Boom!!!
A gigantic fist wrapped in crackling lightning descended from the sky, crushing down toward Blackbeard's position.
That thunderous strike illuminated the skies above Amazon Lily, restoring light to the island in an instant.
Yet the island's residents had no time to marvel at that fleeting brilliance.
Chaotic sounds of slaughter mixed with rivers of blood, spreading across the streets.
"Run! Becky, Betty—run toward the royal palace!"
"That's the safest place in the whole country!!!"
An elderly female warrior gripped her spear and blocked two saber-wielding pirates, shouting desperately to the pair of trembling twin girls behind her.
But upon hearing that, the two pirates suddenly burst into mocking laughter, as if they had heard the funniest joke imaginable.
"The safest place? Are you kidding me?"
"Captain Golden Lion and Lord Blackbeard are both in your palace right now!"
"At this point, your precious Empress is probably already a plaything for those two!"
"Wahahahaha—!"
The two pirates jeered back and forth, using vulgar words to insult and provoke the warrior.
"Bastards!" the warrior roared.
But under the pressure of their numbers and strength, she was already struggling just to keep their blades from reaching her body.
She had no energy left to retort.
At that moment, a hoarse shout suddenly rang out from a nearby rooftop.
"Get down, Beri!"
"Huh?!"
Hearing that familiar voice, the warrior's pupils trembled. Without the slightest hesitation, she thrust her spear forward.
Using the opening, she leapt backward, spreading her arms to tightly shield the twin girls behind her.
"Dragon Serpent Cannon!"
A burst of scorching light flared!
In the next instant, a rocket-like projectile tore through the air, drawing a serpentine trail across the sky as it roared toward the two pirates.
Boom!!!
With an ear-splitting explosion, the pirates were blasted away by the terrifying shockwave, smashing into a nearby wall and falling unconscious.
"Rindou! You're finally back!!!"
Seeing her former comrade—now the active sniper of the Kuja Pirates—Beri shouted in delight.
"If you're here, does that mean Lady Snake Princess has returned too?!"
Hancock, the user of the Love-Love Fruit, had earned the people's devotion far beyond any previous empress of Amazon Lily.
It felt as though, as long as she was present, nothing could possibly go wrong in this country.
Yet in response to the warrior's question, Rindou only gently shook her head.
Neither confirming nor denying, she said softly,
"I'm not sure either."
The Straw Hat crew had appeared out of thin air beside them just as the Perfume Yuda was about to reach Amazon Lily.
When the Going Merry—suddenly revealed to carry a bounty of 1.3 billion Beli—appeared before them, the Kuja Pirates had even thought they were under enemy ambush.
Fortunately, the Straw Hat Pirates weren't there to cause trouble, but to discuss cooperation.
Although Rindou didn't know what Hancock ultimately discussed with them…
The reason she could arrive here in time to save her former companions was entirely thanks to the Straw Hats' miraculous methods.
"In any case, take the children somewhere safe first," Rindou said firmly.
"Leave the main battlefield to us!"
"Alright!"
The warrior nodded and quickly lifted the two children into her arms.
But before she could take a single step, a voice that made their faces instantly pale echoed from above.
"Hic~!"
"Well, well… look what I found!"
"Isn't this a female officer of the Kuja Pirates?!"
"If I kill you, I should get quite a reward from Boss Blackbeard, huh?"
"Man, I really hope he builds me a few more distilleries up in the sky islands."
"Hehehehe~ hic!"
Rindou looked up toward the source of the voice.
Floating in midair was a grotesque figure wearing a circus-clown-like hat, seated atop a bubble reeking of strong alcohol.
That already hideous face, paired with the vacant, drunken expression of an addict, made him look like a fool with barely any brains at all.
Yet the instant Rindou saw him, panic flashed through her eyes.
Her expression darkened as she murmured,
"Vasco Shot…"
"I never thought someone who was once such a powerful figure would end up serving under another."
"Hehehe…"Vasco Shot grinned foolishly, tongue hanging out as he laughed like a drunk.
"As long as there's good booze to drink, who cares about serving someone else?!"
"Was I really supposed to rot in that endless hell forever?!"
As his words fell, Vasco Shot raised his gourd and gulped it down greedily, as if deliberately playing up his image as a hopeless drunk.
But the very next moment—
The haze in his eyes vanished, replaced by savage cruelty.
After belching loudly, Vasco Shot broke into a brutal grin.
"Alright~ I've answered your question."
"Now it's time to send you on your way!"
Pshhh!!!
A torrent of liquor sprayed from Vasco Shot's mouth like a waterfall, crashing into the street where Rindou and the warrior stood, surging toward them.
"Liquor Inferno!"
Boom!!!
Without any obvious movement from Vasco Shot, the rushing alcohol ignited instantly, transforming into raging flames that swallowed everything in their path.
"What?!"
Rindou and the warrior immediately summoned all their strength, coating their bodies in Armament Haki.
But as they stared at the ferocity of the firestorm, despair flooded their eyes.
It wasn't that they feared the flames—or even death.
It was the children…
They were innocent!
Barely old enough to understand the world, they were being dragged into this invasion, about to be slaughtered by executioners.
"What do we do—what do we do?!"
Rindou sprinted toward the warrior, screaming in panic inside her heart.
Behind her, the scorching heat was already beginning to burn away her clothes.
With alcohol evaporating at terrifying speed, the fire spread far faster than she had imagined.
The reflected flames in the children's eyes made her feel suffocated.
Helpless tears streamed down Rindou's face, only to evaporate into nothing before they could hit the ground.
Just as she believed the cruelest scene was about to unfold before her—
"How dare you make such a sexy lady cry!!!"
"That is absolutely unforgivable!!!"
"AAAAAHHHH—!!!"
A roar that shook heaven and earth thundered from the distant sky.
Before anyone present could react, a jet-black flash tore across the horizon.
Like a resolute bolt of lightning, it plunged straight into the raging inferno.
In the next instant, a miracle occurred.
The flames pierced by that black silhouette scattered to both sides of the street like soldiers welcoming their king—then, as if drawn by his will, surged back together and counterattacked toward Vasco Shot.
Someone who could unleash such terrifying speed—crossing half of Amazon Lily in an instant—and exert such control over flames…
In the entire sea, there was only one man who fit that description.
The Flame Demon Knight who had come to Amazon Lily alongside Red—
Sanji!!!
"You damn bastard!!!"
"I will never allow anyone—"
"—to defile my paradise!!!"
At that moment, boundless fury surged in Sanji's eyes. Moving even faster than when he fought Kizaru, he appeared before Vasco Shot in an instant.
Before the stunned drunk could even comprehend what was happening, an attack engulfed in an endless sea of flames descended upon him.
"Diable Jambe · Dragon's Finishing Shot!!!"
"Die!!! You bastard who dares to insult women!!!"
Boom!!!
Blazing fire lit up the skies above Amazon Lily.
For an instant, it looked as though an artificial sun had been born in the heavens.
But only the pirate powerhouses rampaging across the island understood—
That light was no sun.
It was their companion, wrapped in flames compressed to the absolute limit—
Vasco Shot!!!
For a moment, every powerhouse froze, all eyes turning toward the direction where that "sun" had risen.
(End of Chapter)