Chapter 96: The Giant Battle in the Little Garden!
Time flew by, months slipping past in the blink of an eye since Sengoku was defeated by Roy once again.
Roy left the Kingdom of Torino together with Toki. Before that, Linlin and the doctors she had gathered spent several months copying the most important medical books in Torino. And before Sengoku was finally released by Roy, after Roy had kept him locked up for a while to protect Linlin and stop him from reporting anything, Linlin and the others had already departed.
On the vast sea, Linlin stared at the endless waves, silent for a long time.
Brother Roy had left at last. She did not know how many years this separation would last, or when they would meet again. Still, she believed without doubt that Roy would return someday.
When that day came, she would welcome him with the new world she had built.
North Blue, inside a Marine base.
Tsuru sat listlessly at the entrance of the office building, rubbing her lips with one hand while staring blankly at the sky.
He really left. On the day Roy departed, she had gathered all her courage to try and stop him, even to steal a bite from him.
But Roy never gave her the chance.
He seemed afraid of something and dodged away again.
Tsuru could not understand it. She wanted to ask Roy what was so wrong with her that he stayed on guard like that.
Clearly… she had been ready to do something she would regret for the rest of her life, to go with Roy and never return to the Navy…
"Do you hate me that much? You keep sneaking glances at me all the time…" Tsuru muttered, looking down at the bear in her hands, confused.
It was starting to take shape.
He obviously liked her, so why was he avoiding her?
...
The first half of the Grand Line.
On an island called Little Garden.
Boom!
A giant dinosaur lumbered through the forest, shaking the earth and sending every beast fleeing.
In a shadowy corner of the island, a huge, brightly colored centipede crawled silently through the jungle. A lion hidden in the grass, waiting to pounce, suddenly let out a miserable cry. The next moment its body slumped over, and the centipede climbed onto it. Countless tiny legs rippled across its back so fast it made your scalp prickle.
At the riverside where Little Garden met the sea, two figures stood together, one tall and one short, one male and one female. The graceful woman gripped the boy's hand tightly, watching their surroundings with nervous eyes.
Rustle, rustle.
The enormous centipede burst out of the grass, scrambling toward them, its long body still pouring out from the undergrowth.
"What a terrifying island!" Toki grabbed the hilt of her sword, eyes tense.
She glanced at Roy and understood at once.
This morning, before they set off for Little Garden, Roy had insisted she wear white stockings, long ones, the kind that covered her legs completely.
At first she thought it was just Roy's strange taste in fashion and did not think much of it.
Now she knew she had misunderstood.
Roy had wanted to cover the skin she normally left exposed. On an ancient jungle island like this, you never knew what kind of poisonous insects, ants, or mosquitoes might be lurking.
One bite could infect you with some unknown disease, and that was no joke.
Bang!
Just as Toki was about to draw her sword and cut the centipede down, Roy pulled a gun from his waistband and fired.
The bullet punched through the centipede's body, but to her shock it did not die. Instead, it surged forward even faster.
Bang, bang, bang!
Roy's face stayed calm as he fired several more shots. The centipede finally collapsed. Roy reached into his pocket, reloaded, and fired again.
Right as the centipede twitched, trying to spring up from its fake death, the next shots finished it off for good.
"Dirty and weak. Just shoot it." Roy put his gun away, and Toki eased her grip on her sword.
Roy remembered he still had one more thing to do here. He wanted to meet Captain Brogy and Captain Dorry.
With only one month left before he had to leave this time period, he wanted to witness their duel, and also talk with them about what was happening in Elbaf.
Whoosh, whoosh.
More gray black figures slipped out of the forest one after another. They moved in packs, spreading out in silence, teeth bared, staring at Roy and Toki with cold, predatory eyes.
These wolves were far larger than normal ones. Each was stronger than its kind elsewhere, and they still carried that vicious unity and cunning. When hunting, they always surrounded their prey first, waiting for the kill.
"Horus, easy. Just do not set the place on fire." Roy waved a hand, and a thundercloud drifted in from behind him.
The soft white cloud swelled in size, its body darkening to black. Horus's smile turned sharp and cruel.
Snap!
A bolt of lightning lashed out from Horus's mouth. A purple serpent of electricity twisted forward and struck a giant wolf dead center. The smell of cooked meat filled the air, mixed with scorched fur.
Bang!
The roasted wolf stiffened and dropped like a stone, jolting the rest of the pack.
Born wolves, they had never seen lightning up close before. Watching one of their own get struck down in an instant shattered their courage.
Before Horus could fire again, the wolves howled and fled in all directions, tails tucked low like scared strays.
In seconds, the huge pack vanished into the jungle.
The law of the wild is simple, the strong prey on the weak. When faced with something even more terrifying, there is no hunt, only retreat.
"Let's go." Toki let out a breath, squeezed Roy's hand, and smiled.
"Good." Roy nodded and led her into the forest.
As Roy had asked, Toki had worn stockings and swapped her old pink kimono for a red top that covered her skin completely.
In a savage jungle like this, a breathtaking woman with pale skin, a lovely face, and a graceful figure, dressed in black stockings…
Far away, a volcano erupted. The thunderous roar echoed across the island, startling flocks of birds into the sky.
On Little Garden, two enormous figures, each holding a massive weapon, roared as they charged, blood boiling, swinging their giant blades at one another.
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