Chapter 395: The Mischievous Children

"Clang… clang…"

"Boom… BOOM…"

Flames shot skyward.

Sword-light flashed, and darkness surged.

Shrill clashes of metal echoed continuously.

From time to time, extremely fierce slashes would burst out, scattering in every direction.

Astonishingly, Rocks was fighting alone against Saint Nasujuro—who had transformed into a horse demon—and Saint Mars—transformed into an IItsumade. The battle was unbelievably intense. Even when outnumbered two to one, he showed no signs of falling behind; on the contrary, he seemed to have the upper hand.

In that instant, the strength of this infamous sea pirate stood fully revealed, leaving others stunned.

"Roar—!" The sandworm bellowed.

It had already fully recovered, surging toward Rocks.

"Kekekeke, don't even think about interfering… Lion Might: Earth Scroll!"

Golden Lion sprang into the air.

Facing the colossal Fengxi beast and the sandworm, he let out a sinister laugh, pressing his right hand abruptly to the ground.

"Boom… BOOM…"

The earth rumbled violently, tearing upward as though forming a towering mountain range.

"Roar… roar…" A host of massive, ferocious lion heads emerged, roaring incessantly. They converged upon the Fengxi beast and the sandworm—two gargantuan monsters.

It was an overwhelming sight, enough to make one's scalp tingle.

"Roar—roar—!"

The ground roared.

The colossal mountains began to close in, aiming to bury those creatures inside. Naturally, Fengxi and the sandworm refused to sit and wait for death; both roared in defiance.

Their heads, each imbued with powerful Haki, exuded a dreadful aura, colliding with devastating force.

"Boom… BOOM…"

The horrifying mountainside was mercilessly rent asunder, rubble flying, dust billowing—a cataclysmic power that made onlookers break into cold sweat.

"Roar—"

The sandworm howled again.

Once more, it opened its gargantuan jaws:

"Uuuu…!"

A powerful suction targeted Golden Lion in midair, pulling him out of the sky.

"What!?"

Golden Lion's face changed abruptly.

He found his body completely out of control. The floatiness from his Devil Fruit was forcibly overcome by the fierce suction, dragging him downward. Without hesitation, he slashed with the blade in his hand:

"Lion: Slash Surge!!!"

Two huge arcs of slashing force tore the air, continuing straight toward the sandworm and Fengxi beast below.

"Roar—"

"Tch, tch…"

Fengxi let out a roar.

Four massive tusks, each wreathed in Haki, thrust forward violently.

"Boom… BOOM…"

They shone brilliantly amid rolling shockwaves. Two of the tusks blocked Golden Lion's ferocious twin slashes.

"Tch! Tch!"

Meanwhile, a piercing whoosh sliced through the air. The other two giant tusks, likewise wrapped in Haki and terrifyingly sharp, hurtled at Golden Lion.

"CLANG!!!"

In that split second, Golden Lion crossed his two swords to parry, barely stopping the colossal tusks, which left his arms trembling with numbness. At the same time, he was yanked downward, on the verge of being devoured by the enormous sandworm, his pupils dilating in alarm.

"Tch—"

But in a flash—

A radiant white light blasted forth.

"Tch-lo… tch-lo…"

The air seemed to split like a spiderweb.

"Boom… BOOM…"

In an instant, a raging shockwave sent both the sandworm and Fengxi beast flying.

"Gurara—Shiki, you're getting careless!"

Whitebeard, holding a naginata, remarked from nearby.

"Shut it—don't go acting like you're the boss here. Even if you hadn't jumped in, I could've handled that!"

Golden Lion didn't appreciate the help, annoyed as he snapped back.

"Tch! Tch! Tch!"

Before he could finish his retort—

A rush of wind signaled something hurtling through the sky. It was, shockingly, the Gyuki that had somehow already recovered. Without warning, it spat several greenish poison orbs at them. Both men's faces changed. Without hesitation, they sprang away in opposite directions.

"Swoosh—"

In the blink of an eye, the poison orbs crashed into the ground, triggering a violent explosion.

"Boom… BOOM…"

…

No one realized that at this very moment, far off in the sky, a majestic azure dragons—each horned, exuding formidable presence—were soaring in on flame clouds.

"Little Brother Ares, can't you go any faster?"

From atop one of these dragons, a tall, strikingly beautiful young woman—Kukulkan family's sixth child, Eden—raised her voice in complaint. Her enormous figure rivaled a giant warrior's, and she sat on his back quite unceremoniously.

"Sister Eden, this is already as fast as I can go!"

Winds howled. With each flap of his enormous wings, grasping flame clouds to ascend quickly, the draconic Ares shouted in displeasure:

"Why don't you guys fly on your own? It's not like you can't fly!"

"Flying that long is too tiring…"

Eden showed no hint of shame, speaking as though it were perfectly reasonable:

"Ares, little brother, if you can handle it, you should do the work!"

"Besides, I made you bigger, didn't I?"

"That's true…"

Ares sighed in resignation. This sister was just too lazy. From her capabilities, traveling by flight should cost minimal effort.

"But are we really going after some Devil Fruit?"

A large, rugged man named Frey scratched his head in confusion:

"Plus, we cut off the Den Den Mushi. Won't Dad be mad?"

"If you want to go back, do it on your own!"

Eden snorted:

"When I get that Devil Fruit, none of you are getting any—I'll save them all for the younger brothers and sisters Mom gave birth to!"

Her plan in coming here was to seize powerful Devil Fruits as gifts for her younger siblings, hoping for her mother's praise. Although she and her mother Tethys had been separated for so many years—finally reuniting under extraordinary circumstances—Eden had grown closer than ever to her mother rather than drifting apart.

"That won't do. We agreed we'd share!"

Ares protested immediately:

"I want to present a gift for our younger siblings, too, to make Mom happy!"

"Mom said she wanted the Logia Glint-Glint Fruit for Hestia (Kid #13), but the World Government wouldn't trade it. Then we found out it's actually a prize for the Celestial Dragons' slaughter contest—I have to get it!"

He'd heard his mother, Charlotte Linlin, mention it once:

They intended to give the Glint-Glint Fruit to his little sister Hestia, but the World Government refused to release it. So, he remembered. Later, upon learning that the Celestial Dragons' hunting event had the Glint-Glint Fruit as a prize, he'd immediately made up his mind. Thus, when Sister Eden proposed sneaking to God Valley, he'd leapt at the chance.

"Me too!!"

Frey raised a hand, declaring.

Though they were all siblings with a close bond and few real disagreements, in the end, the siblings sharing the same mother were particularly tight. Both the seventh child Frey and the eighth child Ares, just like the sixth Eden, had the same plan: to secure a powerful Devil Fruit for their younger siblings—children of the same mother—hoping to win her praise.

"Alright then, if that's how it is, you just do what I say!"

~~~

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