Silence—!!!
As Carlo's voice fell, the entire island of God Valley instantly plunged into a deathly silence.
Countless pairs of incredulous eyes from every corner of the island simultaneously cast their gazes toward the sky.
They looked at the figure bathed in lightning with expressions of shock, horror, or fury.
What did they just hear?
A game to hunt the Celestial Dragons??
One point for every Celestial Dragon?
Devil Fruits are the prizes for the top four?
Is he crazy?!!
At this moment, everyone on God Valley looked at Carlo as if he were a complete and utter lunatic!
He was actually audacious enough to propose a reverse hunting game against the Celestial Dragons!
"Sorus Karlo! You lowly filth, do you want to die?!"
Gringu, who was leading a group of God's Knights and a large number of demonized Davy Clan members in a fierce battle against Rocks, suddenly looked up. He glared at Carlo's back, his eyes filled with chilling murderous intent.
"Who are you calling filth?"
A massive shockwave blasted forward, sending Gringu flying back as he spat out blood. Rocks sneered, clutching his long blade.
He also looked up at Carlo in the sky, an inexplicable light dancing in his eyes as his lips curled into an uncontrollable grin.
"Wahahaha, wahahahaha! Such spirit! Such guts! Truly a man I hold in high regard! Carlo! If you can leave this place alive today, your name will surely resound throughout the world, just like mine!!"
Rayleigh, who had just sent Somaz flying with a sword strike and successfully rescued Shakky, couldn't help but stop in his tracks. Along with Roger, Jabba, and the others nearby, he looked toward Carlo's location with a look of astonishment.
Roger's eyes sparkled with a strange light. As if meeting Carlo for the first time, he marveled,
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! I really didn't expect someone to defy the world like this at a time like this, openly opposing the World Nobles and turning the tables on the Celestial Dragons here by creating a reverse hunting game!
This kid from the Rocks Pirates has some nerve, doesn't he? Sorus Karlo! I really underestimated him before!"
Rayleigh also sighed with emotion, "This is more than just opposing them; Carlo is planning a massacre of the Celestial Dragons on this island. I have to say, he is definitely the craziest and most daring person I've seen in decades! Even his Captain, Rocks, has never been this insane!"
Jabba gripped his axes and muttered, "Roger, Rayleigh, I have a feeling this guy will definitely become a formidable rival of ours!"
Roger laughed.
"Hahaha! Isn't that great? With an opponent like that, this adventure won't be lonely!"
On the shore, Dragon, holding Shanks, stared blankly at the golden figure in the sky, murmuring in a voice only he could hear:
"Brother Carlo... as expected, he isn't that kind of evil pirate. At heart, he's still that kind Navy Lieutenant Commander from before. There must be a hidden story behind him killing Admiral Haines!
The reason he's doing this now, making such a grand and high-profile announcement to hunt the Celestial Dragons, must be to help the innocent victims on the island by diverting the Marines' attention so they can escape, right?"
"Brother Carlo! On their behalf... thank you!"
Dragon's eyes welled up with tears.
"Carlo! Have you lost your mind?! Do you have any idea what you're doing?" Garp's shocked voice rang out from the distance.
Carlo looked toward the source of the voice and immediately saw Garp.
A large number of pirates lay fallen around Garp.
However, there were still many pirates in his vicinity.
But at this moment, Garp was in no mood to deal with them.
He just stared at Carlo in utter shock.
He couldn't seem to believe that Carlo would step out at a time like this and say something so treasonous.
A game to hunt the Celestial Dragons?
Is that something you can just say out loud?
Normally, even just hitting a Celestial Dragon would enrage the World Government enough to order the Marines to dispatch an Admiral.
And if a Celestial Dragon were to die...
Admirals, Buster Calls—everything would be deployed until the killer was completely destroyed, even involving the killer's kingdom or region, forcing countless people to be buried alongside them.
But at this moment, the hunting game Carlo spoke of was simply appalling!
Even with Garp's mental fortitude, his heart couldn't help but pound.
One must realize...
There were at least three hundred Celestial Dragons on this island right now!
These fools and trash wearing bubble helmets, instead of staying in the Holy Land, insisted on coming here to play some hunting game and hunt down innocent people.
Learning the truth, Garp was naturally beyond furious!
But he wasn't foolish enough to rush over and kill those Celestial Dragons.
Because if he actually did that...
The number of people who would die then wouldn't be just this small amount.
His hometown of Foosha Village, the Goa Kingdom, and the hometowns of other high-ranking Marine officers would all be implicated and purged!
The World Government wouldn't listen to any speeches about justice.
They would only use the most horrific and bloody retaliation to let you know how cruel the consequences of daring to harm a Celestial Dragon would be.
That was why Garp was so shocked by Carlo's words.
Yet, anger did not appear on his face.
Instead, amidst the shock, there was a hint of worry.
He didn't like the Celestial Dragons either.
One could even say he detested and loathed them.
But Garp knew full well that even with his power, he couldn't change anything.
The World Government was too massive.
Having ruled the world for eight hundred years, their control over it was deeply entrenched.
A massive political regime, a powerful military, and control over the global economy.
Every aspect was enough to make him feel despair.
To name just one thing...
Hundreds of countries all over the world used Berries as currency; what did that imply?
The mere issuance of currency was enough for the World Government to firmly grip the economic lifelines of billions of people worldwide.
Compared to the financial power of the World Government...
Things like the Golden Land of Sky Island or the Ice Treasure Chamber of the Flower Country in the West Blue were just a drop in the ocean!
Because they owned the entire world!
For Carlo to openly defy them was simply suicide!
Garp didn't want to see Carlo die.
Although Carlo had killed Haines, Garp, who was present at the time, knew it wasn't Carlo's fault; it was because Haines was too narrow-minded and insisted on hunting Carlo down.
Although Carlo later announced his complete resignation from the Marines, Garp knew Carlo wasn't a bad person.
He just couldn't stand the World Government and didn't want to be a Marine anymore.
Regardless of what was on Garp's mind...
The residents of God Valley who had been hunted and chased by the Celestial Dragons, scattered all over the island, along with the slaves brought here from the outside, were all stunned.
From various parts of the island, they stared blankly upward at the golden figure bathed in lightning.
The pain and despair they had suffered at the hands of the Celestial Dragons not long ago now turned into tears of grievance and gratitude, blurring everyone's vision.