Doflamingo Was a Real Stand-up Guy! (Continued)

He really had never thought about that before.

Right, they were about to begin expanding in earnest, so what should the people who entered the Dream World call him?

"Just call me the Night King."

Naito said.

Naito meant night.

And ordinary people only entered dreams at night.

So he was the king of the night.

"Night King?"

Anthony repeated it, then bowed his head respectfully. "Understood, Lord Night King!"

"Lord Night King!"

The escapees shouted in unison.

It sounded pretty impressive.

The ship carrying everyone quickly sailed away, and shortly after they left, a figure flew back from the distance.

A somewhat disheveled Doflamingo approached Punk Hazard cautiously, sweeping the area again and again with his Observation Haki. Only after confirming that those presences were gone did he slowly breathe a sigh of relief. "They left? What a bunch of monsters!"

The strength of that group was a little too outrageous.

Looking across the entire New World, only those few emperor-level pirate crews could stand above them, right?

However.

"Don't think this is over."

A strange smile tugged at Doflamingo's lips. "It seems the Charlotte Family and the Beasts Pirates are both looking for you."

Judging by the direction they had left in, he could make a rough guess at the route they had chosen.

Although a Log Pose in the New World offered three possible routes after recording the magnetic field of each island, the area to search was not actually that large. At least, it would be easy for those two monsters.

In that case, he would give those monsters a hand.

But before that.

Doflamingo suddenly dropped toward the island below.

"Fuffuffuffu, let's first see if there's anything here I can help with."

On the sea, still some distance from Punk Hazard.

Five warships of the Marine Guerrilla Unit were swiftly approaching with the wind.

Zephyr stood at the bow, his face full of anxiety. Without turning around, he asked, "Still no news?"

Behind him, Vice Admiral Simon shook his head. "No. I'm afraid things aren't looking good on Punk Hazard right now."

Headquarters had maintained contact with Punk Hazard all along.

But the problem was that the group had some way of destroying Den Den Mushi beforehand, making it impossible to confirm the situation on Punk Hazard now.

The only thing they could be sure of was that the group was probably sweeping through the place, and no one could stop them.

The only good news was probably that Dr. Vegapunk had temporarily escaped Punk Hazard under his bodyguards' protection.

"Damn it!"

Zephyr clenched his fists.

They wouldn't make it in time!

Even though he had come, even though Sakazuki had personally set out as well, they wouldn't make it in time!

Just then, Naito, who had been sleeping like the dead on the deck in the shadow of the cabin behind them, finally opened his eyes.

Things over there had been taken care of, and his subordinates had headed for the latter half of the New World on their own.

So it was time to come back.

Naito yawned as he sat up.

"You sure slept soundly, didn't you, kid?"

A somewhat gloomy voice came from beside him.

Commodore Doll was also sitting quietly in a chair nearby, conserving her strength.

"We're not there yet?"

Naito rubbed his eyes and settled down cross-legged on the deck.

"No."

Standing against the cabin, Ain carefully wiped her two beloved short swords with a cloth as she replied in a low voice.

"So slow."

Naito remarked.

That was why he had chosen an opportunity like this.

I'm a genius, aren't I?

No matter how anxious they were, they could only make their way there slowly for now.

Naito spaced out for a while, then went to the dining hall for a meal to replenish his energy before returning to the deck to space out again.

It was just then.

"How much farther?"

A worried Zephyr asked once more.

Vice Admiral Simon, still following behind him, answered again, "About fifty nautical miles."

"Fifty nautical miles?"

Zephyr paused, then nodded firmly. "That's close enough!"

Then he abruptly turned around. "Everyone, listen up!"

"Huh?"

Naito, whose mind had been wandering, looked back in confusion.

"Everyone else, proceed to Dressrosa as usual!"

Zephyr said seriously, "Detachment commanders and above, and Naito, come with me using Geppo!"

"Oh?"

Naito raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, Teacher Zephyr!"

Simon's expression changed immediately, and he hurriedly tried to stop him. "Are you joking?"

Geppo wasn't a technique meant for traveling.

Strictly speaking, like Tempest Kick, Geppo was an explosive technique. Teacher Zephyr might be able to cover dozens of nautical miles in one burst, but the others-

"Running through the air does take a lot of energy,"

Zephyr said, "but what about over the surface of the sea?"

Simon froze.

If Geppo could step on air, it could naturally step on water.

And water was much denser than air!

"I'll try it!"

Commodore Doll had already vaulted over the side of the ship.

Just as she was about to fall into the sea, her right foot slammed down on the water.

A huge wave burst from the surface, and her slender body shot forward, covering dozens of meters in a single burst.

The next time her foot touched the water, the splash was much smaller, and she traveled a little less distance.

"This works!"

She looked back and shouted, "It takes much less energy! Even I should be able to manage if I push myself!"

"Then let's go!"

Zephyr gave the order.

And so they set off.

What else could Naito say?

He would treat it as training. He promptly vaulted into the sea along with the other officers.

"Naito! Be careful!"

Ain leaned over the rail and called out.

Naito looked up at the woman.

She really underestimates me. Ain, do you think your big brother Naito still needs to be careful?

In any case, time to run.

Naito reduced his strength a little, but still kicked up a huge wave as he shot forward like a rocket. It was practically Soru.

He dialed his strength back several more notches before he could run across the sea as though it were level ground.

Hmm, since I'm running on water, of course I have to do the ninja run with both arms thrown back. Scientific research shows that this posture significantly reduces wind resistance.

With Zephyr in the lead and Naito close behind, Vice Admiral Simon and the others followed farther back. The group of ten raced toward Punk Hazard.

Although it took much less energy, they were still running on water. Before long, the five commodores, including Doll, were already breathing heavily.

"Keep going! It's not much farther!"

Zephyr encouraged them.

Naito could attest that Teacher Zephyr was lying. They had covered no more than a third of the distance.

But he had to admit that although Doll and the others were a little weak, their willpower was sound. Even later, when they were panting like oxen and sweating buckets, they did not make a sound.

Soon, the lush green island appeared before them.

Zephyr was evidently quite familiar with the place. He led everyone straight around to the gate that had been smashed through, and they finally entered the base.

"..."

The devastation at the harbor made Zephyr grit his teeth inwardly.

Numerous corpses lay scattered across the ground, every one of them twisted and having died a gruesome death.

Following behind Zephyr, Naito tilted his head slightly. Did we kill that many people?