Marines, Pirates

"I understand, big brother. You be careful too."

"Don't worry, Babel. I'm not that easy to kill."

This time, Babel did not insist. He could also sense that the atmosphere on the island was becoming increasingly wrong.

As for Babel traveling alone at sea afterward, Nereus was not worried. After all, Babel was not like the Fish-Man slaves Ivankov had sent away before.

Babel himself was quite strong. Once he reached the sea, he would be back on his home turf.

If he encountered something he could not handle, he only needed to jump ship and dive into the deep sea. His safety would naturally be assured.

Nereus and the others were not the only ones who sensed that unusual aura. Every notable powerhouse on the island felt it as well and gradually made their own choices.

In the sky, a massive dragon-shaped shadow flew ahead.

"Kaido got the Devil Fruit he wanted after all."

Being able to soar through the sky in a massive form after eating it—that was the normal reaction of an ordinary person who consumed that fruit.

Kaido seemed even more excited now, as though he could not wait to test his new powers.

But someone was far more agitated than Kaido.

"Kaido! You bastard, stop right there! I'll kill you!"

Charlotte Linlin rode Zeus, pursuing Kaido closely. From the look of her, she was truly enraged.

"Babel, let's go. There's no time to waste."

"Coming, big brother!"

Withdrawing from the island was what most of the pirates were doing at this moment. The treasures they had seized might not have matched Babel's haul, but they still amounted to a considerable fortune.

At the very least, it was enough to serve as startup capital for their pirate crews for some time to come.

Golden Lion, Gansui, John, and the others also began a new round of fighting over the treasure.

As the Haki clashes at the center of the island grew more intense, these people continued speeding up their actions.

God Valley was not particularly large to begin with. It did not take Nereus and Babel much time to return to the southeastern shore, and Nereus had already begun selecting a ship.

"Big brother, how about Rocks's ship? It should be the largest and best-built ship here."

"It's too big. You won't be able to operate it alone."

The Fishman Race were almost all born helmsmen. Their immense strength and perception of ocean currents allowed them to understand how to steer ships more effectively.

But sailing on the sea required more than controlling the helm. Especially for a gigantic ship like Rocks's, even getting it moving would require dozens of people working together.

There were plenty of other pirate ships, but after looking them over carefully, Nereus turned his gaze toward a medium-sized warship not far away.

A warship of this size could not carry as many people as a large warship, but it was easier to handle. As standard Marine equipment, its quality was also guaranteed.

Since this was where the Rocks Pirates and numerous other pirate crews had landed, the nearby fleet of warships had long since been scattered. The personnel aboard this warship seemed to have assembled elsewhere, leaving only a few members on watch.

Babel easily took over the ship and brought it alongside the shore.

"What are you looking at?! If you don't want to die, get on board! If you want to die, stay on this island and wait for death!"

Glancing at the bewildered ordinary civilians on the shore, Babel shouted at them impatiently.

The Fishman Race needed a better image in the outside world. For all these years, Nereus had led them in doing just that. As long as they were not enemies, they could generally get along quite well.

After the hunting game on the island ended, some people had been sent away by Kuma's powers, but many still remained trapped on the island.

They fled everywhere like headless flies, running toward the coast. Even jumping into the sea gave them a better chance of survival than remaining on the island.

But there were many Marine warships nearby, and the soldiers aboard those ships gave the survivors a simple answer.

"God Valley is not an affiliated nation. You are not allowed to leave this place."

Those were the orders the Marines had received, so they mercilessly pulled the triggers on the unarmed people.

The situation was a tremendous shock to these people, but no matter what, there was now a warship that could take them away from here.

After a brief hesitation, they still headed toward the warship.

"Thank you!"

"Thank you! I'll never forget your kindness for the rest of my life!"

The civilians nearby gained a little more hope of survival, while those on the other side...

At the same time, in the forest on this side, Monkey D. Dragon was followed by a number of God Valley civilians.

Before coming to God Valley, seventeen-year-old Dragon had merely been an ordinary Marine soldier. Though his father was already a Marine Vice Admiral, the unit Dragon served in seemed unaware of that.

But ever since landing on God Valley, Dragon had begun to doubt the justice upheld by the Marines.

"This way! Don't panic. I'll definitely find a way to get you aboard a ship!"

At this moment, Dragon no longer cared what the Marines' orders were. He only wanted to save some people and get them out of here.

It was then that Dragon discovered a warship that was likewise disobeying orders and taking in people from the island.

"That's wonderful... There are still people in the Marines who can stay clearheaded..."

"Come this way! The warship ahead will take you away!"

Dragon shouted to the people behind him, then ran ahead toward the warship.

"Don't crowd! No one can get aboard like this! Line up and come slowly! Everyone will get on!"

Dragon began helping the people below maintain order, while a doubt arose in his heart. Why had the soldiers on this ship chosen to take in civilians, yet no one had come down to maintain order?

Dragon also failed to notice that the people who had already crowded beneath the warship were looking at him strangely.

Only when Dragon stepped onto the deck did a chill instantly spread through his entire body.

A tall figure leaned against the railing and watched him. There was a smile on the other man's lips, but that smile made Dragon tremble.

"Vampire... Nereus..."

Nereus's reputation within the Marines was immense, and it was one of pure infamy.

Leaving aside his identity and Bounty, Marine records showed that among all Marine soldiers who had participated in operations against Nereus, the survival rate was less than one percent.

The few survivors later suffered severe psychological trauma and were utterly unable to continue serving.

"Why... is it you..."

Dragon did not understand why Nereus was aboard this warship, much less why he had accepted the island's civilians.

A soldier's instincts made Dragon raise his gun at Nereus, but he quickly dropped the weapon from his hand in helplessness.

Before today, he would have chosen to fight to the death. But now, hesitation had begun to take root in Dragon's heart.

More importantly, neither Babel nor Nereus had made a move, yet the civilians who had boarded the ship had already picked up the abandoned weapons on deck and aimed them at him.