69novels Chapter 228 Clash of Justice and Order, Escape
Chapter 228 Clash of Justice and Order, Escape
Chapter 228 Clash of Justice and Order, Escape
The underground cavern groaned in agony as the San Juan Wolf expanded uncontrollably.
Huge rocks crumbled from the dome, crashing down with devastating force onto the chaotic crowd below.
Screams, the roar of battle, and the crashing of rocks mingled together, composing a chaotic symphony.
"You idiot! Control yourself!" Lafitte waved his cane.
He deftly dodged a falling rock and shouted at the still-roaring, massive warship, but his voice was insignificant amidst the deafening noise.
His main focus was on observing the overall situation, especially Captain John, who hadn't moved an inch, and the shadow behind the skeleton in the Straw Hat crew.
That indescribable shadow evoked a sense of despair that made even his soul tremble.
However, the other party didn't seem to intend to make a move for the time being, allowing the battle between Burgess and Luffy and the others to escalate.
"Wave Strike - Elbow Strike!" Burgess laughed wildly as his thick arm slammed towards Luffy with terrifying force.
"Gum-Gum-Giant Pistol!" Luffy retorted without backing down, his swollen giant fist clashing with the attack, the shockwave sending everything around him flying.
"Three-Sword Style: Black Rope: Great Tornado!" Zoro slashed in like a ghost.
His sword energy formed a tornado, forcing Bages back and simultaneously shattering several rocks that were hurtling towards them.
"Green moss head, don't drag Luffy into this!" Sanji unleashed Diable Jambe in mid-air, his fiery kick blasting away Van Augur's sniper bullet, while simultaneously keeping a watchful eye on Pizarro's bizarre terrain-altering abilities.
Nami and Chopper, under Brook's protection, struggled to approach the display stand.
Brooke's cane sword transformed into a series of cold arcs.
"Requiem Bandroul!"
As the sword flashed, several Blackbeard members who tried to stop him were instantly frozen in place, as if even their consciousness was being eroded by the brief aura of death.
"Yohohoho~ Could the cold wind leading to the underworld perhaps calm you all down a bit?"
However, the greatest threat does not come from the enemy, but from this space that is about to collapse completely.
"No! This place is going to collapse!" Nami cried out in despair as she looked at the increasing number of cracks above her head.
"Wood!" Luffy looked at the Adam Trees so close to him with resentment. They were fixed in place by a special device and could not be taken away quickly.
At this critical moment, Tescatlipoca, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally stood up from the high stands.
His smile remained, but his aura was noticeably different.
"Thank you all for your concern. It would be unfair for me to just be a spectator."
He gently raised his hand: "Not in the name of the God of Smoke Mirrors, but as a follower of Sha Crocodile."
He gently tossed the energy in his hand toward the dome of the cave.
The thing traced an arc in the air and silently stuck to the largest crack.
The next moment, something strange happened.
The collapse around them suddenly slowed down, as if an invisible force was forcibly holding the rocks together. Although it did not completely stop the collapse, it bought precious time for the people below!
"Oh?" Lafitte keenly noticed the anomaly. He looked at Tescatlipoca, a hint of apprehension flashing in his eyes.
"The chaotic evil god that the Count spoke of—would do such a thing?"
Tescatlipoca felt his gaze, but simply shrugged and gestured for him to continue, as if he had just casually tossed away a piece of trash.
This brief respite was quickly seized upon by all parties.
"CPO! Prioritize ensuring the target cannot obtain the lumber! Be prepared to sacrifice yourself if necessary!"
The CPO squad leader decisively ordered them to attempt to break through Pizarro's swamp blockade and rush towards the display stand.
"Hehehe! Rob it!" Burgess ignored the falling rocks and pounced on the precious tree Adam again.
"Luffy! Now's the time!" Sanji kicked aside an enemy blocking his way, clearing a path for Luffy.
However, just as Luffy's arm was about to grab the Adam Tree, an indescribable sense of deathly stillness swept over the entire collapsing cave like an invisible tide!
Time seemed to stand still.
The sounds of battle, the deafening crashes of collapse, and the screams of people—all seemed to be choked shut by an invisible hand.
A fear of death, stemming from the instinct for survival, gripped the heart of every individual!
For the first time, King Hassan, who had remained as silent as a rock, moved.
He didn't even draw the huge sword.
He merely raised his head slightly, and the eerie blue flames in his deep skull-like eye sockets calmly locked onto Captain John, who was frantically plundering the treasure.
There was no murderous intent, no oppressive aura, only a concept of ending descended.
Captain John's greedy and wild smile froze on his face instantly.
He felt as if he were being watched by death itself!
His treasures that made him famous, his cunning tricks, and his power as a heroic spirit all seemed so pale and powerless under this gaze!
That was a manifestation of a rule that transcended power and was close to the rule of death!
