Ditto's disguises have never been limited to a single species. As long as they have seen it, they can basically replicate it. Their slime-like, pliable bodies give them endless possibilities in this regard.
This particular Ditto specialized in physical disguise and aura concealment. At this moment, it looked no different from an ordinary turf.
There were quite a few powerful figures here. The Ditto hiding here had already noticed many strange individuals.
If it tried to attack them, it would inevitably be discovered the moment it made a move. That was the passive aspect of Observation Haki; even without consciously activating it, the body would still react instinctively.
Unless someone was holding them back, or the attacker and target were extremely close to one another, there would be no issues.
It could be said that this was a survival instinct developed by the body itself.
At this moment, Mjosgard that Ditto was looking at was in poor condition. Nailed to a cross symbolizing the World Government, Mjosgard hung there.
After the initial verdict, Roswald was dissatisfied, so he began pulling strings behind the scenes. Through his efforts, Mjosgard's sentence was ultimately changed to death.
There were simply too many oddities in the Donquixote Family, which led to their poor reputation among the Celestial Dragons.
From an outsider's perspective, Celestial Dragons like Homing and Mjosgard were considered "good" Celestial Dragons. But within the Celestial Dragon community, people like them were viewed as heretics.
In the eyes of most Celestial Dragons, they were fools who didn't know how to enjoy themselves. In the view of a small number of elite Celestial Dragons, they were Celestial Dragons with more normal thinking, but who had simply taken the wrong stance.
Either way, they pleased no one and thus received no help.
"Mjosgard, you are no longer worthy of being called 'Saint.' As a Celestial Dragon, you dared to shield that group of trash. Protecting trash makes you worse than trash.
You sheltered the Merfolks, and because of those inferior beings, Saint Charlos died. The final ruling of this incident is your execution, to be carried out at dawn tomorrow. Do you have any objections?"
"Cough, cough… if the outcome won't change, what's the point of asking for objections?"
"It's the procedure. This is the final verdict, and the result will not change. You have one last night to repent, to regret everything you have done."
"Regret? I do regret it, regret that I didn't awaken sooner.
Charlos's death was the result of his own actions. Wasn't it because you treated Kuma as a slave that he suddenly rose up and killed Charlos?
Under your endless oppression, the world has already begun to resist. Sooner or later, you will reap what you have sown."
"Hmph. Incorrigible. It seems the revised sentence suits you better."
Garling left the area. Even among the Celestial Dragons, Garling was considered elite. He had appeared at God Valley in the past, and as the Supreme Commander of the God's Knights, he held the authority to execute other Celestial Dragons.
Aside from him, the surrounding balconies were filled with Celestial Dragons watching the spectacle. After Garling departed, they began loudly condemning Mjosgard.
"It's all your fault! The travelators have stopped working! The slaves have been rescued too! I actually had to walk myself, when will the heretics of your Donquixote family finally die out?"
"Homing was one, you're another, and that brat out there too! There's something wrong with your family's bloodline!"
"When are the new slaves arriving?"
"No idea. And the food supplies too, I'm almost out of bread. All that's left are those greasy cakes. I'll execute every last one of those fools responsible for delivering food!"
These Celestial Dragons still had no idea what was really happening. Every day, they simply continued their condemnations and complaints.
They also didn't know that beneath the Red Line, a serpent had already set its sights on this place.
A special vibration traveled up to the grass field above. The Ditto disguised as turf subtly shook the grass-blades on its back with the breeze, using that unique frequency to communicate with the Steelix below.
This Celestial Dragon was different. Since the other Celestial Dragons wanted him dead, taking him away becomes even more significant. The identity of a Celestial Dragon who fled the Holy Land was something that could be leveraged extensively.
If they simply wanted someone to vanish without a trace, Gengar would have been the optimal solution. However, that kind of disappearance was not what the Beasts Pirates were looking for.
They needed a bit of chaos. Steelix's original mission had been to destroy the tunnels left beneath Mariejois and cause the Celestial Dragons some new trouble. Now it had an additional task: to take Mjosgard away amid the confusion.
As the one who excavated the tunnels, Steelix knew exactly where their structural support points were. During its underground tunneling, it had already destroyed most of those supports.
After establishing contact with Ditto, Steelix finally moved into position, coiling its massive body beneath the ground.
At three in the morning, when the night was deepest and people were sleeping most soundly, a powerful shockwave suddenly surged upward from beneath the earth. The original tunnels collapsed entirely, and numerous sinkholes appeared throughout Mariejois.
The following day, during the investigation, CP0 concluded that many people, including Mjosgard who had been sentenced to death and several close subordinates of Donquixote Sancho, had perished in the earthquake. Among the casualties were even Celestial Dragons.
