The pinnacle of pirates begins with deceiving fate!

Are Devil Fruits really that amazing?

"Of course, and judging from its appearance, it should be an extremely rare Zoan-type Mythical Beast!"

Dorrag walked over to Vincent and looked up at the sky with him, his eyes filled with worry.

If even one priest is this difficult to deal with, how are they going to handle the monsters that follow?

Chapter 68 Bird-Bird Fruit, Mythical Zoan Type: Yatagarasu Form

On the deck of the dog-headed warship

John stood atop the dog-headed bow, his silver hair ruffled by the sea breeze, and looked at Karp beside him with curiosity, asking:

"Karp, what kind of monster in the Kingdom of Felose is causing you such concern?"

"There is a guy there who, like the Celestial Dragons, calls himself a god."

Garp spoke slowly, his face grave and his voice hoarse.

"The common people there did not pay taxes to the king, but rather each village offered one hundred tribute items per month,"

"The offering is... a newborn baby."

As he said this, Garp clenched his fists so tightly they cracked.

John frowned, astonished. "One hundred babies per village per month? What does King Feloser need so many babies for?"

"do not know."

Karp shook his head.

"They might have been sold to slave traders, or they might have been..."

Karp didn't say what he was going to say next, but John guessed what he meant from Karp's extremely ugly expression.

"And what about that guy who calls himself a god? What is he anyway?"

"The user of the Zoan-type Bird-Bird Fruit, Mythical Zoan type, Yatagarasu form, is a monster that is very difficult to kill."

Garp's eyes were clouded, as if he were lost in memories of the past.

John's eyes also lit up as information related to "Yatagaraja" flashed through his mind.

Yatagarasu is a three-legged divine bird in the mythology of the country next to his hometown. It is regarded as the messenger of the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami and is also one of the symbols of the sun. It is the manager of the deceased, guides, loyalty, courage and the boundary between life and death.

Its image is that of a black-feathered three-legged raven, and it is often associated with the "Yata no Kagami" (Eight-Span Mirror), one of the Three Sacred Treasures.

Compared to Nika, Yatagarasu is more like a true sun god!

"Can you defeat this Yatagarasu user?" John asked the question that concerned him most.

Garp sighed, "I met him when I was still serving in the East Blue, chasing pirates into the Kingdom of Ferose."

"Back then... I was no match for them."

"Stop the ship! I want to disembark!"

John turned around decisively and gave instructions to the helmsman on the deck.

Karp suddenly reached out and grabbed John's shoulder, his fighting spirit evident as he said:

"But now, I have confidence!"

In fact, he had wanted to get revenge ever since then, but as a high-ranking officer in the navy, he faced many restrictions and had to give up.

Even though the Kingdom of Felose is a "non-World Government member state", the navy must not engage in conflict with it at will for the sake of peace on the seas.

But after witnessing the true dark side of the World Government following the God Valley incident, he no longer wanted to concern himself with such matters.

If you don't like someone, just hit them!

"Don't even try!"

John swung his arm, slapping the hand off his shoulder, and glanced at Karp with disdain.

"You're so confident, yet you look so serious. You must have had a really tough time escaping back then, right? That monster must have been terrifying!"

"None of this concerns me, I want to get off the ship!"

John's desire to disembark was no joke. Right now, he just needed to steadily earn money to support Begabank's research; there was no need for him to take any risks.

If you accidentally end up in the Kingdom of Felose because of a moment of curiosity, you'll have nowhere to turn and no one to blame but yourself.

"Damn it! You're a Marine! How dare you back down here!"

Karp gripped John's shoulders tightly and said something that surprised even himself.

'How did I become like someone from the Warring States period?'

He recalled how the Warring States period had looked at him, and it was exactly the same as how he looked now.

John was Dragon's savior, and he couldn't possibly fight back with his fists. Wasn't he also helpless and furious in his impotence?

"Nonsense! How could this be considered retreating? I am a most dutiful naval lieutenant commander! Without orders from headquarters, of course I would not trespass into another country's territory."

"I am acting in the Navy's best interests!"

