Doug's Resolve

Saintess Island was in chaos.

When the Buster Call warships were spotted, they were already only about fifty li from Saintess Island. At that distance, they would arrive in less than half an hour.

"Quick! Move!"

"We have to evacuate immediately!"

"How were we discovered? And at a time like this! The last supply run was a month ago, wasn't it? No one has left the island recently!"

"And no unfamiliar ships have come near us..."

"Could it be the Saintess..."

"What kind of stupid nonsense is that?! How could the Saintess not know she was being followed?!"

"Sure enough, directly attacking the Celestial Dragons was too impulsive..."

"Bastard! Are you blaming the Saintess?!"

All kinds of shouts blended together. The Revolutionary Army members who had received the alert hurried toward the ships at the docks, mixed among many panicked, bewildered children running along with the group.

Over the past few years, Sapphire had not only rescued many slaves, but also taken in many children.

The oldest were around ten, while the youngest were only two or three. They were all orphaned drifters, in circumstances similar to what she and Jellal had once faced. Sapphire had given these orphans the home that she and Jellal had longed for most, teaching them to read and write, as well as the basics of cultivation.

Her body transformed into something as light as snow, and a pair of snowy-white wings sprouted from her arms. Gently flapping as she floated in the air, she "watched" the group move toward the docks, searching for anyone left behind.

Some of what happened below made her frown slightly. Disaster revealed people's true nature. Some Revolutionary Army members saw the children in the group and immediately grabbed several of them to sprint ahead faster, while others deliberately fell behind to maintain order.

But some only cared about fleeing for their own lives. Worse still, when children blocked their way, they roughly shoved them aside or even knocked them down, sometimes cursing at them in the process!

It was not as though she did not know that the slaves captured by Slave Ships came from all walks of life. Some had been vicious pirates before their capture. Some had chosen to follow her with other motives in mind, even wanting to turn her into "the Captain of a powerful Pirate Crew." They had always resented her focus on attacking only Slave Ships, let alone her outrageously bold act of attacking the Celestial Dragons.

She had considered purging the group, but in the end, she could not bring herself to do it. No one had pushed her to establish the Revolutionary Army; it had truly been her own decision. She had hoped to guide everyone in this way, but now it seemed that perhaps there had not been enough time, or perhaps...

"I really don't have that kind of ability."

With her helping from the air, every member of the Revolutionary Army was quickly transferred onto the ships at the docks amid the chaos.

There were not actually many of them. Including the children, there were only a little over three hundred people. They called themselves the Revolutionary Army, but without Sapphire, they were more like a disorderly rabble. One captured giant Slave Ship could hold them all. Using a Buster Call against them was practically like using cannons to kill mosquitoes.

"Quick! Quick! Turn the helm! Set sail!"

"There's no time! We're not going to make it!"

Ten steel behemoths had appeared at the edge of their vision, their cannons aimed at them!

"We're not going to make it!" On the other side, Miya looked somewhat disheveled as she stood at the bow beside Figo, her expression grave. "What do we do? We're still about a hundred li from Witch Island, but the Buster Call warships are probably almost there already!"

The weather in the New World changed without warning. Figo, who had left the Calm Belt for the first time, had finally witnessed its strangeness. The storm had arrived without any sign, and even he had reacted a little too slowly. Stranger still, despite the wind and rain, there had not been a single rain cloud in the sky. He had wanted to try cutting it apart with his sword, but there was nothing to cut. They could only lose two hours of travel time.

Navigation: 11212

Level 4, Navigation Expert!

Figo's Navigation level was actually quite high, one of the few abilities he had above Level 4. After all, pirates who went out to sea generally knew a little about navigation. It was like Physique—everyone had it, so the drop rate was too high.

But for now, that number was still hollow. No knowledge of navigation had been directly imparted into Figo's mind. Just as gaining benefits from swordsmanship would let him improve rapidly with divine assistance when he practiced with a blade afterward, the benefits from Navigation probably needed extensive practice before they could become practical gains.

Perhaps... he also needed to read some books on navigation? Figo gave it a little thought. Unexplained changes in the weather really did waste time!

Now, they could only...

"I'll go on ahead," Figo said.

Miya froze for a moment, then nodded. "All right. I'll give you a push. Be careful, Figo."

She crossed her hands before her chest, and a giant palm grew out from the deck behind her. The palm raised toward the sky—Flower Giant Wheel!

Figo jumped onto it. The hand sank slightly, then spun down with even greater speed and tremendous force, launching Figo like a cannonball at the perfect angle!

