Near the eastern coastline of God Valley, above the gravel road leading to the harbor, smoke hung low like a filthy bandage, obscuring the sky.
The sounds of explosions and fighting drifting from the island's interior were dull and continuous, like the dying wail of a giant beast.
Charlotte Linlin, in her white dragon girl form, was flying rapidly toward the coastline.
Her goal was clear and cold—to destroy the luxury ships anchored at the port, intended for the evacuation of the Celestial Dragons.
She wanted that group of "gods" to also taste the feeling of having nowhere to run, sinking along with this land they had defiled.
However, as she soared over a scorched forest, the movement below caught her eye.
About thirty Marine Soldiers were tensely escorting several carts piled high with gold and silver-inlaid chests, trudging along a small path.
Between the cracks of the chests, one could even see the glimmer of jewelry—treasures looted from the homes of slaughtered civilians or piled up as "prizes" during the Celestial Dragons' "hunting game."
Seeing the massive and beautiful dragon shadow in the sky, the Marines were in no mood to appreciate the sight; they were filled only with the endless panic of being enveloped by Charlotte Linlin's killing intent.
"M-Monster! It's Charlotte Linlin!!"
"Protect the supplies! Prepare for battle!" The squad leader's voice trembled, yet he still attempted to fulfill his duty.
Charlotte Linlin's gaze swept over the treasure chests, then past the terrified yet forcedly steady faces of the soldiers, finally settling on the glaring word "justice" on their uniforms.
A surge of mixed disdain and fury instantly shattered her final bit of restraint.
No warning, no negotiation.
Clutching the air with her dragon claws, a massive pink sword beam entwined with purple lightning slashed down violently toward the crowd and the treasure carts! As the sword beam passed, the air let out a wail of corrosion.
"Every single one of you... disappear for This lady!"
BOOM—!!!
Just as the sword beam was about to consume everything below, a fist wrapped in pitch-black Armament Haki blasted out from the side!
The fist wind and the sword beam collided fiercely in mid-air, triggering a violent explosion. The shockwave knocked down a group of Marines on the ground and sent the treasure carts tumbling.
Amidst the smoke and dust, a figure draped in a Marine coat walked out with his chest heaving violently, followed by his cold-faced adjutant Bogart and dozens of elite Marines.
It was none other than Monkey D. Garp. His eyes were wide with rage, his hair and beard bristling as he stared intently at the white dragon woman slowly descending from the sky. His voice was like a thunderclap: "Charlotte Linlin!!!"
"Charlotte Linlin!!!"
Charlotte Linlin's twelve-meter-tall body crashed to the ground, her twelve-meter-long nodachi [Mu] pointing diagonally at the earth. She looked up, her pinkish-purple hair dancing wildly in the hot wind, her gaze colder than polar ice.
"That guy Zephyr," Garp said, suppressing his churning blood, his voice filled with unbelievable anger and a hint of pained betrayal,
"didn't he swear that although you do as you please, you never easily strike to kill ordinary Marines unless provoked?! Why?! Answer me! Why did you attack my soldiers!"
"Your soldiers?" Charlotte Linlin's voice was terrifyingly calm, yet it contained a mountain-toppling rage.
She didn't answer Garp's question directly. Instead, she slowly raised her empty left hand and pointed toward a spot not far down the road, where several tattered corpses lay prone on the ground, the bright red "target" patterns clearly printed on their backs.
"justice? Garp."
She took a step forward, the ground trembling slightly.
"Before you roar at me, open those eyes blinded by 'justice' and take a good look! Look at what kind of land you are standing on!"
Her voice gradually rose, every word sounding like ice shards squeezed from between her teeth:
"The 'World Nobles' you Marines risk your lives to protect are holding a carnival they call the 'Human Hunting Game' on this island named 'God Valley'!"
"They take living people—the residents here, the trafficked Slaves—and put target suits on them like livestock, driving them into this forest and these ruins!
Then they ride rare beasts, carrying gold-inlaid pistols and famous blades to hold a hunting competition! Whoever kills more, whoever gets a higher score, is the winner! They get more 'prizes' and 'glory'!"
Her gaze then fell on a half-charred, mud-stained tattered stuffed bear by her feet. Under her extreme rage, images inexplicably appeared in her mind.
Are these its memories? black swan, you are very angry too~
The memory-peeking ability from the black swan Devil Fruit had somehow projected a memory into Charlotte Linlin's mind, even though she wasn't in her swan form.
Pointing at the tattered stuffed bear, Charlotte Linlin looked at Garp and said:
"See this? This was the toy of a little girl not even five years old. She was chased to the edge of a cliff by a Celestial Dragon riding a Desert Traveler Bird, crying and calling for Mama... and then that scum smiled and pulled the trigger. The reason? 'Kids run slow, they're easy points.' Her blood and brains splattered all over her mother."
She took a deep breath, her gaze piercing Garp and the increasingly pale Marine Soldiers behind him like a sharp sword:
"And you Marines, what role have you played in this 'game' that has been going on for who knows how long?"
"Surrounding the island to prevent desperate civilians from escaping by boat! Even shelling civilians who were begging you Marines for help!"
"Using anesthetic rounds and live ammunition to suppress any 'prey' that tries to resist or escape!"
"Like the most loyal hounds, guarding the 'gods' who are slaughtering at will, ensuring their 'game' is not be disturbed!"
"Now that the game has been ruined by us 'pirates,' what are you doing? Busy moving the treasures your masters looted and escorting them to safety?!"
She slammed [Mu] down heavily, the blade humming:
"Tell me, Garp! Is this the 'Marine justice' you are so proud of, that you bet your life to defend?!"
"You are not an army of justice! You are the watchdogs kept by the Celestial Dragons to assist in genocide! You are the most direct accomplices in this human tragedy!!"
The Marine Soldiers who followed Garp felt as if they had been struck in the chest by an invisible heavy hammer. Many turned as pale as paper and instinctively lowered their heads, not daring to meet Charlotte Linlin's eyes, which burned with pure fury.
Their fingers were trembling, and some bit their lips so hard they almost bled. Charlotte Linlin's words were like a red-hot knife, slicing open the "obeying orders" veil they wore, revealing the bloody reality beneath that even they themselves were unwilling to face.
They never thought that one day they would hear such a direct and soul-piercing accusation from the mouth of an "evil" Great Pirate—an accusation that was even more soul-shaking than the slogans they shouted every day.
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