Crashing the Holy Land; The Five Elders Take Action

The man smiled flatteringly as he tried to take credit with Ryan, saying, "Sir, I've already tamed him into a slave!"

Ryan did not speak, simply staring at the man before him while mentally debating whether or not to finish him off. Ryan could see madness in the man's eyes.

To Ryan, this type of person was far too dangerous.

Having been severely traumatized in the past, leading to a twisted psyche alongside actual capability, once he gained power he might prove even more brutal and vicious than the Celestial Dragons. At worst, he might even retaliate against society.

Such people either had to be killed or kept securely on a leash.

For no apparent reason, the man felt a sudden chill run through his body, and the excitement he had felt from abusing the Celestial Dragon vanished instantly.

Was he really that sensitive to external perception?

Noticing the man's shift in demeanor, Ryan thought, To kill or not to kill, that is the question!

As Ryan was considering this, the man spoke up again. "Sir, can I follow you from now on?"

Ryan was about to refuse, but upon seeing the Celestial Dragon kneeling at his feet, he changed his mind. Keeping the man by his side might prevent him from turning completely extremist.

"Very well, but you can only serve as an intern on my ship," Ryan replied indifferently.

The man instantly moved to kneel in grateful thanks, but Ryan caught him by the arm and stopped him.

"Remember, you are no longer a slave now. You don't need to kneel to anyone ever again!" Ryan turned his head to address the slaves who had just been rescued. "And that goes for all of you, too!"

Ryan's calm words caused the majority of the people present to burst into tears, throwing the scene into utter chaos.

Some cried and laughed at the same time, shouting, "We're finally free!"

With just a few simple words, Ryan had provided them with the one thing they needed most at this moment.

Respect!

Years of a slave's life had made the vast majority of these people forget what it felt like to be human. Habit was a terrifying thing.

When they suddenly gained freedom after being completely accustomed to servitude, a sense of disorientation gripped their hearts.

Then Ryan's remark—that they were no longer slaves and needed to kneel to no one—struck the softest part of their hearts.

At that very moment, Ryan seemed to shine with a brilliant light in their eyes.

Fujitora's heart trembled slightly. This is the man I would follow even if I swore off gambling! My choice was not wrong.

Beli remained unfazed; he had experienced this kind of scene many times before.

This man's words seem to possess a magical quality, carrying the power to influence others. This is the man I, Beli, shall protect!

Ryan was left somewhat amused and exasperated, never expecting that a simple remark of his would carry such heavy influence.

Didn't I just speak the truth? Is there really any need for them to act like this?

Ryan simply disliked people dropping to their knees at every turn. In Ryan's view, a man's knees were worth gold—how could anyone kneel so easily?

Unable to bear watching everyone cry and wail, Ryan chided, "Stop crying! Don't waste time, there are still many people waiting for us to rescue them. Those with strength, follow us to save people; those without, get straight on the ship."

"Shiki, bring a ship down."

Soon, a pirate ship descended from the sky. Catching sight of the pirate flag fluttering on it, Ryan cursed and muttered, "Shiki, you couldn't even pick a clean ship."

Don't ask where Ryan got these ships—they were all Shiki's handiwork.

Once the injured and those without combat capability boarded, the ship ascended back into the skies. The people on board offered fervent prayers for Ryan and his companions down below.

Leading the group, Ryan headed straight for the next estate. The Celestial Dragons in this one were not nearly as fortunate; the rescued slaves tore them to pieces. Even Ryan felt a slight chill at the sight.

Hundreds of people swarmed like a pack of wolves tearing into prey—some biting, some kicking, some hacking with every conceivable martial art until the two Celestial Dragons inside the estate were reduced to a pulp, leaving only scraps floating in the air.

Seeing this spectacle, the Celestial Dragon who had been tamed into a slave felt a surge of relief in his heart. Good thing I'm already the master's dog!

As Ryan continued his rampage, Mary Geoise finally realized something was amiss. By the time Ryan reached the fourth estate, a large contingent of Cipher Pol operatives had rushed to the scene and engaged the group in combat.

Vitas and Hawkeye forged ahead, clearing the path with unstoppable momentum. Coupled with the many formidable fighters among the rescued slaves, the Cipher Pol forces were driven back step by step, completely unable to stem the human tide.

Inside a council chamber:

"Shall we make a move? The intruders don't seem weak," an old man clad in a black suit with a head of white curly hair and a scar on his left cheek asked, leaning on a cane.

"Let CP0 handle it, and notify the Marines as well," stated an old man wearing white Daoist robes.

"Lord Imu has not yet reached the time of awakening. If we intervene and someone takes the opportunity to disturb Lord Imu, we won't be able to bear the consequences."

Marine Headquarters - Marineford

"Bilibili."

The ringing of the Transponder Snail instantly banished the sleepiness of Kong, who was just preparing to rest.

Noticing the call was from the Five Elders, Kong wondered aloud, "What urgent business is there at this hour?" With that, he answered the call.

