God Valley Incident Begins!

The warship slowly docked at the port of God Valley.

Vikengam followed Saint Saturn down the gangway and set foot on the island of God Valley.

Long before their arrival, the Navy had already made its arrangements. All the island's residents had been captured with tranquilizer rounds and sent to the island's central area, where the stage for the tournament had already been set up.

At the same time, numerous warships had sealed off the entire island to prevent anyone from escaping.

Saint Saturn was speaking with Admiral Steel Bone some distance away. Vikengam did not go over. Instead, he casually sent a strand of icy energy into a nearby reef, forming an icicle as a backup plan he did not know whether he would ever need.

"Vikengam, it's been a long time." At that moment, the members of God's Knights also came down. Saint Garling greeted Vikengam with a smile.

"Oh, Senior Garling. It has indeed been a long time." Vikengam smiled in response.

"How enviable. I heard Lord Saturn bestowed the power of a Mythical Zoan upon you?" Garling asked, pretending to sound a little envious.

Vikengam flattered him in return. "You're too modest, Senior. If nothing unexpected happens, once this tournament is over, you should become the user of the Azure Dragon Fruit, right?"

"Hahaha, you have quite a lot of faith in me. Still, I'm rather confident myself." Garling was clearly pleased by those words.

After a brief pause, his tone suddenly shifted. "I'm sure you know that something unexpected may happen during this tournament..."

"Mm. I heard quite a few pirates are coming?" Vikengam nodded.

"That's right. I've received word that yesterday, the King of Giants, Harald, failed in his mission to stop the Rocks Pirates in the New World. At dawn, Cipher Pol spotted the Rocks Pirates' ship in the waters of the West Blue..." Garling said, his expression turning slightly grave.

Then he patted Vikengam's shoulder. "If chaos really breaks out later, stay close to me. I'll protect you."

Vikengam found it utterly ridiculous. Their fleet had sailed directly from Mary Geoise to the West Blue, spending nearly a week at sea before reaching God Valley.

The news had only leaked two days ago. According to Marine Headquarters intelligence, the Roger Pirates had already been in the West Blue, so it was understandable that they could arrive in time. But the Rocks Pirates had already crossed from Hachinosu in the New World to the West Blue today?

They had even fought Harald along the way and lost some time. How was that reasonable?

What kind of ship were the Rocks Pirates sailing? How could it be that fast? A nuclear-powered wooden three-masted sailing ship?

Then he reconsidered. Shiki was on that ship, and he was also one of Shakky's admirers. Well... with the Float-Float Fruit, it was still absurd, but not entirely impossible to accept.

"I understand. Then I'll thank you in advance, Senior." Vikengam put on a very serious expression.

There's no way I'm following you. You can pretend to be some great expert in front of me, and I won't call you out on it. But once those monsters arrive, you'll become a speed bump in God Valley. You have an immortal body, so it doesn't matter if you get chopped up like vegetables. I haven't signed any damned contract.

Not that I planned to sign one anyway.

In any case, according to the original course of events, if he followed Garling's group, Vikengam would probably die horribly.

"Alright, I won't keep talking to you. I have some private matters to take care of, so I'll be leaving first." Garling smiled and quickly departed.

Vikengam watched his retreating back without saying anything.

But his gaze darkened, because he could probably guess what Garling was going to do... kill the red-haired woman who had borne him twin sons.

"Come on, Vikengam." Somaz came over as well and casually called out, "What a nuisance. I still have to check whether the tournament prizes have been properly arranged..."

"You're not competing?" Vikengam asked curiously as they headed deeper into the island together.

"Before the pirates arrive, I can still have some fun. But if the pirates show up, I'll be responsible for guarding those prizes." Somaz did not hide anything. It was not some great secret, so he answered casually.

That reminded Vikengam that this was indeed how it happened. Once the pirates arrived, Somaz immediately rushed back and had even intended to execute Shakky.

But Rayleigh arrived in time and directly "sent him to the underworld," cutting him down in one stroke and temporarily depriving him of his fighting ability, rescuing Shakky from him.

It was also because of Rayleigh's interference that chaos broke out in the prize storage area. Bartholomew Kuma and Ivankov were able to seize the two Devil Fruits amid the confusion, while Charlotte Linlin snatched the Azure Dragon Fruit from Ivankov.

Before long, Vikengam and the others arrived at the stage in the middle of the island. A large number of Celestial Dragons were already rubbing their hands together, looking eager to begin the slaughter.

Then the host introduced the tournament rules and mentioned the island's Davy Clan.

In the original story, Kuma, a member of the Buccaneer Tribe, had also been on the hunting list. But Bartholomew Kuma was now following behind Vikengam, so naturally he would not be made a target.

At the same time, in God's Residence at Mary Geoise, the broadcast Den Den Mushi had been activated to livestream the tournament. The many Celestial Dragons who had not come to participate were throwing around money and placing enormous bets on the outcome.

"You don't seem very interested?" Saint Saturn suddenly asked Vikengam beside him.

Vikengam nodded. "Senior Garling told me earlier that the Rocks Pirates have already reached the West Blue. At their speed, they'll probably arrive before long. The people below don't know about this yet and are acting without restraint. I'm a little worried..."

Originally, if the pirates had not come to cause trouble, Saint Saturn had wanted Vikengam to perform well in this tournament and bring honor to him.

But the situation was completely different now. Vikengam was not one of those foolish Celestial Dragons in Saturn's eyes, whose deaths did not matter and who did not need to know the pirates were about to arrive. Nor was he one of God's Knights, with an immortal body that meant they had nothing to fear even if they lacked strength.

Under such circumstances, sending Vikengam out would indeed be extremely dangerous. Setting aside the bond they had built over the years, Saturn had only recently invested the power of a Mythical Zoan in him. He could not simply watch Vikengam sink into danger.

Thinking of this, Saint Saturn said, "Your safety comes first. This time is different. Don't run around later. Stay here with me."

That suited Vikengam perfectly, so he immediately replied, "I understand, Grandpa."

Just then, the host finished his introduction, and Garling casually killed the king of God Valley, taking an early lead with negative ten thousand points.

Then the hunt began. The Celestial Dragons cheered as if drugged and launched into a massacre, while every member of God's Knights rushed out to kill as well.

Before long, the central stage area had become empty.

Vikengam glanced at Saint Saturn beside him, who seemed to be resting with his eyes closed, then looked toward the warehouse where the prizes were stored in the distance, silently weighing his options.

He definitely could not go take the fruits now. Although Old Man Saturn had lost all expectations for this tournament, he was still standing right here. Making a move under his nose was not a good idea.

He still had to wait until chaos broke out.

With that in mind, Vikengam had someone bring him a chair. He sat down by himself and closed his eyes. At the same time, he spread out his Observation Haki to observe everything within the range of his senses, treating it as another form of training.

Two hours passed quickly. Then, fierce explosions suddenly erupted along the island's coastline!

Vikengam and Saint Saturn opened their eyes at the same time.

"They're here!" Saint Saturn's gaze darkened.

The Rocks Pirates had been the first to break through the Navy's blockade and reach God Valley!