Chapter 29: Judging You by Human Standards Was Truly My Mistake
"Why can't it be me, Marine?"
"..."
Dragon was momentarily speechless. His lips moved slightly, but he didn't know how to answer this question.
The one ordering the massacre on this island was the World Government, and the ones responsible for enforcing it were the Marines.
So, a pirate saving people here... didn't seem like something unacceptable.
While Dragon was unable to answer, Nereus was also sizing him up. Although he was young and his face was missing the mark famously known as the "Sandal Print,"
There was no doubt that this man was the one who would found the Revolutionary Army.
Although the Revolutionary Army was largely a ragtag group initially, over the long years, it became one of the few organizations opposing the Celestial Dragons.
"Looking at you now, I assume you knew nothing about these things before today?"
"Then tell me, Marine!"
"After seeing all this with your own eyes, do you think your Marines are still qualified to bear the word 'Justice'?!"
"Justice" was the slogan of the Marines. Every Marine soldier shouted this word countless times during basic training. But now, the word sounded piercingly harsh to Dragon, like needles pricking his ears.
The belief in justice he once held unshakably in his heart had turned into a massive joke at this moment.
"He's actually a good Marine. He saved me on the island..."
"He even bandaged my wound..."
"But... it was this gentleman who let us on the ship..."
The civilians of God Valley couldn't figure out the situation either. They usually didn't care much about huge bounties, only hearing about them occasionally from others.
They only knew who had helped them in their desperate situation.
After Dragon dropped his weapon, they stopped pointing guns at him.
Just then, an extremely violent airflow erupted from the central area of God Valley.
The sails flapped loudly, the rigging instantly pulled taut like bowstrings, and the entire ship began to rock noticeably from side to side.
This airflow contained several powerful Haki pressures, bizarrely mixed with an indescribable, sinister aura.
Immediately after, a massive cliff on one side of God Valley collapsed with a roar, and the thick clouds hanging high in the sky were forcibly torn open by an invisible force, creating a huge rift.
Without a doubt, under the shockwaves from the intense duel between these powerhouses standing at the peak of the world, the innocent sky had once again become a victim of collateral damage.
"You can choose to get off the ship now, or help sail it. The controls of a medium-sized warship are quite different from a large one."
In the past, Nereus and his crew usually hijacked large warships, so they were very familiar with controlling those.
Switching to a smaller warship was actually a bit unfamiliar.
"You... aren't going to kill me?"
"I don't just kill anyone. Speaking of which, I haven't paid attention to how the Marines describe me for a while. If you have time, I'd like to hear about it."
Nereus ignored Dragon afterward. Within the nearby range, he couldn't see any other ordinary people or slaves, so it was time for this ship to set sail.
Nereus himself spread his wings and flew toward the source of that bizarre aura.
As for whether Dragon would cause any trouble...
Even if Nereus knew nothing about Dragon, he wouldn't care about him because the guy was simply too weak right now. Babel could casually crush him like a bug.
"Stop staring, kid. Big Bro has already left. Since Big Bro didn't kill you, as long as you don't cause trouble, I won't lay a hand on you either. Go get to work!"
Dragon said nothing. He silently walked to the base of the mast and began adjusting the angle of the sails.
...
"Grab a ship immediately! Get out of here!"
"Eh? Big Bro Silver Axe, isn't Rocks's ship still there?"
"Idiot! Look at the situation! Who's going back there?!"
While Nereus was heading toward the center of the island, other pirates also began preparing to hijack ships and retreat, a step behind Nereus.
Silver Axe was just one of them; others were making similar plans.
"Jihahahaha! The Rocks Pirates end here!"
Shiki, who had the ability to fly, found retreating even more convenient. He didn't need a ship at all, simply flying away into the distance with his belongings.
Cases of hitching rides and teaming up were everywhere. Gloriosa sneaked onto Roger's pirate ship, and Whitebeard received an invitation from Epoida.
Epoida claimed to be an admirer of Whitebeard, and a genuine one at that. In appearance, he looked almost exactly like Marco.
Meanwhile, in the core zone of God Valley, Garp and Roger were confronting Rocks.
More accurately, it was a Rocks who had been corrupted by the black shadows of Imu and demonized.
Rocks's current state was very wrong. Not only did he have two extra pairs of fangs in his mouth, but demonic wings had also sprouted from his back.
This was Imu's ability. After certain conditions were met, they could dominate the opponent in this way.
[Please, kill me...]
This was the plea in Rocks's heart at this moment. Controlled as he was, he couldn't speak, but both Roger and Garp heard these words.
"Say, Roger, you heard that too, right?"
"Yeah."
"Roger, I originally wanted to catch both you and Rocks here in one go."
"And I just wanted to grab Shakky and the treasure and run!"
Both complained simultaneously, yet both discarded the coats draped over their shoulders in unison.
"So we're teaming up temporarily?"
"I'm a hundred percent unwilling, but we really can't ignore this guy..."
Garp and Roger thus formed an alliance. But the problem was, even with their combined forces, the current Rocks wasn't easy to deal with. Instead, the two of them were sent flying first.
"Can someone tell me what exactly is going on here?"
At this moment, Nereus arrived at the core battlefield. In Nereus's memory, Roger and Garp did indeed team up, but the mutated Rocks was a part Nereus didn't know about.
Seeing Nereus arrive, Roger was startled and said to Garp beside him:
"Garp! What exactly is that black monster from your World Government?! How did it control this guy too?!
Is your Justice just here to make jokes?!"
"Cough, cough... I second that motion. But forget about that for now; think about how to deal with these two guys!"
Vampire wings and demon wings were hard to distinguish even upon careful inspection. Nereus appearing here at this moment seemed to create a misunderstanding for Roger and Garp—that he was also controlled.
One Rocks was already enough to threaten their lives. If a Nereus of the same level as Rocks was added to the mix...
Then they really should be figuring out how to run away.
"You two idiots... are you suffering from both polio and Alzheimer's at the same time?! Don't you remember I'm a Devil Fruit user?!"