Several days later, Guan Yu led a sizable transport fleet toward the waters around Blackwater Town in a grand procession. The fleet was "heavily guarded," but a closer look revealed a trace of barely perceptible vigilance and anticipation in the soldiers' eyes.
Word had already reached Shadow Fox through a "loophole" carefully designed by Guo Jia. Sure enough, Shadow Fox took the bait! He judged this an excellent opportunity to deal Peach Blossom Spring a devastating blow and obtain "evidence of its crimes." He deployed almost all his elite forces, and several pirate ships disguised as merchant vessels quietly set out, launching a surprise attack on Guan Yu's fleet in the designated waters!
Yet when they approached the transports and prepared to board and plunder them, what awaited them was a thunderous counterattack!
Guan Yu struck first! In his human-beast form, his Green Dragon Crescent Blade erupted with dazzling azure light. Rayquaza's power stirred the air currents, producing a shriek that tore through the sky!
"Green Dragon Crescent Blade: Cloud Cutter!"
An enormous azure Flying Slash spanning hundreds of meters swept out like a dragon's tail, carrying the force to tear apart a sea of clouds. In an instant, it cleaved the three large pirate ships at the front in half! Splinters flew amid flesh and blood, and the broken ships slowly sank with earth-shattering crashes, staining the sea red! The few surviving pirates fell into the water with agonized cries, instantly losing their ability to fight. One strike, three ships sunk!
Almost simultaneously, Zhang Fei let out a furious roar. Like a colossal god of molten rock in his human-beast form, he lunged out from the other side! Groudon's power erupted. Rather than attacking the ships, he slammed both fists into the sea!
"Fury: Sea-shaking Wave!"
BOOM!!!
A terrifying shock wave spread wildly outward in a ring from the point where Zhang Fei's fists struck! The sea's surface cracked inch by inch like glass struck by a huge rock, throwing up waves dozens of meters high! The powerful shock wave acted directly on the ships' structures. Four or five nearby pirate ships were tossed up like toys, twisted, and torn apart!
Pirates were flung from their decks like dumplings tumbling into a pot, countless tendons torn and bones broken! One strike, raging waves and several ships shattered!
High above, Huang Zhong's gaze flashed like lightning. In his human-beast form, Dialga's power made the flow of time seem to slow before his eyes. He drew his bow and nocked an arrow, gathering highly compressed Armament Haki and penetrating energy around the shaft.
"Sunset: Meteor Piercing Kill!"
The bowstring cracked, and a streak of light compressed to its utmost shot out faster than the eye could follow! The arrow was not aimed at ordinary pirates. Instead, it precisely pierced, in succession, the ammunition magazine, wheelhouse, and mainmast base of a flagship equipped with heavy cannons at the rear!
Bang, bang, bang-!
Successive explosions rang out within the enemy ship. Flames shot skyward, and the enormous mast crashed down. Amid the chain of explosions, the entire flagship rapidly broke apart and sank! One arrow, the core flagship destroyed!
This ambush was an entirely one-sided slaughter. The three powerful fighters unleashed their full strength, displaying destructive power on the scale of natural disasters! Before absolute strength, Shadow Fox's supposed elites were as flimsy as paper, wiped out in moments.
Amid the chaos, the fast boat carrying Shadow Fox himself tried to slip away, only for Huang Zhong, who had been watching him all along, to disable its sail with an arrow. It was then intercepted by a squadron of fast boats led by a deputy commander, whom Guan Yu had positioned beforehand. The deputy commander was a capable fighter, and after a brief but fierce boarding battle, he successfully captured the utterly terrified Shadow Fox alive!
With this battle, Shadow Fox's forces were uprooted, and every major leader was captured.
Zhang Fei recalled his initial doubts. This fellow's schemes were nothing clever, he was not particularly intelligent, and he was not much of a fighter either. Zhang Fei had no idea why he had done so well before. Could most people in this world be so unintelligent that they fell for his tricks?
Once Guo Jia returned and personally conducted the interrogation, Uxie's power easily broke through Shadow Fox's psychological defenses, obtaining a wealth of detailed testimony and chains of evidence concerning the Flower Country Chancellor's plot.
