Attack!

The Xia Domain Royal Palace enjoyed a pleasant climate thanks to the cold winds from the snowy mountains. Its gardens bloomed in splendor, overflowing with flowers and beauty beyond measure.

Yet within this beautiful painting, two overwhelming auras continuously rose, forming tangible storms that destroyed everything in the garden!

One was a fearsome tornado of lightning that drifted slowly, leaving not a blade of grass wherever it passed and crushing all in its path. The other was thick black smoke streaked with crimson firelight, setting the earth ablaze.

Countless people gazed toward the garden in awe, secretly shaken by the clash between those two auras.

"Ah, I hope Fred can understand everything I've done..."

Deep within the palace, Queen Rosa stood beside the window, her brows carrying more sorrow than usual.

"He will certainly understand, Your Majesty."

A burly figure dressed in black stood behind the Queen. Hearing her words, he cupped his hands and replied.

"I hope so... Hmm? It seems the victor has been decided?"

In the distance, the tornado of lightning suddenly contracted before spreading outward.

At the same time, the pitch-black smoke dispersed as well, fading into the air. When everything finally calmed, the entire garden had vanished. Only ruins completely reduced to rubble remained, without the slightest trace of life.

A few minutes later, a guard announced Ron's request for an audience.

Ron had already changed into the leaf-green uniform unique to the Flower Capital Guard. A carefully chosen white rose was pinned to his chest, symbolizing his regard for Queen Rosa as his heart. After being announced, Ron entered the Queen's bedchamber and knelt on one knee.

"I have fulfilled my mission, Your Majesty!"

"You... didn't tell him the truth, did you, Ron?"

Rosa no longer possessed even a trace of her former domineering bearing. She was merely an old woman worried about a younger generation member. The sorrow in her voice was so obvious that even a deaf person could hear it!

"Of course not. And there's plenty of time!"

"Good!"

Rosa raised her head and looked at Ron with immense admiration. "I'm leaving everything to you, Mr. Ron!"

"Understood!"

Half an hour later, at the Marine encampment.

"You're saying you pretended to defect and got Fred to reveal Baroque Works' whereabouts?"

Garp stared at Ron in astonishment as he circled around him. "Who would've thought it? Ron, you thick-browed fellow, actually knows how to scheme?"

Garp had already been extremely surprised when Ron became the Royal Palace Guard Captain. But considering Ron's important responsibilities, he needed a suitable identity to move around the palace, so that was nothing unusual.

What truly astonished Garp was that Fred had actually tried to win Ron over, even offering the position of Flower Capital Commander-in-Chief and intelligence on Baroque Works in exchange for Ron's support in taking the throne!

Not to mention that Ron had only pretended to defect!

Ron rolled his eyes and said irritably, "Cut it out! Fred wants nothing more than for the Marines to find Baroque Works and use us to kill them! Even if I hadn't pretended to defect to him, he would've secretly leaked Baroque Works' intelligence and had us help him eliminate those hyenas."

After taking a drink of water, Ron asked, "What do we do next? It looks like we have no chance to make a move against Fred..."

Since Fred had dared to discard his allies once they had outlived their usefulness, he had certainly erased every trace of his connection to Baroque Works. Even if the Marines captured every member of Baroque Works, they would never find any concrete evidence.

Just as he had said, four whole months had passed!

Knowing the Marines would not let the matter go, how could he possibly leave behind such a threat?

Therefore, there was no way to save the Queen by having the Marines convict him...

Even if they captured Baroque Works' members, Queen Rosa would still face pressure from the alliance of Affiliated Nations and be forced to abdicate. All they could do was protect the Queen during the unrest.

That was all!

And Ron was right. Fred desperately wanted the Marines to take the initiative and wipe out Baroque Works' remaining forces on the island, silencing them forever. Once the Marine forces marched out, the palace would inevitably be thrown into chaos!

At that point, dividing their forces would be the only possible outcome.

"Are you confident you can protect Her Majesty from Fred's attack, Ron?"

This concerned Queen Rosa's safety, so Traine asked in a grave and serious tone.

Ron shook his head without hesitation. "No!"

"Fred is a Paramecia Coal-Coal Fruit Devil Fruit User. In terms of destructive power, I can crush him, and with a Logia's Elementalization physique, I'm certain to win if we fight! But if he isn't trying to win and only wants to kill the Queen, then the destructive power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and Coal-Coal Fruit becomes a drawback instead. There's simply no way to defend against it."

