Chapter 24: "Fighting for Freedom"

Ace was pinned down by Blue Sauce's foot, and it seemed like Blue Sauce was about to pull the trigger.

In a moment of desperation, Dadan and his gang rushed over, swinging an axe at Blue Sauce.

"Stop! You green-haired monster, let Ace go!"

A gust of wind blew, and Blue Sauce pulled out his knife to block Dadan's axe, but Dadan pushed him back with a powerful shove.

"Dadan, what are you doing here?"

Luffy, lying on the ground, asked, while Dougura came over to pick him up.

"It was White Boy who told us you were in danger."

"Bai Yun..."

Both Ace and Luffy murmured, suddenly remembering that Bai Yun was still running a high fever.

Bai Yun: ...

"You bastard, you're the king of Corbo Mountain, right?" Blue Sauce glared at Dadan and demanded.

Dadan, matching his fierce demeanor, replied, "I'm the bandit Dadan, and by some twist of fate, I became the caretaker for these kids."

"Then next... I'm out of here!!"

Thinking a great battle was about to unfold, Dadan glared at Blue Sauce, but in the next moment, he turned and fled.

The other gang members immediately followed, but one stood apart.

"I... won't run away!"

Ace tightly gripped the water pipe, staring defiantly at Blue Sauce.

Seeing this, Dougura quickly reminded Ace that Blue Sauce was no joke; a kid like him couldn't possibly stand a chance.

However, Luffy, who was still in Dougura's arms, struggled to get down, eager to fight alongside Ace.

"Yeah, Ace, you can't run away with your brother behind you. If you do, you'll lose the courage to protect your family and friends."

Bai Yun's voice suddenly echoed, and he slowly descended from the sky, standing beside Ace.

"But if your family or friends sacrifice themselves to let you escape, what you need to do is honor them, not go back and babble about living and dying together—that's the height of foolishness!"

Bai Yun spoke with a hint of anger; although his words were directed at Ace, his gaze remained fixed on Blue Sauce.

"You're the last of the four little brats..."

"Shh!"

Blue Sauce glanced at Bai Yun, starting to speak but getting cut off by Bai Yun's hushing.

"I don't have time to chat with a freak like you."

"Utterly foolish, thinking you can bully kids after being used and then discarded like trash."

"Do you really believe that the nobles look down on us commoners but will grant you noble status?"

"Don't you think they hang up the phone and laugh until they cry, wondering how someone as stupid as you exists?"

Bai Yun poured salt into Blue Sauce's wounds with his words.

Blue Sauce, realizing he was already at his lowest, seethed with anger as a child mocked him and swung his knife in fury.

"You damn brat!"

"Whoosh!!"

"Boom!!!!"

But before he could take a few steps, a fierce wind howled, and a massive blade of wind erupted from Bai Yun's palm, colliding violently with Blue Sauce.

The ground was carved into a trench by the wind blade, flames were pushed aside, creating a path free of fire, and Blue Sauce lay at the end, unconscious and lifeless, though he wasn't dead yet; he would soon be consumed by the flames.

...

Instant kill.

Silence fell over the scene, broken only by the sound of flames burning.

Ace, Luffy, Dadan, and the rest of the gang stared at Bai Yun, speechless, their faces filled with shock.

"Bai... Bai Yun."

Ace stammered.

Bai Yun retracted his arm and turned around with a smile.

"It's me."

"Let's talk about it later."

Then Bai Yun darted to the back, unleashing another wind pressure blast that created a path free of fire, leading the charge as he sprinted ahead.

Dadan snapped back to reality, picking up Ace and racing after Bai Yun, shouting, "Quick! Keep up with White Boy!!!"

...

At another bay, Dragon's ship was anchored along the shore.

Like Bai Yun, he unleashed a wind pressure blast that created a path free of fire.

But the force of his wind pressure was much stronger than Bai Yun's, piercing through the entire garbage mountain.

"Hey! The explosion cleared a path free of fire! We can see the ship; the end is the shore, hurry there!"

"Though we don't know what's happening, thank goodness."

The homeless people fleeing the garbage mountain, carrying their bundles, spotted the fire-free path and rushed toward it—this was their lifeline.

When they reached the end, they found themselves in front of Dragon's ship.

Onboard, Ivankov, cloaked in black, watched the approaching homeless people and said to Dragon, "I didn't expect you'd intervene even in a border country like the East Sea."

"Is there something you're particularly concerned about?"

Dragon stepped forward, standing at the bow of the ship.

"This country is a microcosm of the world."

"In this survival of the fittest world, happiness will never just fall from the sky."

"Even the children have begun to say such things; if it continues to rot like this, the entire world will smell foul."

"I will change all of this; one day, I will change this world."

After finishing what could be considered an explanation with Ivankov, Dragon raised his right hand and shouted loudly, passionately.

"Anyone willing to fight for freedom, come aboard this ship!!"

...

In the end, the ship slowly departed from the shore, heading into the distance, with all the surviving homeless people aboard.

Ten years later, these homeless individuals would become old members of the Revolutionary Army, and they would also know Sabo, who had been living in the garbage mountain for a long time; this turned out to be a good thing.