Pirate: I, Ace, am the King of Eclipse!

Sabo was the only one of the four to take Garp's punch head-on. When the two fists collided, the high-level Ryuo wrapped around his arm was pushed back, and his right arm immediately lost feeling. The dozens of meters he slid backwards allowed him to separate himself from Garp again, and also gave him space to retreat to the edge of the island.

Sabo took a punch head-on, his right arm felt like it had been hit by a heavy hammer, and his feet slid backward for dozens of meters before he could barely stop.

Garp broke through the encirclement and was about to give chase when a wave of Devil Fruit energy suddenly erupted from beyond the cliff edge of the island.

"Ok?"

He turned to look. Leona was hovering in mid-air, her dark red clothes almost soaked in blood. She plunged the White Night in her right hand into a rock fragment in front of her, her vertical pupils glowing red, and then stretched out her hands, tearing the entire Wilmeyou Islands apart with force.

"Floating Fruit - Burial of All Things!"

Rumble!

The main island beneath Garp's feet began to tremble.

Except for a rock formation the size of a ship on the edge of the island, which served as a retreat point for Geno and Karina, the entire main island of Vermeu and dozens of smaller floating islands around it simultaneously lost their gravitational support.

The islands didn't lose just a portion of their gravity. The main island and the smaller floating islands that Leona had previously contacted and controlled began to respond to her abilities, with only the edge rock layers she had left for her companions remaining independent. The landmasses that were originally scattered in the air simultaneously changed direction, and the plaza beneath Garp's feet naturally became the center where all the rock layers converged.

Under Leona's near-exhausted control, the islands did not fall into the sea. Centered on the plaza where Garp was, they moved in from all directions, pressing against each other and converging.

The outermost small floating islands first crashed into the shattered rock layers of the main island, followed by more mud and debris pressing down from above. The rocks were constantly being squeezed together, and the remaining gaps were filled by subsequent layers of rock. The plaza where Garp was located was sealed off at the innermost part, and the sky could no longer be seen from any direction.

Thousands of tons of soil and rocks, mixed with building ruins and mutated beasts that couldn't escape, converged in the air, gradually forming a huge rocky planet that was about to bury Garp alive at its very center.

The scene before him, which resembled a natural disaster, actually made Garp burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha! This little girl actually managed to use that old man Shiki's Devil Fruit in such a way!"

The giant rocks closed in layer upon layer, and Karp was soon completely swallowed up. These rocks certainly couldn't kill him, but it would take some time for him to escape from the interior of the star system made up of dozens of islands.

"Now! Everyone, break out!"

Sabo shouted through his internal communication channel. The four main fighters immediately turned and, dragging their injured bodies, rushed towards the tiny island Leona had left behind. Karina, Bucky, Brook, and the others had already arrived there.

When Sabo and the others landed on the isolated island, they had almost no energy left to continue fighting. Geno's mechanical arm served as a stabilizer, preventing anyone from being thrown off when the recoil began; the others clung to the ground, waiting for the four propulsion forces to be released simultaneously. Leona remained in the air, maintaining her abilities to keep the rocks surrounding Garp closing in while ensuring the rock layer beneath her feet remained in a state of weightlessness.

"Everyone, are you ready!"

Jeno used his mechanical arm to grip the edge of the rock. Karina and the others crouched down, firmly grasping any nearby objects that could stabilize them.

"One, two, three! Recoil!"

"Fire Blast - Rapid Propulsion!"

"Lightning Explosion!"

"Flame Jet - Maximum Power!"

"Five Thousand Tiles Straight Punch - Water Dragon Thrust!"

boom!

Everyone unleashed their remaining Haki, Devil Fruit abilities, and firepower simultaneously into the air behind them. The combined reaction forces from these multiple forces allowed Leona to maintain the rock's weightless state.

Flames, lightning, mechanical jets, and the thrust of water erupted in the same direction. Any single force alone would be insufficient to move such a massive rock, but their convergence created a recoil powerful enough to accelerate the entire island. The weightless rock layers did not immediately plummet; instead, they accelerated further under this thrust.

The isolated island carrying the entire Eclipse Pirates was propelled forward, rapidly surpassing the sound barrier. It left a white trail in the air, speeding towards the distant horizon, and in the blink of an eye, it was far removed from the Vermeeryu airspace.

