Survivors of God Valley

Kaby's bear paw slammed into the ground. Centered on the point of impact, the earth within a hundred meters suddenly collapsed. Rocks and dirt were hurled into the air as cracks spread wildly in every direction.

Gion appeared ten meters away with Soru. An invisible slash flew from Kompira's tip, cutting through the dust.

Kaby's body abruptly changed, shedding most of its Beast Form traits and becoming a half-man, half-bear hybrid. He kicked off the ground, leaving two deep craters behind as the immense recoil launched his massive body into the sky.

The slash swept beneath his feet, shearing off a tuft of bear fur from his left leg. The falling fur spun in the wind.

He adjusted his posture in midair and, using the force of his descent, pounced fiercely toward Gion.

His bear-furred arm rose high before his palm came crashing down, smashing the air into layers of white shockwaves.

Gion spread an invisible suit of Haki armor. Kompira burst with a peach-colored glow in her hand as her arm blurred into afterimages. Wave-like invisible slashes merged with her projected Armament Haki and struck Kaby's massive body.

Fine, crisscrossing bloodlines appeared across his body, as though an invisible fishing net had cut into his flesh.

Kaby's movements suddenly froze in midair. Flowing Armament Haki, carried by the slashes, entered his blood vessels and organs, destroying his body from within.

He crashed to the ground. Dust shot into the sky, and shattered stones scattered everywhere.

The massive eight-meter-tall body began to shrink the instant it hit the ground. The bear fur receded, his bones shortened, and his muscles collapsed until he finally returned to a tall, thin human form.

He was an ordinary middle-aged man, with sunken cheeks, prominent cheekbones, and skin covered in ravines carved by both slavery and battle.

He lay sprawled across the shattered ground, his fingers digging into the dirt, his nails packed with grit and blood.

A dull stabbing pain surged from within, making him cough without stop. Every cough brought up a mouthful of dark red blood.

Gion sheathed her blade and walked up to him. Her shadow fell over him, blocking the glaring sunlight.

That bloodstained face lifted from the shadows and looked at her. There was no anger in his gaze, no pleading, not even the slightest attachment to life.

"You won, woman Marine. Kill me. Forget prison. I don't want to lose my freedom again."

His eyes had lost all light, like glass beads with their cores hollowed out. His body was like a punctured waterskin, constantly leaking blood that pooled beneath him in a small patch of dark red.

"Losing your freedom is still better than dying." Gion looked down at him, her brows knitting slightly.

"Why are you so determined to die?"

She had seen pirates beg for mercy after losing, and she had seen them curse wildly. But she had never seen anyone so determined to die.

"Alive?"

As if experiencing a final burst of life, Kaby suddenly raised his head. He let out an earthshaking roar, then began screaming hysterically before Gion could answer.

"My wife and my child are both dead. What meaning is there in me staying alive?"

"Nineteen years ago, my family and I were captured by human traffickers and sold to Mary Geoise as slaves."

"Eighteen years ago, my family and I were taken to a place called God Valley under the excuse of 'meeting the Celestial Dragons' study tour needs.'"

"They told me, told my wife, told my son, that we could earn our freedom ourselves."

The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, as though his injuries no longer existed, as though he were no longer a blood-soaked man lying in the mud awaiting death, but had returned to that day eighteen years ago—barefoot, holding his wife's hand, carrying his son, and running for his life.

"We ran and ran, and after finally reaching the shore, what happened? A group of Marines in white uniforms pointed guns at us and forced us back!"

"They aimed their guns at us and told us to go back. I said I didn't want to return. My wife knelt and begged them. My son cried and called them uncle, begging them not to. They still forced us back!"

"I saw with my own eyes as my wife was taken down by anesthetic guns fired by those Marines in white uniforms."

"Then a golden-haired Celestial Dragon came over and cut off her head with a single slash."

"My son was tied to a tree with thorns by another Celestial Dragon and tortured to death bit by bit."

"He kept calling for his father, calling for me to save him. I heard him. I was being held down by several Marines just ten meters away, listening to him beg me to save him."

"Just because that beastly Celestial Dragon said scenes like that were the most delicious thing in the world!"

"If not for an ability user risking his life to save over a hundred of us, I would have rotted away in that hellhole long ago!"

Kaby's gaze returned from the void and fell upon Gion's face.

