Ace was pinned beneath Blue, who was about to pull the trigger. It was a critical moment.
Just then, Dadan arrived with her underlings, swinging an axe towards Blue.
"Stop! You green-haired freak, let Ace go!"
A gust of wind rushed in as Blue unsheathed his knife to block Dadan's axe, but Dadan pushed him back with a powerful strike.
"Dadan, what are you doing here?"
Luffy, lying on the ground, asked as Dogura lifted him up.
"It was Kaito who told us you were in danger."
"Kaito…"
Ace and Luffy murmured in unison, suddenly remembering that Kaito was still suffering from a high fever.
Kaito: …
"Bastard! You're the mountain king of Korbo Mountain, aren't you?"
Blue glared at Dadan.
Dadan met his gaze with equal ferocity. "I'm Dadan, a mountain bandit who, by a twist of fate, became the caretaker of these kids."
"Well then… I'm out of here!"
Expecting a fierce battle, Dadan shot a fierce look at Blue, but in the next moment, she turned and fled.
The other underlings immediately followed her, except for one.
"I won't run!"
Ace gripped a water pipe tightly, his eyes fixed on Blue.
Seeing this, Dogura immediately warned Ace that Blue was not someone a kid could take on.
But Luffy, in Dogura's arms, struggled to get down, wanting to fight alongside Ace.
"Yes, Ace! We can't run with my brother behind us; otherwise, we'll lose the courage to protect our family and friends."
Kaito's voice suddenly echoed, and he floated down from the sky, standing beside Ace.
"But if your family or friends sacrifice themselves to let you escape, your duty is not to betray their sacrifice. It's foolish to go back claiming you'll live or die together!"
Kaito's tone carried a hint of anger; although he spoke to Ace, his gaze was locked on Blue.
"You're the last of the four little brats…"
"Shh!"
Blue began to speak, looking at Kaito, but was interrupted by a shushing sound from Kaito.
"I don't have time to chat with an ugly freak like you."
"Pathetic trash that gets used and thrown away, only picking on kids."
"Do you think the nobles who look down on us commoners would ever grant you a noble status?"
"They must be laughing behind your back, crying over how stupid you are."
Kaito poured salt into Blue's wounds with his words.
Blue, already humiliated, was further enraged by the taunts of a child and swung his knife at Kaito.
"You damned brat!"
"Whoosh!"
"Bang!!!!"
But before he could take more than a few steps, a roaring wind erupted. A massive wind blade shot from Kaito's palm, colliding with Blue in an instant.
The ground was carved into a trench by the wind blade, flames were swept aside, creating a fire-free path. Blue lay at the end, unconscious and his fate uncertain. Even if he survived, he would soon be engulfed by the flames.
...
Instant defeat.
Silence enveloped the scene, broken only by the sound of crackling fire.
Ace, Luffy, Dadan, and the rest of the gang stared at Kaito, speechless, their faces filled with shock.
"Kaito…"
Ace stammered.
Kaito withdrew his arm and turned around, smiling.
"It's me."
"Let's discuss things later."
With that, Kaito dashed to the back, unleashing another wind pressure blast, clearing a path ahead as he led the way.
Dadan snapped back to reality, scooping up Ace and racing after Kaito.
"Quick! Follow Kaito!"
...
At another bay entrance, Dragon's ship was docked on the shore.
He unleashed a wind pressure blast from his palm, creating a fire-free path much more powerful than Kaito's, directly piercing through the entire garbage mountain.
"Hey! The explosion created a fire-free path! We can see the ships; the shore is just ahead! Run towards it!"
Though unsure of what had happened, the homeless people fleeing the garbage mountain immediately rushed toward the fire-free path, seeing it as their lifeline.
When they reached the end, they found Dragon's ship waiting for them.
Onboard, Ivankov, cloaked in black, watched the incoming wave of homeless people and spoke to Dragon.
"I didn't expect you to intervene in a border country like East Blue."
"Is there something specific about this place that concerns you?"
Dragon stepped forward, standing at the ship's bow.
"This country is a microcosm of this world."
"In this survival-of-the-fittest world, happiness will never just descend upon us."
"Even the children are speaking like that now; if it continues to rot like this, the entire world will stink."
"I'm going to change all of this. Someday, I will change this world."
After giving a somewhat explanatory response to Ivankov, Dragon raised his right hand and shouted passionately,
"Anyone willing to fight for freedom, come aboard this ship!"
....
Finally, the ship slowly departed from the shore, sailing into the distance, with all the remaining survivors onboard.
Ten years later, these homeless people became members of the revolutionary army, and they would recognize Sabo, who had spent a long time in the garbage mountain—a good thing indeed.