The contest between Ron and Fred that afternoon had been intended not only to create a no-man's-land and prevent outsiders from learning what they discussed, but also to test each other. Just as Ron had said, if they truly fought to the death, Fred would not be his opponent. Without Armament Haki and without any elemental advantage against him, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's dominance was unmatched! But Fred was no pushover either. His raw strength was nearly equal to Ron's, and that coal smoke could ignite massive fires anywhere! Making use of coal dust's flammable and explosive nature, if he wanted someone dead, Ron could not stop him.

It was not that Ron could not defeat him, but that he could not protect the Queen.

That was the most frustrating part!

Hearing his answer, Traine furrowed his brows tightly.

He glanced at Garp and saw that the latter had his eyes shut, clearly caught in a difficult internal struggle. Traine could only stand silently to the side and wait for Garp to make a decision.

After a long while, Garp pressed both hands against the edge of the table and growled, "We... are Marines!"

"We move tonight!"

After saying that, Garp let out the breath he had been holding and sat back down. However, two palm-sized chunks of wood were now missing from the table.

"Don't worry, Vice Admiral Garp. The Queen won't be in danger... I'll protect her properly!"

Seeing this, Ron comforted him for once—an unprecedented occurrence.

What he got in return was Garp's suspicious stare and a question. "Did you steal my donuts?!"

Ron: "..."

He should never have expected anything from that old bastard!!!

And besides...

"Who said I needed your protection?"

Under Ron's stunned gaze, Garp wore a carefree smile. A fierce, visible aura flared from his massive body, as powerful as a bear or tiger.

"This time... this old man will go personally!"

Night fell, and the moon shone bright amid sparse stars.

Because the capital's regime was unstable, even with the Queen's birthday banquet approaching, the capital's residents could only retire early and did not dare wander the streets at night.

Under the bright moonlight, figures vaulted across rooftops and alley corners, racing forward. Their movements were orderly, swift, and nimble. Every one of them had mastered Soru of the Rokushiki, moving so quickly that ordinary people would only think their eyes were playing tricks on them.

This was an elite Marine unit, true elites with an average Doriki Value of around 500! It was Garp's strongest force! And leading them were... Ron and Traine!

Don't ask where Garp had gone!

Ron and the others were heading toward a forest in the Xia Domain, where Baroque Works' members were hiding.

According to the information Fred provided, Baroque Works' members had not immediately withdrawn after Jed fell into the sea. Instead, they had hidden on West Island, waiting for him to seize power and pay them their reward. Although four months had passed and people had gradually left, there were still more than a hundred people remaining!

To be safe, Garp had dispatched this elite unit and sent Ron and Traine to act together. Only with the coordination of a Logia to control the battlefield and a master swordsman to break through defenses could they ensure that no enemy escaped.

All of them were minor superhumans whose Doriki Values exceeded ordinary limits, and this unit of fewer than thirty people possessed terrifying mobility!

In less than half an hour, they crossed the town and arrived in a remote, densely forested mountain range.

Beyond the slope lay a thick forest that looked no different from anywhere else. But Traine, who possessed Observation Haki, clearly sensed something. He tugged at Ron, who was about to continue forward, and gestured.

There are...

Sentries...

Three...

Ron nodded and let Traine summon three team members from behind them. Then he unfolded a parchment map and pointed out each of their targets. Lightning was clearly unsuitable for clearing hidden sentries. Although it could kill them all at once, the disturbance would be far too great. After waiting a little longer, three lifelike nightingale calls came from the forest. Only then did Traine signal the unit to continue forward.

And now, Ron's task began.

Once Traine led the others into the forest, Ron calculated the timing. Lightning crackled around his body as he stomped hard against the ground, turning into a streak of electricity and flashing into the sky!

Lightning had always come from the heavens.

As long as Ron wanted to, he could float in the sky for half an hour without falling. Limited by his own strength, he could not even change direction flexibly on the ground, much less engage in aerial combat, so it could not be considered any sophisticated flying technique. But if all he needed to do was remain aloft and mindlessly unleash lightning, it was extremely easy.

And tonight, his task was to provide Traine with aerial reconnaissance and... air support!

Rumble!!!

Three updates today. Halfway through writing, I discovered a bug. After revising it again and again, what was clearly supposed to be two chapters nearly turned into a massive ten-thousand-word chapter!!!