Bartholomew Kuma

Jin An looked at the boy before him, feeling as though he had seen him somewhere before.

"What's your name?"

The boy seemed not to have expected the question and froze for a moment.

"My name is Bartholomew Kuma. You can just call me Kuma."

Though he did not know what this person intended to do, he still answered politely.

Hearing that name, Jin An came to a realization. The figure in his memories slowly overlapped with the boy before him.

"One Piece? No wonder things are so chaotic..." Jin An murmured.

Then he replied, "I'll go with you."

He trusted Kuma's character. He was the kind of man who would fulfill a promise even if it killed him.

They traveled in silence.

"Thanks! This sword of yours is incredible. It cut through the chains so easily, hee-haw!" Emporio Ivankov removed the severed chains from his wrists and grinned broadly.

Jin An stroked the coldly gleaming blade in his hand and nodded. "I put quite a bit of effort into this sword."

"Kuma, you've been a huge help!" Ivankov lightly patted Kuma's shoulder with his newly freed hand, praising him.

If Kuma had not brought Jin An here, it would have taken him quite a bit more effort to break free of those chains.

"It feels so good to have my hands free, hee-haw!"

Putting away his playful expression, Ivankov turned solemn and said to Jin An beside him, "Join us. Let's escape this cage together."

"That's right. Join us, and your chances of surviving will go up a lot," Ginny urged, looking at the Den Den Mushi beside her as she stuffed herself with food. "And joining us might bring some unexpected gains."

"After all, staying alive is the most important thing right now. There's strength in numbers."

"..."

Jin An's gaze flickered. During this time, he had learned about the island from these people.

The island was surrounded by Marines sent by the World Government. Escaping from here would be harder than climbing to the heavens.

Moreover, he trusted these people's abilities. He also knew that most of them would survive until decades later. Following them offered a certain measure of safety.

Seeing that his persuasion seemed to be working, Ivankov kicked off the ground and leaped onto the tallest nearby rock. Looking at the panicked people around him, he shouted:

"That's right, this is God Valley, a place watched by so-called 'gods.'"

"For us, this place is filled with despair, helplessness, and death."

"At the same time, it provides those executioners with joy, laughter, and pleasure."

"Are you satisfied with your current situation?"

Upon hearing those words, most of the people below lowered their heads despondently.

They were deeply unwilling to accept it as well, but they had no way to resist. Resisting would only make them die faster.

The only thing keeping them alive was the Celestial Dragons' promise that they would gain freedom if they survived for three weeks.

Jin An took in the expressions of the people around him. Had these people done anything wrong?

No!

It was the Celestial Dragons' greed and brutality that had forced them to live such miserable lives.

All because of this island's abundant resources, all because this island bore the name of "god."

He clenched his fists. He was furious at how twisted this world was, yet powerless to change it.

He might have been a transmigrator, but aside from a sword, he had nothing. Though he knew a little martial arts, his physical abilities were simply incomparable to those of this world's people.

Still, he wanted to try to do something, so that his trip to this world would not have been for nothing.

"No one can get close to this place, and no one can escape this island!"

"Everything that happens here will be erased from history!"

"This is a massacre competition meant to drive out the natives and plunder resources!"

"The survival rate in previous 'competitions' was zero! Wake up, everyone. It's impossible to stay here for three weeks."

The competition lasted three weeks. The Celestial Dragons could not kill more than a hundred thousand people in an instant, so they still had plenty of time to escape.

Jin An chose to join Ivankov and tried to persuade the crowd. Though his voice was not loud, his sincerity calmed the people around him slightly.

They tried to curse the slaves awake until their mouths nearly wore out, but they saw little result.

Just as people still clung to illusions and struggled inwardly.

"Bzz..."

A broadcast covering the entire island rang out, followed by the host's excited voice announcing "good news."

"Congratulations to Saint Garling for being the first to obtain 100,000 points!"

Along with the broadcast came the nobles' revelry and the "prey's" wails of despair.

There were around one hundred thousand "prey" on this island, including slaves captured by the Celestial Dragons and natives who lived here.

The targets painted on the backs of their clothes were death warrants. Every gunshot took another life.

The Visual Den Den Mushi recorded Saint Garling and the other God's Knights' "heroic figures" in full and transmitted them directly to the Land of the Gods in Mary Geoise.

On the screen, Saint Garling rode a bird-like flying mount, continuously charging through the crowd and cutting people down.

"Saint Garling, who was originally penalized to begin at 'negative 10,000 points' for killing a king, is now far ahead of the others."

The host shouted, "Saint Garling's actual score should be 110,000 points!"

"Listen to me." Ginny listened to the information coming from the Den Den Mushi while speaking to Jin An and the other two beside her.

"The prizes for this competition are the key to our escape!!!"

"If eaten, one lets you become the mythical beast 'Azure Dragon,' that top-tier Devil Fruit, and the other..."

Ginny paused, then continued, "The ability to instantly blast others and yourself far away! The thing called the Paw-Paw Fruit is also on this island!"

"Then, as long as one of us can eat that fruit, we and even more people will be able to escape this island," Jin An concluded after some thought.

"That's right. This is the simplest way for us to escape the island." Ginny nodded, sweeping her gaze over everyone around her.

"Ah..."

Jin An sighed.

"Something that important won't be easy to get, will it?"

"That's right. Those things are being kept as prizes in the center of this island." Ginny nodded with a smile.

Seeing that this little girl could remain so optimistic under such circumstances, Jin An could not help admiring her.

Seemingly noticing everyone's dejection, Ginny continued, "I'm an expert in theft, eavesdropping, and communications. I sent out the information here two weeks ago. Maybe someone is already on their way."

Jin An stared at the harmless-looking Ginny before him. Stealing the Den Den Mushi, eavesdropping on such critical intelligence, and sending it outside had most likely all been done by her alone.

Looks like I've found someone powerful to rely on, Jin An muttered inwardly, rubbing his nose.

"Although this is our operation, bait is necessary to ensure success," Ginny added.

"..."

The scene fell silent. Not a single person made a sound.

Some people even quietly took two steps back to avoid standing out.

They knew how dangerous it was to act as bait. No one wanted to go.

Just as everyone lowered their heads, smiling Kuma raised his hand.

"I'll do it. I think my body is strong, so I'll live longer than the others!"

Seeing everyone around him stare at him in shock, Kuma shyly scratched his head.

"And I don't want to see anyone die."

"!!!"

Ginny's smile vanished. For a moment, she could not say anything. She lowered her head alone, seemingly lost in thought.

Jin An pulled down Kuma's raised hand. "You're still a child. Let someone older like me handle something like this."

Was Jin An not afraid of death?

No, he feared it more than anyone. But he had always believed that investment brought returns. If he wanted to survive in this world, a little danger was nothing.

A crisp synthesized electronic sound suddenly rang out in his mind.

[Ding! It has been detected that the host has made a major choice. The system is now officially online.]