Chapter 6: A Child Emerges from the Treasure Chest

After the earthquake.

The slaughter on the island continued.

Marines against pirates, pirates against Celestial Dragons, pirates against civilians and slaves.

Many corpses lay in the mud, flesh and blood scattered everywhere, but the pirates and Marines showed no fear, cutting through the crowd with expressionless faces.

The more notorious pirates were even more excited, their clothes soaked in blood and gore, though it was unclear whether it was their own or others'.

Their ferocious momentum remained high, like madmen returned from hell.

These were hardened survivors of countless battles, each move precise and efficient, using minimal energy to eliminate their enemies.

"It's been a long time since I've killed so freely."

"The Celestial Dragons aren't so special. They have two arms and two legs just like everyone else. The only difference is they're ugly and fat!"

"Hahaha, keep talking like that!"

The Celestial Dragons hiding behind their screens were both humiliated and furious, but there was nothing they could do.

They didn't dare to leave the protection of the Marines...

...

"Kuma, can you still hold on?"

Ivankov looked worriedly at Kuma, who was drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.

Along the way, they had lost count of how many people they had saved. The long journey and the intense use of their abilities had left them in excruciating pain with even the slightest movement.

But their speed hadn't slowed.

Now, they were running on sheer willpower. If they relaxed even a little, they would collapse immediately.

The two supported each other as they moved forward.

In the sky, the dark clouds dispersed, and a ray of dawn broke through, shining on the scarred earth.

...

"Hmm..."

In his unconscious state, Renji felt something licking his cheek. He pursed his dry lips, and as he gradually regained consciousness, a wave of pain accompanied by intense itching washed over him.

He knew the burns he had suffered were severe, and the pain was inevitable. The intense itching was even harder to bear, a sign that his wounds were healing.

He couldn't help but marvel at the incredible resilience and regenerative abilities granted by the Azure Dragon Fruit.

Unfortunately, having just eaten the fruit, he hadn't yet mastered the ability to transform into a dragon or a hybrid form. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so badly injured.

Renji remembered that after Prometheus left, he had grabbed a treasure chest and tried to hurry after Kuma and the others.

But after only a short distance, he couldn't withstand the intense dizziness.

"Yaa~"

A cheerful baby's voice reached his ears, and the sensation he had felt while unconscious continued.

Renji turned his head and saw a red-haired baby blinking its big eyes, looking at him adorably.

"Did you wake me up?"

The baby was too young to understand what Renji was saying, but it giggled incessantly, seemingly overjoyed that he had woken up.

Enduring the discomfort, Renji slowly sat up, wincing as the movement pulled at his wounds.

"Giggle giggle..."

The baby laughed heartily at his expression.

Renji twitched his mouth. Was his expression really that funny...

"Little rascal, your laugh sounds like a rooster..." He picked up the baby and gently booped its nose, teasing it.

Looking around, there was no one in sight. He wondered how the baby had ended up here.

Then he saw the treasure chest lying quietly at his feet.

"Did the treasure chest give birth to a baby..."

He shook his head, dismissing the absurd thought. That couldn't possibly be true.

Holding the baby, Renji was at a loss. What should he do with this little one? He could only take it one step at a time. The most important thing now was to find a way to leave this place.

The technology in this world was so advanced, yet there were no cell phones. Den Den Mushi seemed to be ridiculously expensive.

If he couldn't contact Kuma and the others, he would have to find a way to leave on his own.

He guessed that the coast would be swarming with pirate ships. He could just pick an unclaimed one and sail away. Renji mentally patted himself on the back for his cleverness.

So, carrying the baby, Renji limped toward the coast.

...

"We've done our best. Many people on this island survived because of you, didn't they?"

Ivankov gently patted Kuma's head, comforting him.

"But I can't find Renji anywhere." Kuma's vision was blurred by tears. Not far away was the place where Renji had fought Charlotte Linlin.

The scarred land was littered with pirates searching for treasure. Linlin and Prometheus were nowhere to be seen.

"I was supposed to be the bait."

Kuma had originally planned to ignore Renji's advice and rush out to attract the guards, but he hadn't expected Renji to be so much faster.

He couldn't catch up to him!!

"Don't be so pessimistic. With his speed, even if he couldn't win, he could have escaped... probably."

Seeing Kuma in tears, Ivankov felt deeply saddened.

"I heard you ran into Saint Saturn while rescuing people. Are you hurt?" Ginny ran over, panting.

Ivankov shook his head. "We're fine. Thanks to Kuma's ability, we escaped."

"That's good." Ginny patted her chest.

She hadn't joined Kuma and the others but had been eavesdropping on the Marines' movements.

"I overheard a Marine vice admiral teaming up with Roger to take down Rocks. We need to get off this island."

If Rocks were defeated, the Marines would launch a massive manhunt for the pirates on the island. By then, there would be no chance for them to escape.

"What about that big brother?"

The four of them had formed a relatively close-knit group after this collaboration, so of course, they should leave together.

Ivankov shook his head. "We haven't found him yet. He stayed behind to hold off Charlotte Linlin and buy us time."

Ginny took out a package from her bag. Inside was a rectangular mirror, a card with incomprehensible text, a set of keys, and a piece of paper covered in squares.

"He gave this to me before he left the camp. He said if we couldn't find him, we should escape first."

Ivankov scratched his head. "I can guess what the other things are, but what does this piece of paper mean?"

If Renji were here, he would have complained about becoming a trilingual illiterate in this world. (Chinese, Japanese, and English.)

He could understand but not read. How ironic.

"It's fine." Ginny took out four sheets of white paper.

Kuma suppressed his grief. "Is this... a Vivre Card?"

Ginny nodded. "I made these using your fingernails. The one on the far left is Renji's. Let's each tear off a piece of the others' cards."

After handling this, the three of them followed the direction indicated by Renji's Vivre Card.