"Bang!"
Murakumogiri, coated in Haki, slammed fiercely against Ace, tearing countless ravines through the surrounding ground.
"Gurararara! Roger, didn't you eat today?!" Whitebeard laughed heartily as he pressed down hard with his naginata.
"It's not over yet, Newgate!"
Roger grinned and strained to deflect the blow, though beads of sweat had already appeared at his temples.
Over on Rayleigh's side, had he found Shakky yet...
He had to make it in time!
Meanwhile.
In a courtyard at the edge of the battlefield.
A woman was struggling to move.
Her hands were shackled behind her back, but that had not completely robbed her of mobility.
Even trapped in such desperate circumstances, her breathtakingly beautiful face still bore unwavering resolve.
The grand prize of this Human Hunting Game, Shakky, was fleeing alone.
Suddenly, a figure blocked her only path.
It was a haggard-looking man dressed in the uniform of God's Knights.
Saint Somaz.
He approached step by step, moving at an unhurried pace.
"Should I say I'm lucky..." Somaz's voice carried a smile. "Saint Garling and the Marines were all lured away by that Lunarian."
"That's why I can be alone with you so soon... Shakky."
"Hahahaha."
"Move." Shakky's voice was icy, her eyes filled with disgust.
Somaz seemed not to hear her. Instead, he grew more excited, his laughter becoming increasingly manic. "Tell me, why do so many people want you?"
"Why? Why is that?"
"It would be one thing if it were only lowly pirates... but why has even Garling taken a liking to you?"
He spread his arms and nearly roared, "They call you the champion's prize? Hahahahaha!"
"In truth, him getting you was inevitable! This tournament was nothing but a procedure! A ritual!"
"I love you so very much."
His voice abruptly turned sinister as he raised the spiked club in his hand.
"So, to make sure no one can have you..."
"Die, Shakky!"
Before his words had even faded, he charged forward!
Shakky's gaze sharpened. Even with her hands bound, she still swung a high kick at his head using the strength of her waist and abdomen.
Somaz tilted his head aside to evade it, then grabbed Shakky's slender yet powerful ankle in one fluid motion.
Crack!
The spiked club howled through the air and smashed viciously into her lower leg.
The sound of bone cracking was unmistakable.
"Urgh—!" Agonizing pain swept through her. Shakky groaned and collapsed helplessly to the ground.
Blood rapidly stained her dress crimson.
Looking at Somaz standing before her and preparing to deliver the final blow, there was no fear in her eyes—only deep regret.
Rayleigh... goodbye...
Somaz laughed wildly and raised his spiked club as high as it could go.
From this moment onward, let the world of One Piece feel pain!
However, Somaz's expression suddenly changed. He abruptly swung the raised club sideways toward his back.
The sound of something cutting through the air rang out, yet there was no one behind him.
He looked up.
In midair, a man with black wings on his back, brown skin, and short white hair was gazing down at him coldly.
"A Lunarian? Could it be..." Somaz's expression darkened. "What are Garling and the others doing? They couldn't even take this guy out?"
Lin Nuo clicked his tongue in disappointment. "Tch, you noticed me after all."
"No choice. I'll take you head-on!"
If assassination would not work, then he would just crush everything in his path.
The flames on Lin Nuo's back suddenly went out. In the next instant, sky-blue flames ignited around his legs and part of his wings.
Partial Beast Transformation: Phoenix Form.
"Phoenix Seal!"
He dove downward, his blue-flame-wreathed claws aiming directly for Somaz.
"Phoenix?!" Somaz had no time to think. He hastily held his spiked club across his body.
At the same time, countless hard black thorns emerged across his body.
Boom!
The blue-flame claws collided violently with the thorn-covered spiked club!
Somaz was knocked back several steps, burn marks appearing on his body.
But those wounds healed rapidly at a visible rate. The regenerative ability granted by Imu's Demon Contract left him practically uninjured.
Yet when he steadied himself and looked closely, there was already no one where Lin Nuo had been.
"Not good!" Somaz had only just realized it.
Lin Nuo had already scooped up Shakky and flown a considerable distance away.
"Damn it—!!!"
The frustration of seeing everything go to waste made Somaz let out an unwilling roar.
High in the sky.
"Thank you for saving me." Shakky thanked him sincerely, then looked at Lin Nuo in confusion.
"I don't think I've seen you before."
"Are you... a pirate?"
"Me? I'm not a pirate for the time being." Lin Nuo answered while flying at high speed.
