Having guns, of course, was a good thing.
Even the elderly and frail slaves now had a means to protect themselves, and the rescue efforts became far more efficient because of it.
In just twenty minutes, more than ten additional prisons were broken open.
The number of freed slaves had already reached several thousand.
However—
By this point, the entire Holy Land had been completely alarmed. The enraged Celestial Dragons issued a citywide manhunt. Pursuers and soldiers swarmed from every direction.
Fisher Tiger was never a man who relied solely on brute strength. The moment the situation turned, he knew they had reached their limit.
Though there were still many slaves imprisoned in the northern districts, if they didn't begin retreating now, none of them might make it out alive.
Suppressing his deep unwillingness, he finally gave the order to stop the rescues. The slaves began regrouping and retreating toward the southern exit of the city.
...
"Watch out!"
In a narrow alley, Inazuma—carrying a small boy on his back—suddenly heard a sharp warning shout from somewhere ahead.
He instinctively turned around, but before he could react, a powerful figure tackled him to the ground.
Whizz!
A bullet whistled past, grazing his scalp.
BOOM!
The wall behind him exploded into rubble.
Holy crap—what kind of gun is that?!
If that hit a person, they'd be blown to pieces!
Inazuma's eyes went wide, cold sweat breaking down his spine.
"Hey, kid, you alright?"
A rough, panting voice came from above him. Inazuma looked up and was startled to see that the one who saved him was a muscular, brown-haired girl.
Her face was fierce, her body strangely built—and most shockingly, her tongue was long and forked like a serpent's, flicking and hissing in the air.
A snake-person?
Inazuma quickly realized. Among the slaves rescued under Tiger's command, there were giants, longarms, minks… people of every shape imaginable. This girl might look strange, but compared to the rest, she didn't stand out that much.
Beside her was another snake-woman with green hair and the same eerie forked tongue.
But the black-haired girl they were supporting looked entirely human—beautiful, delicate features, though her face was pale and bloodless, and she was barely conscious.
"Sister! Sister! Hancock!"
The green-haired snake-girl anxiously patted her cheek. "Hang on! We're getting close to the south side—once we find our savior, we can escape!"
"I'm… fine…"
The black-haired girl forced her eyes open, whispering weakly, "Don't worry… about me…"
Before she could finish, her head fell sideways—she had fainted completely.
"Hancock!"
The green-haired girl's face changed. Biting her lip, she hoisted the unconscious girl onto her back with effort.
Sisters?
Inazuma blinked in confusion. Wait… are they even snake-people or not?
"I'm fine, thanks!"
But this wasn't the time to be wondering about that. Inazuma thanked the brown-haired girl and got to his feet with difficulty. When he turned to look back—
At the dark end of the alley, a tall figure in a white suit and mask appeared, carrying a strange-looking sniper rifle over his shoulder, walking toward them at a leisurely pace.
"Well, well… a bunch of disobedient little pests," the masked man said coldly. "Middle of the night, and you just had to make a scene. Did you really think you could leave so easily without showing us a little respect?"
As his words fell—
Three more masked figures in white uniforms appeared silently on the surrounding rooftops, sealing every possible escape route.
"That uniform… Damn it, they're CP0!"
"Tch… it's taken this long, and CP-0 finally shows up."
"We'll never make it to our savior now—what do we do?!"
The fifty-odd freed slaves trapped in that narrow alley instantly fell into chaos and terror.
They had originally split into small groups to set fires and rescue people across the city. When Fisher Tiger ordered the retreat they gradually regrouped, and during the escape they'd managed to overwhelm several guards by virtue of their numbers.
But there was no doubt about it.
The masked men now blocking their path were on a completely different level from those guards — they were not opponents the slaves could beat.
"Kill them!" the lead CP-0 agent said emotionlessly. "Saint Roswald has ordered it: leave no escaped slave alive. Don't waste time — finish off these slaves, then continue the pursuit south!"
"Yes, sir!"
The three agents didn't hesitate. In a flash they drew their weapons, leapt from the rooftops and dove down toward the slaves.
Is this the end…? Inazuma's face filled with despair. The two snake-tongued girls at his side gritted their teeth, shielding their sister on their backs and bracing themselves for a final desperate stand.
At that critical moment—
Boom! A heavy explosion sounded. The three agents who had launched themselves at the group were thrown back in unison, smashed out more than ten meters, and several nearby walls were blasted to rubble.
"You really got separated on me, huh, little Inazuma."
A familiar tall figure stepped out of the dust, one heavy step at a time, grinning and laughing loudly. "But it's fine — I finally found you!"
"Big guy!" Inazuma, overjoyed, looked toward the bald giant who'd appeared. Then he froze in surprise: the man's right arm was now an inky black, as if cast from steel.
How did he do that?
"You all straggled pretty badly — hurry, head south and regroup," the bald giant said, scanning the faces of the surprised slaves with a chuckle. "I'll cover your rear for a while; I'll catch up with you later."
"But, big guy…" Inazuma hesitated. "Those are agents of the World Government — four of them…"
"Shut up and move! When I tell you to go, you go!"
The bald giant shot Inazuma a glare and swaggered as he waved his pitch-black fist.
