A bullet wrapped in gunpowder shot from a high ground beside the castle like a brilliant meteor.
It wasn't aimed at Wapol, but exploded in the empty space beside Vivi and Dalton!
Bang! Boom—!
The explosion wasn't particularly loud, but the rising smoke and flames successfully captured everyone's attention.
"Huh?!"
Wapol and the soldiers instinctively turned to look in that direction.
On the snowy slope to the side stood Usopp wearing his goggles, facing the wind, his slingshot still held in firing position.
"I'm here!!! Everyone!!!"
Behind him stood a massive crowd of former Drum Kingdom citizens holding various hunting rifles!
Fear no longer showed on their faces, replaced instead by the determination to rescue Dalton and defeat Wapol!
"Aim at those bastards holding Vivi and Mr. Dalton!" Usopp shouted with all his might, sounding like a commander. "Let them witness the power of this nation's people! Fire! Shoot!!"
"Aim at the soldier beside Mr. Dalton!!!"
"For this country!"
"Shoot now!!!!"
The villagers erupted in furious roars. Their aim might not have been precise, but they were numerous!
In an instant, bullets, arrows, and even stones were all hurled toward the few soldiers guarding Vivi and Dalton!
This sudden attack completely disrupted the formation of Wapol and his soldiers. Though the villagers' firepower wasn't overwhelming, the suppression and chaos they created were very real.
"Damn it! Where did they come from?"
The few soldiers were frightened away from Vivi and Dalton by the dense barrage of bullets. Some frantically raised their guns to return fire, while others began seeking cover.
"Everyone...!"
Dalton watched the villagers taking up arms to fight for him, tears welling in his eyes, his heart filled with indescribable emotion.
"Now's our chance!!!!!"
Usopp stood on the high ground, shouting hoarsely, clearly directing his words toward his companions.
Almost simultaneously with Usopp's shout, a figure who had remained uninvolved in the battle suddenly moved!
It was Giyu!
In the moment of chaos created by Usopp and the villagers' gunfire, his figure vanished from where he stood, leaving only an afterimage behind.
Giyu pushed his speed to the limit, moving like a fish swimming through a stream, flashing through the gaps between the chaotic crowd and flying bullets.
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
He murmured quietly, bringing forth a nimble flow of water-like energy as he struck down all the soldiers around the hostages with hand chops, instantly appearing beside Vivi and Dalton.
A flash of his blade! The thick ropes binding the two of them snapped apart!
"Giyu! You're here!!" Vivi felt her arms loosen as she looked at Giyu's calm profile excitedly.
Dalton looked at Giyu and said solemnly, "Thank you!"
He had suspected these pirates weren't ordinary, but he never expected them to be this powerful. Moreover, he hadn't even been able to clearly see this swordsman's movements.
Giyu looked at the surrounding soldiers who dared not make any moves, revealing his blade. "Step back."
His words pierced the soldiers' ears, sharp and cutting. Yet the soldiers still dared not make a move, solely because this man had been far too fast moments earlier.
Some even obediently followed Giyu's command, taking two steps backward.
Seeing that Vivi and Dalton were now safe, Luffy's long-suppressed rage erupted violently!
His eyes turned terrifyingly fierce, locking onto Wapol who was still wildly firing. "You... how dare you...!!!"
Luffy's voice grew low and gravelly with extreme fury.
"Tch! Whatever! I'll just finish you off directly!!" Wapol, seeing his hostage plan had failed, had already transformed into the Munch-Munch Factory, intending to eliminate these commoners outright.
He retracted some of the gun barrels on his body, morphing them instead into countless sharp blades!
"Munch-Munch Factory: Blade Factory!"
Swinging his massive arms covered in swords, he charged at Luffy like a moving mountain of blades!
But even facing this onslaught of sharp edges, Luffy didn't retreat an inch, stretching his rubber arms back: "Gomu Gomu Rocket!"
Two enormous rubber palms slammed into Wapol with tremendous force!
However, Wapol made no attempt to dodge, instead crossing his blade-covered arms to block!
Thwack!
Though Luffy's rubber fists packed immense power, forcing Wapol back several steps, his knuckles crashed hard against the sharp blades, instantly getting sliced open in several places!
"Urgh! Damn it!"
Luffy immediately felt the pain and quickly retracted his arms.
"Bwahahahaha! So you're afraid of this?" Wapol burst into triumphant laughter upon seeing this.
"I've found your weakness, Straw Hat Kid!! Die!!!" He swung his blade-covered arms even more wildly, pressing forward step by step, closing in on Luffy.
Luffy glanced at his bleeding arm, then at the cackling Wapol. Instead of losing his composure from the pain, he grew calmer.
He looked at the snow ahead. If he could use this properly, then from a blind spot...
"Gomu Gomu Rocket!"
Facing Wapol, Luffy used the same move again, slamming both palms into the thick snow in front of him!
BOOM!!!
The massive impact sent the heavy snow erupting skyward, creating a white curtain that instantly blocked Wapol's entire field of vision!
"What?! I can't see!" Wapol's view was completely whited out, his movements faltering momentarily.
In that instant of obscured vision, Luffy stomped the ground, darting around to Wapol's side and rear!
"Gomu Gomu no... Gatling!!!"
Countless fists poured out from Wapol's blind spot! Bam bam bam bam bam! They pummeled ruthlessly into the metallic factory body!
"Urgh aaaah!"
Wapol was battered senseless, the blades and gun barrels on his body twisting under the violent assault!
"Gomu Gomu no Whip!"
Luffy followed with a sweeping strike, heavily whipping Wapol's lower body, causing his massive frame to completely lose balance and tilt backward.
Fear finally flashed in Wapol's eyes as he saw the Straw Hat Kid charging up, struggling to evade, but it was too late.
Luffy stretched both rubber arms to their limit behind him, concentrating all his strength into them. His eyes blazed with furious flames as he roared:
"Gomu...!!"
"Rocket Launcher!!!"
With palms pressed together, carrying an overwhelming momentum, the attack struck squarely at the center of Wapol's distorted body!
"No—!!!"
Wapol only had time to let out a single scream.
BOOM!!!!!!!!!
Amid the deafening roar, Wapol's body was sent flying by this irresistible force, becoming a blurred trajectory.
Under the mixed gazes of shock and vindication from the crowd, he soared far over the castle, tracing a long arc across the sky before finally vanishing into the distant horizon.
-Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!