Chapter 163: God Valley: The Flames of Rebellion
by xennovel“Garp, you’re the only one who can stop me.”
“Hahaha!”
Just as Garp was about to rush into the island, Rocks swung the Black Dragon and knocked him back with a sweeping blow.
The five Holy Knights nearby went pale. Their sole duty was to protect the Celestial Dragons, and now one had died right before their eyes. There was no escaping the blame.
“Oh? A Celestial Dragon is dead? Fantastic.”
This scene was broadcast to the entire world by Mor Morris.
Every nation that had ever suffered beneath the Celestial Dragons erupted in cheers.
“I’m heading for the sea! I’m going to become a pirate!”
“Yeah, I’ve had it with this damned life!”
With a Celestial Dragon brazenly killed in broad daylight, a surge to join the pirates swept across the world.
The era of the great pirates arrived ahead of schedule.
“Incredible!” Borsalino’s jaw dropped. He never expected Karl’s single strike to carve a gash right through the mountains.
Julian stood to the side, gasping for air. “Tch!”
“Don’t get cocky, pirates! Even if you get in, so what?” Julian tore away his tattered shirt, revealing a muscular body covered in wounds, but showed no fear. Raising his fists, he charged straight at Borsalino.
“Man, this is really a pain.” Borsalino’s mouth twisted sideways.
He hadn’t expected Julian to have trained his body to such a degree. No matter how many fierce attacks he threw, Julian still had the strength to stand back up.
It instantly reminded him of Halil back on Cake Island.
That guy Halil, being a Fishman who refused to eat a Devil Fruit, forged his body to the point where even without Armament Haki, regular blades couldn’t cut him.
You could basically call him a mini Iron Balloon.
Of course, it also had to do with his mastery of the Thunder Tiger’s Subduing Vajra Fist. Training in that technique hardened his body like steel, and after feasting on huge quantities of Sea Kings, he brought out its full potential.
With that kind of defense, it was hard to find a weakness or an opening to attack.
Julian was a bit behind, but in Borsalino’s eyes he was still an unbreakable turtle with nowhere to strike.
“Man, what a stubborn, tough guy.”
“Light-Speed Kick!”
In a flash, Borsalino appeared at Julian’s side and, before Julian could even register it, sent him flying with a kick. He darted through the air, battering Julian back and forth like a balloon, then finally raised his right leg to smash downward mid-air.
Boom!
Julian crashed straight down, smashing deep into the ground.
“Wait!”
Nearby, Kong saw the Holy Knights trying to race into the island and hurriedly shouted to stop them.
He couldn’t forget how, just like this, they’d revealed a weakness at the start, which allowed Rocks to pick them off one by one.
“Hahaha!”
“You people never learn, do you?”
Rocks wasn’t about to let a golden opportunity slip away. He lunged forward, grabbed the last one, and crushed the man’s skull in his left hand.
The four in front whipped around in shock.
But it was too late. Leaving their backs exposed to Rocks was the single stupidest thing they’d ever done, especially when he had the Black Dragon ready.
“Divine Might!”
In a flash, the four didn’t have time to react.
Three were cut down by the blade, the fourth, Oakle, blocked with his Iron Fist.
“Damn you, Rocks!”
Caught off guard, Oakle’s left arm was severed clean off.
He knew that unless they beat Rocks, they had no hope of entering God Valley.
Just as Rocks moved to deliver a killing blow with the Black Dragon, he suddenly froze.
Seeing a perfect chance, Oakle spun and dashed toward the interior of God Valley.
“Old men!”
He turned to the sky outside God Valley. Five figures were speeding toward them through the air—the Five Elders themselves.
Garp hurried to Kong’s side. “You still hanging in there?”
“Yeah, these old bones can still move.”
Rocks lifted the Black Dragon, the blade flashing as he pointed to the island. “The path is clear, boys! Charge into the island!”
“Roar!”
A massive tide of pirates, galvanized by his words, surged forward and stormed deeper into God Valley.
The Navy guarding the way couldn’t stop their advance. Many of the Navy Vice Admirals were already locked down and couldn’t spare anyone to block the pirates.
As the pirates pushed further in, Borsalino and the others moved with the crowd, fighting their way toward God Valley.
“Damn! We’re still too late.” The Five Elders, arriving on the horizon, saw countless pirates flooding into the island, Celestial Dragons slain in droves. The earth, from the edges inward, began to turn crimson.
“Out of my way, vermin!”
“Vermin!” The Celestial Dragons whipped out their golden pistols, firing frantically at the snarling pirates. But for some of the pirates, those bullets were nothing.
“So these are the Celestial Dragons?”
“Pathetic.”
A pirate lopped off a Celestial Dragon’s head and hoisted the glass helmet, his face twisted with bloodlust.
Slaves by the dozens began fighting back, dragging down the Celestial Dragons and their guards, tearing at them with nails and teeth.
The whole scene spun out of control in an instant.
“Brring, brring!”
“Moshi moshi.”
“Lord Karl, the job’s done.”
The instant Jennifer’s voice came through the receiver, he finally let out a sigh of relief. “Withdraw, now.”
With that, he hung up the Transponder Snail—he too had sensed the five terrifying auras approaching from the horizon.
“Move!”
“Damn vermin!”
On his way through, Oakle killed every pirate standing in his path.
But there were far too many pirates, blocking his way forward. Right then, Kaido spotted Oakle cutting down pirates left and right and broke into a wild grin.
“Thunder Bagua!” Swinging his kanabo, he brought it crashing down toward Oakle’s head.
Boom!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Oakle never imagined such a powerhouse would be hiding among the crowd. His left arm was already gone and he was totally drained.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been sent flying dozens of meters by Kaido’s Thunder Bagua.
“Vermin!”
Oakle scrambled up, steadied his breath, and raised his right fist to face Kaido.
Wave after wave of Navy soldiers followed the pirates into the island, among them Monkey D. Dragon.
Ever since coming ashore, he’d kept his Observation Haki active. But now, faced with this chaos—the slaves wailing in pain—their agony echoed endlessly in his mind.
He began to doubt himself. Was the Navy truly here to protect this kind of trash?
Were the Celestial Dragons really worth defending?
Seeing the tens of thousands of slaves—bodies battered and broken—his own faith in justice started to crumble.
“So this is the suffering you all endure?”
In that moment, his Observation Haki evolved, awakening the sound of empathy.
He could feel the torment of every single slave, as if it were happening to him, agony shooting through his body. “Hahahahaha!”
“Celestial Dragons!” Blood streamed from the corners of his eyes.