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Chapter 36: God Valley!
🕑 Added 2025-08-23 06:21:54 +0000 UTCAbove the ruins of God Valley, a viewing platform hastily constructed from gold and velvet stood out garishly.
A Celestial Dragon wearing a bubble helmet and elaborate clothing – Saint Torp – stood on the high platform, announcing the rules of the "grand event."
"My esteemed brethren! Welcome to our triennial tradition – the 'Grand Cleanup Competition'!"
The Celestial Dragons below raised their glasses with scattered cheers.
"This year's venue, 'God Valley,' has been cleaned up for us! Now comes the anticipated hunting time!" Saint Torp spread his arms, pointing toward the rows of massive iron cages on the distant plain. "The rules are as simple as always!"
His voice became shrill and enticing: "Within the venue, everything that moves is our 'rabbit'! Among them, we've specially prepared 150 'rare rabbits' for everyone, worth 500 points each! And... thirteen 'ultra-rare rabbits' carefully selected from around the world! Each worth 10,000 points!"
He paused, savoring his compatriots' greedy gasps.
"Not only that! To encourage everyone to display divine marksmanship, any kill shot will earn double points! The competition lasts three days! We have rich prizes prepared for the highest scorer!"
"So then..." Saint Torp drew out his tone, his face showing a twisted smile. "I declare the competition... begins!"
At his command, the cage gates crashed open.
Thousands of ragged, desperate slaves and surviving residents of God Valley poured out like livestock driven from their pens, bewildered.
Someone was first to react, letting out a piercing scream and desperately running toward the distant forest and ruins.
The crowd instantly exploded, panic spreading like plague.
"Bang!"
The first gunshot came from the excited Saint Markus.
His ivory pistol spat flame, and a slave running at the front fell with the sound.
"I hit it! Father! I hit it!" He jumped excitedly.
"Well done, my son! But aim for the head – that's how you get double points!" Saint Torp encouraged lovingly.
The Celestial Dragons excitedly raised various weapons, randomly shooting at the scattering, fleeing crowd.
They didn't care about accuracy, only enjoying the pleasure of life ending at their hands.
Bullets shuttled through the crowd, blood splattered, and screams rose and fell.
Unlike the Celestial Dragons' enthusiastic game, the Holy Knights became the most efficient killing machines.
They moved like phantoms through the crowd, their swords claiming one or several lives with each precise swing.
Higher up on the cliff, one of the Five Elders, Jaygarcia Saturn Saint, sat in a chair, not participating in this carnival.
He held no gun or wine glass, only leaning on his cane, coldly watching everything below.
His face showed no expression – neither joy nor compassion – as if observing an ant colony, analyzing their struggles and deaths, all of it futile.
Deep in the chaotic forest, a group of slaves lay in a muddy ditch, desperately suppressing their breathing.
An unusually large youth used his broad back to shield the others. It was young Bartholomew Kuma.
"Hee-haw! This mud is killing me – it's ruined my carefully styled hair!" A boy with an enormous head and thick lips complained in a low voice. This was future Revolutionary Army commander Emporio Ivankov.
"Shut up, Ivan! Want to be discovered?" A pink-haired girl with glasses whispered harshly. This was Ginny, the backbone of this group of slaves.
Ginny's gaze looked over Kuma's shoulder toward that hell where gunshots and screams intertwined, her eyes burning with unyielding flames. "The plan... must succeed."
"Are you sure the message got out, Ginny?" Ivankov put away his cynicism, his expression growing serious. "Will those guys really come for some illusory 'treasure'?"
"They will." Ginny's tone was decisive. "For those desperados, the combination of 'treasure' and 'Celestial Dragons' is the most irresistible bait. They'll come, definitely!"
This was their only hope for survival. Rather than be hunted like rabbits, better to lure in a pack of fiercer wolves to completely muddy these stagnant waters.
Kuma silently nodded. He only wanted to save more innocent people in this catastrophe.
...
At Navy Headquarters, Marineford.
Steel Bone Kong furrowed his brow, looking at the top-secret intelligence about "God Valley" in his hands, his temples throbbing.
The entire Rocks Pirates crew was mobilizing, their target pointing directly at God Valley.
"We must stop them." Kong set down the document, rubbing his temples, and picked up the emergency Den Den Mushi on his desk.
The Den Den Mushi mimicked his expression, seriously making the "puru puru" dialing sound.
Meanwhile, on some unknown tropical island.
Sunlight baked the beach golden, the sea breeze was salty and humid with a lazy warmth.
"Crunch... crunch..."
Monkey D. Garp lay back in a beach chair, contentedly eating rice crackers. As a Vice Admiral of Navy Headquarters, he was currently wearing only flashy beach shorts, his bronze muscles gleaming in the sunlight.
"Puru puru puru..."
The Den Den Mushi on the nearby stone table suddenly rang, mimicking Steel Bone Kong's serious square face.
Garp didn't even bother lifting his eyelids, leisurely picking up the Den Den Mushi.
"Yo, Kong, what's up?"
