Chapter 4: Towns

After his anger subsided, Rocks fell into regret once again. Gritting his teeth, he muttered,

"Asshole! If I had known better, I would have just eaten it!"

Hearing this, Charlotte Linlin shrugged and said,

"Captain, you'd better calm down first. If you keep this up, our crew will be knocked out by your Haki. We have a fierce battle tomorrow."

Everyone else nodded in agreement. Rocks had just unleashed a terrifying wave of Conqueror's Haki in his rage. Needless to say, the strength of his Haki was immense. Even though there were no weaklings in the Rocks Pirates, some lower-level crew members couldn't withstand it and had fainted.

Rocks shook his head in disdain and scoffed,

"Tch! Those who faint at this level are just trash. Don't worry about them."

Linlin didn't argue and casually replied,

"Yeah, I suppose so."

Shiki and the others remained indifferent. They firmly believed in the rule of the strong, caring little for the weak.

Newgate, however, frowned. Unlike the others, he valued his companions, and their disregard for the weaker members of the crew made him increasingly uncomfortable. His desire to leave the Rocks Pirates grew stronger.

Among them, Newgate was the most composed. After a moment of contemplation, he said,

"I don't know who leaked the information earlier, but one thing is certain—the World Government knows about it by now and has likely taken precautions.

Aside from the Knights of God on the island, our enemies this time will probably include the Marines."

Though Rocks knew Newgate wanted to leave, he still valued him highly. After all, Newgate was incredibly strong—who wouldn't want such a powerhouse on their crew?

Rocks took a deep breath, calming himself. He tapped his fingers on the table, lost in thought. After a while, he raised his head, a wicked smile creeping onto his lips.

"This is perfect. We should've had a decisive battle with the World Government long ago. After this fight, I will be the undisputed king of the world!"

Valley of the Gods

In the center of the Valley of the Gods stood a magnificent palace.

Once the home of the original ruler of the valley, it had since been seized by the Celestial Dragons.

As for the king, Feiga—he had long perished under the sword of Saint Figarland Garling, the leader of the Knights of God.

At this moment, Figarland Garling was carefully wiping the blade of his sword. Today, it had been stained with a great deal of filthy blood, and he meticulously cleaned it.

His brows furrowed slightly, as if something weighed on his mind. His usually precise movements seemed a little distracted.

As a Celestial Dragon among Celestial Dragons, he had little to fear in this world.

Yet tonight, he had used his privilege to break the rules of the game.

Staring blankly at the sword in his hand, he muttered to himself,

"I cheated in the end... but I needed a reason to accept you. Now, the rest is up to fate."

The Next Morning

Carl was the first to wake. He shot up from the ground and quickly shook the others awake.

"It's time to go! Those guys will start hunting soon—we need to hurry and find the Devil Fruit!"

Without hesitation, Carl dashed deeper into the forest, with the three Ivankovs following close behind.

They hadn't chosen to move under the cover of darkness because the island was already under surveillance. Video Den Den Mushi were scattered everywhere to monitor the slaves. Many people, unaware of the Devil Fruit's existence, would rest at night.

If Carl acted suspiciously at such a time, it would immediately attract attention. After all, they had been running for an entire day. Why would anyone sneak around at night instead of resting? If the overseers noticed, it would be over.

Not long after the four of them left, gunshots rang out, followed by the sounds of bodies hitting the ground. Some unlucky slaves, too exhausted to wake up in time, would never wake again.

Carl ignored the chaos behind him, focusing entirely on his goal—the Devil Fruit.

In the comic, the fruit had been located near buildings. Since the Valley of the Gods once housed a kingdom, it made sense that the scene he remembered took place in a town. That meant his first objective was to find a town.

After running for what felt like forever, Carl and his companions finally emerged from the forest into blinding sunlight. It marked the forest's end.

Beyond the trees, a town came into view. Carl's heart leaped with excitement.

"This is it! The final round of a survival game!"

Calling out to the others, he quickened his pace toward the town.

They weren't the only ones heading in that direction—many other slaves had followed them. Some had been inspired by Ivankov's speech and had been trailing Carl's group ever since.

Carl understood the risk: the more people there were, the bigger the target they became. But rather than shake them off, he actually slowed his pace as they neared the city gates. Gradually, others overtook them, becoming the ones at the front.

Ivankov noticed and asked in confusion,

"Carl-chan, why did you slow down? Are you feeling unwell again?"

Carl nodded slightly, speaking softly,

"Yeah... I didn't expect it to happen again at such a critical time. Sorry for slowing you down."

Ivankov immediately responded,

"What are you talking about?! We're friends! You're not slowing us down!"

Kuma and Ginny chimed in as well.

"Brother Carl, didn't you wait for me yesterday? Let me carry you this time! I'm strong—I can handle it!"

"That's right! We're in this together!"

Carl waved them off with a smile.

"Come on now, no talk of dying. We're going to survive. Besides—"

Before he could finish, gunfire erupted from within the city. The sharp clash of swords followed, along with panicked screams.

Ivankov's face paled.

"No! It's an ambush!"

Carl, however, remained calm. A faint, unreadable smile formed on his lips as he thought to himself,

"Just as I expected."

Even the most arrogant Celestial Dragons wouldn't leave such an important place unguarded. If they hadn't set up defenses, someone might have stumbled upon the Devil Fruit and eaten it by chance.

This confirmed it—there had to be a Devil Fruit in the city!

Carl had deliberately slowed down, letting other slaves rush in first to draw fire and clear the way.

Now, all he had to do was use his smaller size to blend into the chaos and slip inside unnoticed.

Even though some slaves hesitated upon realizing the danger, they had no choice. The Celestial Dragons' forces were closing in behind them, leaving only one option—charge into the city.

Carl called out to Kuma,

"Kuma! Keep your head down—you're too big a target!"

According to the original storyline, Kuma should eventually obtain the Devil Fruit without issue. But just in case, Carl decided to take precautions against any unexpected changes.

Kuma nodded firmly, hunching his body. Together with Carl and the others, he blended into the crowd and surged into the city.

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