When it comes to witty banter, a hundred Garp wouldn't be a match for John. Garp realized this and immediately resorted to shamelessness.

"Now that you're on my warship, you should obey my orders! I'm a vice admiral!"

He had to keep a close eye on John to prevent the guy from running away and reporting him to headquarters.

If Sengoku finds out about this, he could bypass him and call the marines below to order them to stop the operation, and then he won't be able to do anything.

"I don't care if you're a general or not, I want to get off the ship!!!"

"No! You have to come with me!"

"..."

Late night

Napa Village

A bonfire was lit in the open space in front of the shrine, adding a touch of warmth to the strange and desolate space.

Dorrag and the others sat around the campfire, their faces drooping and their heads hanging low, showing no joy whatsoever from their initial victory.

"What's wrong with these people here? We offered them guns and asked them to join our uprising, but they refused and even tried to drive us out!"

"What's the point of all the guns we brought if the villagers don't join us in the uprising?"

"We've done nothing and lost three comrades. What are we going to do now? With just our numbers, we can't do anything!"

The complaints and worries from their companions struck Dragon and Vincent like heavy blows, making their expressions grow increasingly somber.

The two men couldn't understand why, despite the villagers being oppressed to such an extent, they showed no intention of resisting.

It's like a dog whose spine has been broken!

"Are we just going to let those three comrades sacrifice themselves in vain?"

Dorrag felt increasingly guilty and remorseful, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms.

If he hadn't dodged the flying slash, his three companions standing behind him wouldn't have been seriously injured and killed.

"I was wrong."

Vincent suddenly stood up, and facing the questioning gazes of the crowd, Lang Lang spoke.

“Before this, I thought that as long as we put guns in the hands of the oppressed, they would fight back with us.”

"But now I understand that not everyone is aware of this; they would rather live a miserable life than die a glorious death."

"Since the villagers here aren't suitable, let's move on to the next one, and if that doesn't work, we'll move on to the one after that."

"I believe that we will definitely find indomitable people, and we will definitely be able to make the flowers of freedom bloom on this desolate land!"

Vincent's words inspired the dejected crowd, who regained their confidence.

"Yes! We must persevere no matter what, and we absolutely cannot let the sacrifice of those three comrades be in vain!"

But at that moment, the pitch-black night sky suddenly brightened.

It was a very eerie brightness, not the normal blue sky and white clouds of sunrise, but black.

The darkness illuminated the night sky.

Although it was still pitch black, it appeared to the eye that the sky was illuminated.

The waning crescent moon disappeared, replaced by a pitch-black sun, bringing not vitality, but endless desolation.

In that instant, the Kingdom of Felose seemed to transform into a realm of the dead.

Chapter 69: Carry on with our will!

"Wow!"

Within the black sun, a three-legged crow spreads its wings and cries out, its voice so loud it pierces through metal and splits stone, causing eardrums to ache and eyes to become dizzy.

For no apparent reason, a strong sense of unease and fear enveloped Dorrag and the others, making their hair stand on end.

"withdraw!"

Without any hesitation, Vincent decisively called everyone to run towards the coastline outside the village.

Now that they know he's a Devil Fruit user, they all jump into the sea!

"Wow!"

Another high-pitched cry resounded through the sky, and flames burst forth from the black sun, which replaced the moon and hung high in the sky, pouring down on the group of people fleeing to the ground.

Immediately, five unfortunate souls were engulfed by the black flames that rained down from the sky, their skin torn and bleeding as they rolled on the ground, emitting a series of extremely shrill screams.

Dorag and Vincent, who were responsible for bringing up the rear, quickly took off their dark green cloaks and frantically swung them at their fire companions in an attempt to extinguish the flames.

However, the eerie black flames, like maggots clinging to a bone, not only failed to be extinguished by swatting, but also ignited the cloak the moment they touched it.

Terrified, Drag and Vincent quickly threw off their cloaks and could only stand helplessly by, watching their companion burn.

Vincent gritted his teeth so hard they were practically grinding to powder. After racking his brains, he suddenly had an idea and quickly started to unbuckle his belt.

"Quick! Use your urine!"