"It's gone, the broadcast..." Charlotte Linlin said with some regret as she looked at the severed signal of the Visual Den Den Mushi. Until just now, her gaze had never left the Ruin Grader on the battlefield.
That was a big fellow that could wrestle with giants. Although it wasn't a true giant, it could at least somewhat satisfy her craving for the giant race. Moreover, from the six-meter Ruin Guard to the Ruin Grader exceeding twenty-five meters, who knew if Inazuma would produce even larger creatures.
Charlotte Linlin was very much looking forward to this.
Unfortunately, the broadcast's image had now been interrupted. It was very likely that the artillery fire had affected the Visual Den Den Mushi brought by Inazuma's side.
"Perospero, immediately contact Inazuma. Whether it's the smaller model from the beginning or the larger one that appeared later, I want them all! No, go there yourself. Go to that place called Ritou." Charlotte Linlin was clearly worried that during wartime, Inazuma wouldn't be able to escort these machines in time, so she quickly changed her words.
"I understand, Mama." Perospero nodded seriously. He not only had to go personally but also had to get there as fast as possible. Even if the other side temporarily couldn't provide these robots, he at least needed to secure the orders.
This kind of weapon was power that could completely influence the outcome of a war. If not for the existence of someone like the Golden Lion at that level, who could stop the footsteps of two hundred Ruin Guards on such a battlefield?
Perospero quickly left to prepare another ship for departure. But at this moment, another person stopped him.
"Take me with you." This was a tall man with red hair and a very fierce look in his eyes. Although only twelve years old, Katakuri's height already exceeded two meters.
As an adult, his height could reach over five meters. Right now, he could still be said to not have fully grown.
After briefly thinking for a few seconds, Perospero agreed to Katakuri's request. Although still young, he was a child who had truly inherited Charlotte Linlin's talent. In terms of strength alone, he had already surpassed most pirates.
On Snarl Island, after enduring several days of artillery bombardment, the island finally fell silent.
However, the ice plains accumulated over thousands of years on the island had completely shattered, revealing the rocks beneath the permafrost. Everywhere was torn earth. The originally gently undulating island now appeared with deep rift valleys and steep cliffs.
Collapsed valleys and raised hills indicated the fierce battles that had once occurred here.
And now, this war had finally ended.
This war didn't really have a true victor. Both sides suffered heavy losses. The Ruin Guards and Ruin Graders Ren sent out were ultimately all destroyed. Nearly a thousand pirates also suffered tremendous casualties.
Originally there were a hundred Kairagi and a hundred Oni, now each only had a few dozen survivors.
Shutenmaru and Gara were both seriously wounded. Shutenmaru had half of the left dragon horn on his head cut off. His chest bore a large wound from John's blade, a scar nearly palm-width that extended diagonally from his shoulder all the way to his right waist. At first glance, it looked like a giant worm crawling on his chest.
Gara had it even worse. His left arm was directly cut off by the enemy. There was also a wound on his neck; his head had nearly been sliced off by John. Fortunately, the enemy ultimately didn't succeed.
Despite this, his internal organs were also severely injured. He shouldn't have tried to use Tekkai to tank John's kick. Although he wasn't kicked to death, his damaged internal organs could no longer support prolonged and intense combat.
John also paid a price—his right leg was shattered by Gara.
At that time, Gara and John were both buried by Yukiko's snowstorm together. That was when he used his power to make John's body rotate in different directions internally. He originally wanted to kill the other party directly, but due to insufficient strength, he could only affect one of his right legs.
The result was that John's right foot was twisted into a pretzel. That was also when Gara had an arm cut off by John, and his head nearly sliced off. At that time, John jumped out of the heavy snow on one foot, the Western sword in his hand piercing through Gara's throat, lifting him into the air.
John, left with only one leg, was still stronger than Yukiko and Shutenmaru. Shutenmaru was slashed by him at that time, nearly dying from massive blood loss. Fortunately, Yukiko took him away.
Meanwhile, Golden Lion in the sky had been entangled with Ren the entire time. Neither could do anything to the other. But sensing the continuous disappearance of "voices" on his side, Golden Lion lost patience and directly flipped the board.
The undulating terrain on the island was altered by his ability. Golden Lion's actions accelerated the end of this war.
Although the result was mutual destruction, for both Shiki and John, this battle was no different from defeat. John, who had a foot taken by three small fry, naturally didn't need to be mentioned. Even Golden Lion, who didn't suffer fatal injuries, this was still a failed war.
