The Six-Minute Well

He will go in person this time.

Shanks had barely finished speaking when Garling turned around.

At the end of the steps on the outer ring of the Holy Land, the white-haired old man's cloak swept across the stone steps, and his long sword made a short, metallic sound in its sheath.

Luffy panicked.

"He's going to capture those nine people!"

Nami stood outside the back gate of the coating factory, holding Dan's stretcher, and looked up to call out.

"Don't move, Chopper is still bandaging you."

Luffy looked at the wound on his arm, then looked up at the Sky Screen.

"Six minutes."

Robin spoke.

"Luffy, if you go there now, the Straw Hat's coordinates will be exposed to the Maintenance Well."

Shanks continues.

"I'll stop Garling."

Benn Beckman looked at his hands.

Your wound is still bleeding.

Shanks slung the sword over his shoulder.

"You can stop it even if it's flowing."

Yasopp on the mast, aiming at the outer ring of the Holy Land.

The wind has shifted.

Lucky Roux kicked the ammunition box to his feet.

"Then fire a few more shots."

Sky Screen notice.

[Red-Haired Shanks requests permission to enter the battlefield.]

[Risk: The Figarland bloodline record may be reverse-locked by the Holy Knights.]

Shanks said.

"Catch."

Benn Beckman frowned.

"Captain."

Shanks watched Garling's retreating figure.

"If he goes to the Medical Department, the Scrap Platform will be caught in the middle."

On the Scrap Platform, Bonney handed Lumi to Dr. Eve.

"Let's go back."

Dr. Eve grabbed her.

"Lumi can no longer join the Old Wing."

Lumi shook her head.

"I can lead the way."

Bonney crouched down.

"No, you just invalidated the Old Transfer Order."

Lumi pointed to the Golden Light interface on her chest.

"It's telling me the way; the people below are as cold as I am."

The bear remained silent for a moment.

"I'll take her with me, but I won't let her in."

Sabo asked.

How to do it?

The bear answered.

She gave us directions, and I saw us off.

The Little Bear stood next to the bear.

I'll go too.

Vegapunk shouted.

"Little Bear, your breastplate hasn't been repaired yet."

The Little Bear looked at Lumi.

"Cold, scared."

Lumi whispered.

"I'm not afraid."

The Little Bear shook its head.

"I'm scared."

Bonney paused for a moment, then touched its sunken chest.

"Then let's be afraid together, and let's go together."

Words fall from the Sky Screen.

[The Medical Department Old Wing's rescue team has been temporarily formed.]

[Members: Bartholomew Kuma, Jewelry Bonney, Sabo, Little Bear.]

[Lumi provides remote route sensing.]

Shanks requests to intercept Garling.

[The Straw Hat Pirates was responsible for cleaning up the evacuation from Sabaody.]

Luffy patted his Straw Hat.

What can I do?

Robin said.

"You read the index."

Luffy was stunned.

"I?"

Robin nodded.

"The Maintenance Well is a fragment of the original rules. Straw Hat segmentation can help it avoid error checks, but you can't hand over the coordinates."

Nami asked urgently.

How do you read it?

Robin looked at the magnified Inner Compartment patterns on the Sky Screen.

"Read only the complement meaning, not the coordinate meaning."

Luffy winked.

"I'll do as you say."

Usopp muttered to himself.

"Luffy hearing someone read Ancient Script, that's a really rare sight."

"Zoro said."

Don't get distracted.

Sanji looked at the laborers who were still not completely evacuated.

"Let's clean this place up."

Akainu gave the order from headquarters.

"Kizaru, could you send a beam of light to the Medical Department Old Wing?"

Kizaru sat on the ground, holding his forehead.

"I'll deliver just a short piece, then I'll truly lie down."

The Sengoku Period.

Don't be a show-off.

Kizaru chuckled.

"The Fleet Admiral has been basking in the limelight for so long, it's only fair that it's my turn too."

Akainu looked at him.

"Send it to Xiong and the others, not to Garling."

Kizaru raised his hand.

"Of course."

On the outer edge of the Holy Land, Garling noticed the change in the path of light and paused for a moment.

Shanks appeared about ten steps in front of him, illuminated by the Golden Light of the Sky Screen.

It wasn't a complete leap, but rather a battlefield projection held back by the Sky Screen, yet the sword's edge carried a tangible killing intent.

Garling looked at him.

"Red-Hair, you're using a projection to block me."

Shanks said.

"Stop them first."

Garling draws his sword.

"One step is enough for me to kill you."

Shanks also drew his sword.

"Give it a try."

The two swords clashed across the Sky Screen, causing several fine cracks to appear on the stone steps surrounding the Holy Land ground.

On the deck of the Red Hair Pirates, the wooden plank beneath Shanks' feet shattered again, and Benn Beckman reached out to steady the mast.

