Chapter 328
Im's Power, Shamrock
Chapter 328 Im's Power, Shamrock
"boom!"
Smoker's Jitte, imbued with Armament Haki, slammed into the ground, creating a massive shockwave.
"what!"
Chopper cried out in pain as he was blasted away.
Its strength was far inferior to Smoker's to begin with, not to mention that it is now carrying Luffy and the other two on its back, making it even less able to fight.
All it can do is keep running away.
Meanwhile.
"."
Drinking the last bit of cola in the beverage cup through a straw.
Roy narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the Straw Hat crew being chased by Smoker.
"They're on this island too. Hmm, considering the timing, it's about the same."
His expression held a hint of contemplation.
Yes.
Jinbe's appearance on the Sabaody Archipelago today was part of his plan—he did indeed need Jinbe's help with something concerning Fishman Island.
But the arrival of the Straw Hat crew was something Roy hadn't expected.
To be honest.
To this day, he doesn't have any particularly strong feelings towards Luffy.
This contemporary Nika is not his enemy at the moment—after all, they are all thorns in Im's side, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
However, he doesn't expect Luffy to provide much help in the fight against Im.
In fact, after having already glimpsed the true nature of Joy Boyle and Davy Jones's plan.
Roy no longer places his hopes on anyone—he can only trust his own strength.
So, he never actually expected to see Luffy here.
"Give up, Straw Hat Boy's companion."
Right now, Smoker is trash-talking.
"White Fist!"
The fist formed from smoke slammed into Chopper, sending him flying a great distance.
Smoker, cigar in mouth and clenched his jib, sped off: "Your adventure will end today."
He showed absolutely no intention of holding back.
But
"Is that so? I don't think so."
“These young seedlings cannot be allowed to perish prematurely.”
The ancient voice that suddenly rang out below Smoker made him abruptly stop.
anyone?
Smoker's eyes showed horror—his Armament Haki hadn't detected anyone else nearby at all!
But before he could think about it any further.
The next moment, Smoker saw a figure leap up below.
Beneath his flowing silver hair, he held a simple longsword in his hand.
Without any fancy moves, he simply raised his sword and then swung it at Smoker.
"boom!"
Smoker almost instinctively raised his 10 hands to defend, but he immediately realized that the slash had not hit him, but had flown right past him.
But Smoker's figure, which had turned into smoke, was still blown far away by the gale-force winds carried by the slash.
"Buzz!"
It wasn't until the golden shockwave arrived that Smoker managed to regain his balance.
But when he looked up, he found that the figure had already leaped up like a ghost.
"Shh!"
He grabbed Chopper and seemed to say something to him. Chopper immediately transformed into a form with enhanced arm strength and hugged Luffy and the others in his arms.
The next moment, the old man's figure once again turned into a blur, grabbed Chopper, and fled the scene at lightning speed.
That is…
Looking at the other person's back, Smoker instantly recognized the old man's identity.
"'Pluto' Rayleigh!?"
He stared wide-eyed in disbelief, wondering if he was seeing a ghost.
The last time he tried to capture the Straw Hat crew, 'Revolutionary' Dragon stopped him.
Now that they've finally found another opportunity, why has 'Pluto' Rayleigh suddenly jumped out again?
"hateful."
Smoker immediately transformed into a wisp of smoke and gave chase.
But
"Still chasing them? Are you out of your mind?"
The next moment, Roy's hand stopped Smoker's movement.
"Roy—you bastard, why didn't you stop them?"
Smoker glared at the person in front of him and asked with a puzzled look.
“Hey, that’s ‘Hades’—his attack just now only knocked you away, which is enough to show that he has no intention of fighting us to the death.”
Roy shrugged: "If that's the case, why should I stop him?"
As he spoke, he tossed the Coke cup in his hand aside.
"Don't forget, Smoker—what our purpose is in being here."
He looked at Smoker seriously: "If I were to go to war with Rayleigh at this time, this island would disappear. At that point, our original plan with Vice Admiral Garp would also be impossible to carry out."
Smoker was taken aback by these words.
Then, he couldn't help but clench his teeth.
He certainly understood what Roy meant.
