Judging You by Human Standards Was Indeed My Mistake

"Why couldn't it be me, Marine?"

"..."

Dragon was left speechless by the question. His lips moved slightly, but he had no idea how to answer.

The World Government had ordered the massacre on this island, and the Marines were responsible for carrying it out.

So it did not seem impossible to accept that Pirates were saving people here.

While Dragon could not answer, Nereus studied him as well. Though he was young, and his face lacked the mark known as the "slipper print."

There was no doubt that this was the man who would establish the Revolutionary Army.

Though the Revolutionary Army was, to a large extent, a ragtag outfit, it had at least become one of the few organizations opposed to the Celestial Dragons over the long years to come.

"Looking at you now, I suppose you knew nothing about any of this before today?"

"Then tell me, Marine!"

"After seeing all this with your own eyes, do you think your Marines still deserve to bear the word justice?!"

Justice was the Marines' slogan. Every Marine had shouted that word countless times during recruitment, yet now it pierced Dragon's ears like needles.

The conviction he had once held without doubt, his belief in justice, had become a colossal joke at this moment.

"He's actually a good Marine. He was the one who saved me on the island..."

"He even bandaged my wounds..."

"But... this gentleman was the one who let us board the ship..."

The civilians of God Valley could not make sense of the situation either. They usually paid little attention to enormous bounties, at most occasionally hearing others talk about them.

They only knew who had helped them when they were at their most desperate.

After Dragon dropped the weapon in his hand, no one pointed a gun at him anymore.

It was then that an incredibly violent gust of air suddenly erupted from the central region of God Valley.

The sails creaked violently in the wind, the ropes instantly tightened like bowstrings, and the entire ship began to sway noticeably from side to side.

Several overwhelmingly powerful Haki pressures filled that gust, strangely mixed with an indescribable, icy aura.

Then, a massive cliff on one side of God Valley collapsed with a thunderous roar, while the thick clouds hanging high overhead were forcibly torn open by an invisible force, leaving a huge rift.

Without a doubt, amid the shockwaves of the fierce battle between these powerhouses standing at the pinnacle of the world, the innocent sky had once again become a victim caught in the crossfire.

"You can either get off the ship now, or go help sail it. Handling a medium warship is quite different from handling a large one."

In the past, Nereus and the others had always simply seized large warships, so they were very familiar with controlling them.

Switching to a smaller warship actually left them somewhat unaccustomed.

"You... aren't going to kill me?"

"I don't kill just anyone. Come to think of it, I haven't paid attention to how the Marines have been describing me lately. If there's time, I'd like to hear what you have to say."

Nereus ignored Dragon after that. He could no longer see any ordinary people or slaves nearby, so this ship naturally had to set sail.

Nereus himself spread his wings and flew toward the source of that strange aura.

As for whether Dragon would cause any trouble...

Even if Nereus knew nothing about Dragon, he would not care. Dragon was simply too weak; Babel could crush him to death without any effort.

"Stop staring, kid. Big Brother already left. Since Big Brother didn't kill you, I won't touch you as long as you don't cause trouble. Go work!"

Dragon said nothing. He simply walked beneath the mast and began adjusting the angle of the sails.

"Seize a ship immediately! Get out of here!"

"Huh? Big Brother Fierce, isn't Rocks' ship still there?"

"Idiot, who would go back at a time like this?!"

As Nereus headed toward the center of the island, the other Pirates began preparing to seize ships and flee, only a step behind him.

Silver Axe was merely one of them. The others had made more or less the same decision.

"Jihahahaha! The Rocks Pirates end here!"

Golden Lion, who could fly himself, had an even easier time escaping. He did not need a ship at all and simply flew away with his belongings.

There were even more groups boarding ships together. Gloriosa had slipped aboard Roger's pirate ship, while Whitebeard received an invitation from Paul Graham.

Paul Graham claimed to be Whitebeard's admirer, though he was a serious admirer. In appearance, he looked almost exactly like Marco.

Meanwhile, in the core region of God Valley, Garp and Roger were fighting Rocks.

More precisely, they were facing Rocks after he had been demonized by Imu's Black-Turn Domination.

Something was terribly wrong with Rocks' condition. Not only had two pairs of fangs appeared in his mouth, but demonic wings had also grown from his back.

This was Imu's ability. Once certain conditions were met, Imu could control someone in this manner.

[Please... kill me...]

That was Rocks' plea at this moment. He could not speak at all while controlled, but both Roger and Garp heard those words.

"Roger, you heard that too, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"Roger, I had originally planned to take you and Rocks down together here."

"I only wanted to steal Shakky and the treasure, then run!"

The two complained at the same time, yet both threw off the coats draped over their shoulders.

"So we're joining forces for now?"

"I hate it, but we can't just ignore this guy..."

Thus, Garp and Roger formed an alliance. The problem was that even together, the current Rocks was not easy to deal with. Instead, the two of them were sent flying first.

"Can someone tell me what exactly is going on here?"

At that moment, Nereus arrived at the core battlefield as well. In Nereus's memory, Roger and Garp were indeed supposed to join forces, but the transformed Rocks was the part he did not understand.

When Roger saw Nereus arrive, his heart skipped a beat. He then said to Garp beside him:

"Garp! What exactly is that black monster from your World Government? How did it control this guy too?

Is your justice just a joke?!"

"Cough, cough... I agree, but forget that for now. Think about how we're supposed to deal with these two!"

Even upon close inspection, it was hard to tell the difference between vampire wings and demon wings. Nereus's appearance here seemed to give Roger and Garp the impression that he had been controlled as well.

One Rocks was already nearly the death of them. If they had to add a Nereus on Rocks' level too...

They would have to start figuring out how to run.

"You two idiots... do you both have polio and dementia at the same time?! Don't you remember that I'm an ability user?!"