bacchusnovels Chapter 409: Nika Appears
Chapter 409: Nika Appears
Kong and Sengoku stood facing each other silently for a long while.
In the end, Kong sighed helplessly "Fine. I’ll go persuade the Five Elders. But you must guarantee that Dragon will never appear on the seas again, and he must completely abandon everything related to the Revolutionary Army. Only then will there be even a slight possibility."
Sengoku slowly nodded. "Agreed. I’ll go persuade Garp and Dragon."
He truly had no desire to become enemies with the World Government, and Garp had only come here to save Dragon. As long as Dragon’s issue could be resolved, everything else could still be negotiated...
The two men stopped fighting and headed toward the opposing battlefields.
* * *
Mariejois. Within the ruins of the massive palace.
The Five Elders and the Holy Knights who had been fighting all turned their eyes toward Kong and Sengoku, watching the two calmly walk over together.
For a moment, the battlefield fell silent as everyone stopped what they were doing.
On the side of the Five Elders, as they watched Kong approach, the members of the Holy Knights subtly surrounded him, though none of them made a move.
Nusjuro looked at Kong indifferently while resting his hand upon the cursed blade at his waist. "Why did the fighting stop?"
After all, no one could stay calm after seeing one of their allies walking over peacefully beside the enemy.
Kong rubbed his forehead slightly and sighed. "Sengoku and the others have no intention of becoming enemies of the World Government. As long as Dragon is allowed to leave, they will retreat immediately.
"And Dragon will never appear on the seas again. He will also abandon everything related to the Revolutionary Army."
Warcury snorted coldly. "You believe that yourself? ’No intention of becoming enemies?’ They turned Mariejois into ruins. If we let them leave, how will the World Government maintain its authority? There is no room for negotiation in this matter."
Kong’s expression darkened slightly. "But don’t forget. Sakazuki still hasn’t arrived. If reinforcements appear, things may become even harder to control. As for the current military strength of the Marines, I don’t think I need to explain further."
Nusjuro narrowed his eyes slightly.
That was true...
With the Marines’ current power, the World Government might have to gamble everything. If they could first resolve two of the enemies here, then temporarily compromising might not be impossible...
At worst, they could deal with the rest later...
* * *
On Garp and Dragon’s side, Sengoku slowly walked over and looked toward Dragon, whose breathing had gradually stabilized.
"How are you feeling? Can you still move?"
Dragon shook his head. "It’s nothing serious anymore."
Taking a deep breath, he forced his still-bleeding body back to its feet.
Sengoku looked at both Garp and Dragon as he spoke in a deep voice. "I’ve already spoken with Commander-in-Chief Kong. As long as Dragon never appears on the seas again, we can leave immediately."
He deliberately hid the conditions that came afterward. As long as they could retreat first, the rest could be discussed later.
His gaze shifted between the father and son.
A slight change appeared in Garp’s expression.
But Dragon shook his head firmly. "I can’t leave. My soldiers are still fighting. I brought them here, and I can’t abandon them."
In the distance, the Revolutionary Army was still battling Mariejois’ defenders while the sounds of killing and war clearly echoed across the battlefield.
Dragon’s body faintly began transforming into violent wind, but Garp grabbed him with one hand and forcefully interrupted his elemental transformation.
"Dragon."
Dragon took a deep breath and stared directly into Garp’s eyes before shouting, "Father!!!!"
A trace of struggle flashed through Garp’s eyes, but he still did not release Dragon’s arm.
The two remained locked in a tense standoff...
* * *
The Five Elders were still hesitating on the other side while Kong was just about to persuade them further.
Thud!!!
Then suddenly, a giant net bag fell from the sky and crashed onto the battlefield between both sides.
The net burst apart as countless severed limbs wearing Celestial Dragon clothing exploded outward from the impact and scattered across the surrounding area...
Everyone was stunned.
The Five Elders, the Holy Knights, Sengoku, Dragon, and the others... every single one of them froze.
Thud!!! Thud!!! Thud!!!
One large net after another crashed down from the sky carrying shattered corpses and severed heads. Fragments of Celestial Dragon bodies piled together into a small mountain, leaving everyone completely unable to think.
Until...
"AHHHHHHH!!!!!"
A terrified scream suddenly echoed from the sky, finally snapping everyone back to reality.
Boom!!!
A young man wearing a straw hat smashed directly into the pile of Celestial Dragon corpses.
Realizing he was somehow unharmed, he slowly regained his senses in confusion. Feeling something beneath him poking into his body, he casually reached down and grabbed it...
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
The severed Celestial Dragon head in his hand was instantly thrown away as he leaped to his feet in horror and stared at the mangled corpses surrounding him.
"Where is this?!"
On the other side, Garp had unknowingly released his grip on Dragon long ago. His eyes widened in disbelief.
"Luffy!!!!"
When had Luffy’s aura become this powerful?! And what was with this appearance...?!
The straw hat-wearing Luffy, whose body had been forcibly matured into adulthood, also heard Garp’s voice. Turning toward the sound, cold sweat immediately appeared on his forehead.
"Grandpa!!!!!!"
Thinking about Garp’s Fist of Love, had his secret voyage already been discovered?!
But at that moment, two girls suddenly screamed from the sky.
"AHHH!!!"
"AHHH!!!"
Hearing the familiar voices, Luffy suddenly looked up in surprise.
"Nami! Carina!"
Both of his arms instantly stretched like rubber toward the sky, but Luffy faintly felt that something about his body seemed wrong. It was as though endless power was surging inside him...
Still, he ignored it completely. He first had to catch Nami and Carina.
Just as his hands were about to reach them...
Bang! Bang!!!
The two girls exploded instantly into clouds of blood mist.
Luffy froze. His arms unknowingly passed through the drifting blood before shrinking back to normal.
Feeling the lingering warmth and wetness on his hands, he blankly stared upward at the sky as fragments of flesh slowly fell before his eyes.
Then several more tiny figures began falling from above.
Zoro, Sanji, and Zoro’s two subordinates...
Luffy suddenly snapped back to reality and roared, "Zoro! Sanji!!!"
Without even having time to think, his arms stretched endlessly upward again. His fingers spread wide like a giant net trying to catch all four of them...
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!!
Four more explosions erupted.
But before Luffy could even react, terrified screams echoed from the sky once more.
"AHHHHHHH!!!!! HELP MEEEEEE!!!!!"
It was Usopp’s voice...
Luffy bent his legs slightly as the aura around his body suddenly exploded violently and white flames faintly emerged across his body.
"STOP IT!!!!!"
With a furious roar, his hair instantly transformed into burning white flames while his eyebrows curled upward unnaturally and his body launched upward.
In a single instant, he appeared beside Usopp as if teleporting and reached out toward him...
Boom!!!
Even after awakening, he was still one step too late...
His arm passed straight through the explosion and blood mist. And he caught nothing...
Meanwhile below, the Five Elders no longer cared about the Marines or the Revolutionary Army.
The moment Nika appeared, Nusjuro’s pupils violently shrank. Then following Luffy’s figure upward, he looked toward the sky.
From below, the white-flamed silhouette perfectly overlapped with the sun itself.
Nusjuro let out a horrified roar.
"Kill him!!!!!!"
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