"Boss Tiger, going back to help that brother would be suicide. We have no choice but to trust him now."
"Exactly, Boss Tiger. We encountered plenty of pursuit on our way here. If you go back to support that brother now, it would completely disregard his efforts."
At the edge of the Red Line, on a luxurious ship, a large number of Fish-Men and freed slaves who had escaped from the Holy Land of Mariejois were gathered.
They hadn't fully escaped the Red Line region yet, so they weren't out of danger. Everyone on the ship wore worried expressions because they knew that the longer they delayed, the worse the situation would become.
Let's not forget that although Marine Headquarters is some distance from Mariejois, they could reach this area quickly using the Navy's special routes.
Although they had left Mariejois, they weren't completely out of danger. If Marine warships surrounded them, they could still meet their end at sea!
As for why the ship hadn't set sail yet, there was a reason for that—the Fish-Men wouldn't allow it.
Fish-Men made up half of the people on the ship, and to the other races on board, the Fish-Men were their saviors. The Fish-Men all listened to Fisher Tiger. Since Tiger insisted on waiting for their benefactor, no one dared to defy him and set sail.
As the time slowly passed and dawn was about to break, a bright light began to appear on the horizon.
Arlong believed they couldn't wait any longer; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to escape once the Marines arrived. So, he urged Tiger to leave.
Tiger looked at the many companions and rescued slaves on the ship, then glanced up at the towering peak of the Red Line. Finally, he decided to have Jinbe and the others leave while he stayed behind to assist Wood.
As Arlong had said, if Marine Headquarters' warships arrived, they would have no chance of survival in their exhausted state.
The longer they delayed, the more dangerous it would become for everyone.
However, Tiger couldn't bring himself to abandon Wood, who had saved them earlier.
Caught between these two impossible choices, Tiger made his decision—he would stay behind to help Wood, while Jinbe would lead the others to safety.
If Wood was still alive, with their skills as Fish-Men, escaping would not be impossible even without a ship.
And if Wood had unfortunately perished, Tiger would stay and fight to the death, repaying the debt he owed for saving them.
Jinbe and Arlong vehemently opposed Tiger's decision. After all, Tiger was their idol and a hero of Fish-Man Island.
If there was any hope of saving Wood, they were willing to try, but going back now would be nothing short of suicide.
Having already sacrificed one Fish-Man hero, they believed they should honor his sacrifice by surviving.
Unfortunately, despite Jinbe and Arlong's reasonable arguments, Tiger's sense of duty and loyalty remained unchanged.
After pretending to be persuaded, Tiger knocked out Jinbe and Arlong, threw them onto the ship, and ordered the Fish-Men to set sail.
With Jinbe and Arlong out of the way, the other Fish-Men, intimidated by Tiger's authority, tearfully but resolutely began the voyage.
As the ship sailed into the dawn, Tiger looked up at the towering Red Line and prepared to climb once again!
Tiger had never abandoned his comrades, nor would he abandon his benefactor!
Now that his comrades were safe, he had nothing left to hold him back.
But just as Tiger began climbing the Red Line, a figure suddenly fell rapidly from above, brushing past him and plunging into the sea.
Wood, fleeing from his pursuers, had fought his way through and quickly reached the spot where Tiger and the others had escaped.
Seeing the rope ladder left behind by Tiger's group, Wood sighed in relief.
But when he saw the massive group of pursuers behind him, Wood leaped off the Red Line.
For someone who had mastered Geppo (Moonwalk), slowly climbing down a rope ladder was the last thing Wood would do.
However, Wood had overestimated his remaining stamina and underestimated his injuries.
Geppo is a technique that requires extraordinary physical strength, and using it consumes a lot of energy.
The Red Line is incredibly high, and with Wood's injuries already pushing him to the limit, he eventually lost consciousness in mid-air, about ten meters above the sea, due to exhaustion and the severity of his wounds.
Falling from such a height into the sea could be fatal for an ordinary person.
But this is the world of pirates, where normal logic doesn't always apply, and Wood's years of training had made him far stronger than the average person.
The salty seawater filled Wood's lungs, jolting him awake.
As a Marine who wasn't a Devil Fruit user, Wood naturally had excellent swimming skills.
However, as Wood tried to move his limbs, he found his body completely drained of strength. Overwhelmed by fatigue, his consciousness began to fade.
"If I knew it would end like this, I should have just died fighting in Mariejois. Drowning is such a pathetic way to go… I'm an embarrassment to all those who have crossed over."
As his vision blurred, Wood saw a red figure swimming rapidly toward him, but he was too weak to analyze what it was. His eyes slowly closed, and his powerless body began to sink.
Having only climbed a few dozen meters up the Red Line, Tiger saw the figure falling from above and immediately recognized it as the swordsman who had saved them.
Without a moment's hesitation, Tiger leaped into the sea from the same height.
The seawater washed away the paint on Wood's skin, and the artificial fish fins used for his disguise also fell off.
Looking at the human youth in his arms, Tiger's face was full of confusion, but he still brought Wood to the surface for air and then swam away from the dangerous area at high speed.
Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 171 at patreon.com/Betek