Just as mentioned before, the Star Hunting Force appeared here because the World Government was about to launch an attack on Fish-Man Island.
However, Roy and Garp have already reached an agreement.
They knew that even the Star Hunting Forces were clearly unable to stop the World Government's determined action.
However, they wanted to save as many innocent fish-people as possible during this incident, and they devised a plan for this purpose.
The Sabaody Archipelago, located directly above Fishman Island, is the key to carrying out this plan.
Smoker, Hans, and the others have been clearing out the pirates on the Sabaody Archipelago and the warships that have been docked at the 'Star Hunting Force Command Headquarters' recently, largely to ensure the 'implementation' of this plan.
Under such circumstances, Smoker naturally understood that they could not go to war with 'Pluto' Rayleigh.
After all, even though the latter had recently lost to the 'Snake' of the twelve constellations, the legend is still just a legend.
Roy may now have the strength to deal with Hades, but a major battle between the two would inevitably render subsequent plans impossible to implement.
Even if Smoker was unwilling and cared about the Straw Hat Boy.
However, he had to admit that Roy was right—today was definitely not the time to catch the Straw Hat Boy.
"Damn it. How did that Straw Hat guy even get involved with 'Pluto'?"
Looking at Rayleigh, who had already disappeared from sight.
Smoker merely clenched his fist slightly, but didn't move an inch.
"That's because the Straw Hat Pirates are Roger's reincarnation, so it's only natural for Rayleigh to protect his captain and help him regain his throne."
Roy muttered to himself, but naturally didn't say a word.
He simply watched silently in the direction Rayleigh had fled, pondering to himself.
"Luffy must have overheard my conversation with Jinbe. I hope this guy won't do anything reckless?"
He muttered to himself.
"Let's go, Smoker—take 'Sea Knight' back to headquarters first."
After a brief hesitation, Roy said this directly to Smoker, who was still full of resentment.
However, just as he finished speaking, "Bulu Bulu."
"Bulu Bulu."
His Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.
"Ok?"
Roy frowned and answered the Den Den Mushi: "Hello? Hans?"
"Boss—Fal and I caught a big fish."
Roy moved the Den Den Mushi a little further away and scratched his ear—this guy really does talk loudly after he's eaten.
"Huh? A big fish?"
Before he came here to support Smoker, he had also heard that Hans and Far had discovered another pirate crew elsewhere on the island and engaged in battle with them.
There's not much to say about the outcome of the battle—Hans and Far had already made significant progress in their strength after undergoing Garp's rigorous training, and the troops they led were elite Star Hunter units drawn from the Navy and various government departments.
Let alone the pirates of Paradise, even the elite pirate crews of the New World under the command of the Four Emperors would be no match for them.
But what Roy didn't expect was...
"Yes, the guy we caught is this year's Supernova among pirates—'Surgeon of Death' Terfalgar Law!"
".oh!?"
Now, Roy's interest was piqued again.
At the same time.
The Holy Land 'Mary Geoise', Pangaea.
The Five Elders, who have been relatively low-profile recently, are now gathering within the realm of power.
However, since Saint Satan fell into the hands of the Serpent, a new face appeared among the Five Elders.
He was an old man with white hair and beard, and his hairstyle was as white as the moon.
He is the newly appointed 'Scientific Defense God of War' Figaland Garin.
Of course.
He is not the main character in the power struggle at this moment.
The real protagonist is the man standing in front of him at this moment.
"Shamrock, you should understand the significance of this mission."
That was a red-haired man.
He had a sword at his waist and wore armor. The key point was that his appearance was almost identical to Shanks, one of the Four Emperors. The only difference was that Shanks had no scar on his left eye.
He is the current leader of the Knights of God, and also the only remaining member of the now-defunct Knights of God.
Saint Figarand Shamlock.
"The Knights of God are a symbol of that lord's 'military power'."
Garin looked at his most prized son: "And you are now the only God Knight, you are the symbol of His 'force'."
"That lord has gathered the power of all the knights of the gods into your body alone, and even bestowed that power upon you. Shamlock, do not disappoint Him."
The words fell.
