Chapter 054: What a Coincidence!

On Gaya Island, a strange man with a chestnut-shaped growth on his head climbed ashore from the coastline.

This man was none other than the descendant of the infamous swindler Montblanc Norland—Montblanc Cricket.

As the descendant of a "great fraud," Cricket had endured mockery and scorn from others since childhood. To prove the existence of the City of Gold and break the curse of the Montblanc family, he had staked his entire life in a struggle against fate.

He firmly believed in the dying speculation of his ancestor, Montblanc Norland, that the City of Gold had sunk into the sea. Despite suffering from decompression sickness, he frequently dove into the ocean in search of it.

At this moment, Cricket had just finished another underwater exploration and emerged from the water.

As soon as he came ashore, he saw his two companions—Masira the monkey-man and Shoujou the gorilla—rushing toward him in a panic, delivering urgent news.

After hearing it, Cricket was also taken aback: "You're saying that a large number of Marines have appeared near Gaya Island and are now surrounding some newcomers who just arrived?"

"Mm-hmm!"

Masira and Shoujou nodded repeatedly.

Cricket then hurried to the harbor and saw that, just as they had said, over a dozen massive Marine warships had encircled a small boat.

Witnessing this scene, Cricket was stunned: "Who on earth is on that boat to warrant such a massive Marine operation?"

By now, many others on Gaya Island had also been alerted by the commotion and were gathering to watch.

Cricket could hear the murmurs of the crowd around him.

"The people on that small boat seem to be the ones recently given a 200 million bounty by the Marines!"

"You mean the ones who spread rumors in the newspapers about capturing Celestial Dragons from Sabaody Archipelago and severely injuring a Marine Admiral?"

"Exactly, them! I saw them dock their ship at the harbor earlier—it's definitely the two from the bounty posters!"

"Strange, why did they come to our Gaya Island? And why did they abandon their ship here and take a small boat to the south?"

...

Cricket held a pair of binoculars, staring ahead while listening to the chatter. Suddenly, a thought struck him: The south? Could they be heading for Skypiea?

He found it laughable—who would have thought that in this day and age, there were still people who believed in the existence of Skypiea!

But it didn't matter. Given the current situation, these guys were probably about to be captured by the Marines!

Thinking this, Cricket turned his gaze toward the direction where the Marines had surrounded the small boat, his eyes filled with pity.

However, at that moment, a realization dawned on him, and his expression shifted slightly: "Wait, today seems to be the day when... their location... There's a chance they might actually escape!"

Meanwhile, Lin Xuan and the others, now encircled by the Marines, were growing increasingly annoyed.

Uchiha Madara snorted coldly, his face full of impatience: "These Marines are like persistent ghosts!"

Hashirama Senju, on the other hand, looked around curiously at the surrounding Marines and asked, "Are these the so-called 'justice-upholding' Marines of this world?"

Lin Xuan's eyes quickly scanned the warships, and soon, he spotted several familiar figures on one of them.

Marine Admiral Aokiji, along with several Vice Admirals!

Among them, Aokiji was a well-known figure, and the Vice Admirals were no ordinary background characters—they had all appeared in the original storyline, each possessing considerable strength.

A faint smile curled on Lin Xuan's lips: "Aokiji? Now that's an interesting fellow! Who would've thought that just as we're about to head to Skypiea, these guys would deliver themselves to us for a quick reputation boost? What generous souls!"

As they sized up their enemies, Aokiji and the others were also scrutinizing them carefully.

Especially when they saw Uchiha Madara, Aokiji and his subordinates were visibly stunned.

According to previous reports, hadn't this Uchiha Madara supposedly died shortly after leaving Sabaody Archipelago?

Yet here he was, alive and well?

When their eyes fell on Hashirama Senju, Aokiji frowned: "Another new face? I wonder if this guy is as troublesome as Lin Xuan and Uchiha Madara?"

Vice Admiral Momonga, standing beside him, chimed in: "How likely is that? It's rare enough for one or two formidable figures to emerge on the seas. How could there be a continuous stream of such powerful individuals?"

Aokiji nodded. "Still, even if this new guy isn't as strong, Lin Xuan and Uchiha Madara alone are forces to be reckoned with. Everyone, stay sharp—we can't let them escape!"

"Yes, Admiral!" The Vice Admirals around him responded solemnly.

They had all witnessed the aftermath of Kizaru and Sentomaru's brutal encounter firsthand. Otherwise, Aokiji wouldn't have personally led several Vice Admirals on this mission.

Of course, since Lin Xuan's group held three Celestial Dragons as hostages, the Marines couldn't recklessly attack.

Thus, Aokiji took the initiative, using a Den Den Mushi loudspeaker to address Lin Xuan's group: "You are surrounded! Release the hostages and surrender immediately!"

Lin Xuan naturally ignored the Marines' threats and turned his gaze to Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju.

Just as he was about to ask which of them wanted to handle the Marines, he suddenly felt a tremor beneath their small boat.

He froze for a moment before his face lit up with excitement: "What a coincidence! We arrived just in time for the eruption of the Knock Up Stream?"

"Knock Up Stream? What's that?" Hashirama asked curiously.

Before Lin Xuan could respond—

BOOM!

The tremors in the sea intensified abruptly, and a thunderous roar erupted from the depths of the ocean.

Then, a massive whirlpool formed in the waters between Lin Xuan's group and the Marines!

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T/N:

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