A dozen seconds later, black and red flashes of light lit up inside the rocky celestial body that enveloped Garp.

Snap—Boom!

Black and red lightning first emanated from the cracks on the star's surface, then the cracks pierced through the outer rock. Instead of retreating along the original passage, the internal Garp smashed through all the surrounding rock layers with his fists. The seal maintained by the Myriad Planetary Burial system failed, and the structure formed by dozens of islands collapsed simultaneously.

The iron fist pierced through the rock layers from the inside out, and the entire planet pieced together from islands exploded on the spot. The debris turned into a shower of meteors, which fell into the sea below.

Garp stopped amidst the dust using Moonwalk, gazing at the horizon. The isolated island that had carried the Eclipse Pirates on their escape had shrunk to a mere black dot.

He didn't chase after them.

On one hand, he was too lazy to chase them, and on the other hand, the two sides had already created some distance between them. If Garp really wanted to keep them all here, he would have to use his true killing move, but that was not the original purpose of this "education of love".

"Phew... These young people these days have more and more ways to escape than ever before."

Karp picked his nose, but the smile remained on his face.

"That brat Ace, the companions he brought are truly a bunch of formidable monsters. The seas are going to be quite a sight from now on!"

He turned around and walked towards the dog-headed warship on the distant sea using moonwalk techniques.

This sudden battle shattered the young people's original pride and made them see for the first time the heights that top-tier domineering power could reach.

Chapter 134 The Bear's Heart Returns

South China Sea, Kingdom of Trino, Giant Tree Square.

"Bartholomew Kuma, accept my offer. I'll take you to Punk Hazard, have Vegapunk heal your daughter, and I'll handle the trouble with the World Government for you!"

Ace's words echoed throughout the entire square.

Kuma, standing opposite him, trembled slightly. He stared at Ace through his round-framed glasses, and after a moment asked in a hoarse voice, "Why? The World Government's power is far more terrifying than you imagine. Is it worth offending those at the top of the world for a girl who has nothing to do with you?"

He didn't doubt Ace's ability to deliver Bonney to Vegapunk. What he truly couldn't understand was why Ace would take on this task. Bonney had never had any connection with the Eclipse Pirates, while the World Government was a behemoth that no one could easily provoke. Putting these two together, it didn't seem like a worthwhile risk.

Ace walked down the suspended stairs and came right up to him.

"No relation? Once you're on this ship, she's a member of the Eclipse Pirates. She's mine, and the World Government can try to touch a single hair on her head."

He paused here, then continued, "As for offending the World Government, that feud started the moment I crushed those three Celestial Dragons in the Sabaody Archipelago. Anyway, I went to sea to overthrow them, so one more debt doesn't matter."

Hearing these words, Big Bear remained silent for a long time before finally closing his eyes.

As long as his daughter can live in the sunlight again, he wouldn't hesitate to join a pirate crew, or even if it meant being plunged into the deepest hell.

He had watched Bonnie live in a dark, sunless room for far too long. Now that someone had placed the hope of curing his daughter before him, and was even willing to stand in the way of the World Government, he had no reason to refuse.

"I understand."

The bear opened his eyes, tucked the Bible into his robes, then knelt on one knee before Ace, bowing his head. This "tyrant," whom countless kings considered a nightmare, did not hesitate for a moment.

"If Bonnie's illness can be cured, from today onwards, Bartholomew Bear's life is yours, Captain."

……

Half a day later, the Eclipse took off under the watchful eyes of the natives of the Kingdom of Trino.

The entire ancient medical library had been emptied. Ace, along with Chopper, Indigo, and Kuma, headed straight for the Kingdom of Sorbet.

Under Little Eclipse's control, the Eclipse evaded all sight and landed next to an abandoned church on the outskirts of the kingdom.

Big Bear pushed open the heavy wooden door to the basement, and a girl's voice immediately came from inside.

"Dad! Is that you back?!"

Beside a large wooden barrel in the corner, a little girl with long pink hair jumped up. She was only seven and a half years old, but several glaring blue jade scales grew on the edges of her arms and cheeks. If it weren't for these scales, she would have looked like a healthy and mischievous child.

“Bonnie…”

Big Bear quickly stepped forward, hugged his daughter, and his eyes were already red.

