Homeward Bound, the Navy's Kill Order

"Lin Nuo—!!!"

"You scared us to death! Why did you have to scare us like that? Sob—!!" Ginny wiped the tears from her eyes.

Ivankov rushed over too, hammering Lin Nuo's leg with his fist. "Ha! You bastard! You woke up and didn't even say anything!"

"We thought you were going to die!"

"Do you know what Kuma was about to do? He was going to absorb all your injuries into himself!"

Lin Nuo pretended to grimace in pain from the blows.

He looked at Kuma.

The little chubby kid was still standing where he was.

His hands were pressed together, his eyes closed, his lips moving slightly as he silently gave thanks for something.

A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and smiled in relief.

"Thank you," Kuma said.

"I should be the one thanking you." Lin Nuo's gaze was sincere.

"But." He paused, his tone turning serious. "Promise me you won't do something so dangerous again."

Lin Nuo pointed at his chest.

"Most of the time, just because an enemy's attacks seem to have no effect on me doesn't mean I wasn't hurt. It's only because I regenerate too fast."

"I don't really mind, but it would be completely different if you had to bear it."

He looked at the three of them.

"And at God Valley, Imu pierced my body with black tentacles like I was meat on a skewer."

"Kuma, you saw it with your own eyes, yet you still did something so foolish."

"Sorry..."

"Sigh..." Lin Nuo's voice softened. "But I still have to thank you all. Really."

The three exchanged glances, then nodded together.

Kuma pressed his hands together again and bowed slightly.

"Are you guys all right—!!"

"Roy, faster!!"

At that moment, desperate shouts came from the distance.

Everyone turned to look.

A huge Hellhound came charging toward them at full speed, kicking up clouds of dust along the way.

On the dog's back, Moria's face was pale.

A few seconds later, man and dog arrived before them.

Roy slammed on the brakes, his four claws plowing deep trenches into the ground.

"Where's Lin Nuo? Is he seriously hurt!?"

The words had barely left his mouth.

Then, the two of them saw it.

Ivankov and the other two, completely unharmed.

And Lin Nuo, looking relaxed and at ease.

"Yo, Moria, Roy, I'm fine."

"Did you complete your mission?"

Time stopped.

"Wha—t—!!"

Roy had been able to land steadily, but now his front legs gave out and he crashed headfirst into a nearby pile of lumber.

The lumber collapsed with a bang, burying most of his body.

Moria was dragged forward as well, falling face-first into the lumber pile.

Then he crawled out, rushed up to Lin Nuo, grabbed him, and shook him furiously!

"Bastard! What kind of joke is this? Watch me cut off your shadow and throw it under the sun to burn into ashes!!"

"Wali wali, sorry, I didn't mean to."

Moria was so angry he nearly passed out.

He let go, breathing heavily as he glared viciously at Lin Nuo.

Then Lin Nuo blinked. "Huh, what did you just say?"

"Cut off my shadow?"

He looked Moria up and down.

"You ate the Shadow-Shadow Fruit?!"

Moria stared at him, the corners of his mouth gradually stretching into a grin that mixed pride with savagery.

"Looks like you've had your own adventure too. Tell me all about it once we get back on the ship."

He turned to Roy, who was shifting back into human form. "Who has the Transponder Snail I handed out earlier?"

"Oh, I gave that one to Glen. He took the children and withdrew first, so he needed to stay in contact more. I can track people by scent anyway, so I didn't keep it."

Lin Nuo nodded.

"What are you planning to do next?" Lin Nuo asked. "Come with us, or...?"

"We already prepared a small cargo ship and hid it somewhere secluded at the third dock."

"Also, on an island about half an hour east of here, we have a safer base."

"I'm planning to send all the children we rescued this time there and get them settled."

He looked at Lin Nuo, his tone earnest. "We really have you to thank this time."

"Without you and Moria, we might not even have found where they were being held, let alone rescued anyone."

"It's fine." Lin Nuo patted his shoulder.

"Let's contact Alice and have her come over. Once we're aboard, we can hold a quick meeting and sort out what comes next."

Lin Nuo swept his gaze over everyone.

Although the gang's remaining forces no longer posed a threat to them.

They had fought for so long that everyone was tired. There was no need to keep tangling with them.

He took out a pink Transponder Snail from his pocket and pressed the call button.

"Buru buru... Buru buru..."

"Hello, is this Alice?"

The Transponder Snail opened its mouth, but a little boy's voice came through.