Miya's Devil Fruit had been deeply developed after she became a Vice Admiral. This throw carried tremendous force, sending Figo over a thousand meters in the blink of an eye. Figo then used Geppo, kicking off the air several times and riding that force another three to five kilometers before his body began to descend.

Having done all she could, Miya thought Figo would have to swim the remaining distance. But what happened next startled her once again.

Golden Armament Haki flowed beneath Figo's feet as he landed on the water. He actually began sprinting rapidly across the sea without sinking!

"How... did he do that?"

There were quite a few strong fighters who could make Armament Haki flow, but she had never heard of anyone using it to run across the sea. Never!

Flowing Haki alone was naturally not enough. Figo was also using two techniques at once: Life Return to reduce his body weight, and Fish-Man Karate's Strike Water to borrow force!

As a transmigrator, Figo had long wondered whether he could develop a water-walking technique like the one in Naruto in this world that was mostly ocean, so that he would not always have to swim. It would be much more convenient.

The result was... no.

He could not stand steadily on the water. He had to run at top speed, and it consumed an enormous amount of stamina. It was only suitable for quickly covering short distances like this.

And it was several times faster than swimming!

Outside Saintess Island.

The large ship carrying every member of the Revolutionary Army had already turned and sailed away, but the ten giant warships drew closer still, gradually pulling them into the range of their cannon fire.

"Too late, too late."

"How did they find us?"

"With a force this large, could it be the legendary Buster Call? Damn Navy!"

"What do we do, Saintess?!"

"Let's fight them!"

"Ahead! What's that up ahead?!"

Sapphire tilted her head slightly, surprise and confusion appearing on her face. Searching with Observation Haki, she quickly found the little blond boy Xebec, his face filled with panic. She walked over, soothingly patted him, then took an ornament from her clothes and hung it around his neck.

"It seems you'll grow into an extraordinary person, Xebec. Keep it safe, all right?"

"S-Saintess?"

"That's... a person? How is that possible?! Someone's running across the sea?!" At last, someone saw clearly what was approaching from ahead.

The discovery even made them briefly forget the warships closing in from the side. Doug, CP0, and the others aboard the warships naturally saw Figo as well.

The silver-haired CP0 agent's brow furrowed slightly, but the motion of raising the Golden Den Den Mushi did not stop.

"All personnel, aim at the enemy ship!"

The officers with exceptional eyesight hesitated slightly upon hearing the order. They saw the Blind Witch and the Revolutionary Army aboard that ship, but they also saw many young children. Nothing like this had been mentioned before they set out...

Yet after that brief pause, they still carried out the order. The cannons of one warship after another turned and concentrated their aim on the large ship opposite them.

The ship erupted into clamor for a moment. Most of the Revolutionary Army members went pale as they felt the shadow of death looming over them. A few roared to bolster their courage, ready to fight for their lives!

Sapphire stepped to the very front. Facing the warships' cannons, she half drew her sword, cold air drifting from its blade.

Figo, running across the sea, suddenly had his right leg swell and thicken to twice its size, ready to strike.

The silver-haired CP0 opened his mouth.

Bang!!

All of a sudden, a fist smashing in from the side interrupted him! The CP0 agent spun as he fell into the sea, while the Golden Den Den Mushi was flung into the air and caught by a large hand!

"Don't open fire!" Doug held the Den Den Mushi to his mouth and shouted, "I'll bear all consequences! Blind Witch, this is Vice Admiral Doug of Marine Headquarters! You have nowhere left to run! Surrender immediately! I guarantee with my life that all the children aboard your ship will be properly taken care of, and not a single innocent life will be harmed!"

"Vice Admiral Doug?!" The fleet erupted in an uproar.

The Revolutionary Army members froze.

Vice Admiral Doug laughed heartily and slammed the Golden Den Den Mushi to the ground. "As a teacher, I can't let my student carry everything alone! What, be recorded in Navy history?! This old man... hasn't needed that for a long time! Hahahaha!"

At that moment, he was high-spirited, as though he had returned to the prime of his youth forty years ago!

"Sigh, I knew you'd choose to do this, Teacher." A figure flashed beside him. Figo said helplessly, "Have a little confidence. This way, you might even be recorded in Navy history as a negative example, you know? Why bother keeping me company?"

That did seem to be the case. His coolness did not even last three seconds.

The old man's mouth twisted, and he nearly burst into tears.

"...You brat!"