Undying, Cause and Effect

"I'll send you two flying first, Lin Nuo, Ivankov!" Kuma shouted urgently as he looked around at the encirclement.

"What about you?" Ivankov clutched the last treasure chest, his face full of worry.

Kuma raised both hands, revealing the pink pads on his palms.

"I can send myself flying too. Don't worry!" He moved closer to Ivankov, his gaze resolute.

Ivankov looked at Kuma, then at Lin Nuo beside him, and finally smiled in trust.

"Then I'll wait for you on an island outside, Kuma! You have to survive!"

"Yeah! It's a promise!"

Boom—

A dull, elastic thump rang out.

Ivankov vanished from the spot in an instant.

After sending Ivankov flying, Kuma immediately turned and aimed his palm at Lin Nuo.

However, after watching someone escape right under their noses, God's Knights flew into a rage!

"Stop them! Don't let a single one get away!"

Lasers, bullets, arrows...

All kinds of attacks came one after another, sealing off every route Kuma could take.

"Kuma, hold on to me!"

Lin Nuo grabbed Kuma by the arm, his wings beating fiercely as he shot into the sky with him, narrowly avoiding the first wave of concentrated attacks.

But the attacks below pursued them relentlessly. Every gun and cannon turned upward at once, spewing fire.

The barrage spread like a great net, covering the two of them in midair.

Azure Flame: Whirlwind!

At that moment.

Besides the Lunarian flames on his body, a mass of pure sky-blue fire suddenly burst from Lin Nuo with a whoosh!

The blue flames formed a living barrier, instantly wrapping around Kuma and him.

The dense attacks passed through the blue flames, but the scattered fire swirled and gathered again, restoring itself completely.

Lin Nuo and Kuma, protected at its center, remained completely unscathed.

"What?!"

"The attacks... didn't hit?"

"No, it's not that they didn't hit." Saint Garling's expression was extremely grim.

"This is a Mythical Zoan..."

"The power of the Zoan-type Tori Tori no Mi, Phoenix Model."

Before everyone's shocked eyes, the blue flames in the air intertwined with the Lunarian Flame, expanding and changing shape.

In the end, an incomparably majestic giant bird appeared.

Most of its body was covered in mingled blue and yellow flames. Its wings were formed entirely from blazing azure fire, while its long tail feathers trailed streams of light, scattering sparks with every flap.

Some of the younger Marines were utterly captivated by its dreamlike form and unconsciously lowered their weapons.

"Lin Nuo, this is..."

Carefully held in Lin Nuo's claws, Kuma's face was illuminated by the interwoven glow, his eyes filled with anticipation.

"Oh, feels pretty good, right?" Lin Nuo's amused voice came from the giant bird's mouth. "This is my power."

"Konoha's Azure..."

"No, One Piece's Azure Beast!"

He spread his wings and sped toward the edge of the encirclement with Kuma.

"Listen, Kuma." Lin Nuo's voice turned serious. "I'll hold off the Marines. Hurry and find Ginny and the others."

"Once you've saved them, send yourself flying. Don't worry about me."

"How can I do that? You..." Kuma wanted to argue.

"That's enough. I still have my own business to handle on this island." Lin Nuo cut him off, leaving no room for argument.

"Don't worry. Even without you, I can fly out on my own."

Kuma looked at the Marines and God's Knights pursuing them from behind, then gritted his teeth. "All... right."

"Then you have to be careful!"

"Don't worry."

Lin Nuo dived down, landed at the edge of the encirclement, and gently set Kuma down.

"I healed your injuries with my flames while I was at it. Go!"

Kuma froze when he heard that and touched his back.

The arrow wound where a Celestial Dragon had shot him, along with all the tiny cuts and bruises across his body, had completely healed.

"What a... gentle ability." Kuma raised his head and looked deeply at the angelic figure before him.