The other end of the line was silent for a moment.
"Garp," Steel Bone Kong's deep voice came through, "immediately end your vacation and head to God Valley."
"Huh?" Garp picked his nose with an annoyed expression. "God Valley? Isn't that just those Celestial Dragon idiots' field trip? With the Holy Knights and CP people guarding them, it's safer than Marineford. Do I really need to babysit them?"
He hated being involved with Celestial Dragons most of all. Those self-proclaimed gods were more troublesome than pirates in his opinion.
"This isn't a request, it's an order." Steel Bone Kong's voice became more serious. "The Rocks Pirates are making moves. We suspect their target is God Valley."
"Rocks?" Garp's movements paused, finally sitting up a bit, but his tone remained unconcerned. "Those guys are pretty strong, but the Celestial Dragons' guards aren't pushovers either. Let them fight each other – what's it got to do with me?"
Another long silence from the Den Den Mushi, so long that Garp thought the signal had cut out.
Just as he was about to hang up and continue his sunbathing, Steel Bone Kong quietly spoke, his voice not loud but like a depth charge.
"According to our latest intelligence analysis... the Roger Pirates are also heading in that direction."
"Where's Roger!? I'm setting out now!"
Garp shot up from his beach chair like a spring, grabbing the Den Den Mushi and bringing it to his mouth, his eyes wide as saucers, his voice so loud it made the coconut palms on the beach tremble.
His excited appearance of suddenly sitting up from his deathbed was completely different from his lazy demeanor just seconds before.
Steel Bone Kong, on the other end, seemed to have expected this result, the corner of his mouth twitching almost imperceptibly as he calmly replied: "The coordinates have been sent to the eternal pose on your ship. Garp, remember your mission, the primary objective is..."
"Got it, got it! Primary objective is to arrest Gol D. Roger!" Garp didn't listen to the end, hanging up the Den Den Mushi and casually tossing it onto the beach.
He quickly threw on his justice cloak, moving so fast he stirred up a wind.
"Old man, what's happening?"
A young man in a brand-new Navy uniform with slightly curly black hair and clear eyes ran over quickly. He was about seventeen or eighteen, with a sunny smile that made him seem full of vitality.
This was the Navy rookie following his father for training at sea, Monkey D. Dragon.
"Oh, Dragon!" Garp glanced at his son and grinned. "Don't just stand there – it's activity time!"
"Activity?" Dragon was confused.
Garp grabbed Dragon by the back of his collar, completely ignoring his son's protests, and strode toward the dog-headed warship docked at the shore.
"Bogard! Stop sleeping!" Garp shouted at the ship. "Raise the sails! Set sail! Full speed ahead!"
Bogard, wearing sunglasses on deck, calmly pushed up his glasses, long accustomed to this, and immediately began issuing commands.
Dragon was carried by his old man, feet off the ground, swaying in the air, his sunny, cheerful smile frozen into bewilderment: "Old man! Where exactly are we going?!"
"To catch the freest bastard in the world!"
Garp's laughter echoed across the sea, filled with undisguised joy.
The warship cut through the blue waves, heading toward the distance at amazing speed, leaving only disturbed waves and a forgotten Den Den Mushi on the beach, still mimicking Steel Bone Kong's serious expression.
Den Den Mushi: Feed me crackers!
...
While God Valley had become a trembling hell, distant Hachinosu presented a completely different scene.
The entire island was like boiling water, countless pirates waving swords and guns, roaring to shake the heavens, the air filled with the smell of alcohol, sweat, and gunpowder.
At the harbor, hundreds of menacing pirate ships with various flags were ready to sail, densely packed throughout the entire bay.
Leading them was a ship as massive as a mobile fortress – the flagship of the Rocks Pirates.
On deck, future sea emperors gathered together.
"Gurararara... robbing the Celestial Dragons' stuff? Interesting!" Edward Newgate was polishing his beloved naginata "Murakumogiri."
"Wororororo! I hope those guys can take a beating!" Young Kaido, carrying his spiked club with horns on his head, was pouring an entire barrel of liquor down his throat.
Charlotte Linlin, Golden Lion Shiki, Captain John, Silver Axe, Wang Zhi... one after another, names that would shake the world in the future were all gathered on this ship, their eyes gleaming with the same light called "ambition."
At their very front, a figure stood quietly. Shadows shrouded his features, showing only his distinctive wild hairstyle that spread out like flames on both sides, and those eyes darker than the abyss.
Rocks D. Xebec.
He slowly raised his hand, pointing toward God Valley's direction, his voice cutting through all the commotion.
"Boys!"
All pirates instantly fell silent, their gazes fanatically fixed on their tyrant.
"The gods are having a party, but they didn't invite us." Rocks' mouth curved into an extremely arrogant arc. "Since that's the case..."
"We'll go flip their table and steal everything they have!"
"OOOOOOOOH—!!!"
Mountain-shaking, sea-splitting roars responded to him as countless pirate ships raised their sails, carrying world-overturning ambition and power, surging forward through the waves.
An unprecedented storm was about to descend!
