Harvest, Mythical Zoan

The two words "big brother" pierced the clouds, and even some of those standing nearby had their eardrums aching from Babel's roar.

"Th-This... is your ultimate move?!"

Seeing Babel unleash such a move, Gansui's lips began twitching uncontrollably.

"That's right! Anyone who wants to steal the loot, come on up and try! Let's see if you can take it all and get away safely before my big brother gets here!"

Babel was certain that Nereus could hear his roar.

This ultimate move had no direct destructive power, but it was genuinely useful, because what Babel had said was an unavoidable fact.

If the Pirates present could work together, they might really be able to defeat Babel, divide up the treasure, and scatter in different directions.

But the key was that they simply could not do that. Even if Babel tossed the treasure right at them, the Pirates gathered here would still fight over the unequal division of the spoils.

Under such circumstances, if they chose to fight Babel and got delayed until Nereus himself arrived...

Gansui did not know how long it would take them to deal with Babel, nor did he know when Nereus would arrive.

But one thing was certain: once Nereus came here, any Pirate who dared lay a hand on Babel would be in serious trouble.

He truly wanted the priceless treasure, but the prerequisite for taking it was surviving long enough to leave this place.

There was still plenty of treasure left. Taking that would not be bad either...

Quite a few people shared Gansui's thoughts. At the very least, Babel's "ultimate move" had made the members of the Rocks Pirates abandon their intentions.

Though some Pirates still eyed Babel like tigers watching prey, with no intention of giving up.

But as far as Babel was concerned, the ones who truly posed a major threat had already left.

Ants could deeply understand the terror of antlions. To an ant, an antlion was an incomparably terrifying predator.

But ants did not know how terrifying elephants were. Even if one was crushed beneath a foot, it would be difficult for it to see the elephant's full form.

The members of the Rocks Pirates understood far better just how terrifying Nereus was. With Nereus as a threat, that share of treasure was no longer worth risking their lives over.

But the Pirates from other crews were different. Some still launched attacks at Babel, though he defeated them without much effort.

"Violent Redemption Magnetic Grip!"

At that moment, an invisible force suddenly swept through the entire warehouse district. Treasure and chests on the ground, weapons carried by the Pirates, and all kinds of metal objects flew uncontrollably toward one side.

"My treasure!"

"Beli! Beli! Come back!"

Even some Pirates who had already taken a small amount of treasure and were preparing to flee could not hold on to what they carried.

"Strong magnetic force detected at the southeastern entrance of the ravine!"

"It's Captain John's Devil Fruit ability! Hold on to your weapons! All metal will react—don't get pulled over there!"

Among the entire Rocks Pirates, John was undoubtedly the greediest. His love for treasure far surpassed what others could imagine.

In the end, he would die after being besieged by his fellow crew members for trying to monopolize the treasure, leaving behind the legend of Captain John's Treasure.

When the situation changed, John moved to a position near the ravine exit, then activated the Magnet-Magnet Fruit's power to begin plundering the treasure.

For a time, metal objects across a vast area gathered in one place. Even some people who clung desperately to their treasure were dragged over along with it.

The pack on Babel's back, filled with a huge amount of treasure, naturally came under Captain John's influence as well. But Babel himself possessed a great deal of Armament Haki.

After coating the entire pack in Haki, his monstrous strength was not affected much.

Besides, Babel was actually quite relaxed right now. The reason was simple: he had already caught sight of Nereus.

The other Pirates were still focused on Babel, but they also sensed that something was off.

"Say, don't you think... there's a little too much blood on the ground?"

A Pirate missing several teeth looked around at the ground with confusion.

Because of the fierce struggle for treasure earlier, quite a few people had indeed fallen here. There were bodies of both Marines and Pirates, so bloodstains on the ground were nothing unusual.

But now, the blood beneath their feet was clearly in an abnormal state.

The abnormality was not limited to the excessive amount of blood. They could even see it flowing in a strange manner.

Anyone who killed often knew that corpses were not open faucets. Blood could not flow forever. Something was obviously very wrong with the scene before them.

However, most Pirates had already been blinded by the priceless treasure before their eyes and had no mind to notice such abnormalities.

If they had observed more carefully at that moment, they might have discovered that the blood was faintly showing a dangerous tendency, as though it were about to boil.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

In the next instant, the blood on the ground seemed to come alive, rapidly gathering into sharp blood spears.

With lethal precision, those blood spears mercilessly pierced one Pirate's heart after another.

In the blink of an eye, a vast area centered on Babel's position suddenly rose into a scarlet forest formed of bloody spears.

At the same time, the living auras within that area vanished at a terrifying speed.

"Big brother, you're here."

"How was the harvest?"

"A huge haul. There are three Devil Fruits, though I don't know what types they are yet.

"There's so much treasure of every kind that I can't even count it, and there are several chests too. I haven't opened them yet.

"If Gansui wasn't lying and every chest is worth one billion Beli, then this is an astronomical sum.

"We should thank that woman Shakky. If those guys hadn't all been focused on Shakky, I really wouldn't have gotten my hands on this so easily."

Babel opened the pack on his body and showed off the treasure inside, speaking smugly to Nereus.

"Most of the remaining treasure was sucked away by that guy John using his ability, and the Roger Pirates took quite a bit too. Should we go take that from them as well?"

If Babel had truly taken all the treasure just now with his abilities, he would have become everyone's target.

Now that Nereus had arrived, they could naturally consider more options.

"What a huge haul indeed."

Nereus could not accurately estimate the value of the treasure, but he recognized the exact type of one of the Devil Fruits.

The fruit looked like a green pineapple, with leaves like blue flames growing from it. It was the Zoan Bird-Bird Fruit: Model Phoenix, a Mythical Zoan.

"I'll handle what comes next myself. Babel, I'll send you to the southeastern shore. It's safer there. Find a ship somehow, and as long as you can ensure your own safety, take some refugees with you as well.

"If the situation becomes urgent, dive straight into the sea and leave. Go back and wait for me. What comes next... is no longer suitable for you to take part in."

Nereus took the treasure from Babel and placed it into the stream of blood beside them, allowing it to slowly sink.

Then he stared toward the island's very center and gave Babel his orders.