This man had appeared so abruptly, killed the Celestial Dragon who had been preparing to ambush them, helped them find the fruit, led them out of a hopeless situation, healed his wounds, and was now going to stay behind alone to cover their retreat...

"We have to... meet again."

Kuma no longer hesitated. Using both hands and feet, he desperately ran toward where Ginny might be.

He deeply engraved this heavy debt of gratitude into his heart.

"Come fight me to the death, you God's speed bumps!"

The Phoenix Lin Nuo had become let out a clear cry, instantly drawing the attention of every pursuer.

He folded his wings, his massive body turning nimbly through the air as blue and yellow flames gathered wildly.

Guardian Fire Dragon! Crane Claw!

A flaming dragon formed from Lunarian Flame roared into existence.

Then he compressed it and wrapped it around his bestial giant claw before kicking fiercely at Saint Garling, who led the charge!

"Arrogant! Even if you're a Phoenix, I'll make sure you die without a corpse today!"

Saint Garling roared. Haki erupted from the famous sword in his hand, joining the attacks of the other God's Knights in a raging torrent.

Boom—

A deafening explosion erupted as blue-red flames collided violently with Haki shockwaves.

The resulting blast stripped away a layer of earth from the surrounding ground.

However, before the aftershock of the explosion had even dispersed, Saint Garling's expression suddenly changed.

There was no one in front of him.

"Damn it, he ran away, Saint Garling!" one of the knights cried out.

In the distant sky.

The Phoenix that had just shouted about fighting to the death was now flapping its wings desperately, about to vanish beyond the forest.

"Damn it! That despicable Lunarian! Go after him!"

Veins bulged on Saint Garling's forehead in fury as he prepared to order an all-out pursuit.

But the knights around him suddenly fell silent, uncertain expressions appearing on all their faces.

"Garling... did you feel that?"

One member spoke in a low voice.

"What is it?" Saint Garling was confused at first, but then his face changed drastically.

As Lord Imu's contractor, he possessed a special sense for that dark power that dominated everything.

At that moment, he could vaguely sense several "demonic" presences appearing out of nowhere on God Valley.

Lord Imu had made a move...

The anger on Garling's face was replaced by gravity.

"Tsk, the situation has changed..."

"Forget that guy for now. We're going to find Saint Saturn."

With that, God's Knights put away their weapons and swiftly changed direction, racing toward the island's core.

Huff, huff.

After flying over one war-torn area after another, Lin Nuo realized he had shaken off those Celestial Dragons and breathed a sigh of relief.

"There are too many monsters on this island now. Better not draw too much attention."

With that thought, he dismissed his Phoenix Model and swept low through the air, his thoughts racing.

The reason he had refused to leave with Kuma and willingly stayed behind despite the danger was to plant more "causes and effects."

To bring down Imu, he could not rely on himself alone.

Even if he developed top-tier Haki in the future, victory would not be guaranteed.

He needed allies. He needed powerful support.

And the current chaos on God Valley was the best place to make allies.

He knew that the Roger Pirates had come to save Shakky, while Rocks had come to save his family.

If he could get there first and help these "hostages" when they faced danger, they would undoubtedly owe him an enormous debt.

Roger went without saying.

Rocks, that ambitious tyrant who wanted nothing more than to kill Imu and overthrow the World Government, was even more naturally his ally.

Unfortunately, this overlord of the seas had first been subjected to Imu's Black-Turn Domination.

After being defeated by Roger and Garp together, he had been finished off by several members of God's Knights.

If I can find a way to let Rocks walk out of God Valley alive...

Lin Nuo's eyes gleamed with madness and ambition. What kind of monstrous waves will that unleash upon the balance of this sea?

Compared to Rocks, Roger was practically a desk-bound pirate.

He muttered the complaint under his breath and swept his gaze over the chaotic battlefield below.

"Let's find some locals and ask around."

"Information about Rocks's family..."

The flames behind Lin Nuo withdrew as he descended soundlessly like a hunting night owl.