At that moment, the intense pain in his chest flared up once more. He instinctively lowered his head, his gaze falling upon the things that had pierced through his body.
Wait, these aren't rocks!
This wasn't the Rock Manipulation ability Fox had always displayed at all!
What had impaled his torso were vines—one after another!
"This... this..." Onigumo's pupils contracted violently. His entire body trembled uncontrollably from sheer shock, and a terrifying thought instantly flashed through his mind. "These aren't rocks; they're vines. This is White Dove's ability!"
He simply couldn't believe what he was seeing!
White Dove—that Navy Supernova, the most talked-about new Vice Admiral, and someone he also despised—had developed his Devil Fruit to its limits. Among his abilities was the power to absorb life force and manipulate plants!
He had seen White Dove use this ability before, and it looked exactly like the scene before him now!
Could it be...?
Could it be that from the very beginning, Fox and White Dove were actually the same person?
Countless questions flooded his mind. As his consciousness began to blur, Onigumo stared at Fox's mask and, mustering the last of his strength, asked:
"Why? How do you have White Dove's ability?"
Hearing Onigumo's question, Ivan slowly raised his hand, his fingertips gently brushing the edge of the fox mask.
The next second, the mask was slowly removed, revealing a handsome, refined face.
It wasn't the ordinary appearance Fox had previously shown, but the face of the Navy's new Vice Admiral, White Dove!
In that moment, Onigumo's pupils shrank to pinpoints. He stared fixedly at that familiar face, feeling as if all the blood in his body was boiling over.
His eyes bulged with rage as he roared hoarsely, "White Dove! It's you! So you were Fox all along! You're actually a member of Shadow Garden too!"
He never could have imagined that White Dove, who had defiled Absolute Justice, and Fox of Shadow Garden were the same person!
A faint smile curled at the corner of Ivan's mouth as he replied in a calm tone:
"Vice Admiral Onigumo, don't blame me. Blame yourself for being too much of an obstacle—blocking my path and Shadow Garden's path."
"An obstacle?" Onigumo trembled with fury.
He struggled, trying to break free from the vines' restraint to charge at Ivan, to tear a chunk of flesh from his body:
"What nonsense Burning Justice! You were always a pirate, a villain! You don't deserve to even speak of justice!"
Facing his rage, Ivan merely smiled indifferently:
"Burning Justice should never have been bound by those rotten rules.
What I aim to do is burn away all the sin and corruption in this world. And then, create a brand new world."
These words struck Onigumo's mind like a thunderbolt. The ferocity on his face froze instantly, replaced by utter astonishment.
He suddenly realized that Ivan's goal had never been the pirates.
Whether under the identity of White Dove or the stance of Fox, whether through Shadow Garden's actions or his own repeated interventions—they all pointed to the same target:
The World Government!
As this realization dawned on him, Onigumo's life reached its end. Using his last ounce of strength, he cursed:
"You have no idea how powerful the World Government is. Its strength far exceeds your imagination. Sooner or later, you'll die from overestimating yourself. I'll be waiting for you in hell!"
After dealing with Onigumo, Ivan shattered his corpse with a single punch. Once the mangled flesh was devoured by fish and shrimp, he dispersed the surrounding vines and returned to Loguetown.
There was still someone he had to meet.
After Ivan left, the oppressive force of Conqueror's Haki faded, and only then did the Sea Kings in the deep sea dare to slowly stretch their bodies, reverting to their usual ferocity. Yet for a long time, they still did not dare approach the direction of the recent battle.
That human was too terrifying!
Ivan moved with incredible speed, arriving at the outskirts of Loguetown in no time.
At that moment, due to Onigumo's report, numerous Marine warships had gathered around Loguetown. However, the moment these ships spotted Ivan, they all hurriedly avoided him, with no one daring to step forward and block his way.
The Marine Headquarters had issued a military order regarding Shadow Garden: unless a unit had more than five Vice Admirals or at least one Admiral present, they were not to provoke Shadow Garden.
Because doing so would not be capturing pirates—it would be suicide!
Soon, Fox reappeared on the streets of Loguetown.
The moment Fox's figure appeared in Loguetown's square, everything around seemed to freeze.
The civilians, who had been clearing the battlefield and comforting their companions, paused briefly before their eyes collectively focused on Fox.
In the next second, deafening cheers erupted in the square.
"It's Lord Fox!"
"Lord Fox has returned! You saved us!"
"Thank you, Lord Fox! Without you, we would have died under the Marines' artillery fire long ago!"
The civilians waved their arms, their faces filled with gratitude as they gathered around.
To them, Fox was never a wanted pirate but a savior who had rescued their lives!
Compared to the Marines, who cloaked themselves in justice yet unhesitatingly bombarded civilians, Fox—labeled a demon by the World Government—had instead given them hope for survival.
They didn't care about Fox's identity; they only knew that this person had stood before them in their most desperate moment!
In a corner of the square, Smoker clenched a cigar between his teeth, his gaze fixed intently on Fox, who was surrounded by civilians. His expression was profoundly complex.
As a Marine captain, he had upheld justice and pursued pirates his entire life.
But everything that had happened today completely overturned his long-held beliefs.
The Marines, who should have been the protectors of civilians, had opened fire on unarmed civilians under Onigumo's orders.
Pirates, who should have been murderous and plundering villains, had risked everything to protect civilians, becoming their saviors.
He looked at the cheering civilians, at Fox, revered by the crowd, then thought of his own Marine uniform and the justice upheld by Marine Headquarters. His heart was filled with confusion.
At this moment, Smoker suddenly couldn't distinguish.
Who were the real Marines, and who were the real pirates?
He also couldn't tell whether the so-called justice was real—was it a vow of protection or a self-deceiving lie?
With a faint nod to the cheering civilians, Ivan did not linger. In a flash, he vanished from the square once more.
Through his earlier perception, he had already locked onto his target for this trip.
Behind Loguetown, the hills were lush with greenery, and a gentle breeze brushed against his face—a stark contrast to the clamor of the front square.
The low hill where Ivan had once practiced swordsmanship day and night stood quietly, the rocks still bearing the shallow and deep sword marks left from those days.
A figure quietly materialized—it was Fox. His gaze calmly settled on the figure standing beside the low hill.
Before him stood a middle-aged man cloaked in a deep gray mantle.
On his head was a tattoo resembling a shoe print, and his presence was steady and formidable. This was Vice Admiral Garp's son, the father of the savior Luffy, and also the supreme commander of the Revolutionary Army—the world's most wanted criminal, Monkey D. Dragon!