"You—?!" Captain John instinctively took a step back, his sword pointed at King Hassan, but his hand was trembling slightly.
He felt it; it was an absolute difference in status.
Crowned and non-crowned positions are like fireflies and the bright moon.
Wang Hassan remained silent, simply watching him quietly.
That gaze seemed to say, "Your greed has been dealt with, and its end is here."
The next moment, Captain John did something that was unbelievable to everyone who knew his greedy nature.
He abruptly threw the few treasures he had just snatched to the ground and let out a sharp roar: "Retreat!"
Lafitte! Retreat immediately!
He disregarded Bages and the others who were still fighting, and like a startled rabbit, he was the first to flee frantically towards the blasted-open hole.
The silent gaze of the Grand Assassin, with just a glance, was enough to frighten away the Blackbeard Pirates' strongest force in this operation, the legendary pirate spirit.
Lafitte's expression changed drastically. Although he didn't understand exactly what had happened, Captain John's soul-deep fear was undeniable.
It's important to know that John the Heroic Spirit is someone even Garp could confront head-on.
To scare him like this—it seems the Straw Hat crew has gained another terrifying presence. "Burgess! Pizarro! Oka! Wolf! Retreat! Immediately!" He gave the order without hesitation, and at the same time waved his cane, creating a large cloud of black feather smoke to cover the retreat.
"What?! Captain John—" Burgess wanted to say something more.
But when he saw Laffitte's unprecedentedly solemn expression and the deathly silence that permeated the air, which made even him feel uneasy, he spat and glanced unwillingly at Adam and Luffy, who were standing close by.
He roared, "Consider yourselves lucky, Straw Hat Kid! We're leaving! You'll be buried in this cave!"
No sooner had the words been spoken than the entire auction house collapsed, and rubble rained down upon them.
The Blackbeard Pirates' retreat did not bring any hope of survival; instead, it placed all the remaining pressure on the Straw Hat crew and the scattered resistance fighters.
The cave's dome let out its final lament as massive rocks crashed down like meteors, blocking most of the path to the exit.
Even worse, the three heavy Adam Wood logs were firmly fixed to the collapsing display stand base by a special device, and Luffy pulled hard but failed to budge them!
"No! It's too tight!" Luffy roared, his rubber arm taut from the force.
"Let me do it!" Zoro unleashed three sword strikes simultaneously, the sword light slashing against the metal lock, sparking a string of sparks, but leaving only a few deep marks.
"Tsk! It's seastone alloy!"
Sanji tried to destroy the base with his foot techniques, but to little avail.
Nami and Chopper try to find the control mechanism, but in this chaos and collapse, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Brook stood guard beside them, wielding his sword to shatter falling rocks, but his protection was limited.
They're trapped!
At the bottom of the abyss, where everything is about to be completely buried, lies a target that cannot be taken away quickly!
No one stood still like them; the survivors rushed toward the exit.
It was at this moment that...
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!
Several dazzling beams of light, like swords of divine punishment, precisely struck the most vulnerable connection points of the cave's dome!
Rumble, rumble, rumble—!
The dome, which had been barely maintained by Tescatlipoca and then riddled with holes by San Juan Wolf, finally collapsed completely!
Huge rocks rained down, but strangely, most of these rocks cleverly avoided the most densely populated areas, instead isolating the display stand from some of the CP0 members who were putting up a stubborn resistance, as well as some pirates.
Merchants, spies, and pirates are cleverly divided into three areas.
Sunlight, mixed with the scent of sea breeze and gunpowder smoke, poured down from the gaping hole, illuminating this devastated abyss.
In the distance, the huge shadows of several naval warships appeared on the sea surface.
The deck of the warship was filled with elite naval soldiers.
At the bow of the lead warship stood Kizaru Borsalino, draped in a cloak of justice, his hands in his pockets, a crooked smile on his face, speaking in his characteristically slow and leisurely tone.
"How terrible~ Sengoku-san really doesn't pity this old man, having to work overtime again."
"CPO agents, and—the Straw Hat crew who caused all this trouble. They actually turned the auction into this mess!"
Although his tone was dry and lazy, he appeared at the cave entrance in the blink of an eye.
His gaze swept down, lingering for a moment on the Straw Hat crew and the conspicuous Adam Tree.
Then, seemingly casually, the camera pans past Tescatlipoca and King Hassan, finally focusing on the squad leader who is organizing the remaining CP0 members and trying to protect the timber from the falling rocks.
"Authorized by the World Government, the Navy has now taken over this area. Anyone illegally gathering and disrupting order will be arrested!"
In the command center of the naval flagship, Fujitora looked down through the monitor and said in a deep voice.
"Admiral Borsalino, as planned, prioritize controlling the situation and dispersing unrelated personnel. Our objective is not to annihilate the Straw Hat crew."
