NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 81: Chapter 81
"Maya, Koby, Helmeppo."
"You three, come with me."
"The rest of you, stay clear of this sea zone."
"Alert the nearby islands immediately and initiate emergency evacuation protocols."
After a brief exchange with Vice Admiral Garp, Bai Yu issued swift and decisive orders to the assembled Marines.
The Golden Lion was entrenched on a high-altitude floating island—an environment unsuitable for mass deployment. Bai Yu couldn't afford to take all the Marine troops into aerial combat.
Instead, he instructed the remaining soldiers to spread the word and assist neighboring islands in preparing for a potential aerial onslaught.
"Are you afraid?"
Once orders were given, Bai Yu turned to the trio beside him, his tone calm yet commanding.
He smiled faintly as he asked.
"Not at all!"
"I believe in Brigadier General Bai Yu! He'll definitely defeat the Golden Lion!"
"Yeah! We're ready!"
Maya, Koby, and Helmeppo all responded confidently, their faces reflecting unwavering trust.
Bai Yu's smile deepened.
"Good. Let's move."
He glanced at Helmeppo.
Roar!
Helmeppo nodded and activated his Zoan-type Devil Fruit ability—Ancient Zoan: Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Pteranodon.
In an instant, his body transformed into a massive prehistoric pterosaur, his wings flaring outward with powerful force.
His mastery over the fruit had visibly improved—movements now fluid, transformations near-instantaneous.
"Let's go."
Wrapping one arm around Maya's slender waist, Bai Yu leapt onto Helmeppo's broad back.
Koby followed, springing up behind them.
Whooosh!
With an earth-shaking beat of his wings, the pterosaur launched into the sky.
Riding the wind, they soared toward the cluster of floating islands visible in the distance—Merveille, the sky fortress claimed by the Golden Lion.
"Kenbunshoku Haki—activate!"
Vmmm!
As they reached the skies near the floating islands, Bai Yu expanded his Observation Haki.
Given the sprawling expanse of the sky archipelago, manually searching each island would be endless.
Instead, Bai Yu released wide-area pulses of Kenbunshoku, casting waves of spiritual awareness outward like concentric ripples.
Whummm! Whummm!
In seconds, his Haki returned feedback.
"There!"
Bai Yu pointed southwest at a large floating island.
"I'm picking up a human presence—could be a sentry or someone from the Golden Lion's forces."
"Understood!"
Helmeppo responded with a deep screech and redirected his flight.
Boom!
As they neared the island, the ground began to tremble.
A massive boulder ripped free from the island and hurtled into the air, carried by a violent gust of wind toward their position.
"Brigadier General Bai Yu!"
Helmeppo flapped hard to stabilize their flight and turned for orders.
"Keep flying."
Without hesitation, Bai Yu stepped to the front of Helmeppo's head, one hand moving slowly to the hilt of his sword—Wushuang Taidao.
Facing the oncoming boulder, Bai Yu narrowed his eyes.
"Seiryu no Zangeki!"
As the boulder entered striking range, Bai Yu unsheathed his blade in one swift, practiced motion.
Shing!
The moment the blade was drawn, a fiery aura burst forth—dark red flames enveloping the sword, shaped like a coiling azure dragon.
With one slash, he cleaved the air in front of him.
Boom!
The slash collided with the boulder midair, erupting into a shockwave.
The rock split cleanly down the middle—each half spiraling past them harmlessly, creating a safe passage for Helmeppo to fly through.
Crisis averted.
Rumble...
But they had no time to rest. The island below quaked again, dislodging multiple boulders into the sky.
Each one rose unnaturally, surrounding the group in a deadly pincer formation.
Bai Yu frowned.
"We can't stay airborne any longer."
"Take us down!"
Roar!
With a shriek, Helmeppo tucked his wings and dove.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
They landed in a jungle clearing just as several massive rocks collided above where they had been flying moments ago, exploding into showers of rubble.
Helmeppo quickly reverted to human form.
Deprived of a target, the floating boulders lost their momentum and drifted down harmlessly.
"What kind of power is that…?" Helmeppo muttered, astonished.
"Telekinetic? No—he's manipulating gravity or inertia somehow…"
"Regular soldiers would've been wiped out before even laying eyes on the Golden Lion."
"Where are we now?" Maya asked, glancing around the dense jungle.
"If I'm not mistaken, this is one of the key islands in the sky archipelago—Merveille."
Bai Yu paused, scanning the surroundings with narrowed eyes.
"In the original records, after escaping Impel Down, Golden Lion stumbled upon this place."
"He discovered a rare plant here—IQ Grass—which, when eaten by animals, dramatically boosts their aggression and strength."
"He's trying to rebuild his pirate empire here."
"He renamed this floating island Strong World—a world ruled only by the strong."
"It's a brutal place. Survival belongs to the fittest."
"Brigadier General Bai Yu, what's our next move?" Koby asked.
"The boulder barrage was likely a test—a remotely controlled attack by Golden Lion."
"Based on the timing and direction, I've narrowed down his location."
"For now, we move."
"Stay sharp. Every creature on this island is unnaturally violent thanks to the IQ plant."
After confirming the direction, Bai Yu led the team deeper into the island jungle.
***
Meanwhile, in the central tower of one of Merveille's highest floating islands—
"Tch. They dodged it."
Golden Lion Shiki sat cross-legged on his stone throne, retracting his arm and the floating boulders he had been manipulating via his Fuwa Fuwa no Mi power.
His expression was sour.
Below him stood his elite lieutenants—Indigo, the mad scientist, and Scarlett, among other movie-original subordinates.
"Captain Shiki!" Indigo stepped forward, flamboyant as ever. "Allow us to handle these intruders. We'll grind them to dust before they even reach the summit."
Shiki's grin slowly returned.
"Do what you want. Just remember—this is my sky."
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