Town

After his anger subsided, Rocks sank into regret again. Gritting his teeth, he said,

"Damn it! I should've just eaten it back then!"

Hearing that, Charlotte Linlin shrugged and said,

"Captain, calm down first. If this keeps up, our people will all be knocked unconscious by you. We've got a hard battle tomorrow."

The others nodded in agreement. In his fury just now, Rocks had unleashed a terrifying wave of Conqueror's Haki. Its strength went without saying. Although there were no weaklings among the Rocks Pirates, some lower-ranking crew members still couldn't endure it and fainted.

Rocks disdainfully shook his head and said,

"Tch! Anyone who passes out from something like that is trash. They're not worth caring about!"

Linlin did not argue, merely saying,

"Well, true."

Shiki and the others neither agreed nor disagreed. They believed in the law of the strong ruling over the weak. They simply did not care whether the weak lived or died.

Newgate frowned. As someone who valued his companions, he found their behavior deeply unpleasant. He wanted more and more to leave the Rocks Pirates.

Among this group, Newgate was the most levelheaded. After pondering for a moment, he said,

"Though we don't know who spread the news a while ago, one thing is certain: the World Government must know the information was leaked. They should already be taking precautions. This time, our enemies will likely include not only the Divine Knights on the island, but the Marines as well."

Although he knew Newgate had long intended to leave, Rocks still valued him greatly. It couldn't be helped—Newgate was powerful enough. Who wouldn't like talent like that?

Rocks had calmed down as well. He tapped the table with his fingers, then slowly raised his head after a while, a wicked smile curling across his lips.

"Perfect. We should've had a decisive battle with the World Government long ago. After this battle, I'll be the undisputed king of the world!"

God Valley.

A magnificent palace stood at the center of God Valley. It had originally been the royal palace of God Valley's King, but the Celestial Dragons had forcibly requisitioned it. As for the King, he had long since died beneath the sword of the Commander of the Divine Knights, Saint Figarland Garling.

Garling was currently wiping down the sword in his hand. It had been stained with plenty of filthy, lowborn blood today, and he had to clean it thoroughly.

His brow was slightly furrowed, as though something weighed on his mind. Even the motions of wiping his sword seemed distracted.

As a Celestial Dragon among Celestial Dragons, there was little in this world that could trouble him.

But tonight, he had used his privileges to do something that violated the rules of the game.

He stared blankly at the sword in his hand and muttered,

"So I cheated in the end. But I needed a reason to take you in. Leave the rest to fate."

The next morning,

Gigue was the first to open his eyes. He sprang up from the ground and woke Ivan and the other two, who were still asleep, saying,

"It's time to go. Those people will start hunting soon. We need to hurry and find the Devil Fruits!"

With that, Gigue took the lead and ran deep into the forest, with Kuma and the other two close behind.

They had not chosen to move under cover of night because the island was already filled with Den Den Mushi used to monitor slaves. Many people also knew nothing about the Devil Fruits and chose to rest once night fell.

If Gigue and the others acted then, they would seem far too suspicious. After all, they had been fleeing all day—if they didn't rest in the middle of the night and instead sneaked around, what else could they be trying to do? Once the watchers noticed them, they would be completely finished.

Not long after the four left, gunshots began ringing out one after another. Some unlucky slaves who had overslept from sheer exhaustion went to sleep forever.

Gigue turned a deaf ear to the sounds behind him, focusing entirely on finding the Devil Fruits.

He remembered that in the manga, the Devil Fruits had been in a place with buildings around it. Since a country had originally existed on God Valley, that scene should have been set in a town. His goal, then, was to find that town first.

After running for who knew how long, Gigue and the others were met by a burst of blinding sunlight, signaling that they had reached the edge of the forest.

Beyond the forest, a town appeared before them. Gigue was instantly overjoyed. This was practically the final circle in a battle royale game! He quickly called for Kuma and the others to run toward the town.

Gigue's group of four was not the only one to arrive. Many other slaves had followed them here, most of them stirred by Ivan's speech earlier and staying close to Gigue's group.

The more people there were, the bigger the target. Gigue naturally understood that, but he did not choose to shake them off. In fact, the closer they got to the town gate, the slower he moved. Though they had originally been at the front, other slaves gradually passed them.

Ivan noticed and asked in confusion,

"Gigue-chan, why did you stop? Is your body acting up again?"

Gigue nodded and softly said,

"Yeah. I didn't expect it to flare up again at such a critical moment. Sorry for holding you back."

Ivan immediately said,

"What are you talking about? We're friends! There's no such thing as holding each other back!"

Kuma and Ginny followed up as well,

"Big Brother Gigue, didn't you refuse to leave me behind yesterday? I know you were waiting for me then too. Let me carry you now! I'm strong, so carrying you won't affect me at all!"

"Yeah! Big Brother Gigue, it's fine if we're slower. Even if we die, we'll die together!"

Gigue waved his hand and said with a smile,

"What are you talking about? Why are you talking about dying? We'll definitely survive. Besides..."

Before he could finish, dense gunfire suddenly erupted from within the town, along with the sounds of blades cutting into flesh. Screams followed immediately after.

Ivan's expression changed as he cried out,

"Oh no! There's an ambush in the town!"

Gigue, however, remained much calmer. A nearly imperceptible smile appeared on his lips as he thought,

Just as I expected.

No matter how stupid those Celestial Dragons were, they should have known to set up defenses in advance in a place like this. After all, what if some lucky bastard stumbled upon a Devil Fruit and ate it?

The current situation proved that Devil Fruits had to be stored in the town!

And he had deliberately slowed down so the other slaves could enter first and scout the way. The first bird out gets shot, after all.

Now that the situation had been confirmed, all he needed to do was use his small size to blend into the crowd and rush into town.

Though they knew there was an ambush in town, many people no longer dared to charge inside. But the Celestial Dragons behind them were gradually closing in, leaving them no other choice but to bite the bullet and rush forward.

Gigue shouted at Kuma, who was still standing there in a daze,

"Kuma, keep your head down later! You're too big of a target!"

According to the original plot, Kuma should have safely won in the end. But as always, to avoid any possible butterfly effect, Gigue could not help reminding him.

Kuma nodded vigorously. Hunching over, he blended into the crowd with Gigue and the others as they poured into the town.