Chapter 16

"What's happening? Is it an earthquake? Has Newgate gone mad?"

"It's not him. It doesn't matter who it is; we should think about how to get off this island! It looks like it's about to sink!"

The impact of Orlan's parting gift continued to ripple out. The explosion at the center triggered a chain reaction.

Although the canyon's terrain mitigated the explosion's impact, the massive shockwave affected the entire island.

Under the protection of the navy, the Celestial Dragons began to evacuate. But successfully escorting a group of helpless individuals under such circumstances wasn't easy, especially since they couldn't teleport like the others.

"A Celestial Dragon's ship has capsized! Save them!"

"Rodriani-sama fell into the water! Pull him up quickly!"

The navy was in chaos, trying to manage the evacuation. Meanwhile, the pirates sought their escape routes, with the likes of Golden Lion Shiki, who could already fly, having the easiest time.

As for Rocks? The structure of the Rocks Pirates inherently meant no one would fight to the death for their captain.

Rumble...

The shockwave caused landslides in God Valley. The Hextech crystals contained enormous energy. Hextech artisans used this special energy to create one incredible invention after another.

Destruction, however, was far easier than creation. Stabilizing energy required meticulous planning, but self-destruction only needed maximizing the explosion's power.

"Kaido! This thing is yours. Rocks is probably doomed. So, want to join my pirate crew?"

"Fwahaha, Linlin, you should already know my answer."

"Ma-ma-ma, that's true. Don't die, Kaido. Until we meet again!"

The powerful pirates began to leave the island by various means. Kaido ate the fruit gifted by Charlotte Linlin, transforming into a blue dragon and flying away.

As for why he could fly immediately upon eating it, let's just say that's normal; the truly problematic ones are those who can't even use the fruit's basic abilities.

...

Days later.

South Blue, Sorbet Kingdom.

This was Kuma's homeland and one of the locations where he sent the beacons. Some people arrived here via the Hextech gate, and many chose to leave after resting, seeking new lives elsewhere.

"Mr. Orlan, I'm leaving now. Thank you for saving my life. I'll be waiting for you at Fish-Man Island!"

Shak ceremoniously knelt by the seaside before diving back into the ocean. As a Fish-Man, he didn't need ships like humans. Fish-Man Island was ingrained in his race's memory, and they had ways to return there.

Shak wasn't the first to leave. Few people remained in the Sorbet Kingdom. In an old church, once Kuma's home, Ivankov was disdainfully reviewing a newspaper. Even before Orlan entered, he could hear the disdain in Ivankov's voice.

"Let's see, the notorious pirate Rocks attacked God Valley in the West Blue for unknown reasons, taking the traveling Celestial Dragons hostage. Traveling? They sure can lie."

"What else would they say? They wouldn't admit to slaughter—no, this behavior is even worse than slaughter. You've known the World Government's hypocrisy for a long time, haven't you?"

"Orlan, you're back? Knowing is one thing, but this paper doesn't have a single truthful word. Especially this reporter, Morgans. He wrote a bunch of nonsense with nothing accurate! He has no idea what happened on the island and is just making things up.

Hero Garp fought for days to defeat Rocks, saving countless marines and nobles. Just looking at it makes me sick. They should rename the paper to 'The Legend of Hero Garp.'

You and Kuma are the real heroes. At least you saved four thousand people from that island!"

This was the result after Ivankov's tally. The freed slaves, the original residents of God Valley, and those Kuma sent flying, roughly totaled to this number.

"It's normal. As those in power, guiding public opinion is a basic tool. The World Government is already doing a poor job of it. I see this as an attempt to use the opportunity to promote the navy's strength and reinforce their rule.

As for the so-called hero, it's a joke. If they wanted, they could elevate a dog to that position. Is there no information on Celestial Dragon casualties? If it's just one, that's quite a loss."

Orlan didn't care who was the navy's hero. After all, even Coby could be considered the navy's future. Although Roger and Garp had teamed up to defeat Rocks, the collaboration between the navy and pirates couldn't be publicly acknowledged. Ultimately, all credit was given to Garp, and Roger's role was erased.

The navy had also issued a gag order. While news of God Valley could still be seen, according to the World Government's plan, this event would soon be completely buried in history, never to be mentioned again.

"Let me check for detailed information. The paper only mentions minor injuries. This reporter is really useless."

Ivankov flipped through the pages but found nothing of value—just some World Government rhetoric and bounty orders for the remaining members of the Rocks Pirates. After all, the World Government blamed the entire disaster on the pirates.

Meanwhile, in Mariejois, the atmosphere was tense. Even World Government officials were cautious here, knowing that the Celestial Dragons were in a foul mood after their trip, resulting in many executions for various trivial reasons.

"Gentlemen, here's the current situation. Erathin was brutally murdered by the enemy. Five others died from the explosion's aftermath, and the injured are countless."

Garling was holding a meeting with the Holy Knights, attended by members of various Celestial Dragon families.

This was an unprecedented event in centuries for the Celestial Dragons. Moreover, the explosion in God Valley, combined with the battles of several powerful individuals, had caused the island to vanish from the sea.

The Celestial Dragons wanted to track down the culprits, but they had no leads. Orlan's actions had triggered a series of events, such as Kuma not encountering Saturn in God Valley, making it even harder for the Celestial Dragons to trace information.

While the outside world was kept in the dark about God Valley, the Celestial Dragons were not. This incident ultimately became one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in their history.

(End of Chapter)