The ladle in Queen’s hand slipped to the floor. He felt as if he had just heard something utterly surreal.
“It’s the Marine Hero Garp. He’s already fought his way to Socializing Island, saying he’s come to rescue his beloved disciple, Koby.
Who’s-Who is leading the Numbers against him. Please send reinforcements immediately!”
Clang!
A nearby bucket of oshiruko spilled all over the ground, but Queen didn’t show the slightest bit of distress.
The pirate delivering the message also reported the general course of events, including Holed’em’s report from a few days ago. It was as if Queen could see his own death star beginning to flicker.
“He’s alone?”
“There’s also a small Marine squad with him, but none of them are famous Marines.”
“He’s crazy. They’re all fucking crazy. What gives him the nerve to charge into this place alone?!”
Queen couldn’t understand Garp’s actions. Strength and reputation were practically equal to one another—if there were no other renowned Marines present, it meant there was no top-tier combat power, which meant Garp was almost completely deep behind enemy lines alone.
“Who does he think he is? Who does he think we are? Does he take us for pushovers?!”
After cursing several more times, Queen vented part of the oppressive feeling in his chest.
Onigashima was in a relatively weakened state right now. Kaido and the others were absent due to trivial matters. Queen believed it was just a coincidence, but if something really went wrong, he would likely be the first to bear responsibility.
Wano Country had never been breached in years. Even when CP0 had infiltrated, they hadn’t made it out alive. Queen couldn’t accept the idea of the first true breach starting under his watch.
“Rotom! Activate the nationwide emergency broadcast! Since he’s come, I’ll make sure he never leaves!”
Wuu… Wuu!!
In an instant, a deep, prolonged alarm echoed across the skies of Wano Country. The entire nation was enveloped in that distinctive sound. The ordinary citizens were stunned for a moment, then rushed toward the nearest buildings.
The Pokémon Centers immediately entered lockdown. Heavy steel plates descended from the outside, turning them into airtight steel fortresses.
The pirates were different. The moment they heard the alarm, they dropped whatever they were doing and rushed toward the nearest gathering points.
“Move! Move! Move! Something’s happened!”
On the small Sky Island, members of the Millennial Dragon air unit grabbed their weapons and ran to their partners. At Mogura Port in Hakumai, crates of artillery shells were carried into ship holds, waterproof covers were ripped off the cannons, and everyone entered combat readiness.
For ordinary citizens, the alarm was a warning to take shelter. For the pirates of the Beasts Pirates, it was an emergency muster order.
In the past, this alarm had only ever sounded during drills. Today was the first time it was truly activated.
“Men! This is Queen! Marine Garp launched a sneak attack on our island while Boss Kaido is away!
He’s on Socializing Island right now. Our people are holding that old b*stard back!
Whatever his reasons are, he’s not leaving here alive!”
Queen shouted at the top of his lungs, making sure every pirate understood why the alarm had sounded on Onigashima.
“Officers, no need to assemble. Head to that island by whatever means is fastest!
Once the follow-up forces gather, move in immediately! Even if we have to bury him in sheer numbers, we’ll keep that old b*stard here!
Let’s show him that the name of this era has long since changed!
Even without the two bosses here, we are invincible!”
Without the slightest reservation, Queen directly activated the highest level of alert. A man’s name casts a shadow like a tree. Garp was a deterrent to many pirates. To prevent any accidents, Queen gave him the utmost respect.
The Beasts Pirates’ greatest advantage was their powerful transport capability. Even though Giratina wasn’t here to use the fastest spatial folding, they still had countless officers who can fly.
The follow-up forces were merely Queen taking precautions. Although he believed it was a coincidence, he couldn’t understand Garp’s brainless charge into enemy lines. Perhaps Garp himself was just bait, and a large Marine force was lying in ambush nearby.
This was the Beasts Pirates’ own territory. In that case, they simply needed to prepare for war. As for dealing with Garp, that would depend on the officers.
“What terrible timing. It scared all my fish away.”
After tossing his fishing rod aside, Page One dumped the entire bucket of bait into the river, completing another cycle. Ever since losing that strange Magikarp halo, he had returned to his original state.
As for throwing bait into the river…
Rumor had it that among fish there was a legend: if they regularly sacrificed some of their own kind, the heavens would grant their race endless food. The origin of this custom lay with certain enthusiastic anglers who loved chumming the waters.
After discarding the meaningless junk, Page One’s body transformed into a towering Garchomp.
“Sister! Let’s go!”
Although Ulti wasn’t in his line of sight, based on his understanding of her, she had to be within a few hundred meters of him. If she hadn’t appeared yet, she was surely plotting something.
And just as he expected, when he felt the heaviness on his back, Page One took a few running steps and, with the aid of jetting air currents, shot into the sky, flying off alongside the already airborne Millennial Dragon unit.
