Chapter 222: Shadows on the Ice: The Fall of Allies

Wang Zhi and Silver Axe suddenly swung their weapons with all their might. The fierce impact caught Ledfield off guard, forcing him back several steps.

“Now this is starting to get interesting.”

Feeling their raw power, Ledfield finally found a sliver of excitement for the fight.

But to his surprise, after forcing Ledfield back, his supposed allies turned and bolted in the opposite direction.

“All of you, surround him!” The two retreating men wasted no time, barking orders for their pirate crews to swarm Ledfield.

Ledfield didn’t expect things to turn out like this. “Great Black Darkness!”

Bats poured from his back, quickly encircling the hundreds of attackers coming at him.

“Ah!”

“What is this?”

“Help… me…” One pirate finally burst through the wall of bats, but his outstretched bloody hand slowly withered into a mummified husk.

Sensing there was no life left among them, Ledfield swept his hand, recalling the swarm of bats.

In just a dozen seconds, hundreds of men were drained of blood and left as corpses sprawled on the ice.

When he looked again toward where Wang Zhi and Silver Axe had run off, there was no trace of them.

“Was that really the right call?”

“Just look at John now.”

“He’s basically dead. What do you think? I’m leaving before I die for nothing.” Silver Axe picked up the pace, wanting nothing to do with a pointless death. He still had a pirate’s life to live out.

Coming here this once settled his debt to John, so now no one owed anyone anything.

Up in the air, Wang Zhi watched John being battered and knocked back again and again. With a helpless sigh, he turned and fled.

As for their own crew? Who cared about subordinates at a time like this? That’s just the pirate way.

As far as they were concerned, as long as the two of them lived, men like that could always be found.

A pirate would never put much value on another pirate’s life.

“Tch!”

“Damn it!”

Watching the two escape, John spat out a mouthful of blood and water.

“Those bastards, couldn’t even bother dragging me along when running.”

Now all John could do was complain. Watching Charlotte Linlin draw near, he gripped his longsword in his left hand.

“Mamamama!”

“John, you know, I’ve wanted you dead for a long time. If Captain Rocks hadn’t been protecting you back then, Karl would’ve killed you a dozen times over.”

Hearing that, John scoffed. “Ha! So you’re just as scared of Captain Rocks as the rest of us.”

“If Captain Rocks were still here, he’d take care of traitors like you himself.”

John had always been a diehard Rocks fan. Back then, he and his two friends had been Rocks’ biggest supporters. He couldn’t help but think—if the captain were still alive, would they have ended up like this?

Cough, cough!

His throat itched; he hacked up a few more mouthfuls of blood.

Staggering upright, he said, “After I die, just let my body sink to the bottom of the sea here.”

He knew there was no way out this time. He figured Charlotte Linlin would at least grant him this last wish. Gripping his longsword, he launched his final attack.

“Sovereign Nation!”

Charlotte Linlin, gripping the Emperor’s Blade in both hands, sent him on his final journey.

John’s attack never even reached her—his chest burst open in an instant, revealing half a heart still beating, hanging by a thread.

His strength gave out and he fell to his knees. Thud!

His left hand went limp; the longsword slipped from his grasp and clattered to the ground.

And so John met his end.

“Mamamama!”

“Heaven’s Fire!”

Since they had all once shared a ship, Charlotte Linlin at least gave him a proper send-off. She summoned Prometheus, who unleashed a blazing inferno on the ice where John’s body lay. The fire melted the ice beneath him, opening a hole, and John’s body slipped through, slowly sinking into the sea.

No prisoners were taken—every other pirate at the scene was hunted down and killed.

After all, any one of John’s subordinates could have been a plant. To be safe, they were all wiped out.

With that handled, the group continued toward Cake Island, this time running into no further trouble on the way.

…

Over on Hachinosu, after Zephyr’s arrival, the three of them held a quick meeting on the island.

“Just as I thought, Charlotte Linlin didn’t come here with Karl. Looks like he’s plotting something elsewhere.” Sengoku’s words snapped the other two back to their senses.

It was true—Karl absolutely despised the Navy, and he’d nearly died at the hands of Sengoku and Garp when they first met.

So for this assault on the Navy outpost, Karl should’ve shown up. Even if he didn’t, he’d at least keep watch from the shadows. The fact that he hadn’t appeared, even after Charlotte Linlin was pushed so hard, meant that he was definitely nowhere near Cake Island.

“Any word from the World Government on Karl?”

Zephyr shook his head at Sengoku’s question. “Nothing from the World Government either. Even if they did know, we wouldn’t be told.”

This was the first time Zephyr truly resented the World Government. They not only kept the Navy under their heel but seeded their ranks with spies and refused to share even crucial intelligence.

Noticing Zephyr’s discomfort, Garp gently patted his shoulder.

“Hahahaha!”

“Don’t let it get to you, Zephyr.”

“Whatever happens, at least things are quiet for now.”

Zephyr couldn’t help but smile back at Garp’s infectious confidence. He felt a bit better.

“Let’s just leave it for now.”

“The main reason I’m here is to give support. Plus, we can use this chance to set up two more Navy outposts.”

“It’s settled, then.”

“I’m heading out after Roger. Call if you need me.” Garp stood, grabbed his cloak from nearby, and strode out toward the shore without looking back.

Sengoku and Zephyr stayed behind, discussing locations for the new Navy outposts and how to assign personnel.

It was tedious work—no wonder Garp didn’t want to stick around. Now that the crisis was over, he was happy to get out of there.

Elsewhere in the New World, the Roger Pirates, having shaken off Garp’s pursuit, rested on a deserted island.

“There’s something off about Roger.”

Rayleigh sat atop a wine barrel, swirling his drink. The easy smile on his face slowly faded into a look of concern as he gazed toward the horizon.

His words instantly drew everyone’s attention. They looked skyward, spotting distant sparks of light heading their way.

“Uh-huh!”

“Let me take a look.” Roger, a bit tipsy, jumped to his feet and unleashed his Observation Haki, sensing the direction of the distant lights.

In no time, the drunken look faded and his face turned serious. “That’s the Golden Lion, isn’t it?”

“Get ready, everyone!”

In the distance, a ship drifted closer and closer to the deserted island. There was no time to withdraw—they could only prepare for battle here.

Rayleigh and Jabba grabbed their weapons, while Morala quickly scooped up Shanks and Buggy, carrying them to safety in the rear.

Morala was one of the few women aboard. She had decent strength, but protecting the two kids was her most important job right now.