Retreat amid chaos! The Hachinosu squad's great victorious escape

When Lin Yuan stepped out of the door on the northern front, the situation on the battlefield had already changed subtly.

His Spatial Perception spread outward, laying everything within a two-kilometer radius before his mind. On the western front, Kaido's presence was still strong, like a blazing bonfire. Navy soldiers lay scattered all around him, but two formidable presences were approaching him: reinforcements at the rank of Navy Rear Admiral. On the southern front, Bullet and Kuma had joined up and were moving toward the central high ground, with seven or eight CP0 agents chasing them. The gap was widening. On the eastern front, well over half the civilians Kuma had rescued earlier had been moved to safety, though scattered civilians were still running toward the sea along the coastline.

On the central high ground, the main force of the Rocks Pirates had come ashore. Rocks himself had a presence like an abyss, profound and unfathomable, and was moving from the harbor toward the palace. Golden Lion and Whitebeard followed behind him. There was something unusual about Golden Lion's presence: the fluctuations of an ability that had yet to stabilize after he had just eaten the Press-Press Fruit. Whitebeard was much the same, with faint traces of vibration lingering around his fists.

From the direction of the palace, Garp's presence was rapidly approaching. His target was clear: the prize warehouse.

Lin Yuan withdrew his perception, frowning slightly.

"We're running out of time," he said quietly.

King stood beside him, the flames on his back burning steadily once more. Moria leaned against a tree, wounded all over but still able to stand.

"Kaido's still on the western front," King said.

"I know." Lin Yuan raised a hand and opened a door beside him. Beyond it was the battlefield on the western front, where Kaido stood facing two Navy Rear Admirals with an iron club over his shoulder. More than a hundred Navy soldiers lay on the ground, some unconscious, others still groaning.

"Kaido." Lin Yuan's voice carried through the door. "We're pulling out."

Kaido turned to glance at the door, then looked back at the two Rear Admirals in front of him. Both looked uneasy. They had just seen Kaido punch through a tree so thick it took a person's arms to encircle it.

"Wororororo..." Kaido laughed. "I was just starting to enjoy the fight."

"We got the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon. If we don't leave now, it'll be too late."

Kaido's eyes lit up. Those were the words he had been waiting for.

"All right." Kaido slung the iron club back over his shoulder and turned toward the door.

The two Rear Admirals exchanged a glance, hesitating over whether to pursue him. Kaido looked back at them and grinned.

"That's enough fighting for today. We'll fight again next time."

He stepped through the door, and it closed behind him.

On the western battlefield, only the wounded covering the ground and two Rear Admirals staring at each other remained.

Southern front.

Bullet and Kuma were striding through a thicket. The CP0 agents were still chasing them, but the distance had grown to more than fifty meters. Bullet was covered in blood, most of it other people's. A sword wound marked his forearm, left by his clash with a member of the Holy Knights. Kuma's suit was covered in dust and bullet holes, but he had suffered no major injuries.

"Still no signal from Lin Yuan?" Bullet asked.

"Soon," Kuma said.

No sooner had he spoken than a door opened out of thin air in front of them. Beyond it was Lin Yuan's location, at the edge of the woods on the northern front.

"Come in," Lin Yuan's voice called through the door.

Bullet and Kuma stepped through at the same time. By the time the CP0 agents behind them rushed up, the door had closed, leaving nothing but empty air.

"Where did they go?"

"They disappeared..."

"Bastards!"

Eastern front.

On the coast, Kuma—no, another Kuma—was using the Paw-Paw Fruit to send civilians flying. He moved quickly. With a palm to each civilian, he sent them soaring over the sea as if fired from a slingshot, toward distant Hachinosu. Ginny was receiving them on the other side, and with each person who flew over, another cry or word of thanks rose from the island.

"Next."

A woman carrying a baby approached, trembling all over, tears streaming down her face.

"Sir... will we... will we survive?"

Kuma looked at her and fell silent for a moment.

"Yes," he said. Then he raised his hand and gently patted the woman on the shoulder. She and the baby were enveloped in a mass of air and sent flying over the sea, quickly becoming a tiny speck.

Kuma kept sending them off. One after another, at an astonishing speed. He pushed the Paw-Paw Fruit's power to its limits: sending objects flying didn't take much force; precision was what mattered. He had to make sure every person landed on Hachinosu's beach instead of falling into the sea.

"Kuma." A door opened beside him, and Lin Yuan's voice came through. "How many are left?"

Kuma glanced at the civilians remaining along the coast. There were around fifty or sixty, mostly elderly people, women, and children.

"Fifty or sixty."

"Will you make it in time?"

"Yes."

Lin Yuan said nothing more, and the door closed. Kuma continued sending them off.

Five minutes later, the last group of civilians was sent flying. The coastline was empty, with only bloodstains and discarded belongings left behind.

Kuma turned and headed toward Lin Yuan.

Northern front.

Lin Yuan stood at the edge of the woods, facing a huge door, larger than any he had opened before. It was five meters high and three meters wide, and beyond it was Hachinosu's beach. Ginny stood on the beach, waving through the door.

Kaido, Bullet, King, and Moria were already standing by the door. Moria was wounded all over, with strips of cloth King had torn off wrapped around his shoulder. The bleeding had stopped. King stood beside him, the flames on his back flickering in the breeze. Kaido carried his iron club over his shoulder, still wearing the excitement of a fight left unfinished. Bullet wiped the blood from his arm, looking impatient.