Benn Beckman said.

He's draining you.

Shanks returns.

"I'm stalling him too."

Below the Medical Department Old Wing, the bear's paw-like ability propelled the rescue team to the entrance of a narrow shaft.

An old metal plaque remains on the wall, the lettering scraped off.

Bonney supports Lumi's remote image.

Which way?

Lumi sat on the metal crate of the Scrap Platform, with Eve standing beside her.

Her eyes were closed, and the Golden Light on the interface on her chest flickered.

"It's cold on the left, and even colder on the right."

Sabo looked at the two passageways.

Which side is that?

Lumi frowned.

There's someone on the right.

The bear immediately turned to the right.

The Little Bear followed behind, its paws pressed against the wall.

"Cold."

Bonney asked.

"You can feel it too?"

The Little Bear nodded.

"Similar."

Sabo's face darkened.

"Don't tell me it's nine small Control Body."

Vegapunk rapidly flipped through the documents on Future Island.

"Not necessarily. Refrigerated hibernation could be a survival trait from experiments, or it could be a failed adaptation."

Bonney gritted her teeth.

"We'll save them anyway."

Countdown to the Sky Screen Curtain

[5 minutes and 20 seconds.]

The sound of a mechanical lock starting could be heard from deep within the shaft.

[The old system has been re-frozen to preheat the program.]

Lumi suddenly clutched her chest.

Dr. Eve helped her up.

"Pain?"

Lumi shook her head.

There's a knock at the door.

Bonney stopped.

"Who?"

Lumi opened her eyes.

"The people inside."

The bear raised its paw, its paw pads gently pushing aside the air in front of it.

A round refrigerated door appeared in the Golden Light. The door had no number on it, only nine Blank slots.

Sabo looked up at the Sky Screen.

"Conditions for opening the door."

[The names of nine registered individuals are required to be confirmed for the cold storage facility.]

[Current status: Nine objects are dormant and cannot be actively confirmed.]

Bonney cursed out loud.

"It's that weird rule again."

The Little Bear sticks its hand to the door.

"Wake."

Vegapunk shouted.

"We can't force the temperature up; it will hurt them."

The bear asked.

Can a fleshy ball repel cold air?

Vegapunk was stunned.

"Theoretically, it's possible, but you can't handle nine people jumping out at the same time."

Bonney said immediately.

"I'll divide it."

Sabo also spoke up.

"I'll divide it."

The Little Bear raises its paw.

"I also."

The bear looked at the nine Blank slots inside the door.

"Let them live first."

Sky Screen notice.

[Cold peeling can be tried.]

[The risk is that the pain from the stripped-out low-temperature sensation must be absorbed.]

Bonney reached out her hand.

"Come."

Sabo also extended his hand.

Don't exclude me.

The Little Bear stood in the middle.

"Accept."

The bear's paw pressed against the refrigerator door.

A white cloud of gas was slowly ejected from the crack in the door, splitting into three streams that fell towards Bonney, Sabo, and the Little Bear.

Bonney bit her lip, her shoulders trembling slightly.

White frost formed on the back of Sabo's hand.

The Little Bear's chest armor made a soft cracking sound.

Lumi shouted from the Scrap Platform.

"I can get a share too!"

Dr. Eve hugged her.

"No."

Lumi cried out.

"They won't wake up."

The bear opened its mouth.

"Lumi, you're in charge of calling out names."

Lumi gasped for breath.

But I don't know their names.

Robin's voice came from the Sky Screen.

"They can choose their own names after they wake up; we'll give them temporary names for now."

Luffy, holding his Straw Hat, followed Robin's lead.

"The gate recognizes those Bearer, not those who shed blood."

The Straw Hat's gold pattern lit up, but Robin covered the coordinates.

Robin continued.

If the crowd refuses, the king will have nowhere to go.

Luffy repeated).

If the crowd refuses, the king will have nowhere to go.

The nine Blank slots on the refrigerator door glowed faintly.

[Original complement access.]

Unregistered users can be temporarily woken up.

Bonney looked at the door.

"Hey, you inside, wake up."

Sabo said.

Someone will be waiting for you outside.

The Little Bear was pressed against the door.

"It's not cold anymore."

Lumi shouted at the Sky Screen.

"I'm Lumi, I've come out of the Cold Storage Room, you all come out too."

A soft sound came from inside the door.

Then came the second sound.

Third tone.

Bonney almost burst into tears.

"They heard it."

The countdown has three minutes and forty seconds left.

On the outer edge of the Holy Land, Shanks' projection was slashed back half a step by Garling's sword.

On the deck of the Red Hair Pirates, Shanks bent his knees slightly, then regained his balance.

Benn Beckman raised his gun.

"That's enough, it's my turn."

Shanks shook his head.

"Not there yet."

