*Shing! Shing!*
With internal destruction Armament Haki and a swordsmanship level capable of cutting steel, the Seastone shackles were no different from tofu in front of York.
Shakky, successfully freed from the shackles, felt her entire being relax. She turned around and thanked York sincerely.
"Thank you, York."
"It's too early to thank me! You know what I want!"
Shakky bit her lower lip lightly, her mood tangled.
"Stop overthinking! We haven't escaped yet!"
York's words brought Shakky back to reality. She followed York out of the small hut where she had been detained.
The God's Knights blocked the door outside, eyeing the two of them menacingly.
York smiled calmly, pulling the holy light tentacles wrapped around those useless Celestial Dragons, causing them to emit high-pitched moans immediately.
Garling gripped the hilt of his sword with a dark expression.
"Pirate! You already got what you wanted! Release my clansmen!!"
"Don't worry! Of course I will! But the prerequisite is that you clear the path!!"
York and Garling confronted each other, slowly circling with the useless Celestial Dragons in between as the center—one moving left, the other right.
Finally, York brought Shakky back to the path he originally used to enter the Grand Canyon, while Garling and his group returned to the plaza center.
"Deal complete! These useless things are returned to you!!"
York retracted the holy light tentacles wrapped around the useless Celestial Dragons and pulled Shakky to quickly distance themselves toward the rear.
Garling stepped forward quickly to pursue but stopped after passing the group of fallen Celestial Dragons.
He had to protect this bunch of useless trash and evacuate them as soon as possible; otherwise, a situation where they were held hostage by pirates might occur again.
Furious, Garling could only watch helplessly as York took Shakky away into the distance.
"Damn it!"
He glanced back at his clansmen still immersed in the effects of York's fruit ability, feeling for the first time that these useless people truly couldn't achieve anything but were experts at ruining things.
...
While York successfully rescued Shakky, Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and the others on the other side encountered trouble.
First, they were delayed by the Marines' timely support, forced to fall behind York and Rocks who entered the island first.
Then, a large number of Hachinosu pirates who had followed Rocks to God Valley mutinied against them.
"Kill! Take down the Rocks Pirates! Make a name for ourselves today!!"
These pirates, who usually were only fit to do odd jobs for them on Hachinosu, attacked Whitebeard and the others like madmen at this moment.
Whitebeard and his group had just dealt with the Marines when they were instantly surrounded by these mutinous pirates; a chaotic brawl was inevitable.
Just as they managed to deal with this batch of pirates, another batch of completely unfamiliar pirates appeared.
They seemed to be local pirates of the West Blue, having come upon hearing the news, their goal also to take down the Rocks Pirates.
"So annoying! Small fry, stop blocking the way! Don't hinder me from saving Shakky-chan!!"
The irritable Golden Lion released his Conqueror's Haki on the spot. Invisible shockwaves roared, and the local West Blue pirates fell like wheat being harvested.
However, this only took out a portion.
Further away, other pirates from the New World were still swarming toward them.
They didn't have the guts to wield butcher knives against the Celestial Dragons on the island, but they dared to provoke the majesty of the Rocks Pirates.
"Don't get entangled with them! Saving Shakky is important!!"
"Bastard Newgate! Who allowed you to give orders! You're not qualified to command me!!"
"Are you that obsessed with meaningless arguments?! Shiki!!"
"Hmph! The one to save Shakky first will be me!!"
Golden Lion snorted coldly and flew into the sky while no one was paying attention.
However, others might have ignored him, but Silver Axe wouldn't.
The moment Golden Lion secretly flew up, Silver Axe also leaped from the ground, grabbed Golden Lion's ankle, and forcibly dragged him down.
"Xiong! What are you doing!!"
"Don't think about sneaking off! Shiki! The one to save Shakky is me!!"
"Bastard Xiong!!"
The group was noisy, dragging each other back and tripping each other up, yet simultaneously following Whitebeard's suggestion.
While dealing with the harassment of small-fry pirates, they advanced toward the island's center.
Back to York's side.
He retreated from the center of the Grand Canyon with Shakky, holy light clearing the path just like when he came. Few Marines had the ability to stand straight in front of York.
Rushing out of the Grand Canyon safely, York was astonished to find that the entire island had fallen into a massive chaotic brawl.
"Which way?!"
Shakky asked somewhat nervously.
"Find Rocks first!!"
York answered, and Shakky had no objection.
The Grand Canyon of God Valley ran from northwest to southeast. After rushing out of the canyon, York and Shakky were in the town located in the southeast of the island.
The two walked through the town, looking for the place where the fighting was most intense.
Unsurprisingly, Rocks was likely there.
"It's York of the Rocks Pirates!!"
"Haha! And Shakky!!"
"Take him down! Shakky will be ours!"
"Uh... Mmph..."
Pirates from who knows where discovered York and Shakky and attacked without a word. But before they could get close, once the holy light shone on them, they all collapsed to the ground, happy expressions on their faces.
York frowned slightly. These pirates' behavior was completely the opposite extreme compared to when they were on Hachinosu.
"These guys... betrayed us?"
Surprising, yet it seemed only natural.
Rocks and they weren't in a superior-subordinate relationship; everyone just gathered on Hachinosu together.
In the past, when Rocks led them to rob money together, the relationship was naturally harmonious.
Now that Rocks wanted to take them to fight the World Government—at least ostensibly so—it wasn't strange for this group of gutless cowards to defect before the battle.
Amidst this great chaos, several immature, nervous, yet courage-filled voices attracted York's attention.
"Quick! Faster!"
"The Devil Fruits are in the center of the Grand Canyon!"
"Whether we can escape this island depends on this chance!"
"Heaven gave us good luck! For some reason, this group of Marines all fell to the ground giggling foolishly; we mustn't waste this luck!!"
Following the voices, York saw a boy with a head almost as big as his body leading a few others of similar age or younger, weaving through this chaotic battlefield.
Their clothes were tattered, and they still had shackles on their hands, though the iron chains in the middle had been broken by something.
York's eyes narrowed slightly as he retrieved the images of these people from his mind.
"Emporio Ivankov! Ginny! Bartholomew Kuma! And a few I don't recognize!"
"I remember now!"
"The intelligence on God Valley was leaked by Ginny! Kuma's Paw-Paw Fruit was also obtained here!"
York looked down at the sack he had been carrying.
Now that the Paw-Paw Fruit was in his hands, it was unlikely Kuma could rush into the plaza to steal and eat it.
Moreover, he didn't intend to let these kids go.
With a flash, York intercepted Ivankov and the others in front of Shakky's puzzled gaze.
"Yo! Little ones!"
"What are you looking for in the central plaza?"
"Is it Devil Fruits?!"
Ivankov, who was rushing hurriedly, crashed headfirst into York and fell to the ground.
Then, hearing the words from York's mouth, that big face instantly turned pale.
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