Shamlock also raised his right arm and placed it on his left forearm—there, the glorious 'mark' was giving him boundless power.
"Don't worry, Father."
"I and my blade will surely destroy Fishman Island and Sun Tree Eve."
That's how he answered.
After giving a graceful nod to Garin and the other four Elders, he turned and left the Chamber of Power.
But outside of power.
Several knights, also dressed as Celestial Dragons, were kneeling outside, waiting.
"Gentlemen."
Shamlock spoke coldly, his crimson cloak sweeping across the kneeling knights: "Before we set off, I will repeat myself—I forbid you from taking any private action, or I will personally execute you."
These words were spoken.
The knights also had gloomy expressions.
Like Shamrock, they were originally 'Knights of God'.
However, after the Dressrosa incident and the recent Egghead Island incident, Lord Im personally ordered the disbandment of the Knights of God—leaving only Shamrock as the 'commander' of the entire Knights of God.
They, on the other hand, were downgraded in every aspect, from strength to ability, and became the 'God's Blades' belonging to Shamrock.
The power that belonged to them beyond that was entirely bestowed upon Shamrock by Lord Im.
This naturally made them resentful.
But clearly, they knew that their resentment was meaningless—Shamrock's power now far surpassed theirs, and he held the power of life and death over them.
so.
Yes!
Even though they were unwilling, they ultimately had no choice but to obey orders.
Looking at his former colleagues, Shamrock showed no emotion.
Such is the rule among the Celestial Dragons—the noble need not even maintain a superficial politeness towards the lowly, and the powerful can enslave the weak.
He had long been accustomed to these rules.
"Then—let's go."
Shamlock silently gave the order, and then left Pangaea Castle with the Divine Blades.
However, he had only just stepped out of the gates of Pangu City.
"Bulu Bulu."
"Ok?"
The sudden sound of a Den Den Mushi from his waist made Shamrock raise an eyebrow.
"It's a Den Den Mushi (snail phone) responsible for monitoring the Sabaody Archipelago Star Hunting Force."
He naturally knew who those Den Den Mushi belonged to.
This operation to destroy Fishman Island was of a very special nature.
The key point is that it is necessary to ensure that the 'Sun Tree Eve' is destroyed—and the fall of the Sun Tree Eve will inevitably lead to the destruction of Fishman Island.
Both Shamrock and the Five Elders knew very well that the two guys from the Starhunter Squad might not cooperate on this matter.
They believed that Black Xie and Garp might fight with all their might to defeat the Twelve Constellations, but they also knew that they would never attack civilians.
Therefore, as the actual leader of this operation, Shamrock not only had to complete his own mission, but also had to be wary of the Starhunter forces to a great extent. For this reason, he had arranged for CP0 agents to gather intelligence in the Sabaody Archipelago long ago.
Fortunately, so far, neither Roy nor Karp has put up the most intense resistance.
According to the information Shamrock has gathered so far, they seem to only intend to do their best to save as many merfolk civilians as possible.
"Hey."
With these thoughts in mind, Shamrock slowly connected to the Den Den Mushi.
“Lord Shamrock, just now, Black Xie and his subordinates successfully captured Jinbe, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and Terfalgar Law, the Surgeon of Death.”
“As you know, Terfalgar’s ability is the ‘Op-Op Fruit’ that the government has been searching for, so I think…”
As soon as the CP0 agent finished speaking, Shamrock's brow furrowed instantly.
"Operation Fruit?"
Upon hearing the name of the fruit, he had already changed his mind.
He turned his head and looked at the group of subordinates behind him.
“You don’t need to go to Fishman Island anymore—now, you go to the Sabaody Archipelago immediately to take over the Star Hunting Force’s prison and the users of the Op-Op Fruit.”
"Make sure that he is sent back to Mary Geoise as soon as possible."
After gaining unprecedented power, he also learned a lot of information that he had never known before.
He now clearly understands the significance of the Operation Fruit to that Lord Im.
“.”*N
However, the other Divine Servant Blades could not understand.
They felt that Shamrock wanted to take all the credit—and their anger was visibly evident in their eyes.
But in the end, they could only nod helplessly: "Yes, Commander."
(End of this chapter)