Garling said.

You can't hold out for six minutes.

Shanks returns.

"There are a little over three points left."

Garling's sword strikes quickened.

That's enough.

A notification suddenly appeared in the Sky Screen.

[Garling uses Commander-level Judgment to suppress.]

[Target: Medical Department Old Wing Rescue Team.]

Shanks' expression changed.

He bypassed me.

Garling said coldly.

"You're just a side branch."

Inside the Medical Department's corridor, the Golden Light on the refrigerated doors was covered by black patterns.

[Trial suppression access.]

Those who are not registered will not be rescued.

Bonney screamed angrily.

"Who said that!"

The bear's paws were still pressed against the door.

"I refuse."

The flames melted away a layer of the frost on Sabo's arm.

"The Revolutionary Army refused."

The Little Bear's voice is choppy.

"Little Bear, no."

Lumi cried out.

"Lumi refuses!"

Luffy grabbed his Straw Hat and shouted.

"I refuse too!"

Robin said urgently.

"Luffy, just recite the supplementary meaning, don't reveal the coordinates."

Luffy nodded.

"I know."

He stared at the Sky Screen and shouted each word carefully.

"The gate recognizes those Bearer, not those who shed blood."

"If the king alone opens the flame, the old fire will backfire."

"The Laugher arrived, and the door opened halfway."

"Everyone Has Arrived, the doors were all opened."

All nine Blank slots lit up simultaneously.

The refrigerator door was ajar.

Garling's Judgment Black Mark pressed down once more.

[Unregistered materials are considered unclaimed during the trial by the commander-in-chief.]

A Q&A session popped up on the Sky Screen.

[Urgent Q&A]

Can unregistered survivors be defined as unclaimed material?

[A, Yes, an unnamed file is unclaimed.]

[B, Okay, the assets frozen in the Holy Land will belong to the Throne.]

[C, No, not registered does not mean anonymous.]

[D, No, and referring to underage survivors based on materials constitutes secondary destruction of evidence.]

Bonney yelled.

"D!"

Lumi shouted.

"D!"

Luffy shouted even louder.

"D!"

Akainu pressed down.

"D."

The dragon pressed down.

"D."

Shanks looked at Garling.

"D."

The Sky Screen was revealed.

[Correct answer: D.]

[The pressure of trial has been weakened.]

[Nine unregistered survivors were granted the right to choose temporary names.]

Inside the refrigerator door, the first tiny hand emerged from the mist.

Bonney grabbed that hand.

"Come out."

A child opened his eyes; his lips were purple.

"Can I call you Ami?"

Bonney nodded.

"Able."

Words fall from the Sky Screen.

[Ami, register.]

The second child was carried out by Sabo.

My name is Nuo.

[Yes, register.]

The Little Bear carried out the third child from the doorway.

"Name?"

The child had his fingers curled up.

"Tata."

[Tata, register.]

Two minutes left on the countdown.

One name after another was called out.

[Xi'er, register.]

[Malu, register.]

[Joe, register.]

[An, registration.]

[Bei'er, register.]

The last child did not wake up for a long time.

The bear continued to expel the cold, and white frost formed on its shoulders.

Bonney's voice trembled with anxiety.

"Wake up, we're still waiting for you."

Lumi cried out on the Scrap Platform.

"Wake up! There's the sea outside!"

The child's eyelids twitched.

"Ocean?"

Luffy approached the Sky Screen.

"Yes, there's the sea, and meat."

Nami facepalmed.

"You're talking about meat now?"

The child's lips twitched slightly.

My name is Hai.

[Sea, registration.]

The refrigerator door is fully open.

[Registration of nine survivors has been completed.]

[The refreezing process has been aborted.]

In the well corridor, Bonney sat on the ground, holding Ami, who had woken up first, in her arms.

Sabo carried the two children on his back.

The Little Bear was also holding one in its arms, protected tightly by a mechanical arm.

The bear looked up at the Sky Screen.

"Evacuate."

Red letters lit up the Sky Screen.

[Warn.]

[Figarland Garling has arrived at the entrance to the Medical Department Old Wing.]

In the outer ring of the Holy Land, Garling's original spot is now empty.

Shanks' projection was interrupted in mid-air.

Benn Beckman's face darkened.

"He used the trial to suppress and obscure movement."

At the entrance to the Medical Department's well corridor, the scabbard of a long sword struck the ground.

Garling's voice came from the darkness.

"Red-Hair couldn't stop me."

Bonney hugged the child tightly and looked up at the end of the passage.

The bear shielded everyone behind it.

The Little Bear also stood next to him.

Sabo gripped the hose tightly, and flames ignited in his palm.

Garling stepped into the Golden Light, his gaze sweeping over the nine children who had just received names.

"It's too late to register."

He drew his knife.

"Trial begins."