"Ah, how touching. A father's love is truly great."
After shooting the child dead, he turned his horse around and left, humming a tune.
...
Meanwhile, at the island's coastline, all the Marines had returned to their warships.
The Marine officer was taking a headcount:
"Is everyone accounted for?"
The squad leader saluted:
"Yes, sir! Of course!"
But his eyes searched through the crowd.
That Dragon... where exactly did he go?
Could it be... he went into the island?
The squad leader's heart sank.
He knew Dragon's personality—that young Marine had an almost stubborn commitment to "justice."
Having witnessed everything happening on the island, he couldn't possibly remain indifferent.
"I hope he doesn't do anything foolish..." the squad leader prayed in his heart.
...
Along the way, Dragon discovered a small group of surviving slaves hiding in a cave.
Outside the cave, a Celestial Dragon had already found them.
"Found them, found them!" the Celestial Dragon exclaimed excitedly. "A ten-thousand-point Buccaneer!"
He raised his gun, aiming at the largest child in the cave—Bartholomew Kuma.
The slaves inside the cave were completely unaware.
They were listening to a speech by a big-headed boy with purple hair—Little Ivankov.
Little Ivankov stood on a rock, waving his arms passionately:
"Surviving in this foul game is nothing but a fool's dream!"
"But if we unite, we might create a miracle!"
"We must escape this game! Let's escape this place together!"
His speech inspired many.
Some slaves who had been despairing felt hope rekindle in their eyes.
Hiding behind a tree, Dragon was moved by these words:
"Do they still hold hope?"
But at that moment—
The Celestial Dragon outside the cave had already raised his gun, aiming at Kuma.
Just as the Celestial Dragon was about to pull the trigger—
Bang!
A gunshot rang out.
But it wasn't Kuma who fell—it was the Celestial Dragon.
The Celestial Dragon stared wide-eyed, disbelief in his expression as he looked at the tranquilizer dart in his chest, then everything went black as he collapsed.
Not far away, Dragon lowered his gun, cold sweat beading on his forehead:
"Oh no, I acted without thinking..."
But Dragon felt no regret.
He watched the surviving slaves in the cave, listened to Little Ivankov's inspiring speech, and felt an inexplicable emotion surge within him.
An unnoticed crisis had just been averted.
Yet the Celestial Dragons' hunt continued endlessly on the island.
This unstoppable evil game seemed determined to persist until the last slave fell.
But just then—
BOOM——!!!!
Deafening explosions erupted from the eastern side of the island!
Followed by a second, then a third...
Everyone on the island—Celestial Dragons, slaves, Marines, God's Knights—looked up in shock toward the east.
"Hey, the eastern side of the island!"
"What's happening?!"
"Enemy attack?!"
Exclamations rose one after another.
The next moment, heart-rending screams came through the broadcast:
"It's the Rocks Pirates!!"
"And that's not all! All the major pirates are attacking one after another!!"
In the eastern waters of God Valley, the massive fleet of the Rocks Pirates surged forth like a tidal wave!
Thirty ferocious giant battleships cut through the waves.
The flag of the Rocks Pirates flapped noisily atop the masts.
On the main ship's deck, Rocks stood at the prow.
Behind him stood all the officers of the Rocks Pirates—
Whitebeard, Golden Lion Shiki, Raiver, Charlotte Linlin, Kaido, Silver Axe, John...
"That island ahead—" Rocks pointed at God Valley:
"Shakky is there! There are mountains of treasure! There are Devil Fruits!"
"I know you all have your own agendas, and I know none of you submit to anyone else.
But killing each other here won't do any good—the treasure hasn't been secured, and Shakky hasn't been rescued yet!"
"So I propose—we cooperate temporarily! After we take this island, we'll split the spoils equally when we return!"
"No objections, you bastards!"
Merman Officer Babel: "The treasure can be divided, the Devil Fruits can be divided, but Shakky... she absolutely cannot be divided."
"Jeehahaha!" Golden Lion Shiki laughed maniacally as he leaped onto the ship's rail:
"Well said! There's only one Shakky—whoever contributes the most will surely win her favor!"
Silver Axe snorted coldly, his giant axe resting on his shoulder:
"Right, and on that point, I absolutely won't yield!"
"Bullshit!" John spat: "Shakky would only fancy someone who amasses lots of treasure! Like me!"
Whitebeard held his Cloud Cutter, his deep laughter rumbling:
"Gurarara... Suit yourselves. I'm just worried about Shakky's safety as a friend.
But if she were to fall for me, that wouldn't be bad either."
"What do you mean by that, Newgate?" Stussy spoke up.
Raiver stood by the ship's rail, not participating in the debate over Shakky's ownership.
Just moments ago, the system had issued a mission.
"Ding! Temporary Mission: Hunt 200 Celestial Dragons!"
"Mission Reward: Supreme Conqueror Haki!"
Supreme Conqueror Haki—this was exactly what he needed most right now.
The battle at Mary Geoise had made him acutely aware that to confront a monster of Imu's caliber, he must cultivate his Conqueror Haki to its peak.
Just then, Long Bread suddenly spoke:
"Huh? Wang Zhi didn't come? So he stayed on the island."
Only then did everyone notice that Wang Zhi was indeed absent.
This veteran officer who usually always followed Rocks had surprisingly not joined the expedition this time.
"Probably got scared." Silver Axe said disdainfully.
Charlotte Linlin licked her lips, letting out a mocking laugh:
"Mamamamama... You fools, even if you fight until the heavens and earth turn upside down, Shakky won't look back or spare you a second glance. There's already someone in her heart."
Kaido, however, was more concerned with practical matters:
"Linlin, are you really giving me the Devil Fruit?"
Just as everyone was arguing incessantly, the Marines at God Valley had already reacted.
Piercing alarm sirens blared across the island as all warships turned their cannons, aiming at the approaching fleet of the Rocks Pirates.
"Fire—!!"
"Don't let the pirates land!"
"Protect the Celestial Dragons!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!!!
All warships fired simultaneously, hundreds of cannonballs roaring through the air like a black storm!
Faced with such scale of bombardment, an ordinary pirate crew would likely have suffered heavy losses in the first volley.
But the Rocks Pirates were no ordinary pirate crew.
"Hmph."
Rocks snorted coldly and drew the Black Blade at his waist.
With a single horizontal slash—
Whoosh—
Where the blade passed, an invisible storm of Sword Qi erupted violently!
The Sword Qi storm collided with the rain of cannonballs in mid-air!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!!!
Continuous explosions resounded across the sea and sky!
The Marines' first bombardment had been completely neutralized.
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