"This life of mine was picked up for free. I stopped wanting to live a long time ago. If I can send so many Marines down there to keep my wife and child company before I die, it's worth it."

"I would rather die than lose my freedom again."

"Come on."

He spread his arms, exposing his chest, which had been shredded apart by the slashes.

"Kill me. Kill me for your hypocritical justice."

Gion did not answer. She remained where she was. Kaby refused her order for the military doctors to stop his bleeding, stubbornly launching attack after attack. She only blocked, only retreated, only watched as the man's body gradually drained away its last drop of blood.

In the end, he fell.

He did not rise again.

No matter how strong a Zoan's regenerative ability was, it could not create blood from nothing. Excessive blood loss was fatal to most living creatures.

Distraught, Gion walked aimlessly along the coastline. She did not know how far she had gone.

The shimmering sea changed from gold to orange, then from orange to dark red.

In the distance, a black Submarine surfaced from beneath the sea. Its hatch opened, and a familiar figure stepped out from the cabin.

Gion's eyes lit up. She used Geppo to fly onto the deck, her high heels striking the metal as she threw herself into his arms.

She did not immediately speak of how much she had missed him, nor did she seek confirmation about those rumors. She simply leaned against his chest and began chattering about what had just happened.

After telling him everything about Kaby, Gion lifted her head and looked into Lucas's eyes. She told him what she thought of the matter, her gaze carrying a cautious hint of hope.

She believed Kaby had been lying.

Having been deeply influenced by Vice Admiral Tsuru's Pure Justice, Gion did not want to believe from the bottom of her heart that the Marines would commit such accomplice-like acts.

With her concept of justice already on the verge of collapse, she hoped that her man would agree with her.

As though he had seen through her thoughts, Lucas not only failed to comfort her, but poured another handful of salt into the wound in her heart.

"I've heard about this too. Eighteen years ago, Figarland Garling, the current commander of God's Knights, accidentally discovered the surviving David Clan in God Valley while carrying out a mission..."

He briefly explained the beginning and end of the God Valley incident. With every sentence, a little more color drained from Gion's face.

The light in her eyes gradually dimmed until it went out completely.

She could refuse to believe others, but she could not deceive herself into disbelieving Lucas.

So... it was all true.

The justice she had treated as faith, the Marines she had fought for, had this side to them as well.

So-called Absolute Justice had been rotten to the core from the very beginning.

She opened her mouth, about to say something else, when a crisp voice rang out from the cabin before she could speak.

"Darling! I did it! I learned Armament Haki using the method you taught me!"

Baccarat ran out excitedly, raising her arm, which was wrapped in a faint layer of Haki.

When she clearly saw the scene on deck, her steps abruptly halted, and the words at her lips were swallowed back down.

Gion narrowed her eyes, her dangerous gaze falling upon Baccarat.

She was two meters and eighty centimeters tall, with curves so outrageously full that they were even more exaggerated than Gion's.

What a slutty figure.

After a rapid moment of thought, she affectionately hooked her arm around Lucas's, pressing her soft body against his shoulder as her voice turned sickeningly sweet.

"Dear husband, who is this young lady? Won't you introduce her to your wife?"

Baccarat bit her lower lip and said nothing. She merely raised her eyes toward Lucas.

There was anticipation in her eyes, along with a trace of barely noticeable nervousness.

She wanted to know how this man she cared about would define her identity.

In the shadows by the hatch, an ear that had quietly poked out gave a slight twitch, filled with curiosity about what would happen next.

Feeling the soft touch against his arm, Lucas gave a tactical cough, his expression calm and open.

"This is Baccarat. She is my wife."

Baccarat's eyes instantly lit up. Her lips could not help curving upward, and it felt as though she were carrying a warmly burning flame in her heart.

The smile on Gion's face turned cold. She released Lucas's arm, stepped back, and drew Kompira in one motion, pointing it straight between Lucas's legs.

"Dear husband? She's your wife, then what am I?"

"I'll give you one chance to rethink your words."

Lucas stood there without the slightest panic, looking entirely justified instead.

"You're both my wives. I have two wives. Is that a problem?"

Children make choices.

Adults take them all.

Gion laughed in fury. A flash of blade light swept out as she raised her sword and slashed at him.

To be continued