"Ares!"
Charlotte Linlin ground his name out between her teeth, every word forced through clenched jaws. Her arm, which had clashed with Ares, burned with a searing pain.
She did not need anyone to explain what had just happened.
Besides…
On this island, aside from Ares, there was no one who could injure her like that.
"Stop yelling, my hearing works just fine."
Ares gave her a teasing smile, completely unbothered by the fury boiling off of her.
His confidence came from one thing.
His own power.
"Bastard!"
Linlin dragged herself out of the rubble, her rage almost overflowing. "You have ruined my fun time after time, and you even stole Kaido from my side…"
The more she spoke, the more her resentment surged.
Thinking back on it…
Ever since she ran into Ares, nothing good had happened. One bad thing after another, without end.
Ares could not even be bothered to argue with this lunatic. Linlin's looks and figure were indeed top tier, stunning by any standard, but he had no interest in women. The only thing he cared about was forging his body into something that surpassed even a Supreme Grade blade.
"As long as you are back to your senses, that is enough. I do not have time to bicker with you. I need to find Katakuri first. Once we get him back, if you want a rematch, I will be here any time."
He still knew what mattered most.
Ares might love to fight, but he also valued his comrades extremely highly.
Right now, the first priority was to find that kid Katakuri.
"Hmph."
Linlin snorted coldly. The pain in her arm made a flicker of fear stir in her heart despite herself.
"If my Homies were here, I would definitely not let you off," she thought.
Out loud, she put on a tough front. "Fine. Once the children are found, we will settle our score."
That scene even left Longarm Bread a little stunned.
"When did Linlin become so easy to talk to?" he muttered in his heart. "Or is she still thinking about having Ares' child?"
Ares had already turned and left the harbor.
…
CP0's hidden outpost.
Chief Claude stared in the direction of Skull Castle, silently weighing their position.
"They should have already infiltrated the castle. If the mission succeeds, everyone will be happy."
"If it does not…"
"Then Rocks will fall into the trap the World Government prepared for him."
"Just letting that piece of intel 'leak' to him by accident… No way he can resist the bait. That will be the moment we wipe out the Rocks Pirates for good."
Claude was certain.
Once Rocks heard that news, there was no way he would sit on his hands.
And once he moved, he would walk straight into the World Government's snare.
The Rocks Pirates had grown so powerful that the World Government could no longer ignore them. If they let him keep growing, the losses on their side would only become greater.
…
Inside the prison.
Using his Devil Fruit ability, Monkey D. Dragon had slipped into the lowest levels of the prison and freed every prisoner on the bottom two floors. Each one of them radiated a murderous aura, their presence suffocating.
Some of them even possessed Conqueror's Haki.
Even Dragon, who had opened their cells himself, was shaken. "These guys were all big-name pirates who ruled entire regions, all of them thrown in here by Rocks."
"Most of them are pirates the Marines once put enormous bounties on. Every last one of them has terrifying strength."
"Letting this lot loose… should be enough to give Rocks a real headache."
There were faces here that he recognized from wanted posters. They had all disappeared from the seas afterward. Those had been pirates the Marines hated with a passion.
Dragon had never expected to see them again in the prison under Hachinosu.
He looked up at the ceiling above him.
"I need to hurry up and find the old man and get out of here. The mission is already complete. Now we see whether this bunch has what it takes to stir things up."
With that, Dragon vanished from sight without a sound.
…
Outside the prison.
The two CP0 agents looked at Golden Lion Shiki blocking the prison exit and felt a headache throbbing behind their eyes.
"So the prison really was a trap Rocks set. Whitebeard Edward Newgate was already lying in wait inside, and Golden Lion Shiki has been waiting at the gate to keep anyone from leaving…"
"If only the Marines had not charged in. It would never have turned into such a mess. That idiot Garp really is a walking disaster."
In their hearts, they were cursing Vice Admiral Garp so hard it could peel paint.
The infamous Golden Lion Shiki stood outside the prison, guarding the only exit, and the two of them did not dare move rashly. At the moment, they were caught in an awkward situation: no way forward, no way back.
Just then…
A thunderous rumbling erupted from inside the prison as the battle intensified.
Moments later…
Huddled in their corner, they saw several prisoners in filthy prison garb rush out, each one radiating powerful aura.
