"Report! The Rocks Pirates have broken through the blockade on the East Coast and forcibly landed on the shore..."
"Someone, get over here! We can't hold them back..."
The Den Den Mushi in the hands of the Marines beside Saint Saturn transmitted a cacophony of noise. Before the report could even finish, Vikengam saw a slash tear through the forest in the direction of the East Coast.
Then, a faint yet exceptionally bold voice rang out.
"Rocks Pirates, charge with me!!!"
The instant Saint Saturn heard that voice, his expression turned stern. "Rocks!"
But before the matter here could settle, violent explosions erupted from the West Coast as well. Immediately afterward, the Roger Pirates arrived on the battlefield!
However, in the eyes of the World Government, Roger Pirates were clearly not as important as the Rocks Pirates right now. Saint Saturn kept his attention fixed on the East Coast.
Large numbers of Celestial Dragons began fleeing in this direction. On a nearby street, Vikengam saw Garling emerge with a group of God's Knights, seemingly making some sort of arrangements.
"Maffie, a Marine just reported that someone snatched away my two sons. Go help me find them."
"Somaz, guard the warehouse where the treasures are stored. Pay special attention to my future wife."
"The rest of you, come with me to face the Rocks Pirates!"
Very soon, God's Knights split into three groups. That old woman Maffie went to help Garling find his sons, and if nothing unexpected had happened, Garp's son Dragon had been the one to take Shanks and Shamrock.
Meanwhile, Somaz came toward Vikengam and Saint Saturn's position, grumbling under his breath.
"Garling, that bastard... At a time like this, he's still going on about women. Not romantic at all... If you ask me, we should just kill her. Those pirates came to save that woman anyway. When they go through all that trouble to get here, only to find the woman they wanted to save has become a mangled corpse... how heartbreaking would that be? Now that's art!" Somaz muttered.
Come to think of it, in the original story, he really had planned to do exactly that.
And as the young master of the Shepherd Family, he truly had no reason to fear Garling. She was just a woman. If he killed her, he could simply frame the pirates. Garling would never fall out with him over something like that.
Still muttering, Somaz arrived and respectfully greeted him. "Saint Saturn."
However, Saint Saturn's attention was entirely fixed on the East Coast, and he did not acknowledge him at all. Somaz did not care either and looked at Vikengam. "Viking, you really didn't enter the competition."
"Because there was no point, wasn't there? I don't like doing meaningless things either." Vikengam smiled.
Just then, an invigorating voice came from the Marines' communication Den Den Mushi.
"Vice Admiral Garp! Vice Admiral Garp is here!"
"Reinforcements have arrived!!!"
"Woohoo! We're saved!!!"
There was no doubt that Garp held tremendous prestige within the Marines. The moment he appeared, the Marines' morale visibly soared!
"Roger!!! Where the hell are you hiding, you bastard!?"
Garp's booming voice instantly echoed across the entire island.
Unfortunately, he had landed on the East Coast, while Roger Pirates were on the West Coast. So although Garp desperately wanted to find Roger and take him out, he ran into the Rocks Pirates first.
Whitebeard, Charlotte Linlin, and Kaido were heading toward the central area together. Along the way, they had casually cut down Maffie, who had nearly killed Dragon, only for Garp to catch up right behind them.
Garp was ruthless too. Without another word, he coated his fist in Haki and launched a Galaxy Impact at the three of them.
Whitebeard and Charlotte Linlin were decisive. They had no intention of fighting Garp at all and immediately chose to run.
Kaido, that reckless fool, chased after Whitebeard and Charlotte Linlin while grumbling, "Why are we running? Aren't we going to fight him?"
"Oh, give it a rest. You little brat have no idea how terrifying that bastard Garp is!" Charlotte Linlin snapped.
Whitebeard wore a look of disdain as he swung his arms and ran. "I'm outta here..."
"Damn it, Whitebeard! Didn't you say your back bore no scars from fleeing!?" Kaido cursed.
Were these two seniors really that lacking in courage? He was just a Marine. If the three of them joined forces, could they really not beat him?
Just then, lightning and fire intertwined in Charlotte Linlin's hand as she gathered an energy wave and hurled it back at the pursuing Garp. "Heavenly Fire Thunder!!!"
The violent energy instantly swallowed Garp, triggering a massive explosion that blasted many pursuing Marines hundreds of meters away.