Only when he felt his daughter's warmth in his arms did his tense body relax slightly. Bonnie, hiding here, had no idea what her father had gone through during his absence; all she knew was that the person who had promised to find her a doctor had finally returned.

Bonnie snuggled against him and asked impatiently, "Daddy, did you find a doctor this time? I'm going crazy in this dark room! And I'm so hungry!"

Although she was physically tired, her spirits were surprisingly good.

"Found it." Big Bear suppressed the bitterness in his heart and nodded. "Dad found you the best doctor on the sea, and a captain who can protect us and let us live in the sunshine."

Chopper ran to Bonney's side, carefully examining her scales with his hooves, then looked up and said, "Don't worry, Bonney! My name is Chopper, and I will definitely find a way to heal you!"

"A talking reindeer? How cute!"

Bonnie's eyes lit up, and she reached out to pinch Chopper's blue nose.

Since Qingyu Lin couldn't be exposed to sunlight, Da Xiong placed his daughter in a specially made, completely sun-proof wooden box and carried the box aboard the Eclipse.

"Let's go back to the East China Sea."

Ace turned and walked toward the control panel. The thrusters roared from the bottom of the ship, and the Eclipse rose straight up, heading towards the doldrums.

……

A few days later, on the shore of an unnamed deserted island in the East China Sea.

A massive rock, broken off from the Wilmejo Islands, lay askew beside the beach. Enel lay sprawled on the ground, his body wrapped in bandages, his face swollen beyond recognition.

"Ahem, Geno, is the fish ready yet? I'm starving."

Sabo, leaning against a nearby reef, was also bruised and battered, his alloy rod broken in two. Leona, Shaq, Urouge, and the others were in no better shape.

After escaping Garp's attack range, Leona was completely exhausted, and the power of her Float-Float Fruit ceased, causing the rocky island carrying them to crash into the sea. For the next few days, the group was stranded on the deserted island, surviving by catching fish.

Just when everyone was exhausted and hungry, and almost lost hope, a clear notification came from the Message-Message Fruit group chat channel in Karina's mind.

"Oh, looks like you've had a rough time these past few days. That old man practically broke your bones, didn't he?"

As soon as Ace's teasing voice rang out in the channel, the people on the beach jumped up.

"captain?!"

Bucky immediately cried out in the channel, "Captain! You bastard, how dare you laugh! If you weren't here, would we have been beaten like this!"

"Stop talking nonsense and look up at the sky."

The sound of engines pressed down from above the clouds. The next moment, a massive, pure black warship broke through the sea of ​​clouds and came to a stop above the deserted island.

As the ladder descended, Ace, wearing a dark red trench coat, stood at the edge of the deck, looking down at his wounded subordinates.

Although they had taken a severe beating, the changes did not escape Ace's notice. After enduring Garp's ultimate Haki crushing blow, the Haki within each of them was much deeper and more restrained than before.

Garp's punches left them no room for trickery. It was precisely because they were directly overwhelmed by that level of Haki that they had the opportunity to see the gap between themselves and top-tier powerhouses. Their physical injuries had not yet healed, but the gains they had made over the past few days had already been retained in their bodies.

Sabo and the others climbed onto the deck one after another, and as soon as they stood still, they noticed a man who looked like a small mountain in the center. He was wearing a black and white bear-ear suit, and there was a blackout wooden box at his feet.

“Tyrant Bear?” Karina, the fox spirit, recognized the face on the bounty poster, and her pupils contracted.

“Don’t be nervous, he’s one of us from today onwards.” Ace walked up to the group and introduced, “Bartholomew Kuma, former Revolutionary Army officer. The box contains his daughter Bonnie, who suffers from a terminal illness and cannot be exposed to light.”

Ace recounted the situation and what had happened, and after everyone listened, their gazes toward the wooden box changed.

The wariness they had felt earlier because of the bear's identity quickly dissipated. Inside the box wasn't an enemy they needed to guard against, but a seven-year-old girl suffering from a terminal illness who couldn't even be exposed to sunlight.

“Jenno,” Ace turned to the mechanic, “immediately convert a special cabin inside the ship into one where natural light cannot reach, and install the best ventilation system.”

"Leave it to me, Captain!"