"No, this is Teach!"

Lin Nuo froze for a moment, then laughed.

A burst of static came from the other end, along with Alice's helpless chuckle.

"Moshi moshi, this is Alice."

"Is that Lin Nuo? How are things over there?"

"Everything went smoothly," Lin Nuo said.

"You can head to the rendezvous point I told you about when we made the plan yesterday."

On the other end of the line, aboard the White Shell.

Alice steered the ship with one hand while holding the Transponder Snail to her ear with the other.

Before her, Tenpan City lay fully in view.

"I've reached the west side. I'll be able to circle around soon, probably... I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Okay, we'll wait for you here."

"Stay safe."

Click.

The Transponder Snail closed its eyes and retreated halfway into its shell.

At the same time.

On the sea east of Tenpan City.

A ship was sailing slowly.

It was the Happy Angel, which had passed by the White Shell the previous night.

A child transport ship disguised as a civilian cargo vessel.

But the atmosphere aboard was completely different from the night before.

There was no party on deck, no music, and no children laughing and playing with toys.

On the other side of the deck.

More than thirty gang crew members were all bruised and battered, their hands cuffed behind their backs as they were packed together.

Nearby, Navy soldiers in uniform patrolled the area.

An officer wearing a coat of justice strode past, and the soldiers immediately stopped and saluted.

"Lieutenant Commander Kuro, all suspects have been subdued. None escaped!"

"What about the children?"

"The medical team has already conducted preliminary examinations. They are all in good health. Psychological counseling is currently being arranged..."

Lieutenant Commander Kuro nodded.

"Continue the operation. I'll report to the vice admiral."

He turned, walked to the ship's rail, and leaped into the air.

Geppo

Below him, on the sea.

Was a suffocatingly massive formation.

Centered around the Happy Angel, rows upon rows of Navy fleets filled the sea for several nautical miles in every direction.

A full twenty-four standard warships were spread out in a fan-shaped formation.

Each was several times larger than the Happy Angel, while the flagship at the very center of the formation was a true behemoth.

It was over two hundred meters long, with three gun decks and countless cannon ports lining its sides.

Lieutenant Commander Kuro adjusted his posture in midair and landed steadily on the flagship's deck.

He hurried across the busy deck and headed straight for the bridge.

Outside the bridge, two armed Navy guards saluted him.

Kuro returned the salute and pushed the door open.

The atmosphere inside the bridge was solemn.

Detailed maps of the West Blue and the Grand Line were spread across a huge chart table, while several staff officers marked routes.

And before the observation window beyond the chart table stood two people.

Lieutenant Commander Kuro stopped three meters behind them, stood at attention, and saluted.

"Report! All suspects have been brought under control. Ninety-seven trafficked children have been taken into custody."

The person standing on the left slowly turned around.

He was tall, with short purple hair standing sharply upright. Most striking of all were his sharply styled sunglasses.

"Elite Vice Admiral of Headquarters, Zephyr."

"Good work, Kuro." Zephyr's voice was low and powerful. "Arrange for the children to be properly settled."

"Once we reach the next branch port, transfer them to the local authorities."

"Yes, sir!"

Zephyr turned back to the map, his thick finger moving across the waters of the West Blue.

"At this speed, how long until we enter the waters around Capone Peninsula?"

A staff officer beside him immediately answered, "Reporting, Vice Admiral. At our current speed, we will enter the outer waters of the peninsula in approximately three minutes."

"We will enter Tenpan City's territorial waters in half an hour."

Zephyr nodded without speaking.

The other person beside him also turned around.

She was a female officer.

She too wore a senior officer's coat, though its tailored cut emphasized her tall, slender figure.

"Vice Admiral of Headquarters, Chief Staff Officer Tsuru."

"Tenpan City..." Tsuru softly repeated the name.

"We're getting closer and closer to the coordinates in the report we received on 'Rocks' area of activity.'"

She furrowed her brows slightly, seemingly deep in thought.

A few seconds later, she raised her eyes and looked at Zephyr.

"Oh, right, Zephyr. Before we departed, I received an urgent secret order from Saint Saturn."

Zephyr turned his head, his gaze behind the lenses locking onto Tsuru.

"What did it say?"

"The order mentioned that the Lunarians who escaped from God Valley have appeared in the waters we're about to pass through."

The muscles on Zephyr's face twitched.

"What exactly did Saint Saturn's secret order say?"

Tsuru looked at him and slowly spoke.

"At any cost."

"Exterminate."