"Mary Geoise is under attack! Reinforce us immediately!" The voice on the other end was entirely calm, yet the words struck like a bolt from the blue.

Just as Kong wanted to ask what was happening, the other end repeated that they must reinforce immediately before hanging up.

"Go call Garp, Sengoku, and Borsalino!" Kong shouted at the messenger soldier standing by the door.

Before long, the sound of Garp grumbling echoed from afar. "Disturbing my sleep at this hour!"

"Indeed! I was just soaking my feet when I got hauled over," a wretched-looking figure chimed in as he walked inside.

A short moment later, Sengoku arrived as well. "Apologies! I had quite a bit of paperwork to attend to."

Kong cut straight to the point. "Mary Geoise is under attack! Set out to provide reinforcements immediately."

"You've got to be kidding!"

"How is that possible!"

Seeing that Garp and Sengoku looked ready to turn the moment into a seminar meeting, Kong hastily pushed all three toward the door. "No time to explain, get on the ship!"

Meanwhile, Mary Geoise had descended into utter chaos. Even with the World Government deploying CP0, they still failed to halt the advance of the group.

It wasn't that CP0 wasn't strong enough; rather, there were simply too many powerhouses among the slaves. By now, the crowd trailing behind Ryan and his companions had swelled to nearly eight hundred people, every single one of them a combatant.

"Sir, can you please go save my little sister?" a girl of fifteen or sixteen asked Ryan with hopeful eyes.

"All the slaves will be rescued tonight, you don't need to rush!" Ryan replied calmly.

Hearing this, the girl said nothing more. She believed the man who had rescued her from the clutches of the Celestial Dragons.

Although Ryan had already recognized this girl as the future Empress Boa Hancock, he clearly had no mood to dwell on it.

With such a massive commotion kicked up, the Five Elders hadn't even shown a single face? This made it difficult for Ryan to execute his plan of sneaking deep into Mary Geoise to spy on Imu amid the chaos.

It seemed the commotion needed to be even bigger!

Ryan looked toward the Golden Lion and said, "You can get ready."

"So soon?"

Ryan explained, "We've rescued pretty much everyone we can! Let's go."

With that, Ryan instructed everyone to hurry up with the rescues and departed alongside the Golden Lion.

While waiting for the others at Water 7, Ryan and the Golden Lion had pulled off a massive feat. Through a full day of effort, the two of them had hacked straight through three nearly thousand-meter-tall mountains not far from Mary Geoise on the Red Line.

The Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit ability had its limits; after all, he hadn't awakened his fruit yet, so he could only manage three at the moment.

Still, it was enough. Knowing that the weight of a single mountain like this far outstripped even several small islands combined—each standing thousands of meters high and stretching tens of kilometers across.

Ryan was convinced that unless the Five Elders stepped in personally, no one could stop them. After all, three such colossal mountains were unstoppable by anything short of top-tier might.

When Ryan and the Golden Lion arrived with the three massive peaks, the slaves had essentially all been rescued, though most of them bore various injuries.

By this time, Marco and Fujitora were already engaged in battle with Sengoku and the others. Fujitora rode atop Marco, avoiding direct clashes with the three opponents while continuously utilizing his fruit ability to disrupt their advancing speed.

"Marco, do you Whitebeard Pirates intend to declare war on the World Government?" Sengoku demanded, thoroughly exasperated by the harassment of the pair.

The advantage in the air was simply too obvious. Whenever Sengoku and Garp used Geppo to attack Marco and his companion, Fujitora's Press-Press Fruit interference completely prevented them from catching up.

Kizaru could manage it, but Kizaru alone couldn't beat the two of them, and meteors kept raining down from the sky to block their path.

Fujitora and Marco had put Ryan's Bomber Tactic into play: When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy halts, we harass; when the enemy tires, we attack; when the enemy retreats, we pursue.

Naturally, the Bomber Tactic was named by Ryan, as Fujitora riding on Marco to drop meteors produced an effect identical to the bombers from his past life.

Seeing that they wouldn't be able to shake off the attacks of Fujitora and the others anytime soon, Sengoku proposed, "Borsalino, you go ahead first. Their objective is to stall us, and Mary Geoise must be in extreme peril right now."

"Sengoku-san, I'll be off then." Transforming into a streak of light, Kizaru sped toward Mary Geoise ahead of the others.

Watching Kizaru depart, Fujitora said helplessly, "Captain and the others better hurry up! The longer this drags on, the more disadvantageous it is for us!"

By this point, all the rescued slaves had boarded the ships.

Ryan told Beli and the others, "You all head out first. Buggy and I have a secret operation to carry out!"

Buggy: "???"

Right on cue, the Golden Lion manipulated the three nearly thousand-meter-tall mountains, hurling them straight toward Mary Geoise.

The surviving Celestial Dragons had already been trapped in chaos and panic, but upon seeing three sky-shielding mountains come crashing down toward them, a few were so terrified they wet themselves.

At that moment, a furious roar echoed from the depths of the Holy Land:

"Audacity!"

"Those who violate our Holy Land shall be put to death!"