"Nice one!" Kaido said excitedly. "Now let's counteratta—"
Before he could finish, he turned around and saw a muscular figure standing unscathed within the scorching explosion like a demon god. Garp even said arrogantly, "That little bit of fire isn't enough to grill beef ribs, Linlin!"
Well, well, well, Shiryu got an epic buff!
"Damn it, I knew it!" Charlotte Linlin immediately took off after Whitebeard, who had already run two miles away.
Kaido was dumbfounded. Was that even human? As a little brother who was frequently "educated" by Charlotte Linlin, he knew exactly how strong she was. Garp had taken one of her full-force attacks head-on and was completely fine. Was that reasonable?
He swallowed the words about counterattacking. He still had to listen to the advice of his two veteran pirate seniors. There was always something to learn!
As a pirate, wasn't it only natural for him to run when he saw Marines? There was nothing shameful about that!
"Wait for me, Boss Linlin, Big Brother Whitebeard!!!" Kaido started running too, swinging his arms.
Meanwhile, perhaps because he sensed that Garp was fiercely attacking the Rocks Pirates and saw this as an opportunity, Saint Saturn, who had remained inactive until now, felt Imu's consciousness calling to him. He no longer had time to care about Vikengam. With a tap of his foot, he vanished from where he stood and appeared atop a mountain, looking down over the battlefield at God Valley.
Once Saint Saturn left, Somaz finally let out a breath of relief and rubbed his nose. "Your old man's presence is really terrifying. I didn't even dare speak loudly with him here..."
At that moment, Whitebeard's massive figure was the first to appear before them. He immediately spotted the stage in the central area and was about to charge over when another figure burst out from the street across from him. It was Roger!
"Whitebeard!!!" The moment Roger saw Whitebeard, he did not waste a word and raised his blade, slashing at him.
Whitebeard did not hold back either. With a swing of Murakumogiri, he struck Roger's blade, and the two immediately began fighting.
The tremendous shockwaves and Haki aftershocks produced by their clash instantly swept across the entire plaza, sending many Marines and Celestial Dragons flying.
"Master!" Bartholomew Kuma stepped forward and stood in front of Vikengam. He slammed a large shield he had somehow picked up into the ground, resisting the violent gusts.
In the blink of an eye, Vikengam realized that Somaz had disappeared...
With both Saint Saturn and Somaz out of the way, Vikengam immediately called out, "Kuma, come with me!"
Elsewhere, taking advantage of the chaos, Ivankov and Ginny, who had been lurking nearby for a long time, slipped into the treasure vault. They had just pried open the chest containing the Devil Fruits and were about to reach inside when Vikengam kicked open the door.
"Stop!" Vikengam roared.
As his words fell, the chain axe wrapped around his left arm instantly loosened and lashed out. Like a long snake, it swept over and wrapped around the chest in front of Ivankov, yanking it back in one pull.
At nearly the same moment, a slash shattered through the wall from the next room, sending Somaz's upper body crashing into this room. Rubble exploded everywhere, knocking Ivankov to the floor. Vikengam, who had been exceptionally unlucky, was directly sent flying by Somaz's half-body.
"Master!" Bartholomew Kuma caught the Devil Fruit that Vikengam had dropped as he fell and called out worriedly.
Before the dust had even settled, Vikengam shouted, "Eat it, Kuma!"
Everything had happened too quickly. Vikengam had not even gotten a clear look at which Devil Fruit he had just seized. But the one in Ivankov's hands should have been the Azure Dragon, right?
But things were far too chaotic right now. Whether it was the Azure Dragon or the Paw-Paw Fruit, Bartholomew Kuma had to eat it first!
Bartholomew Kuma had long since become accustomed to obeying Vikengam's orders. Instinctively, he took a bite out of the Devil Fruit in his hand. Before he had even swallowed the flesh, another tall figure smashed through the wall. It was Charlotte Linlin.
She grabbed Ginny by the throat, snatched the Devil Fruit from her arms, and casually tossed the child aside. After all, Charlotte Linlin never killed children.
"Mahahahaha, this Devil Fruit is mine now!"
But before she could celebrate for even two seconds, there was a bang. A thick spiked club swung in from behind and smashed into the back of her head, slamming her face-first into the ground and sending the Devil Fruit in her hand flying.
Then Kaido, without even having time to pull back his spiked club, leaped up and swallowed the Devil Fruit in one bite.
At that exact moment, Vikengam had already activated his one-tomoe Sharingan. Through the gaps in the still-settling dust, he clearly saw that the Devil Fruit Kaido had swallowed was the Azure Dragon!
Before you continue