Like a Dog Seeing Shit

"But when it comes to dealing with an Immortal Body, I've got plenty of methods and tricks!"

Thinking of those methods, John could not help but smile sinisterly.

The simplest way would be to seal them inside an iron coffin and launch it into space.

He refused to believe Imu's teleportation array had such a vast summoning range that it could reach into space.

Or he could do what he had seen in a movie back in his hometown before he transmigrated.

Connect special equipment to the zombies, extract their "energy," and use it to power light bulbs, cars, and ships.

He refused to believe the energy within those who had formed a "Deep Sea Contract" could not be drained dry.

If it truly was endless, then he would have struck gold—it would be unlimited energy!

"Before my intelligence, you lot are nothing!"

John raised his head and looked toward the clear sky shrouded in gunpowder smoke.

From beginning to end, he had only ever had one enemy...

That damned fate!

Thud, thud, thud—

At that moment, a dense barrage of heavy footsteps sounded from behind him, growing clearer as it drew nearer.

John stopped and turned around, only to see Newgate, Linlin, Kaido, and the others sprinting wildly as though ghosts were chasing them.

"John, don't block the way!"

"Run already! Garp's coming!"

"If Garp gets hold of us, it'll be troublesome!"

Although they were fleeing, Newgate and the others all wore smiles, as though they were playing hide-and-seek with their friends.

And that was indeed the case. Garp was strong, but not strong enough to swiftly defeat any one of them alone.

He might not even be able to take down Newgate by himself.

They were running because the pirates' targets were Shakky, treasure, and Devil Fruits. Once Garp tied them down, they would have neither the time nor the chance to snatch those things.

If they had traveled all the way to God Valley at great risk just to fight Garp once, everyone would laugh at them for being idiots!

The thrill of battle? Forget it!

"Don't run! You pirates dared to cut down Marine soldiers like they were weeds—taste my fists!"

Before his voice arrived, an overwhelming wave of Haki surged forward like floodwaters bursting through a dam. The tangible shockwave whipped John's purple hair into the air.

Even from far away, they could see a humanoid beast charging at them. He looked as ravenous as a dog that had spotted shit.

Garp!

"You bastards, don't lead Garp over here! Go that way!"

John's pupils shrank. He quickly raised his hand and pointed to the right, signaling Newgate and the others to change direction.

However, Newgate, Linlin, and the others all revealed wicked grins, clearly and deliberately charging toward John instead.

"We're partners, aren't we? Help us hold Garp back!"

"John, it's time for you to shine! Take Garp down!"

They were still bitter about losing ten million Beli in the earlier bet, and now they desperately wanted to see John suffer.

"Forget it!"

John gritted his teeth. Electricity rippled across his body, and he rose into the air out of thin air.

Then, under Newgate, Linlin, and the others' astonished gazes, John flew horizontally into the vast forest with his hands behind his back.

In the blink of an eye, he vanished completely.

"The Magnet-Magnet Fruit can fly too?"

"Has this guy been hiding his strength all along?"

"It should be magnetic levitation. I read about it in a book. I never expected John, that miser, to study so diligently."

Linlin's eyes flickered as she recalled some related knowledge.

Because she had spent part of her childhood in Elbaf, she had developed an almost obsessive fixation on giants, yet she could not fulfill it because of their enmity.

So recently, she had come up with an idea—giantification for ordinary humans!

For that reason, she had been deliberately collecting and reading books, while searching for scientists in an attempt to make her idea a reality.

"I'm not playing with you lot either. Zeus!"

Linlin raised her hand in a beckoning gesture, and a massive white cloud descended from high in the sky. She leaped onto it in a single bound.

Then Kaido and the others watched helplessly as Linlin rode the cloud away at high speed.

"Damn it! I have to get an ability that lets me fly!"

At that moment, Kaido yearned for flight more than anything.

Newgate curled his lip, only thinking that he needed to recruit a crew member who could fly in the future...

"Voices! Voices! Voices!"

John flew with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering and hair whipping in the wind as the bushes below rapidly receded.

At the same time, he held his breath and focused, searching within his Mantra for the faint voices of children.

He had changed his mind. Rather than following Rocks, he would find Alice and Teach first.

Then he would use the mother and son as bait to fish Rocks away from God Valley!

"Found them!"

John's gaze sharpened abruptly, and he changed direction toward nine o'clock.

After flying another two thousand meters or so, his Mantra suddenly detected a trace of malice.

Immediately afterward, a bullet coated in Armament Haki shot toward him, aimed straight at his forehead.

John abruptly halted in midair and watched the bullet streak past before his eyes.

Then he lowered his gaze toward the ground below.

There were no sailor uniforms or black suits—just a group of pirates dressed in all sorts of mismatched clothes.

"So it's the famous 'Captain John.' Hand over your treasure right now!"

Jonathan Barkley, captain of the Mad Python Pirates, raised his flintlock pistol at John in the sky. His cloudy eyes brimmed with ambition and desire.

In his eyes, Captain John alone was worth more than all the treasure on the island.

Defeating this man would not only make him famous, but would also earn him treasure worth billions, perhaps even tens of billions, of Beli.

"So it was the intelligence Ginny spread that drew them here."

In an instant, John understood why these pirates, who did not belong to Rocks' forces, had appeared here.

Thirteen-year-old Ginny was already an expert at manipulating intelligence. Imprisoned by the Celestial Dragons as a slave, she had spread news of God Valley's immense treasure across the entire sea in order to muddy the waters.

Any pirate capable of appearing on God Valley now would not be weak.

"Wouldn't you be better off cutting down Celestial Dragons? Why come here to court death?"

John had no interest in wasting time with these idiots. He clenched his right fist, and deep-purple lightning exploded around it as he prepared to unleash a powerful strike with Conqueror's Haki Coating.

"John, leave these small fry to me."

Just as his fist was about to come down, a voice rang out.

Then the members of the Mad Python Pirates seemed as though time had frozen around them. They remained locked in their poses, standing there without moving at all.

Tap, tap, tap—

Accompanied by unhurried footsteps, a rough-looking man with short blond hair and a height of three meters appeared. Ignoring everyone around him, he walked into the ranks of the Mad Python Pirates.

Pete!

Despite Pete's appearance, the members of the Mad Python Pirates showed no reaction whatsoever. Even their eyes remained vacant.

"Ah, then they're yours."

John gave Pete a meaningful glance before flying away.