By the time the people of Baterilla Island broke through the gates and rushed into the assembly hall, it already seemed too late. The raging flames were burning even more fiercely, and everywhere they looked there was only fire and choking smoke, making it impossible to take even one step closer.
Just as everyone was frantic, helpless, and full of despair, an unbelievable scene suddenly unfolded.
Before their eyes, the towering flames engulfing the entire assembly hall seemed to come alive. They suddenly began to spin violently, all the fire roaring as it rolled up the thick smoke and transformed into a flaming tornado that shot into the sky.
In an instant, the flames around the assembly hall vanished.
Everyone's eyes widened.
"Is this a miracle?"
Some people muttered in disbelief.
But others had already begun moving. The moment they saw the flames disappear, they rushed inside, and the rest quickly followed.
And once they entered, they saw something even more astonishing.
Along the corridors of the assembly hall, a path of fire split neatly down the middle, as if guiding them toward the people they were looking for, leading deep into the building.
Everyone looked at one another, then finally made up their minds and charged in.
Very soon, they saw their wives, children, and family members, struggling with all their strength to escape from the assembly chamber under Aming's guidance.
"Aming!"
"My wife... my son!"
Seeing this, Aming finally relaxed a little and shouted loudly,
"Everyone, come help! There are still a lot of people inside!"
...
Before long, all the women and children imprisoned in the assembly hall had been rescued and brought outside.
But where some rejoiced, others grieved.
Some women and children had survived those days of imprisonment, but some had not.
Many people could be seen cradling the bodies of wives and children whose blood had already dried, wailing in agony, their eyes full of despair, unable to say a word.
The joy of rescuing so many people was greatly washed away by such cries of grief.
Standing to one side, Aming watched the scene, a rage beyond words filling her heart. Her expression had never been colder as she gripped the iron pipe in her hand and said through clenched teeth,
"Why... If only we'd been a little earlier..."
As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
When she turned her head, she saw Fes shaking his head.
"That's just how this world is. It would be wonderful if everything could be perfect, but sometimes, doing your best is already enough."
Just then, chaotic footsteps suddenly rang out in the distance, along with angry shouting.
"Take control of these villains! Don't let a single one of them escape!"
The people of Baterilla Island, who had not even had time to be happy about being saved, instantly turned pale.
Among them, the men who had lost their wives and children could no longer hold back. Red-eyed, they snatched up guns dropped by the dead guards nearby and charged at the vicious-looking World Government men running toward them.
"You bastards! You murderers! Give me back my wife and children!"
At that moment, many people lost all reason. Grabbing whatever weapons they could from nearby, they charged at the men in black.
Fes and Aming both changed expression.
But when Laskey, the head of CP9, saw this, his eyes lit up instead.
"These idiots. I was just worrying about how to find an excuse to get rid of them, and now they're delivering themselves right to me!"
With that thought, he immediately gave the order to the CP agents beside him.
"Open fire! These bastards dare attack World Government personnel. Shoot them! Kill them all!"
At once, all the men in black raised their weapons and aimed at the civilians rushing toward them.
Just as they were about to fire, a figure dropped from the sky.
"You scum, stop right there!"
A slender iron pipe came crashing down from above, and the lead CP agent with his gun raised instantly rolled his eyes back and collapsed unconscious, blood flowing from him.
The surrounding CP agents were startled and immediately aimed their weapons at the girl who had descended from the sky, firing without hesitation.
But the girl was far too nimble. In just a few steps, she darted into the crowd.
As the iron pipe in her hand swung again and again, CP agents kept dropping to the ground, screams of pain ringing out one after another.
At the same time, those who had already lost their senses also rushed in, using brute force to knock CP agents to the ground. Like wild beasts, they vented the fury in their hearts in the most savage way possible, punching again and again, even tearing at them with their teeth.
Even the highly trained CP agents felt a chill crawl over them at the sight.
Laskey, standing to the side, only grew more excited and shouted at his men,
"What are you standing around for? Why aren't you firing?"
"Sir... if we shoot now, we might hit our own people!"
The scene in front of them was complete chaos. The front ranks of CP agents in black were already tangled together with the civilians in a wild melee.
"Idiots! Forget about them. Fire! If we let these rioters keep running wild, what will happen to the dignity of the World Government and CP?"
"Yes, sir!"
Only then did the CP agents in the rear obey and raise their weapons once more.
But just as they were about to pull the trigger, a flash of light swept past, and the weapons in their hands were instantly cut clean in two.
At the same time, a man stepped forward and appeared before all the CP agents in black.
"Tadas Fes!"
The moment Laskey saw the man standing in front of him, he angrily shoved aside the guard blocking his way and strode out.
"Damn it! If it weren't for you, things would never have come to this. Tell me, how exactly were you spying on me?"
At that moment, Aming had also finished dealing with the nearby CP agents and came to Fes's side, shouting angrily,
"You bastard, what do you people take life for? For the sake of that Pirate King's bloodline, you were actually going to burn so many pregnant women and children alive..."
Hearing Aming's accusation, Laskey, the head of CP9, burst out laughing instead.
"Life? Do you think I care about something like that? Eliminating anything that might threaten the existence of the World Government is the duty of us in CP!"
"And for a reason like that, you sacrifice so many pregnant women and children? What do you people even think those women and children are?"
"What do we think they are? Hahaha. Nothing more than sacrifices for maintaining world order."
"Sacrifices!!!"
Those three words left Aming completely stunned.
"That's right."
At that point, Laskey became even more excited. Lifting his head, he arrogantly looked out at the furious people of Baterilla Island and said,
"The Pirate King's bloodline must never be allowed to remain in this world. It would destroy the existing order of the world and endanger it. So if you want to hate someone, hate Roger. If he hadn't left his bloodline on your island, none of this would ever have happened..."
The moment those words were spoken, all the people of Baterilla Island fell silent.
At that moment, they hated this man who had taken the lives of their loved ones more than anything. But thinking about it carefully, it seemed he was not wrong. Wasn't all of this the fault of that damned Pirate King? Why had he come to Baterilla Island? He and his woman had brought disaster upon all of them.
But just then, Aming's clear voice rang out.
"No... that's not it..."
Everyone turned toward Aming in shock.
Her eyes were full of determination as she raised the iron pipe in her hand.
"I don't know whether the Pirate King was right or wrong. But sacrificing so many pregnant women and children for the sake of an unborn baby and a future that hasn't even been decided yet, I absolutely refuse to accept that kind of so-called order..."
...
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