When they saw those faces clearly, both CP0 agents' eyes lit up, as if their 24K alloy eyeballs had suddenly turned into bright golden spotlights.
"Perfect. Just when we are falling asleep, someone brings us pillows. These guys are the prisoners Dragon freed earlier."
The other CP0 agent could not hide the excitement in his voice. "Other people might not recognize them, but we in the World Government's strongest intelligence agency know them better than anyone."
"Captain 'Steel Hand' of the Steel Hand Pirates, bounty…"
"Great pirate 'Black Pearl' so–and–so, bounty…"
These men had once been pirates that made the seas tremble, each one having stirred up huge storms across the Grand Line, only to vanish without a trace.
No one knew where they had gone.
Some guessed they had gotten lost on some island. Others said they had died in terrible storms or strange incidents.
"With these people as our vanguard, we will have a chance to break out," one CP0 agent said excitedly.
With their level of strength, the only person they truly feared here was Golden Lion Shiki. The rest of these pirates were not much of a concern. They might be spies, but every one of them was a master of Rokushiki.
Their Armament and Observation Haki were both polished to a very high level as well.
Outside, Shiki's men stood ready, guarding the prison.
Golden Lion flicked an indifferent glance at the prisoners and let out a mocking chuckle.
"A bunch of pathetic losers."
"Losers should act like losers. If you do not have the ability, you should not come crawling out of your cells just to embarrass yourselves."
"If I were you, I would rather die in a blaze of glory on the open sea than end up as a caged prisoner."
Shiki's words poured oil on the fire in their hearts, igniting the prisoners' rage in an instant. The word "loser" sat on their chests like a boulder.
They too had once been famous pirates.
And now…
To be called "pathetic losers"? How could they endure that?
They rushed Shiki with a roar.
Seeing this, Golden Lion only looked down on them more. He exhaled a puff of smoke and said lazily, "So now you have the guts to seek death? Where was that courage when you lost back then?"
"A loser is still a loser."
With a casual flick of his wrist, he swung Oto.
The gleaming blade split the air, a dazzling slash tearing through the sky like a shooting star, instantly cutting down one of the prisoners.
Blood sprayed. A head hit the ground and rolled.
The rest of the prisoners, who had been rushing at Shiki, faltered for a moment, their steps slowing. For a heartbeat, fear and hesitation crept into their eyes.
But once the arrow is nocked, it has to be loosed.
As they charged toward Shiki, the two CP0 agents seized their moment. Carrying the unconscious Shakky, they chose a point farthest from Golden Lion and pushed forward to break out.
"Shigan!"
"Rankyaku!"
"Soru!"
…
Under their hands, Rokushiki showed its true ferocity. Shiki's underlings were cut down like harvested wheat, one row after another.
No one could stop them.
CP0 operatives were trained from childhood under merciless conditions. After round upon round of selection, only the most elite of the elite remained.
Survival of the fittest.
And in the world of One Piece, that law was even more brutal.
In the distance, locked in battle with the prisoners, Golden Lion also noticed CP0's move. Rage exploded across his face, and his roar rang out like a lion's bellow.
"Everyone, stop those two CP0!"
He could not pull himself free at the moment, so he could only give the order and have his men intercept them with everything they had.
Wave after wave of pirates hurled themselves at CP0. Even the CP0 agents began to feel real pressure. These were New World small fry, not the weaklings of the first half of the Grand Line or the Four Blues.
Any random small–time thug here would be enough to dominate an entire sea back there.
"Rankyaku: Meat Grinder!"
"Shigan: Bullet Storm!"
…
The two CP0 agents unleashed their full strength, using advanced Rokushiki techniques they had developed themselves. Their attacks were far more devastating than basic Rokushiki, tearing through Shiki's men and leaving corpses everywhere.
Limbs were scattered across the ground. Bodies lay in heaps. Blood ran in rivers, soaking into the dirt until it turned a nauseating black–red.
The air was thick with the stench of iron and death. It looked like a scene straight out of hell.
"Move!"
"Those two are mine!"
A thunderous voice rolled over the battlefield, rattling everyone's skulls.
They turned to look.
A towering figure walked into view, horns jutting from his head, his entire body covered in muscles like cast bronze.
"It is Kaido. The 'Ape Demon' Kaido!" one pirate shouted in excitement.
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