Pirates: Your emperor has returned!

Seeing this, Hiruluk and Kureha wanted to politely agree, but they couldn't say anything.

After all, they had never seen—or even heard of—such a person.

While engaged in such a fierce battle, he was still able to concentrate on condensing sand soldiers and, through the perception of his domineering aura, communicate with others almost without any obstacles except for dialogue!

But Hiruluk and Kureha couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

In short, it's great that Ryan Rowan isn't a tyrant who kills everyone he sees!

Now all we need to do is wait for this symbolic battle to end, and the Drum Kingdom will return to peace, and may even gain a new fixed route to Alabasta.

This couldn't be better for the inhabitants of the Drum Kingdom.

However, the "peace" that Hiruluk and Kureha had hoped for did not come.

From a distance at the foot of the mountain, a thunderous roar could be heard.

The two looked at each other and froze in place.

As residents of Winter Island, they naturally understood all too well what that muffled thud meant—

avalanche.

An extremely violent and massive avalanche!

The question is, why would an avalanche occur in such terrain?

Did someone detonate explosives above the foot of the mountain?!

The two doctors simply couldn't understand it.

And that should be the case, because there is only one person on this vast ocean who can explain the underlying principles.

Vegapunk once explained his newly designed weapon to his superiors in this way:

The power of Logia-type Devil Fruits is concentrated using special equipment and then unleashed when needed.

Each prototype can only use one disposable ammunition, and one disposable ammunition is equivalent to a full-force attack from a Logia-type Devil Fruit user!

However, producing ammunition requires Logia-type Devil Fruit users to completely obey commands and charge the ammunition, so it is necessary to find Logia-type users who are completely willing to do so.

Since it was a new weapon developed and produced in secret, the Navy couldn't touch the people in the open, so the World Government could only recruit people in the underground world.

Fortunately, they found a volunteer who, without knowing the machine's functions, completed the production of the only ammunition.

What surprised the World Government even more was that the volunteer's abilities were relatively "stable," not as violent as lava, nor as difficult to capture as lasers, making him very suitable for the prototype's first experiment.

Its name is—Nature Type, Snow Fruit.

[44. Chapter Forty-Four: Unpleasant Memories]

Rumble rumble rumble...

A sound like muffled thunder came from above the foot of the mountain.

An avalanche is imminent!

Hilulu grabbed Kureha and said urgently, "Hey, let's go! It's too dangerous to stay here any longer!"

Unlike Devil Fruit users or World Government experts, they were just doctors, mortals, and would only die if they were caught in an avalanche.

But Kureha shook her head, sat calmly on the gravel chair, and crossed her arms.

"Run? Why run?"

Hiluluk was stunned. "Run for your life!"

Can they escape?

Kureha gestured with her chin toward the direction of the sound. "That wasn't just any ordinary avalanche!"

Hiluluk looked in that direction and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Hey, hey, hey! You...you're kidding, right!"

In the distance, a huge white torrent rushed out from the hillside.

It was a giant wave made of snowflakes, soil, rocks, and trees, pouring down along the mountainside toward where everyone was!

In the previous situation, Hiruluk also gave up the idea of ​​escaping, because there was simply no time.

After all, it is a winter island with many mountains, and avalanches are not uncommon in the Drum Kingdom.

But Hiruluk had never seen such a violent and unusual avalanche, as if a giant had taken a huge bucket of ice and snow and poured it down on them from the foot of the mountain!

"This is definitely not a naturally occurring avalanche, or even an avalanche."

Hiluluk sat down like Kureha and said in a deep voice, "Was it done by those guys from the World Government?"

Kureha glanced at Hiruluk, took out her flask, and gulped down a few mouthfuls. "Is there any doubt? You quack..."

"Ha ha!"

Hiluluk was used to being lectured, so he didn't care about Kureha's way of addressing him. Instead, he grinned and said, "Just checking!"

Now that things have progressed this far, Hiruluk is actually feeling much more relaxed.

After all, both he and Kureha knew that whether they could survive these avalanches depended on the gravel soldier in front of them—namely, Ryan Rowan.

Having experienced so much in their lives, they are now able to face everything before them with equanimity.

"Speaking of which..."

Hiluluk couldn't help but exclaim, "The World Government is really going overboard!"

That's because the people they're dealing with this time are even more outrageous.

Kureha took a few more sips of wine and felt much warmer.

With her extensive experience, she discerned the World Government's intentions after a brief observation.

They wanted to exert some military pressure on Ryan Rowan in order to force a brief and fragile "peace" between the two sides.

To do that, one must demonstrate "force" commensurate with Ryan Rowan.

This unusual avalanche was caused by this!

"In short, it's great that there won't be a devastating battle on Drum Island. We ordinary people can't withstand that."

Despite her sharp tongue, Kureha is quite concerned about the residents of Drum Island.

"It should be over soon."

She looked up at the gravel soldier, Rowan, and asked with a smile:

"After all, it's just a pastime, right?"

But Kureha was met with silence.

The gravel soldiers did not raise their signs, but remained there quietly, their bodies made of gravel emanating a chilling aura.

Kureha sensed something was wrong, her smile froze, and she asked again:

"It's just a pastime, right?"

"..."

The gravel soldier was silent for a moment, then raised the sign in his hand.

It reads:

"As expected of the world government."

"Always finds a way to evoke unpleasant memories in others."

After speaking, the gravel soldier stood up, and together with the exquisite set of tables and chairs, slowly drifted away from the bottom.

Kureha suddenly realized something, grabbed the unresponsive Hiruluk and slammed him to the ground, saying in a deep voice, "Find a low-lying spot and hug the tree roots!"

"What?"

Hiluluk looked bewildered, but still did as instructed.

Kureha looked up into the distance, where the two figures locked in fierce combat had finally stopped.

Rowan stood silently in place, facing the CP0 member and also facing the surging white snow waves.

The surrounding sand and gravel gradually subsided, like the calm before a storm.

Kureha frowned, feeling utterly perplexed.

What exactly did the World Government do to cause the Emperor, who had always been in a state of amusement, to experience a fundamental emotional fluctuation for the first time?

……

The CP0 member who had been fighting Rowan earlier gritted his teeth as he heard the roar coming from behind him.

He pulled out his walkie-talkie and yelled at his two companions, "Hey, what are you doing? I was about to beat him!"

His companion said in a deep voice, "Don't be impulsive, stick to the plan."

"What are you talking about? You're clearly afraid I'll take all the credit!"

CP0 immediately hung up the walkie-talkie and turned to estimate the distance between the avalanche and the battlefield at the foot of the mountain.

Forty seconds... no, at most thirty seconds, and that giant white wave will engulf this place.

still have a chance!

Bloodshot veins appeared deep in CP0's pupils as he gathered all his strength and locked his target on Rowan once again.

Twenty-eight seconds!

In eighteen seconds, I can take the head off that emperor from eight hundred years ago, and my position in the CP0 organization will be unbreakable!

But then, the CP0 officer noticed something amiss.

In the next second, at the twenty-seventh second, Rowan suddenly looked up and said something inexplicable.

"It's so hot..."

"what?"

CP0 paused, letting another second pass.

Rowan smiled and looked up to ask, "Don't you think avalanches and lava are quite similar?"

CP0 is even stranger.