Blood's Destination

Under normal circumstances, the death of a pirate with a bounty of several hundred million in the West Blue would have been a major event.

Even after the Beli had undergone a period of inflation, a bounty exceeding one hundred million was still an indirect recognition of their strength.

Such pirates were not mere cannon fodder even in the New World. At the very least, they were NPCs with some reputation.

But in the current God Valley region, this was insignificant. Pirates stronger than Valentine were everywhere, and all of them were advancing toward God Valley.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Amid fierce cannon fire, a warship sank into the sea in a cloud of smoke off the eastern waters of God Valley, drawing the attention of the Marines stationed on the island.

"The Rocks Pirates!!!"

"No! It isn't just them! Many other notorious pirate crews are on their way too!!"

One fluttering pirate flag after another identified the pirates. Forget ordinary soldiers—even officers at the rank of Rear Admiral felt a sense of foreboding rise in their hearts.

"Fire! Fire! Stop them! Don't let them land!!"

Boom! Boom!

The other warships adjusted their positions and poured firepower onto the Rocks Pirates' ship at the very front.

However, this had little effect. The Rocks Pirates' ship was several times larger than these massive warships and was built from the finest materials.

No one aboard even bothered to intercept the attacks. Relying on its sheer size and sturdiness, the Rocks Pirates' ship charged through the Marine bombardment, overturning and crushing the warships in its path.

Then it rammed straight onto the shore.

"Useless, Marines! Rocks Pirates, follow me!"

Rocks took the lead and charged onto the island first, while the pirates' landing threw the Celestial Dragons into turmoil.

"This is terrible!! The pirates are here! What the hell are you Marines even doing!"

"If we so much as suffer a scratch, every last one of you will be hanged!!"

Yet this was only the beginning. Before the Marine commander responsible for receiving intelligence could issue any orders, one piece of terrible news after another arrived from all around.

"Report! Pirates have been spotted on the west coast—the Roger Pirates! They've already landed as well!"

"Report, the north coast..."

"Report! The Celestial Dragons are demanding..."

The stream of reports left the Marines on the island overwhelmed. Let alone him, even his entire fleet combined might not have been able to handle a single major officer from one of the pirate crews being mentioned over the broadcast.

And now, pirate crews like those were appearing in clusters, as though the end of the world had arrived.

Not to mention, they were responsible for the Celestial Dragons' safety, and those Celestial Dragons certainly would not make things easy for them.

One moment, they demanded that the slaves be taken away; the next, they demanded that the prizes be protected.

For these Marines, the only consolation was that there were still a few elites among the Celestial Dragons.

Garling, then commander of the Holy Knights, knew full well that these Marines could not deal with the invading pirates. He therefore took over the battle against the pirates and left the Marines only with the task of evacuating the other Celestial Dragons.

The Marine reinforcements led by Garp also landed soon afterward, giving the Marines on the island a glimmer of hope.

But no matter what, the island had already been completely engulfed in war. As countless factions with their own agendas became entangled, God Valley had turned into a nightmare battlefield with nowhere to escape.

And the source of the attacks was not necessarily the enemy.

"Newgate! You bastard, was that attack just now aimed at me?!"

"Who cut you? Wasn't I cutting an enemy?"

Facing Charlotte Linlin's accusation, Whitebeard offered his explanation and pointed at the Holy Knights member he had cleaved in two at the waist, proving that he had not struck the wrong target.

But that explanation was not enough to convince Charlotte Linlin.

"Who do you think you're fooling?! I almost died from that! Do you want to settle who's stronger right here?!"

"Not interested. How many Marines are on this island? How many pirates have landed?!"

A group of pirates seeking fame had, without prior agreement, launched attacks on the Rocks Pirates' members. The Rocks Pirates had also gradually split into several groups, temporarily joining forces at different locations.

Though even their own crewmates were not particularly trustworthy, they could at least be of some help.

"Rocks has vanished without a trace, but why is Nereus gone too?! Babel! Where did he go?! Did he go snatch Shakky first?"

Kogarashi and Oto danced in Golden Lion's hands, leaving afterimages behind. Every swing sent out a flying slash, yet the enemies before him seemed endless.

He had just killed one group when another would emerge the moment he turned around.

Golden Lion had a rough idea of where the others were, but Nereus, who had left the group midway, remained a mystery.

Golden Lion could not help asking Babel, another Fish-Man.

"How would I know something like that? Big Brother doesn't need to report where he's going to me! But don't judge Big Brother with that head full of filthy thoughts of yours! He must be handling something important!"

Babel sent an enemy at his side flying with a punch, but Golden Lion seemed to have latched onto the wrong point.

"You called my Shakky filthy thoughts? Has your taste gone wrong too, you bastard?!"

"Stop arguing! Isn't Nereus in that direction?!"

Kaido pointed toward one side of the island. Although nothing could be seen there, the people present all looked down at their feet in unison.

The corpses of the pirates they had just killed for attacking them were undergoing a strange change. The blood within their bodies seemed to have been drawn by some mysterious force, flowing out through their wounds.

The blood gathered into a river and flowed eerily in one direction, as though something were pulling it along.

"Nereus has started using his ability again."

In Kaido's understanding, only Nereus could manipulate blood within a certain range like this, and only he would do so.

"I remember that guy saying this ability only works on the dead, right? By the way, what does he absorb so much blood for every time? To fill his stomach?"

"Who knows? Blood is the currency of the soul... I think that's what he said. Always so mysterious."

The others aboard had all dealt with Nereus to some extent and knew a little about him. But now was not the time to discuss Nereus's ability. Compared to that, the treasure ahead was more important.

Meanwhile, on the other side of God Valley, Nereus had already landed on the island. He was currently in the human-beast form of his ability.

Broad bat wings spread from his back, and his pupils had taken on a hint of crimson.

However, unlike when he had sparred with Rocks, a section of blood-red Flame Clouds now floated behind him.

Those Flame Clouds were no mere decoration. With the version update, they had become the special mark of a Zoan ability user's Awakening!