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Chapter 29: Wood Release Clone! The Celestial Dragon Appears
Lotte narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Don't rush. Wait a moment."
"I have an ability that's perfect for this situation."
With the continued increase in his mastery of Hashirama Cells,
The range of Wood Release techniques he could now perform had naturally expanded.
Accompanied by a tremor in the ground,
Several branches shot up and rapidly formed young men identical in appearance to Lotte.
It was Wood Release—Wood Clone Technique.
Lotte glanced at his clones.
"You lot—go search the palace treasury. See if there's anything valuable inside."
The clones nodded and dispersed.
Beside him, Whitebeard watched the scene with great interest.
He had to admit—this move from Lotte was quite shocking.
After all, it was the first time he had seen such an ability: controlling plants to perfectly mimic a person's appearance.
This kid's mastery of his Devil Fruit was simply divine!
It made Whitebeard even more curious.
Just what other abilities did Lotte's Devil Fruit hold?
The two didn't waste time.
Shortly after Lotte dispatched his clones, their figures arrived near the massive palace.
At this moment, the entire royal palace was still brightly lit.
It looked dazzlingly magnificent.
Lotte and Whitebeard exchanged a glance and walked straight toward it without hesitation.
.....
Inside the royal palace.
Several men dressed in luxurious royal attire
Stared in terror toward the distant sounds of fighting.
They hurriedly knelt and bowed toward one person, shouting in panic.
"Please save us, Lord Kamael Saint! Next year's Heavenly Tribute from Lulusia Kingdom—we can double it! Just drive those vicious pirates away from here!"
The leading middle-aged man was filled with hatred and resentment.
Damn the Rocks Pirates—they already ran rampant in the New World! Why did they have to come trouble a nation in the first half of the Grand Line like theirs?!
And the Marines had said they needed time!
At this point, the only one who could protect them was this Celestial Dragon from the Holy Land!
"Rest assured. Those lowlifes wouldn't dare lay a hand on a Celestial Dragon—especially not with my servants here."
"They're just pirates, nothing more."
Kamael Saint, enclosed in his air bubble,
Remained completely calm.
Beside him,
Several white-robed CP0 members stood silently,
Clearly ready for combat at any moment.
Though their hearts were filled with worry, since Kamael Saint had agreed,
They—as servants of the gods—had no right to refuse.
Bang!
At that moment,
The massive palace doors were suddenly slammed open.
Whitebeard, shouldering Murakumogiri, and Lotte, gripping dual swords, walked in calmly.
"Looks like we guessed right. The big shots are all here."
"No more games of hide-and-seek. Just hand over the Heavenly Tribute obediently."
Lotte said calmly as he stepped into the palace.
When he saw the air bubble around Kamael Saint,
A grin spread across his face.
"Yo! Isn't this one of the famous World Nobles—the Celestial Dragons? Never expected to run into one here."
"If we tie you up and sell you to the Marines, you'd probably fetch a pretty penny."
Even Whitebeard was somewhat surprised.
To ordinary pirates, Celestial Dragons were untouchable taboos.
After all, attacking one meant facing pursuit from Marine Headquarters—and even Admirals!
So provoking a Celestial Dragon was basically suicide.
But Rocks didn't care about that.
Forget Marine Admirals—even the Fleet Admiral wasn't a big deal.
To the Rocks Pirates, Celestial Dragons weren't dangerous—they represented massive bounties and rewards.
It was only because Celestial Dragons were so rarely encountered
That the Rocks Pirates had never killed one until now.
Kamael Saint flew into a rage upon hearing this.
In his view, these lowly pirates hadn't even bowed to him—
Instead, they dared to threaten him!
This was a sin that ten thousand deaths couldn't erase!
"All of you—attack!"
"Kill every last one of these filthy pirates!"
Kamael Saint roared, his face flushed red.
The royal family members nearby saw this and breathed sighs of relief.
In their eyes, no matter how strong the Rocks Pirates were, only two had come—CP0 could handle them easily!
After all, CP0 was the strongest shield of the Celestial Dragons!
From every angle,
They held an absolute overwhelming advantage!
Though they recognized Whitebeard—the cadre with a 1.5 billion berry bounty—
They still believed CP0 was superior.
At this moment,
The hearts of those white-robed CP0 members were filled with bitterness.
If they'd known escorting Kamael Saint to Lulusia would be this troublesome, they wouldn't have let him leave Mary Geoise privately from the start.
They were just ordinary CP0 escorts.
Their strength was roughly at Elite Vice Admiral level.
Against a Rocks Pirates cadre like Whitebeard, they stood no chance!
"CP0, huh? Looks like they're nothing special after all."
Whitebeard clenched his fist eagerly upon seeing this.
Crackle—!
The terrifying power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit gathered in his hand.
As the surrounding air violently shook, cracks spread across the palace walls.
Just as he was about to attack,
Lotte reached out to stop him.
"Wait—these guys are mine. My swordsmanship is about to break through anyway."
"Perfect chance to test some new forms."
Lotte smiled calmly, eyes narrowed.
He drew two sharp swords from his waist.
Ever since his fight with Neptune, Lotte had specially requested two blades from Ryugu Palace.
After all, he couldn't burn through wooden swords every time he used a sword form, right?
These two would do for now.
The CP0 members' hearts leaped with joy when they saw Whitebeard halt.
They never expected Tree Demon Lotte to be so arrogant—thinking he could handle them alone.
To others, Tree Demon might seem like a 500 million berry great pirate.
But they—CP0—knew better.
He was just a talented brat, nothing more!
No need to fear him!
The CP0 agents exchanged glances and instantly stepped forward, using Rokushiki to launch fierce slashes toward Lotte.
Lotte simply gripped his dual swords calmly.
"Celestial Dragon lapdogs—taste this."
Bright flames ignited along the blades!
Like hellfire burning and boiling!
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