Peach Blossom Spring did not immediately release this evidence. Instead, it kept it secret for the time being, holding it as a trump card against the Chancellor.
Later, when the Flower Country Chancellor learned of Shadow Fox's failure, he was both shocked and furious, and did not dare make any more rash moves for the time being.
At the same time as the ambush at Blackwater Town, the search fleet led by Zhao Yun made a major discovery in the raging waters near the entrance to the Grand Line.
While passing through an area of unusually thick fog, a search team unexpectedly discovered an uncharted island shrouded in a strange magnetic field. After landing, they found signs of human activity-crude shelters, leftover fish bones, and... scattered empty liquor barrels.
The team leader immediately grew alert. He sent a signal while cautiously exploring farther inland. In a clearing at the island's center, they witnessed a shocking sight:
An exceptionally tall, powerfully built old man with white hair and a white beard knelt on the ground with his back to them. His trembling hands stroked his bald, visibly caved-in crown, and he repeatedly pounded the ground, whimpering like a wounded beast and roaring indistinctly, "My head... my pointed head... Garp! Garp!! Why... it can't go back... none of it can go back..."
It was none other than Chinjao, the long-missing old Pillar of the Happo Navy!
His clothes were in tatters, and he reeked of liquor and despair. None of his former majesty as an Admiral Candidate remained. He looked more like a pitiful old man lost in painful memories. His aura was sometimes faint, then would erupt with heart-pounding intensity as his emotions surged, his hands covered in chaotic, violent fluctuations of Haki befitting a powerful fighter. It was extremely unstable.
The team leader dared not delay. He immediately sent the highest-priority contact signal while motioning for his men to withdraw slowly to avoid provoking the old man.
Zhao Yun soon received the news and immediately ordered all search vessels to converge on the island, personally heading there at full speed. He also urgently relayed the news to Longquan Island.
In Dragon Might Hall on Longquan Island, Chen Yu and Guo Jia, who had just finished dealing with the aftermath of the Shadow Fox affair, received Zhao Yun's urgent report almost simultaneously.
"They found him! Pillar Chinjao did indeed end up on the fringes of the Grand Line, but his condition is extremely unstable." Chen Yu studied the report, his brow deeply furrowed.
After hearing the news, Chen Yu called Guo Jia on a Den Den Mushi. "Blue~~~ blue~~~"
Once Guo Jia answered, Chen Yu explained what had happened.
Uxie's light flickered rapidly in Guo Jia's eyes as he quickly analyzed every detail in the report. "Emotional collapse, immersion in the past, enormous fluctuations in strength. My lord, this is Pillar Chinjao's most vulnerable and most dangerous moment. Ordinary reassurance will likely prove ineffective and may even send him into a frenzy. Yet a crisis is also an opportunity."
"In that case, Fengxiao, you decide exactly when to go..." Chen Yu looked at him.
"Right now," Guo Jia said decisively. "Chinjao's inner torment cannot be resolved through force. We must reach his heart directly. My Uxie power may allow me to sense his fragmented memories and obsessions, attempt to establish a slight mental connection, and guide him. Even if I cannot immediately resolve his inner torment, I can at least stabilize his emotions and prevent the worst outcome. Moreover, this is an excellent opportunity to show goodwill toward the Happo Navy."
Chen Yu knew Guo Jia's abilities well and made his decision at once. "Good! You will have full authority to handle this. Take a fast ship and depart immediately! Zhao Yun will meet you. Be careful. Safety first!"
"As you command!"
Without the slightest delay, Guo Jia immediately led a small squad of elite guards aboard an exceptionally fast ship and set sail, heading straight for the fog-shrouded island where Chinjao had been found.
The covert struggle between Peach Blossom Spring and Shadow Fox ended with a perfectly executed ambush and capture, temporarily eliminating a major threat. Meanwhile, the search for Chinjao had achieved a breakthrough, but it would also face an even more complex and dangerous situation-a powerful former Admiral Candidate lost in painful memories.
Guo Jia's departure marked a shift in Peach Blossom Spring's strategy from reacting passively to intervening actively, seeking to resolve Chinjao's inner torment and thereby place a crucial piece within the Flower Country's tangled web of powers. The waves of the West Blue stirred once more because of Peach Blossom Spring's actions.
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