This led to York being summoned for questioning by Saturn the very next day.
"York, are you certain this earthquake was natural?"
"Of course. There were so many tunnels down there, and the recent battles made the underground structure unstable. A collapse like this is perfectly normal.
I told you long ago to fill them in quickly, but you wouldn't listen. Well, now you see what happened."
York's tone was firm. Saturn observed her for a long while but detected nothing unusual.
For York, no matter how the earthquake had occurred, it had to be classified as a natural phenomenon.
Otherwise, with such a major incident happening less than two days after she began surveying the area below, it would be impossible to explain.
So York not only affirmed that it was a natural phenomenon but also provided ample justification, making it appear even more reasonable.
Since nothing suspicious was found, the incident was ultimately categorized as a natural disaster. With Mariejois currently facing a shortage of food, having fewer extravagant wastrels around was, in some ways, not a bad thing.
As for Mjosgard, after being transferred several times, he was handed over to a Swampert sent by Manaphy and ultimately delivered to Fishman Island. However, due to blood loss and oxygen deprivation, he remained unconscious. It seemed it would take some time before he awoke.
Meanwhile, the team preparing to head to the Pirates Festival was ready to depart. Tiger and his side had also finalized their preparations. After analysis and planning, their final target was not near Mariejois, but rather Tequila Wolf in the East Blue.
Out at sea, a massive crocodile cut through the waves. For Tiger and the others, reaching East Blue was not particularly complicated. They first returned to the location of Fishman Island, then crossed the Calm Belt to enter the waters of East Blue.
With Feraligatr's assistance, the time required for their voyage was greatly reduced.
Snowflakes drifted down from the sky, and floating ice became more common on the sea's surface, yet none of it affected Tiger and his group.
Although Fishman Island lay in tropical waters, the temperature of the deep sea was far from comfortable. When outside the protection of the bubble membrane, the Fish-Men had to endure the cold of the ocean depths. They were naturally highly adaptable to cold water.
What now appeared before them was an endless bridge stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Boss Tiger, is this our destination?"
Following behind Tiger was the Sun Pirates' ship doctor, Aladine. After the evaluation, Arlong ultimately didn't make it onto the team as he never figured out how to operate the torpedo.
Instead, Aladine, Hachi, and several others were successfully selected.
"That's right. This is the place— Tequila Wolf, the Kingdom on the Bridge. According to the latest intelligence I received, the Celestial Dragons are planning to transfer a batch of slaves from here to Mariejois.
We can obstruct those Celestial Dragons, sabotage their plans, and free a group of slaves at the same time. As the starting point of our operation, this place is very suitable."
"Nyuuuuu, Boss Tiger, why are they building a bridge like this on the deep sea?"
"I don't know either. But according to records, this bridge has already been under construction for seven hundred years."
"Seven hundred years?!"
Hachi stretched out all six of his arms, utterly shocked by the number.
And that was the truth of this place. Tequila Wolf, the Kingdom on the Bridge— calling it a nation was really just a beautified description. In essence, it was a massive prison.
After the Void Century, for some unknown purpose, the World Government ordered the construction of a gigantic bridge in East Blue to connect various islands. That task had continued for seven hundred years.
The residents of this "country" were people from non-affiliated nations, along with political prisoners from affiliated nations. There were very few pirate criminals here; most of them were sent to Impel Down. Only the more easily controlled prisoners were dispatched to this place.
Once captured and brought here, they were forced into labor under various pretexts, working for the rest of their lives.
Although it was called a prison, it was a peculiar one. The people here were allowed to marry and have children. However, once their children were old enough to provide labor, they too were forced to work, forming a bizarre kind of "sustainable development."
In the eyes of the World Government, these people were nothing more than moving machines—a mobile reservoir of slaves.
If Mariejois ran short of slaves, they could simply replenish them from here.
"This is the Kingdom on the Bridge, and also the Kingdom of Labourers. Even if someone accidentally wanders in, once discovered, there's a high probability they'll be reduced to a laborer for life."
No one knew when, or if, the bridge would ever be completed. The only thing the people here knew was that every day, laborers collapsed, and before long, new ones would be sent to replace them.
"Then, Boss Tiger, are we going to destroy this bridge?"
"No. A bridge that hasn't been completed in seven hundred years, no one can calculate how much effort has been poured into it. If it were ever finished, it would certainly benefit the development of East Blue.
Our goal is to rescue the slaves in this area and destroy the ships sent by the World Government. You handle the patrol vessels at sea, I'll deal with what's on the bridge."
The territory of the Kingdom on the Bridge was vast. After all, building a bridge didn't require starting at one end and finishing at the other; construction could begin simultaneously at multiple sections.
Tiger had simply chosen this particular section as their starting point.
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