Fire Wall Burns the Sea, Blood Flows Like a River

At Garp's command, the three ships sailing at full speed immediately turned and sped toward Roya.

Roya had clearly noticed the Marines as well.

Especially the warship with the dog head figurehead among the three vessels. He knew it was Garp's personal warship.

"Ship ahead, stop immediately and cooperate with the investigation."

The three warships kept shouting at Roya through Loudspeaker Den Den Mushi.

Hearing them, Roya pulled his cloak lower. "Now isn't the time to play with you."

There were only two short days left until it was time to check in at Vermeyo Island. Based on Roya's estimate, Golden Lion had most likely already arrived at Vermeyo and might even have activated his Devil Fruit ability to make the island float in the sky!

He had no intention of letting these Marines waste his time.

Not even Garp could do that!

With that thought, Roya rested a hand on his sword hilt and slowly drew Ryujin Jakka.

"Let all things in the universe turn to ash, Ryujin Jakka!!!"

As Roya's words fell, grim flames ignited out of thin air along the ancient blade, scorching the air until it became distorted.

As spiritual pressure surged forth, an aura resembling Conqueror's Haki suddenly spread out!

Every Marine soldier who felt that aura was knocked unconscious.

A fierce wind rose, and the waves churned wildly!

Dark clouds gathered overhead!

Even Garp's pupils contracted sharply. "This guy's Conqueror's Haki is actually this powerful!"

Just as Garp finished speaking, Roya swung Ryujin Jakka through the air from left to right.

Flames erupted forth, crashing down upon the sea with the weight of ten thousand tons and sending countless waves soaring.

The surging waves sped up Roya's ship while drastically slowing the three Marine warships.

At the same time, a wall of fire appeared between Roya and the warships.

The flaming barrier blazed across the sea. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but fire, stretching for dozens of miles!

It separated Roya from the warships, leaving Garp unable to abandon his ship and pursue him.

"You bastard! Don't let me catch you! Otherwise, I'll beat the living daylights out of you!"

Garp clenched his sandbag-sized fist and roared at Roya in the distance.

However, Roya had already ridden the waves away and did not hear Garp's words at all.

Garp frowned deeply. Compared to the wall of fire, he was more concerned that Roya had departed in the exact direction of Golden Lion!

Thinking of that, Garp immediately took out a Den Den Mushi and reported to Admiral Sengoku.

Garp: "Sengoku, I ran into that mysterious guy."

Sengoku: "The mysterious guy? Did you catch him? Did you see what he looked like?"

Garp: "Neither. A wall of fire he created blocked our path. More importantly, he left in Golden Lion's direction. I'm afraid Golden Lion's escape from Impel Down might be connected to this person. If those two join forces, another powerful force will emerge on these seas!"

After hearing Garp, Sengoku's heart sank. "Understood. I'll personally lead troops to support you. No matter what, you must keep them there."

Garp grinned widely. "Sengoku, leave it to me. But you'd better get here quickly!"

After hanging up, Garp looked in the direction Roya had gone and laughed loudly. "No matter who you are, this time, you won't be able to escape even with wings!!!"

--

Roya knew nothing about the Marines' movements.

He studied the simple sea chart Olvia had drawn for him, constantly adjusting his course as he sailed across the sea.

The closer he got, the less anxious Roya became.

Only when there was one day left before the final check-in deadline did Roya finally spot Vermeyo Island.

However, before Roya could set foot on Vermeyo Island and check in, he smelled the stench of blood drifting continuously from the island.

The bloody smell was incredibly heavy, making Roya frown slightly.

"To produce such a heavy stench of blood, how many people would have to die?"

His ship stopped beside the island. As Roya stepped onto the shore, the system's electronic voice sounded in his mind.

[Ding, congratulations to the host for successfully checking in. Obtained: Twelve Zodiac Talismans—Chicken Talisman! This talisman allows its holder to float in the air and control objects to float and move. Its functions are similar to Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit.]

Roya took out the Chicken Talisman from the system space. Looking at it in his hand, he clenched it and thought of floating.

A layer of blue light appeared around Roya. It flashed and vanished, and his body immediately rose into the air.

"So this is what floating feels like."

Roya quickly mastered the Chicken Talisman's use and floated through the sky.

Once he reached a certain height, Roya finally saw where that dense stench of blood had come from!

It was a village in Merveille, located within the jungle. Corpses lay everywhere, blood flowed freely, and the place was as terrifying as hell itself.

Controlling his body, Roya descended into the village of Merveille.

He did not set foot on the ground, because it was covered in bloody water. Only countless sword marks scarred the earth.

Those sword marks stretched deep into the rainforest, where a man with a beard of long golden hair dragging across the ground was massacring people with the two swords attached to his feet!

Sword energy danced through the air, raging without end.

Every slash took another living life.

"Jiehahahaha! This is a world where the strong prey on the weak. Anyone without strength can only be slaughtered at will. Now that I've set my sights on this island, you people should disappear from it!"

Golden Lion Shiki's eyes were shot through with crimson veins, and a hint of madness seeped from them.

Having just escaped from Impel Down, he had lost both feet, but he had replaced them with the two famous swords, Oto and Kogarashi, mounting them onto his legs to serve as limbs.

But he had only just equipped them and was not yet familiar with them, so Golden Lion used the people of Merveille for practice.

He honed his technique with blood, allowing his power to recover in the shortest possible time!

At the same time, he had taken a liking to this island, especially the IQ Plant growing upon it.

He could kill everyone on the island, then claim it as his own.

Using this island as his foundation, he would gather other pirates.

Golden Lion could already imagine his name returning to the seas in the near future.

But at that moment, Golden Lion suddenly turned and looked toward the nearby jungle...