Chapter 193: Escape from Mary Geoise
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Mary Geoise was in utter chaos.
Screams, curses, flames, and corpses dominated the scene, a stark contrast to the holy land that had stood high above, looking down on the human world for eight hundred years. Never had it been in such a state of misery.
Boa Hancock cautiously peered around, scanning for any threats.
"No enemies in sight—let's move!" she urged, signaling to those behind her as she dashed forward.
Despite their fear, Boa Marigold and Boa Sandersonia quickly followed.
"Sister, can we really escape?" Marigold asked anxiously.
"Of course we can!" Hancock replied, her face tense but resolute. "This may be our only chance, so we have to take it, no matter what!"
Just as they crossed the pathway and were about to enter the main road, two men in suits appeared, blocking their path.
"Stop! Are you slaves?" one of them demanded.
Marigold and Sandersonia froze, their faces tightening with fear. Hancock felt a flicker of panic herself but quickly steeled her resolve.
In the chaos surrounding them, encounters like this were inevitable. But she wouldn't give up—not here, not now. She was determined to escape, even if it meant sacrificing herself.
"Come back with us willingly, or in all this chaos, no one will care if a few slaves die," one of the men sneered, an unmistakable hint of greed in his eyes.
Even though she was still young, clad in tattered clothes, and her face was smudged with dirt, Hancock's beauty was undeniable to anyone who looked closely.
Hancock's expression turned fierce. She brought her hands together in a heart shape.
"Sweet, sweet wind!"
A wave of pink, heart-shaped lights flickered out, and the two men in suits froze. Their faces went from stunned to terrified in an instant as a gray hue spread over them, petrifying their bodies. In moments, they had turned to stone statues, fear etched into their faces.
Hancock let out a sigh of relief.
Despite the shameful origin of this power, it was undeniably formidable.
Marigold and Sandersonia looked on, astonished.
"That was amazing, sister!" Marigold exclaimed.
"Let's keep moving!" Hancock replied sharply, wasting no time.
They were about to press on, but their expressions shifted drastically as a line of figures in white suits and masks appeared, walking toward them at a slow, deliberate pace.
"It's CP0!" Marigold whispered in despair.
CP0, the Celestial Dragons' intelligence agency, was known as their "strongest shield" and "the world's top intelligence force," with its members handpicked to protect the elite.
Hancock's heart sank. She could tell, from their silhouettes alone, that some of these agents were women. Her Mero Mero No Mi Fruit powers would have a diminished effect on them.
The CP0 agents quickly took notice of Hancock and her sisters.
"Look, there are some slaves over there. Looks like they're trying to escape," one said dismissively.
"Hmph! The whole of Mary Geoise is crawling with runaway slaves now," another added with a smirk.
"What should we do with them? Are we capturing them?"
"We don't have time to catch them all. Just kill them!"
The agents spoke with casual indifference, making no effort to hide their intentions from Hancock and her sisters.
The three sisters felt a surge of despair.
This was the worst possible situation.
"I'll handle this!" one of the CP0 agents said, stepping forward.
Hancock's body tensed.
She might have endured endless suffering in recent years, but she hadn't forgotten the fighting techniques she'd learned on Amazon Lily as a child. With the power of the Mero Mero No Mi, she wasn't entirely without hope.
Boom!
At that moment, a burst of red flame surged across her line of sight, swallowing the advancing CP0 agent whole.
Under the intense heat, the air distorted, waves of scorching energy rippling outward.
After a moment, the flames died down, leaving several charred corpses on the ground, barely recognizable as human.
Hancock and her sisters stared, stunned.
Dead! The CP0 agents who had been so arrogant moments ago had perished just like that.
The threat had simply vanished.
Sensing something, Hancock sharply turned her head.
Not far off, a massive black shadow flew past, with two figures radiating auras of terrifying strength chasing it down.
"It's him!" Marigold gasped, covering her mouth in surprise.
Sandersonia added, "I can't believe he'd spare a thought to help us in this situation."
Hancock tore her gaze away, her face resolute.
"Let's go!"
The three of them hurried onward.
[You have killed a human and gained 200 experience points.]
[Congratulations on your upgrade!]
"Not bad," Aoki thought to himself. He hadn't expected to encounter a group of CP0 along the way—pure luck.
Buzz!
A dazzling golden light surged from behind, radiating intense energy.
Aoki's expression remained calm as he raised his palm, fingers splayed.
Boom!
The scorching light struck him, burning his skin and leaving severe scars that quickly healed.
"Dragon Breath!"
Aoki opened his mouth, gathering flames until they erupted in a fierce burst.
Surrounded by a golden glow, Kizaru dodged the fire, flashing between positions as he moved closer.
The flames crashed to the ground, turning into massive fireballs and sparking explosive booms.
Aoki ignored Kizaru, choosing to continue his escape.
Though the Logia Devil Fruits had been weakened, the speed of the Pika Pika no Mi remained formidable.
Suddenly, the solid land ended, turning into a steep cliff.
From a distance, mist veiled the surroundings, and an endless ocean stretched below.
Aoki's gaze sharpened.
He had reached the edge of the Red Line, but there was a familiar figure standing at the cliff's edge.
"There's no escape," Saint Figarland said gravely, his long sword radiating a heavy aura.
Simultaneously, Kizaru surged forward, accelerating toward Aoki.
"A two-sided attack?"
Aoki took a deep breath and opened his mouth. A spark ignited, rapidly growing into a massive fireball with a diameter of tens of meters.
Boom!
The enormous fireball detonated at his feet, and the violent flames engulfed him instantly.
Kizaru and Saint Figarland paused, startled.
Was this a self-destructive move?
Flames churned as heat waves transformed into powerful shockwaves.
A figure shot out from the blaze, riding the shockwave and ascending high into the air.
"It's him!"
Kizaru and Saint Figarland pursued him immediately.
For them, hovering briefly in the air was no problem.
With a crash, Aoki's bat wings spread, tracing an arc in the sky as he darted away from the Red Line.
However, Kizaru and Saint Figarland were faster.
Buzz!
A golden light flashed as Kizaru swiftly closed in on Aoki.
"Has that special state of yours ended? In that case, this is as far as you go today."
Aoki glanced back with a smirk. "No, I stopped on my own—because there's no need to keep running."
Kizaru's expression changed, and he launched an attack without hesitation.
A golden flash streaked by, but Aoki's figure had vanished.
"Where did he go?"
Kizaru's Observation Haki swept the area, quickly catching a faint trace of Aoki's presence, but before he could act, the trace disappeared completely, leaving no sign.
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T/N: There is a patreon for this work, and any new work I add will be dropped there first. check it out for an early access of 40 chapters.
Patreon link:- patreon.com/ANelite
And also:
Imperial weapon = Teigu
Teigu = Imperial weapon