"You ignorant brat — you think I need you to worry about me? Know what this move's called? Armament Haki! That's a power only the big shots of the New World can use. More than enough to deal with these government lapdogs!"
So this was the legendary Haki…
Inazuma looked at the blackened fist in awe, then nodded hard without hesitating.
"I remember the way! Everyone, follow me!"
"Stay close together!"
"Big guy, be careful!"
The slaves all hurriedly fled out of the alley mouth. The two snake-tongued girls, as they passed by, initially offered to stay and help.
But after being disdainfully scoffed at and refused by the bald giant, they couldn't very well insist, and could only carry their sister on their backs and follow Inazuma ahead.
Before long, their footsteps faded into the distance.
When the bald giant turned back, the confident grin on his face was gone — replaced by grim determination.
Almost at the same moment, rubble around him shifted.
Three masked men in white suits pushed aside broken stone and rose to their feet, casually rolling their necks before closing in again.
Aside from a few streaks of blood on their masks, they were completely unharmed.
So they're really that tough, huh…
Looking at the approaching enemies, the bald giant took a deep breath, let out a roar, and the next moment, the black hue rapidly spread across his entire body. Like an iron giant, he charged at the surrounding agents with an unstoppable momentum.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dull sounds, mixed with painful roars, continued almost without end, echoing far down the dark alley.
It seemed like a long time had passed, yet also like just two or three minutes.
Accompanied by a "crack" sound of a neck snapping, the bald giant's massive body stiffened, then slowly toppled backward.
"Never thought there'd be such a troublesome guy among the slaves." one of the CP-0 agents muttered.
"Hmph. He only lasted that long because of his giant's blood. A fool who barely learned the surface of Haki — and he thought he could challenge us?"
The leader wiped the blood from his glove, didn't spare the fallen giant another glance, and looked south.
"Split up. Continue the pursuit."
"Yes, sir!"
Their footsteps faded away, leaving the alley silent once more.
The bald giant lay motionless on the ground, head tilted to the side, eyes dull and glassy. The last spark of life was draining rapidly away.
In his fading pupils, the reflection of the burning city trembled — flames being smothered one by one.
Such efficiency. They must have had a Devil Fruit user raised by a Celestial Dragon intervene to put out the massive fires in the city so quickly, right?
But it doesn't matter.
Little Inazuma and the others should be close to the south side now. That savior whose name I don't even know will definitely be able to lead them to escape this living hell.
Still…
What a shame.
If only —
if only this fire would never die out… until it burned the so-called Holy Land Mary Geoise to the ground, scorching away its glittering splendor and all the filth festering beneath it — until nothing was left but ash and white earth.
The rise and fall of his chest grew weaker and weaker.
And then the bald giant's breathing stopped completely.
——
"Anyway," someone said quietly, "that's how it happened."
Top Floor Conference Room.
After the secretary finished his report, the newly appointed Fleet Admiral Veil spoke in a cold voice:
"The incident took place three hours ago, in the early hours before dawn.
At present, those escaped slaves have seized several merchant ships at the lower harbor, broken through our blockade along the main sea route, and have already escaped beyond the boundaries of Mary Geoise — heading toward the Sabaody Archipelago."
"The Five Elders have been fully informed of the situation. They are furious and have ordered Marine Headquarters to immediately dispatch a fleet to intercept and contain them."
"That is the reason I've called you all here at such an early hour."
His gaze swept across the high-ranking officers seated on both sides.
"The impact of this incident is simply too severe. I've already issued orders to the port — to ensure there are no mistakes, we will deploy ten warships to conduct a full-scale search and blockade across the waters between Sabaody and the Red Line!"
Ten warships?
Many of the Vice Admirals, who had been hastily summoned, frowned.
That was already equivalent to the scale of a Buster Call!
And all this… just to capture a few thousand unarmed runaway slaves?
It seemed a bit too excessive.
On the right side of the table, Aokiji and Nao sat side by side.
Hearing this, the two exchanged a glance — both with faint mockery in their eyes.
It was obvious.
This newly parachuted Fleet Admiral had barely taken office before running headfirst into a major crisis. Now he was eager — desperate even — to prove his capability to his superiors.
Even if his response was massive overkill, he didn't care.
He'd clearly gotten used to being a well-behaved dog for the World Government.
Across from them, Akainu, who had worn a dark expression since the beginning, narrowed his eyes slightly and let out a barely audible snort.
"That might not be necessary… Fleet Admiral."
Sitting at Veil's right hand, Vice Admiral Tsuru hesitated for a moment before speaking up, her voice calm but firm:
"The higher-ups will certainly not want this matter to spread any further.
Every move we make here at Marine Headquarters is under constant scrutiny by countless factions.
If we create too much noise and expose the situation completely, the outcome will be counterproductive."
That was the most tactful argument she could offer.
After spending several days observing him, she had already discerned the truth — this new Fleet Admiral was stubborn, arrogant, and self-assured to a fault, completely unlike Kong or Sengoku.
He was not someone who accepted advice easily.
To deploy the equivalent of a Buster Call against a few fleeing slaves was, in her eyes, an absurd joke.
But if she tried to dissuade him by saying he was overreacting, she would only provoke his pride.
So instead, she chose a different angle — appealing to his eagerness to prove loyalty to the higher-ups — in hopes of stopping him that way.