Kizaru lazily replied to the Den Den Mushi, "Okay, okay~ What a hassle~ But the government is demanding no mercy, especially if Gol D. Roger shows up."
Fujitora paused for a moment: "—We must act according to circumstances. The government's orders must be carried out, but the Navy's justice and the stability of the world require more flexible judgment. The contact plan might have an opportunity amidst the chaos."
Below, the CP0 squad leader, upon hearing Kizaru's words, looked extremely displeased.
He understood that the navy was trying to steal the credit!
Under the guise of maintaining order, taking over this situation might mean that Bi Yu and his team received different orders!
The discord between the World Government's navy and its directly subordinate intelligence agencies was laid bare at this moment.
"General Borsalino!" the CPO squad leader shouted, looking up.
"We are currently under direct command in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise! We request the Navy's cooperation—"
"Cooperate?" Kizaru interrupted him, raising his finger with a glint of light at its tip.
"Of course, everyone, but you should clean up these lawbreakers first, ~Yasakani no Magatama~"
The village's energy blasts rained down like a storm, but their target was not the Straw Hat crew.
To be more precise, the bullets are scattered like stars, and only a very small number of unlucky people will be hit.
More importantly, this move cleverly blocked the CP0 squad leader's escape route!
"The Navy—?!" Nami stared in astonishment at the scene.
"It's just dogs fighting." Zoro sheathed his sword and calmly assessed the situation.
"Now's the time, grab the wood!"
Without saying a word, Luffy extended his rubber arm again and, taking advantage of CP0 being suppressed by the light blast, grabbed the Adam Wood of the Oath Root!
"Get moving!!!!"
Tescatlipoca laughed even more gleefully: "Internal strife, scheming disguised as justice—"
"The snake of Youpi, if you were here, you would understand."
His figure gradually faded into the smoke and chaos, as if he had never existed.
Meanwhile, among the first group of survivors who escaped the cave, several businessmen appeared unusually calm.
One of the beggars was Kella, who was disguised as a merchant's follower.
She was communicating rapidly with her revolutionary comrades scattered in various locations through a miniature communicator hidden in her earring.
"The entrance to Area A is completely blocked by naval artillery fire!"
"The passage to Area B is blocked by a giant rockfall; proceed with caution!"
"It has been confirmed that the Straw Hat crew and the target, Beggar, are still trapped in the core collapse zone. The Navy intends to either trap and kill Beggar or capture him!"
Kolla's eyes sharpened, and he quickly gave the order: "Execute Plan B! Demolition team, target the pre-positioned point in Area C, create chaos, and draw naval fire!"
"Support team, prepare to storm in through the D-sector underground waterways! Remember, our primary mission is to create a passageway to guide them to safety; avoid direct combat unless absolutely necessary!"
Even if we ignore her, the Revolutionary Army has no intention of engaging in battle; the overwhelming power of the Yasakani no Magatama, which glitters across the sky, is indeed terrifying.
In everyone's eyes, this was an open conspiracy to bury them alive or trap them there, waiting for the navy to calmly close in!
"Damn it!" Solong broke a boulder, gritting his teeth.
"This won't do! We'll either be buried alive or exhausted and captured!" Sanji said, his voice trembling with worry.
Luffy tried his best to pull the log while attempting to deflect the falling rocks with his rubber balloon, but the area was too large, and he couldn't manage to do everything at once.
Nami and Chopper's expressions revealed despair.
Brook's sword dance also began to falter, and his defense was being severely depleted.
Rumble!
A sound, unlike the explosion caused by collapsing rocks, came from beneath a pile of rubble to their side and rear!
The rubble was blasted open from the inside, creating a small hole.
Amidst the smoke and dust, a revolutionary soldier with oil smeared on his face poked his head out and quickly waved at them.
"Straw Hat Luffy! This way! Quick!"
Everyone was stunned.
"Who are you—" Nami asked warily.
"No time to explain! This is the only weak point not being monitored by the Navy. We've cleared a path connecting to the old sewers! Follow me!"
The soldier spoke very quickly, pointing at the root of the oath wood.
"This place is too unfriendly to those with special abilities; we can't take it using conventional methods! Let's get our people to help!"
As he spoke, several burly revolutionary soldiers quickly emerged from the hole, carrying specially made crowbars and pulley sets. They swiftly began to dismantle the fixed base.
Their efficiency was extremely high, clearly indicating that they had a plan in place.
Luffy is looking towards Nami and Zoro.
Zoro frowned: "Is that believable?"
Sanji kicked away a falling rock: "No choice! Let's take a gamble!"
Nami gritted her teeth and nodded.
Luffy never hesitated and immediately helped clear the surrounding rocks, creating space for the Revolutionary Army soldiers.
"Hehe—let's go then!"