Pirates: Your emperor has returned!

He couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"

Upon hearing this, Crocdale raised an eyebrow, quite pleased with Dalton's reaction.

The strange feeling brought about by that notebook is something Crocodile has not fully recovered from to this day.

But now his mood has clearly improved a lot.

Sure enough, being with Ryan Rowan feels like being with an abyss, constantly being stared at by that bottomless darkness, it's exhausting!

It's much more pleasant to be around a simple and kind person like Dalton!

It's simple, direct, and even reminds Crocodile that he himself is, in fact, an ambitious man.

Thinking of this, Crocodile gestured with his chin toward Dalton and smiled:

"Hehehe, can't you tell?"

"The world government is conducting 'military exercises'!"

[41. Chapter Forty-One: Snowstorm at the Foot of the Mountain]

Snowfield foothills.

got windy.

It's windy!

The snowflakes on the ground were swept up by the wind and blown into the air, drawing visible curves in the sky.

Snow Tornado —

That was an unusual weather phenomenon that should never have occurred on Drum Island; it was not formed naturally, but was caused by human intervention!

The swirling snowflakes obscured the view.

Suddenly, a piercing metallic clang echoed through the foothills.

Ding!

That was the sound produced by the collision of Armament Haki.

The dark metallic sheen clung to the gun and ankle as they collided, scattering several conspicuous sparks.

boom!

The aftershocks were so powerful that the piles of snow on the ground seemed to have been hit by a cannonball, bursting into the sky and forming a "snow waterfall" in the wind and snow.

shuh...

Two figures emerged from the left and right sides of the snow waterfall, their four legs leaving two parallel tire tracks on the ground.

After a few breaths, the two combatants regained their footing, their gazes piercing through the falling snowflakes as they looked up at each other.

A person, dressed in light golden armor, holding a black scepter shaped like a spear;

Ryan Rowan stands on the snowfield!

The other person was wearing a white suit, a mask, and a long robe for warmth.

He was one of the combatants from the CP0 organization!

At this moment, he is standing on tiptoe, gently moving his swollen and painful ankle.

very heavy!

The eyes behind the mask were fixed on Rowan.

This guy's attack was a bit too heavy!

Not far behind the masked man lay the CP9 combatant who had been shot into the ground by Rowan for trying to strike first.

It fell headfirst to the ground, utterly dead.

The combatant had clearly used iron blocks for defense, but he couldn't stop the swing of that Armament Haki spear at all.

If it weren't for the thick layer of snow and the iron block that mitigated most of the force, it would probably have been smashed to pieces on the spot!

The masked monster stomped his foot, then twisted his shoulders, making a series of crackling sounds.

He murmured, "Ryan Rowan, you're strong."

Rowan scratched his head. "Well... thank you for the compliment?"

"But the advantage lies with me."

The masked man placed his hands behind his back and drew two gleaming curved blades from beneath his robe.

Unlike common swords, the masked monster's knife is short and curved, with two special rings on the hilt.

"Special weapons?"

Rowan raised an eyebrow and grinned, "Interesting, looks like it'll be quick."

The masked man nodded, the tip of his knife pointing downwards, and slowly walked over.

"It is indeed very fast."

"How fast?"

Swish!

Before Rowan could finish speaking, the masked man suddenly strode forward and, like a ghost, instantly closed in on Rowan's body.

Sixth move, shave!

click!

The moment the blades fell, Rowan used his spear to block the two sharp blades in front of him with one hand.

Crackling sound...

The blade and the gun barrel were locked in a stalemate, producing a series of teeth-grinding scraping sounds.

Rowan shook his head, looking somewhat disappointed. "It's alright, how about we hurry up?"

The masked man snorted coldly, twisted his body, and his two blades fell towards Rowan like a gust of wind!

shhhhhhhhh...

Rowan held the gun in one hand, blocking left and right while slowly retreating, thus stopping every attack from the opponent.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding...

The ear-piercing sounds of collisions echoed through the foothills.

Interspersed among them was Rowan's voice.

"Not fast enough, not fast enough!"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry up!"

"Faster! Faster!"

The speed at which the blade and the gun clashed was so fast that it was almost impossible to see with the naked eye!

Enraged by Rowan's words, CP0's veins bulged on his arms as he increased the speed of his sword swings to the extreme.

Snowflakes drifted all around, and although it was a bright sunny day, it seemed as if a blizzard had risen from the ground.

Around the foot of the mountain, the men in black suits standing at the edge of the surrounding dense forest couldn't help but swallow hard.

They were all combatants temporarily transferred from CP9.

Unlike the small number of official agents, their responsibility as combatants is solely to obey orders and eliminate the enemy; they are a combat group without any superfluous functions.

Their mission was to accompany three members of the CP0 organization to secretly arrest Ryan Rowan of the Golden Dawn.

During the voyage, one of the CP0 members bluntly stated that the CP9 members were a complete burden for this mission, at best serving as tools to help move "cargo".

The proud and arrogant members of CP9 were naturally unwilling to accept this, which led to the scene where they took the initiative to attack at the beginning.

Now, they finally understood what the CP0 had said.

This battle, which is taking place in the foothills, has far exceeded the level at which they can intervene.

Both of them are ridiculously strong!

They wanted to help, but found they couldn't even find an opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

Left with no other option, the CP9 group had to remain inactive to ensure that what was happening in the foothills would not be discovered by outsiders.

……

A moment later, one of the CP9 combatants noticed movement in the bushes not far away.

He secretly went around to the side and found two people lying among them.

One of them was an older man, wearing a worn-out suit and a tall hat. His hair was piled high on the sides and back, making his hairstyle very eye-catching.

The other one was an old woman with a hooked nose, but she was very tall and wore a dark purple tracksuit with a large pair of sunglasses on her forehead.

If Rowan were there, he would have recognized them at a glance.

These two are the doctors who will have a deep connection with Tony Tony Chopper in the future:

Hiluluk, once a notorious thief, is now a quack doctor who values ​​life over money.

And Dr. Kureha, a doctor with superb medical skills, a sharp tongue but a kind heart, and an actual age of over one hundred years.

At this time, Chopper was only a few years old, had not yet eaten the Human-Human Fruit, and was still the blue-nosed reindeer who was bullied by the deer herd.

Meanwhile, Hiruluk and Kureha remained the same two underground doctors who defied Wapol's discipline and were constantly being chased around by the Drum Kingdom's garrison.

They were now lying prone in the bushes, looking tense, clearly wanting to escape but afraid of being discovered by others.

Unfortunately, despite their best efforts to hide, they were still discovered by CP9, who were responsible for guarding the surrounding area.

The CP9 member extended one finger from each of his left and right hands, ready to unleash his Six-Type Finger Pistol.

What was about to happen in the foothills had to be kept secret, so the CP9 member decided to kill him to silence him.

When he came up behind Hiruluk and Kureha, the two finally noticed his presence.

Hiluluk tried to run with Kureha, but it was too late. She could only watch as the other party approached step by step.

CP9 fired two finger guns simultaneously, aiming for the throats of the two doctors!

Swish!