“Honestly, Queen really dares to say anything. Someone who didn’t know better would think he was the captain.”
Setsuna covered her ears with a look of slight discomfort; as a Mink, her hearing was more sensitive than a human’s, and the piercing sound of the alarm was difficult for her to handle.
“Well, he’s in charge of island security. He’s probably afraid of getting beaten half to death.”
As she spoke, she tossed the two children in her arms back into the house.
“This has nothing to do with you. It’s not your turn to take part in a battle like this. Stay at home and behave. Don’t make me worry.”
“Should I call Zunesha? We’re not that far from there. It would probably arrive around the same time as the follow-up forces.”
Looking at Zeraora, whose fur crackled with lightning, Setsuna asked one more question before he set off.
“Contact it, just in case.”
Zeraora waited for a brief moment. Setsuna and Zunesha were quite a distance apart, and communicating via the power of Aura took some time. Only after finalizing the matter did he lead Setsuna to catch up with the vanguard, overtaking them from behind.
“Good. Zeraora’s already on his way. With him there, we can definitely hold Garp back. Add me and the other officers, and we might just be able to keep him here. He’s actually forced me into this position, I’ll make that damned Marine pay.”
Stretching his body, Queen also prepared to head to the battlefield. In the Beasts Pirates, cowardice was the greatest sin. This matter wasn’t truly his fault; after all, whether Marines or pirates, no one could have imagined Garp would do something like this.
But if Kaido happened to be in a bad mood and found out what Queen had done, he would definitely get a brutal beating. So for once, even without the temptation of food, Queen mustered some courage.
Besides, judging from what Hawkins had only half-finished saying earlier, his misfortune this time might be related to Arceus. If Kaido fixated on him, at worst he’d be beaten half to death.
If it was related to Arceus, the situation would only be worse. Arceus himself might not care about something like this, but Shayna and the others would definitely make him experience what it felt like to die over and over again.
“Maria, Onigashima’s defensive mechanisms are in your hands. Misu and the others will coordinate with you. If things get out of hand, head to Mt. Fuji. There’s a big guy underneath there.”
“Don’t worry, Lord Queen. I know what to do.”
Once the reinforcement order was issued, Onigashima would enter a state of weakened defense. Since the day they first arrived in Wano Country, this was probably the time when Onigashima had the fewest defenders.
However, neither Queen nor Maria seemed overly concerned. As long as Arceus was still present, they would always have one extra card to play.
After entrusting Onigashima’s defenses to Maria, Queen was just about to set off when someone blocked his path.
“Wait.”
“Kuzan? Don’t tell me…”
Seeing Kuzan enter Onigashima, Queen instead became wary, even switching directly into battle mode. He lacked trust in Kuzan and even suspected he might choose this moment to turn traitor.
“Ararara, aren’t we on the same side now? I just meant that you can leave that matter to me. I know better than you how to deal with him.”
“Oh? Fine. I’ll trust you this once.”
After some thought, Queen ultimately chose to believe Kuzan. He summoned one of the few Dragonite still remaining on Onigashima to carry Kuzan to the target island.
But Kuzan let out a deep sigh.
【Garp-san, this… is not wise.】
The more he interacted, the more he understood. Kuzan was certain that no one could now single-handedly invade the Beasts Pirates’ territory and retreat unscathed. As for the people Garp had brought with him, Kuzan had already selectively ignored them.
Kaido and the others were merely away, not dead. At worst, the Beasts Pirates could stall with sheer numbers until Kaido returned. At that point, life or death would be unpredictable.
Kuzan’s decision to take action carried a hint of saving him. At least if he intervened, Garp might survive.
Meanwhile, on Socializing Island, Who’s-Who was pondering a very serious issue. He felt that publicly teaching Tekkai’s training method had essentially been a mistake.
“Hahaha! Come on, pirates! If you want to see whether this old man’s fists are still hard enough, I’ll accompany you to the end!”
“Calm down! That old man is Iron Fist Garp, the Marine Hero! He may be old, but he’s not that easy to deal with. Don’t fu*king try to tank his punches head-on!”
“I advise you not to block me.”
“Garp, don’t get so full of yourself. Do you think this is still your hero era? You’re nothing but a remnant of the old era! So what if you can knock down that one? We’ve got dozens stronger than him!”
Boom!
Who’s-Who’s figure rapidly retreated as Garp’s punch slammed down before him. The immense force seeped into the ground, forcing Dobon, who had been hiding beneath the soil, out into the open.
“Then try taking one of my punches!”
“You think I’m that idiot from earlier?”
Who’s-Who’s objective was to stall, but some had misunderstood his intentions. In the earlier clash, someone had boldly charged straight in.
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