"But I know Roger and the others. They're already on the island, and I'm planning to hand you over to them."
He paused, then added, "No, to be precise, I'm handing you over to Rayleigh."
At the mention of that name, Shakky's cheeks immediately flushed red.
"Hehe," Lin Nuo teased, "if not for me, you two would have become a pair of star-crossed lovers today."
"Remember my name, Lin Nuo. I'll collect this favor from you someday."
Of course, even if I hadn't come, Rayleigh probably would have made it in time... but I'm definitely claiming this favor.
"No matter what, thank you again, Lin Nuo." Shakky said sincerely.
Just then, her attention was drawn to a figure on the ground, desperately running in their direction.
"Rayleigh!" Shakky recognized the figure she had longed to see at a glance.
She could not help waving and calling out.
On the ground, Rayleigh, who had been searching anxiously, looked up at the sound. He first saw Shakky unharmed, and wild joy bloomed across his face.
Then he saw Lin Nuo's strange form holding Shakky, and surprise and suspicion flashed in his eyes.
Lin Nuo swooped down, landed steadily, and gently set Shakky down.
"I'm sorry, I came too late! You're not hurt, are you?!"
Rayleigh rushed forward and pulled Shakky into his arms. His voice trembled with lingering fear as he carefully checked her condition.
"Ah, I..." Only then did Shakky realize that she had been so happy that she had forgotten all about her leg injury.
She looked down, only to discover that the horrific wound from before had completely healed.
"Lin Nuo!" Shakky turned around, only to find that the winged figure had already soared into the sky, becoming a black dot as he flew toward another part of the island.
Rayleigh looked in the direction Lin Nuo had vanished, his gaze profound. Then he tightly grasped Shakky's hand. "I know you have a lot to tell me."
"But this isn't the place to talk. Let's get out first! Come with me!"
He took Shakky's hand and quickly retreated toward the Roger Pirates' main force.
"Oh! It's Shakky!"
"Miss Shakky!"
Along the way, the pirates who had originally wanted to play the hero and save the beauty immediately tried to rush over when they saw Shakky.
But after sensing Rayleigh's completely undisguised, powerful Haki, they all stopped in their tracks.
Then, seeing Shakky and Rayleigh's tightly clasped hands, as well as the undisguised happiness and reliance on her face, everyone was dumbfounded.
In an instant, half of God Valley turned into a massive scene of heartbreak.
"Damn it! That Rayleigh..."
"I'm so jealous of Rayleigh, I'm jealous to death!"
The pirates beat their chests and stomped their feet, tears streaming down their faces.
Before long, Rayleigh joined up with the Roger Pirates members who had come to meet him.
"Captain! Shakky's been rescued!" Rayleigh called out.
"That's great!" Roger breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Shakky safe and sound.
But he immediately noticed the intimate scene between Shakky and Rayleigh.
Still, with the situation so urgent, he could only command, "Quick! Cover each other and retreat to the outskirts!"
And so, a strange sight appeared.
Roger, Gaban, and the other recently heartbroken Roger Pirates members wiped away their tears as they carved a bloody path for their brother.
"Wait!"
However, Roger, who had charged through the enemy lines as though no one could stop him, suddenly halted, his face turning solemn.
Before Roger could explain why, Rayleigh, Gaban, and the others behind him also quickly felt that mountain-like pressure.
Ahead of them stood a burly figure wearing a Marine coat, his back facing them.
All around him lay the corpses of slaves, sprawled across the ground in waves.
This Haki...
Monkey D. Garp!
"I'll hold him off. You all retreat first." Roger stepped forward, Ace ringing as it slid from its sheath.
Rayleigh and the others knew that this was not the time to argue over who would stay behind, so they immediately changed direction and withdrew.
Yet to everyone's surprise, Garp was strangely calm at that moment.
He slowly turned around. The boldness and fighting spirit that had once seemed to tower above all else were gone from his face.
In their place were confusion, disbelief, and... rage suppressed to its absolute limit.
"Hey, Roger..." Garp asked a question that left everyone utterly baffled.
"Tell me, am I dreaming?"
Roger was taken aback by the question and frowned deeply. "Of course not! What nonsense are you talking about, Garp?"
"If you don't want to fight, then I'm leaving, so don't stand in my way!"
"Then..." Garp's voice abruptly rose.
He raised a hand and pointed at the slaves' corpses around them, asking word by word, "Answer me one question."
"These dead slaves."
"Everything that happened on this island!"
"Was it all done by the Celestial Dragons?! By us Marines?!"
Before you continue