Two Fireworks and an Imminent Ambush!

Inside Ballroom City, the roar of the crowd nearly lifted the roof.

Like a nimble little cat, Ginny weaved through gaps in the crowd.

Her gaze swept rapidly around before finally settling on the largest gambling table deeper inside.

More than a dozen people surrounded it, with a man around thirty seated at the center.

Samuel, the third-in-command. That was him...

Ginny first stopped beside an empty table nearby, collecting the empty glasses left by guests onto her tray. Then she picked up an unfinished bottle and poured its contents into a glass.

Then, carrying the tray, she headed toward Samuel's table.

"Sir, your drink," she said in a low voice.

Samuel was staring intently at his cards. Hearing her, he waved a hand carelessly.

Ginny set the glass beside his hand, then bent down as if to wipe away a spill.

She held a rag in her left hand and used the tray in her right to conceal herself. Two fingers slipped out and hooked the drawstring of the leather pouch at Samuel's waist.

With a flick of her fingertips and a twist of her wrist, the pouch slid free.

At the same time, a pouch she had prepared beforehand, filled with small items, slipped from her sleeve and landed precisely in its place.

The entire process took less than two seconds.

The gambling table was noisy, and no one noticed.

Ginny straightened up, lowered her head, and hurried toward the exit.

She could feel the weight of the leather pouch.

There were keys inside, passes, perhaps even the timetable for the transport ships.

As long as she got hold of those, she could find where the children were being held under house arrest, as well as Ivankov and Kuma. She might even figure out the transport routes...

Focused on the path ahead, she avoided the crowded stream of people and was just about to reach the door.

Ginny placed her hand on the doorknob.

I did it!

She had barely pushed the door open and stepped outside—

Several ropes shot through the air, instantly wrapping around Ginny's calves, waist, and neck.

"Urgh..."

Ginny couldn't breathe, and the leather pouch flew from her hand.

A hand caught the pouch in midair.

The man who had punched out the drunkard was somehow already standing before her, his entire arm transformed into branching ropes.

The ropes tightened further and further. Ginny's face turned purple, and though she tried to tear away the rope around her neck, it was futile.

"Hey, don't break the toy Saint Rosward wants."

Samuel's lazy voice rang out.

"Yes!"

The tall, thin man lowered his head in panic and handed the pouch back to Samuel, who had just walked outside.

Then he hurriedly withdrew his Devil Fruit abilities, pulling back the rope wrapped around Ginny's neck.

Ginny gasped desperately for air, tears spilling uncontrollably from the suffocating sensation.

It isn't over yet... They're all waiting for me... They're waiting for me!

She raised her head and saw Samuel holding the leather pouch, a teasing smile on his face.

"My second brother probably never expected this, hahaha."

Samuel walked over to Ginny and crouched down. "The person he searched so hard for came right to me herself."

He lifted Ginny's chin with his index finger and carefully examined her little face, covered in dust.

"I don't see anything special about you either..."

Samuel tilted his head. "That Celestial Dragon's tastes are really strange. He likes playing with little girls who haven't even grown up yet?"

"But," he said, releasing her and standing up. He spread his arms and laughed at the dazzling lights of Ballroom City.

"Now everyone is here!"

"If I send them over together, that island will be mine! Guhahahaha—!"

Just then, a streak of blue light tore across the night sky.

Samuel happened to be looking upward.

A ball of fire swept past his eyes, its trajectory aimed directly at the very top of Tenpan City.

"What is that..."

Before he could finish speaking, the fireball had already reached the edge of the Plate Crown District.

The next instant, sky-blue flames exploded in midair, spreading in every direction like fireworks and transforming into countless tiny firefly-like lights.

Ten seconds later, the points of light faded, and the night sky returned to darkness.

"Where did that firecracker come from?!"

First level of Tenpan City.

Abandoned dock district.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Moria grabbed Lin Nuo by the pant leg.

Just one minute earlier, Lin Nuo had seized him and plunged downward at suicidal speed.

At the same time, he had flung a compressed ball of Azure Flame into the night sky.

The fireball flew hundreds of meters into the air before exploding at the top level into a sky full of glowing specks.

"Kuma saw my abilities at God Valley," Lin Nuo said, pulling Moria's hand away.

"If he sees it from some corner, he might recognize it. This could save us a lot of time searching for him."

"But didn't you say we were supposed to act in secret?!"

"This looks like a declaration of war! What the hell is secret about it?!"

"Relax, relax." Seeing that Moria was genuinely angry, Lin Nuo put on an innocent expression.

"It was just a little firework. I saw people setting them off around here earlier, so I just blended in and set one off too."

"Besides, I only arrived somewhere new. It's not like my level got reset to zero."

"What are you so afraid of?"

Lin Nuo was extremely confident when he said that.

Tenpan City might be a den of dragons and tigers in these waters, but compared to the entire world, its military strength was nothing remarkable.

Unless Imu suddenly came charging over from Mary Geoise, or a Logia user showed up, there were few people who could threaten him.

Moria glared at him for several seconds before finally letting go and turning his face away in displeasure.

"So confident," he muttered quietly.

"I think you're just relying on your Devil Fruit abilities. You don't even have Haki. If you get yourself killed by some cheap trick, don't expect me to save you."

"It's fine." Lin Nuo suddenly spoke in a relaxed tone. "If we really run into someone we can't beat, you can escape first."

Moria froze and turned to look at him.

Lin Nuo took the little Transponder Snail from his clothes and tossed it lightly in his hand.

"The Transponder Snail I gave you is for that. In an emergency, contact Alice and have her bring the ship over to get you out."

"I had the White Shell remain mobile for that reason too."

The moonlight barely outlined Lin Nuo's profile.

That familiar, somewhat casual smile remained on his lips.

But his eyes clearly showed he wasn't joking. He was serious.

Moria opened his mouth, but in the end, he only clicked his tongue and turned away.

Arrogant bastard...

He stopped dwelling on the subject and began observing the surroundings.

The abandoned docks were piled with wooden barrels and torn fishing nets. Shadows crisscrossed everywhere, making visibility extremely poor.

Just then.

Moria noticed that the outline of a shadow on the ground beside a half-toppled barrel to the left was wrong.

The moonlight shone from behind at an angle, so the barrel's shadow should have been an oval shape.

But at the edge of that oval, there was an extra little protrusion.

It looked like the silhouette cast by someone's shoulders and head as they crouched against the barrel.

Someone's there!

"Who's there?! Come out!"

Moria instinctively roared and pulled a specially made large harpoon from behind his back.

But the figure had already moved before Moria spoke.

A bloated figure, clearly weighing at least two hundred pounds, suddenly rose from the shadows.

His hand moved astonishingly fast, and the object clutched in his right hand flashed coldly in the moonlight.

"Ah! He has a gun!"

Bang!

At the exact moment the other man fired.

The Lunarian Flame behind Lin Nuo's Black Wing blazed fiercely as he shifted sideways and stepped in front of Moria.