But at that moment, he suddenly noticed—
Under a bush not far away, Little Shanks was lying there.
The child had a large bump on his head, probably from hitting it during the fall earlier.
His eyes were closed as if he were asleep.
Tear stains remained on his small face, but his breathing was even, and he seemed unharmed.
That woman from earlier... didn't seem to have noticed him.
Dragon's heart pounded violently.
There was still a chance!
At least... he could save one!
...
Meanwhile, at the forest's edge.
The commotion from the fierce battle between Whitebeard's group of four and the other pirate crews caught the attention of another person.
"Found a top-tier fishing spot!"
Garp stood on a high vantage point, his eyes lighting up as he watched the shockwaves from the distant forest battle.
"Hahahaha! Here I come!"
Garp laughed heartily, pushed off with his feet, and shot forward like a cannonball!
He continuously used Moon Walk mid-air, each step creating a sonic boom, his speed so fast it left afterimages.
In just a few breaths, he crossed hundreds of meters and appeared directly above the battlefield.
"Justice—Blast!!!"
He descended from the sky, his Iron Fist coated with dark red Haki.
His punch aimed straight down at the four figures below!
Whitebeard was the first to react.
His Observation Haki had already sensed Garp's approach.
The moment Garp threw his punch, Whitebeard raised his Cloud Cutter to block:
"Garp—!!"
Clang—!!!
The instant fist met blade, time seemed to freeze for a moment.
Then—
Boom—!!
A terrifying shockwave swept out in all directions!
Centered on the impact point, the ground within a hundred-meter diameter completely collapsed, forming a massive bowl-shaped crater!
Trees were uprooted, rocks were pulverized, and dozens of nearby pirate corpses were utterly annihilated by the shockwave.
Golden Lion, Charlotte Linlin, and Kaido were also caught in the blast, all three sliding back dozens of meters, carving deep furrows into the ground.
"It's Garp! Run! This will only drag on longer!" Golden Lion shouted.
He knew Garp all too well.
That bastard's strength was bottomless, and once he latched onto you, he was like sticky glue you couldn't shake off.
In a chaotic battlefield like this, fighting Garp to the death was the stupidest choice.
Their goal here was to rescue Shakky and plunder treasure, not to fight this mad dog.
Kaido, however, was reluctant, battle intent burning in his eyes:
"Can't we fight him? There are four of us!"
Charlotte Linlin spat:
"Forget it! Zeus! Prometheus!"
"Yes, Mama!"
Thundercloud Zeus, wreathed in violent lightning, and sun-fire Prometheus, burning with blazing flames.
Linlin activated her Soul-Soul Fruit ability, pouring massive magical power into the two Homies.
"Merge—Thunder-Fire Storm!!"
Zeus and Prometheus began to fuse together.
The two violent elemental forces of lightning and fire intertwined, stimulating and amplifying each other.
Finally, they formed a terrifying energy storm over twenty meters in diameter!
At the center of the storm, golden-red thunder and fire spun and roared madly, emitting heat and voltage intense enough to vaporize steel in an instant.
That overwhelming power left the Marines and pirates in the distance breathless.
"Heavenly Fire Thunder—!!!"
Linlin roared, hurling the fused Thunder-Fire Storm toward Garp!
Garp watched the oncoming thunder-fire storm, but instead of dodging, he grinned, revealing a row of white teeth:
"Bring it on!"
He clenched both fists, Haki covering his entire body, and then—
He charged head-on into it!
Boom—!!!
The Thunder-Fire Storm exploded violently!
Golden-red flames and lightning completely engulfed Garp!
The Shockwave from the explosion spread in all directions, sending everything within hundreds of meters—trees, rocks, corpses—flying, shattering, and vaporizing.
The Marines and pirates in the distance were stunned by the terrifying explosion.
"Vice Admiral Garp—!!"
As the thick smoke from the explosion slowly cleared, a charred crater fifty meters in diameter appeared at the center of the battlefield.
And at the bottom of the crater, a figure slowly stood up.
Garp.
He brushed the dust off his body, looked up at Charlotte Linlin, who had already fled far away, and boomed:
"This little fire..."
He paused, then grinned:
"Couldn't even grill a steak properly! Linlin!"
Linlin, now far away, glanced back, then without hesitation, urged Zeus beneath her feet to accelerate, flying deeper into the island.
Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and Kaido also scattered, no longer engaging with Garp.
This three-way free-for-all—pirates vs. pirates vs. Marines—threw the island's situation into even greater chaos.
But it was precisely this chaos that created a sliver of hope for another group.
...
Somewhere on the island, inside a hidden cave.
Little Ivankov, Ginny, Kuma, and over a dozen other slaves were observing the situation outside through the cave entrance.
They saw the mushroom cloud rising from the distant forest and felt the violent tremors shaking the ground.
"Who's launching that attack?" Ginny whispered, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
Little Ivankov shook his head, but his large eyes burned with excitement:
"Don't know. But no matter what, this is our chance!"
"Listen!" Little Ivankov jumped onto a rock, waving his arms:
"We can't hide here forever!
It's total chaos outside now—Marines, pirates, Celestial Dragons, all fighting each other!
This is our chance, our chance to escape! Our chance to gain power!"
He looked at Kuma:
"Kuma, you're the strongest. If we can find those Devil Fruits, the ones the Celestial Dragons are using as prizes.
If we eat them and gain abilities, we'll have a chance to save ourselves!"
Kuma nodded silently.
Just then, another explosion echoed from outside.
Closer this time.
"No time to hesitate!" Little Ivankov jumped down from the rock. "Those willing to follow me, let's go now! Those who want to stay... stay."
He was the first to head toward the cave entrance.
Ginny followed without hesitation.
Kuma trailed behind silently.
Their goal was clear: the center of the island, where the prizes for the hunting event were stored—nine rare Devil Fruits.
If they could obtain even one...
...
Meanwhile, in another part of the forest.
Maffey's body, which had been severed at the waist, finally finished healing.
She quickly scrambled to her feet and scanned her surroundings, only to find that the kidnapper had vanished.
She then reported to the Den Den Mushi:
"The mission is complete. As for the kidnapper, he's likely dead. I just need to bring the child back, right?"
A voice came from the Den Den Mushi: "We really owe you one this time, Maffey."
Maffey ended the communication, held the still-sobbing Shamrock in her arms, and hurried toward the God's Knights' assembly point at the center of the island.
Meanwhile, Dragon took advantage of the chaos and moved toward the edge of the island, carrying Little Shanks in his arms.
The child in his embrace had already fallen asleep, his small head resting against Dragon's chest, breathing evenly.
Dragon glanced down, a flicker of complexity in his eyes.
"Forgive me..." he murmured, his voice filled with pain and self-reproach. "I couldn't save your brother."
"But at least... I saved you."
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