Chapter 162: The Battle for God Valley Begins

“Rocks is powerful—stay sharp and watch out,” Oakle wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, steadied his breath, then stood and called out to the other four before charging ahead to take the lead.

The others didn’t hesitate either. After catching their breath for a moment, they rushed forward to follow.

At the tunnel entrance, Kaido charged ahead, following close behind Karl. “Thunder Bagua!”

As he charged, he cleared a path through the navy soldiers. Under his wild assault, few could withstand even his second strike.

Karl led the first wave charging forward, with Kaido as part of the second.

On the other side of the battlefield, Borsalino dodged Julian’s attack and hovered midair. “Yasakani no Magatama!”

“What? No, stop!”

At first, Julian had thought the attack was aimed at him, but this time the barrage struck the navy soldiers holding the tunnel, mowing down hundreds in an instant with deadly force.

With a leap, Julian appeared at Borsalino’s flank and threw a brutal punch.

His fury tore through the air in a howling blast.

“Ever been kicked by light?” In a flash, Borsalino appeared at Julian’s side and shot out his right leg in a fierce kick.

Julian’s body folded from the blow and crashed into the ground below.

“Boom!” Dust flew everywhere as the ground exploded.

Releasing his Observation Haki, Borsalino picked up on Julian’s tough life force. “Kōwai nai!” Then, brandishing his Light Sword, he darted straight at Julian.

“Gravity Blade—Fierce Tiger!”

On another part of the tunnel, Issho faced off with Navy Vice Admiral Patton.

“So young and already a pirate. I knew you couldn’t be any good,” Patton looked at the powerful young man in front of him, jealousy flickering in his heart.

His own talent had never been exceptional—he became a vice admiral thanks to family connections. Otherwise, with his skill alone, he’d never have made the cut.

So seeing Issho, so young and evenly matched in battle, only stoked the fires of envy burning within.

“I can’t just pretend I didn’t hear that,” Issho glared, a flash of anger in his deep blue eyes.

After all these years, he’d realized there was no clear line between navy and pirates.

Pirates were ruthless, feared, and often evil, but the navy wasn’t much better. In fact, the filth the navy committed rivaled even the worst pirates.

To please the Celestial Dragons, entire cities and nations were wiped out on a whim. The reason no Celestial Dragon scandals had leaked out across the Four Seas was that any witnesses from nearby countries or islets were simply slaughtered.

That’s how the truth stayed buried—at least, until Mor Morris’s news reports made it impossible to hide. Now everyone knew, and it was hard to feel anything good about the navy.

“Domain Expansion!” After eating the Rain-Rain Fruit, Sparrow was no longer the same.

Within a hundred meters of him, a torrential downpour crashed down, forming a gravity swamp. Every raindrop weighed a thousand pounds. Anyone with weak strength collapsed after being hit by just a few drops, unable to get back up.

And the rain also had corrosive, erosive properties. Even those matching his strength couldn’t find an advantage in this fight.

“What is this?” One navy soldier reached out to catch a drop of rain, curiosity etched across his face.

“Aah!” The next second, his palm was eaten away with a gaping hole, leaving him screaming in pain.

Vice Admiral Morey’s face darkened at the sight of his comrades’ agony. He roared, “Everyone fall back!”

“Hurry up, fall back!” Morey watched as only a few hundred navy soldiers nearest the edge managed to retreat, while over a thousand in the center had already gone down.

Tears of blood streaked down Morey’s reddened eyes. “Damn pirates!”

Covering himself fully in Armament Haki, he charged straight at Sparrow.

Seeing a vice admiral coming right at him, Sparrow quickly called raindrops into his hand. “Rain Arrow!”

Countless arrows made of rain flew toward Morey with deadly speed.

At first, he thought the raindrops couldn’t penetrate his Armament Haki-coated body, so he barely paid attention to the incoming arrows.

“Sssss…”

But the very first arrow struck him, sending wisps of white smoke curling from his body and giving him a sharp, biting pain.

He looked grim as he glanced at the burned spot on his skin. Clearly, he couldn’t just take these arrows head-on any longer. “Finger Gun!”

Navy soldiers, injured and barely hanging on, began to retreat, helping each other head toward the back left.

Some had faces eaten away, others had lost arms or legs to the rain—no one escaped unscathed.

On the way, they lent a hand to those writhing on the ground, dragging their wounded comrades in a desperate withdrawal.

“Bang!”

“Boom!”

Down the massive tunnel, Kaido swung his spiked club, nearly forcing his way into the heart of God Valley.

God Valley was shaped like a giant disk—the front half was the navy landing site and encampment area.

The back half housed the Celestial Dragons’ palace, with masses of slaves and the site for the Celestial Dragons’ sacred ceremonies.

Between the two halves stretched a series of rugged mountains, perfectly blocking the passage between them.

Karl broke away and reached the center first.

“This has to be the place,” he said.

He glanced back, watching the pirates chasing from behind.

“God Valley, it’s time to show everyone what you’re really hiding.”

“Heavenly Thunder—Split!”

His eyes flashed a deep wine-red as thick Conqueror’s Haki coiled around his halberd.

In the next instant, he leaped into the air, swinging his halberd in a wide arc and then chopping down with all his strength.

“Boom!”

The island shook with a massive crash, every person fighting nearby snapping to look his way.

And from the far side of the island, a voice rang out, “Who’s the wretch who just smashed up my garden?”

A mountain range was instantly cleaved in two, revealing a path—and facing Karl was a Celestial Dragon, glass dome over his head, staring in disbelief.

With a burst of lightning-fast movement, Karl appeared before the Celestial Dragon and lifted him into the air with one hand.

“No!”

“Put the Celestial Dragon down!”

The bodyguards rushed forward, trying desperately to stop Karl.

Karl glanced back at the pirates. “The treasure’s just ahead—go!”

With a slight squeeze of his right hand, he crushed the Celestial Dragon’s head like a grape and swung his halberd.

“Thunder Crescent Slash!” He swept dozens of people in a single blow, their bodies falling in pieces—none could even be put back together.

“Yes, follow Lord Karl’s lead!”

“Charge—the treasure’s right in front of us!”

A massive group of pirates surged forward over the path Karl had opened.

Right then, the battlefield expanded to cover the entire island.