Outside the ruins of the royal capital, at the temporary shelter in Castle Town.
The Navy troops had received orders to "withdraw to the Justice" and were disengaging from the pirates one group at a time.
They were hurriedly preparing to move out and giving the wounded quick emergency treatment. Next came a forced march to the Justice.
But one problem troubled the Navy-what were they supposed to do with the civilians rescued from the Flying Pirates?
They were at the shelter too, all young, able-bodied men and women whom Golden Lion had captured to use as laborers or servants. There were quite a few of them.
With every airship destroyed and only the Justice still operational, there was no way to fit both the Navy and the civilians aboard.
If the floating island fell...
For now, the Navy had not told those people from Merveille about that.
"We have to make a decision. Once our people finish preparing, we'll be leaving..."
Captain Shu, the Rust-Rust Fruit user, wore a white cloth over his face, leaving only his eyes exposed. His full expression was impossible to see.
But his eyes had already taken on a decisive look.
"...I have no objections."
Captain Moya, a burly man with a bulbous nose, was not the cold-blooded type. He followed Navy regulations strictly, but he was also an officer with a human heart.
Yet the situation before them left no choice but to decide whom to save.
"...Cough. How about this?"
Captain Penn slumped against an earthen wall. His "corpse-like face" now truly looked a little dead. Most of his normally grayish skin was covered in green blotches.
"Let the soldiers volunteer. Cough-gack! They can choose to stay on the outer decks during the descent. I-if the number of volunteers exceeds... cough, cough,