Because he didn't achieve his goal. The losses on the battlefield didn't mean much to him. As long as there was enough time, he could raise another army at any time. But having spent so much energy yet gaining nothing, this was already a failure.
However, at this stage, he had become much more open-minded. Or rather, in his heart, he had already recognized Ren's power, placing Ren on the same level as Roger and Edward.
But John was undoubtedly very dissatisfied.
He had roamed the seas for so long and never suffered such humiliation. Not even in the battle back then did he end up hiding among his limbs, yet this time he actually fell.
"This matter can't just end like this, Shiki!" He slammed a pot of wine heavily onto the table, shouting. "Those brats need to pay the price!"
Shiki, sitting in the main seat, lowered his eyelids and looked at him, speaking indifferently: "Forget it, John. I'm not planning to make a move on Inazuma anymore."
Shiki had always been relatively tolerant of people he recognized. Moreover, against an opponent he couldn't handle, rather than fighting and both suffering losses, he now wanted to let go of those grudges and join forces with Ren.
Of course, what he thought was having Ren serve as his vice-captain.
John didn't know his thoughts. Hearing Shiki say this, he was instantly furious to the point his chest felt like it would explode: "Shiki, you bastard! Don't tell me you're afraid!"
"Those guys are just wet-behind-the-ears newcomers! We should let them know the power of us seniors!"
"Shiki, go find Linlin and Newgate to join forces! We should gather our strength like before and let the world witness our terror!"
John was still recalling past glorious moments, when even the Navy would steer clear at the sight of them. Although Rocks was dead now, if those great pirates from back then gathered once more, it would still be an unshakeable force.
Unfortunately, Golden Lion had no interest in his proposal.
"Stop saying foolish things, John. You should know that's impossible to happen."
At this point, even if those people from back then could reunite, they would only face each other with swords as enemies. Cooperation was out of the question. Wasn't it more enjoyable to go out on one's own and be a king? Who would want to be beneath someone?
Except for Rocks, no one could command everyone's respect.
Moreover, the Navy wouldn't just stand by and watch these threats gather together again.
Rather than having such unrealistic dreams, he might as well figure out how to make Ren willingly become his vice-captain—that would be more realistic.
"So you're just going to let this go? Shiki! That's not like you!" John glared at him.
"Haa—" Shiki silently exhaled cigar smoke, speaking slowly. "For now, let it go. I indeed acknowledge him."
"Are you saying this represents the end of our alliance?" John's tone was not friendly. He originally didn't have to wade into this mess, but he was tempted by the profit.
But no matter what, he thought he stood on Shiki's side out of consideration for their past relationship. Shiki should at least acknowledge his favor. But the result was Shiki didn't suffer significant losses, while he alone lost a right leg. How could he let this go?
As for his original plan to kill two birds with one stone, that naturally didn't exist anymore.
Thinking about it this way, the great pirate Shiki turned out to also be a treacherous fellow.
Shiki naturally wouldn't be swayed by a few words from him. In the end, what pirates valued was still profit. If John hadn't seen the enormous profit in Inazuma's weapon sales route, would he have kindly come to help?
If Shiki really thought that way, he would be too naive.
Now that Shiki didn't take this opportunity to swallow John's territory and treasure, that already counted as having pirate honor.
Although the war had ended, the aftermath of this war did not stop there.
The most direct impact was that after this war ended, Ren received a large number of orders, all wanting to purchase Ruin Guards and Ruin Hunters. For those buyers who contacted him by phone, Ren indicated that orders couldn't be placed for the time being.
It wasn't that he was putting on airs. It was just that for such large orders, if not negotiated in person, it was difficult to reach a deal. Just one Ruin Guard cost five hundred million Berries. Some people backed down upon hearing this price.
But Ren didn't care. People who couldn't even afford this amount weren't trading partners for Ruin series weapons to begin with.
This kind of weapon was created for war from the start. Small pirate crews had no need to purchase Ruin Guards. At most, they might buy one to study.
[
Hey everyone,
I need to tell you what's actually happening.
I just got hit with mass cancellations. On top of being buried in academics until the 9th. I'm in deep financial trouble right now—like, genuinely don't-know-how-I-cover-next-month trouble.
I want to do more for you. I have another Naruto fic ready to drop the moment this academic hell ends. But I can't keep creating if I can't survive.
I'm not powerless about the work—I know I can deliver for you. But I'm powerless to stop the bleeding alone.
If you've ever thought about supporting, this is the moment. Not "someday." Now.
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