"Kuma's not here yet?" Bullet asked.

"He's here," Lin Yuan said.

Deep in the woods, Kuma's tall figure emerged. His suit was covered in dust, and the pads on his palms were slightly red, a trace of his intensive use of the fruit's power. But his breathing was even and his steps steady, with no sign of fatigue.

"All the civilians are safe." Kuma walked up to the door. "Four hundred and thirty-seven people. I sent every one of them to Hachinosu."

Moria glanced at him, his lips moving, but no words came out. He himself had nearly died after just one fight on the northern front, while Kuma had saved more than four hundred civilians on his own and still made it to the northern front to back him up. The difference was obvious.

"Good work," Lin Yuan said, then glanced at everyone. "Is everyone here?"

"We're all here," King said.

"Then let's go."

Just as Lin Yuan was about to step through the door, his Spatial Perception suddenly detected two powerful presences rapidly approaching. One came from the central high ground, heavy as a mountain, its footfalls making the ground tremble with every step. The other came from the harbor, deep as an abyss, carrying a faint, almost imperceptible hint of amusement.

Garp. Rocks.

The two were heading this way almost simultaneously. They weren't coming for him: Garp's target was the prize warehouse, and so was Rocks's. But the northern front happened to lie between the warehouse and the palace, so passing through here was simply on their way.

Lin Yuan's pupils contracted slightly.

"Quick," he said. "Someone's coming."

All six stepped through the door. Lin Yuan went in last, standing by the doorway and looking back.

At the far end of the dense forest, Garp appeared. He wore a dog-head hat and had his hands in his pockets. He wasn't walking quickly, but each step carried him a long way. When he saw the huge door and Hachinosu's beach beyond it, he paused.

Their gazes met across the distance for an instant.

Garp narrowed his eyes.

Lin Yuan said nothing. He took a step back, and the door began to close.

Just as the door was about to shut completely, another figure emerged from the other side of the forest. Rocks. The hem of his black coat fluttered in the wind, with Golden Lion and Whitebeard following behind him. Golden Lion was floating in the air. He had already gained rudimentary use of the Press-Press Fruit's power; though it was unstable, he had no trouble making himself float. Whitebeard held his naginata, a faint white light flickering around his fist.

Rocks also paused when he saw the door closing. Through the narrowing gap, he saw Lin Yuan's face: young, calm, and expressionless.

Their gazes met for an instant as well.

The corners of Rocks's mouth lifted slightly. He neither pursued nor spoke.

The door closed completely. The air grew still again, as though the door had never existed.

Garp and Rocks turned at the same time and looked at each other.

Less than a hundred meters separated them.

Garp pulled his hands from his pockets. Rocks drew his hands from his coat pockets as well.

Golden Lion landed, and Whitebeard tightened his grip on his naginata. The air froze for an instant.

"Garp," Rocks said.

"Rocks," Garp said.

Neither moved.

Then Rocks smiled. It wasn't a broad grin, but a playful smile that sent a chill down the spine.

"A Spatial Ability User... troublesome." He turned and walked toward the palace. "Forget it. There are two more in the warehouse."

Garp watched him leave without pursuing. His targets on this trip were Roger and the prize warehouse, not Rocks. At least, not yet.

He turned as well and headed toward the warehouse.

The two went their separate ways.

Out at sea, on Hachinosu.

A door opened on the beach, and six people stepped out.

The sea breeze blew past, carrying the briny smell of the ocean. The sun was sinking in the west, dyeing the entire sea gold. The beach was packed with people: more than four hundred civilians. Some were crying, some laughing, some sat slumped on the ground with children in their arms, and others knelt on the sand, kowtowing.

Ginny stood in the middle of the crowd with a list in her hand, taking a headcount. The sea breeze had tousled her pink hair, and her eyes were red, but she wasn't crying. She had been waiting all along, asking each person sent over their name, where they came from, and whether they had been separated from any family.

"Four hundred and thirty-seven people." Ginny walked up to Lin Yuan, her voice a little hoarse. "They're all registered. More than thirty children can't find their parents, so I've put them up in the castle for now."

"Well done," Lin Yuan said.

Ginny took a deep breath and looked at the wounded people behind Lin Yuan, her lips trembling.

"You... you really did it."

"Yeah." Lin Yuan said no more. He turned to the civilians on the beach, his voice not loud, but clear enough for everyone to hear.

"This is Hachinosu. My territory. You're safe here. No one will take you back, and no one will kill you. Someone will arrange shelter and food for you. Rest for now. We'll talk tomorrow."

The civilians looked at him, and some began crying again. An old man rose shakily to his feet and bowed to him. Then a second, and a third. Soon, the beach was full of people standing and bowing.

Lin Yuan said nothing. He turned and walked inland.

Kaido followed behind him, his iron club dragging a long track through the sand.

"Kaido, come with me."

Kaido grinned.

"The Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon?"

"The Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon."

One behind the other, they headed toward the warehouse.

Behind them, the setting sun stretched their shadows long. Ginny stood on the beach, watching them go. She took a deep breath, then turned back to continue making arrangements for the civilians.

King helped Moria toward the infirmary. Kuma followed behind them in silence. Bullet went to the training ground alone and punched a wooden post, splitting it in two.

Night on Hachinosu had only just begun.

(End of chapter 41)