Chapter 111: The Purpose of the Sacrificial Fruit (Please Subscribe, Recommend, and Vote)

Vivi, who had been following Abyss closely, asked curiously, “Abyss, what did Lord Dragon tell you? Is this the so-called Dragon’s Lair?”

Abyss nodded through tears, “Lord Dragon said his life has come to an end. Even the Dragon’s Lair cannot restore him. This is the Lost Island, where the Dragon’s Lair is located. It surfaces only once every thousand years. At that time, millennium-old dragons from all over the world come here to reproduce!”

Vivi sighed in awe, “I never imagined such a magical place existed in this sea. Abyss, don’t be sad. Since Lord Dragon has returned to his homeland as he wished, it means his heart’s desire has been fulfilled.”

Abyss bit her lip, still sobbing, “But what about the Navy? What if they try to destroy this place...?”

Before she could finish, Vivi reassured her, “Don’t worry, Captain Buffon won’t let that happen.”

Witnessing this, a few Navy soldiers with ill intentions began whispering among themselves, “Should we take a dragon egg back to the Celestial Dragons...?”

Before they could speak further, they stealthily approached one of the dragon eggs.

But just as they were about to make their move, a millennium dragon stretched its massive head towards them, releasing a powerful, resonant dragon roar.

The roar plunged the scene into chaos.

The millennium dragons began attacking the Navy soldiers, while the dying Lord Dragon weakly emitted a few faint roars.

“He’s telling his companions that we are his friends, so they shouldn’t harm us,” Abyss explained to Vivi.

“Then, ask Lord Dragon if he has any unfinished wishes,” Vivi said gently as she crouched down, stroking Abyss’s hat.

Observing the turmoil, the ambiguous admiral Kizaru hesitated. Faced with thousands of millennium dragons, if he unleashed his full power, then...

At that moment, he recalled the little girl Nelson mentioned—one with strange abilities.

“If I could use her power...”

With that thought, his body dissolved into specks of light and vanished.

Meanwhile, Buffon had approached Abyss from behind. Looking at Lord Dragon’s wounds, he comforted her, “Abyss, you must believe this millennium dragon will continue to live in another form.”

At those words, Abyss stopped crying instantly. Wiping her tears, she looked at Buffon with hope. “Captain Buffon, do you have a way?”

Buffon nodded and knelt down, beginning to stitch the dragon’s wounds.

When the final stitch was done, Lord Dragon closed his eyes and ceased breathing. The voice that had echoed in Abyss’s heart moments ago also abruptly stopped.

Without pause, Buffon switched to the state of the Sacrificial Fruit, conjured a candle, lit it, and placed it before Lord Dragon’s body.

Moments later, a shocking scene unfolded.

Even Kizaru, who had just appeared, stared in disbelief. Under the candlelight’s glow, a phantom identical to Lord Dragon slowly rose from the corpse.

Once fully detached, the phantom knelt in a humanoid manner and nodded at Buffon before approaching the nearest dragon egg.

It circled the egg once and then rested its head upon it.

Then, as if drawn by some special force, the dragon egg instantly absorbed the phantom.

“Is this the soul of the millennium dragon after death? Has Lord Dragon now been reborn?” Abyss asked excitedly.

Buffon nodded without speaking.

Soon after, cracks appeared on the dragon egg’s surface. Not long after, a millennium dragon hatchling broke free!

Seeing the small, bald, pink-skinned creature, Lili swallowed hard involuntarily.

Abyss, noticing the hatchling was slightly larger than herself, immediately ran over.

After listening to the hatchling’s babbling, Abyss said joyfully, “It really is Lord Dragon! It said it wants to follow Captain Buffon from now on!”

Hearing this, Buffon secretly rejoiced. He hadn’t yet decided how to coax Abyss onto the ship, but now he had a perfect excuse.

Just then, two female voices called out from different directions.

“Buffon! Let’s see where you run this time!”

“Kizaru, is this your ambiguous sense of justice?”

Buffon and Kizaru turned their heads toward the voices.

At the island’s edge stood Yukihide, dressed in white.

On the other side was a woman wearing a red top hat with a long tail tassel. She had short purple hair, sunglasses, a red sleeveless vest over a long-sleeved shirt, a red necktie, leather gloves, a long tailcoat skirt, and red boots. A cigarette hung from her lips, and a large red flag fluttered in her hand.

“They came fast. Looks like we’re in for another big fight,” Buffon thought.

Kizaru, watching the figure, muttered uneasily, “Why did Betty get dragged into this too? Seems like trouble...”

Elsewhere on the island, Navy soldiers, dwarfed by the massive claws of the millennium dragons, had no chance to fight back and were being scattered in all directions.

Weighing the situation, Kizaru unleashed the Eight-Foot Jewelled Magatama, ascending into the air and launching an indiscriminate attack on all the millennium dragons.

Instantly, whether hit by the light blasts or not, the dragons turned their attention to Kizaru, flying fiercely toward him.

Kizaru commanded, “All soldiers, board the new warship quickly! Retreat immediately!”

He believed that with Kikan Hanehime’s arrival, together they could capture Buffon. Once the Navy soldiers evacuated the island, he could attack without hesitation.

As for Betty, Kizaru was unsure of her stance. But even if she tried to intervene, her power would be limited against his general-level strength.

Betty’s ability to inspire was most effective in large battles; one-on-one combat between high-level fighters was another matter.

Meanwhile, Yukihide had unleashed the Sixth Style: Razor, dashing toward Buffon. Before they clashed, Baggio intercepted her.

“Woman, that slash that wounded me before, I’m going to make you pay for it today.”

Seeing Baggio’s Senbonzakura sword, Yukihide’s fury ignited. Red cherry blossom petals swirled around her fist as she launched a merciless attack.

“Defeated loser, do you think having my sword means you can beat me? First, I’ll take back Senbonzakura, then deal with that shameless Buffon!”

Upon hearing “shameless,” Vivi grew curious. “Captain Buffon, how did you offend her back in Alabasta?”

Buffon shook his head, not answering Vivi’s question. Instead, he turned to Abyss. “Abyss, if this millennium dragon is going with us, would you want to sail with us too?”

Clever Vivi chimed in, “Yes, Abyss. This dragon is still a hatchling. Only you can communicate with it. Don’t you want to grow alongside it?”

Faced with the invitation, Abyss lowered her head, her fingers entwining as she hesitated.

She had no parents on the warship island and had lived with the village elder. Going to sea with Buffon and the others would be a good choice.

But she was only eight. The Juventus crew seemed harmless for now, but they were still pirates...

“Don’t worry, Abyss,” Lili said. “I’m only thirteen. Captain Buffon isn’t the kind of pirate who burns and pillages everywhere. We’ll protect you.”

Abyss suddenly asked, “Lili, was that bubble-masked person who appeared on your ship a Celestial Dragon?”

Lili was stunned by the unexpected question.

Before she could answer, Vivi interjected, “Did you have any unpleasant experiences with the Celestial Dragons?”

The night before, while resting on the warship island, the Juventus crew learned Abyss was orphaned. Vivi suspected the truth might involve the Celestial Dragons.

“My parents were taken by the Celestial Dragons,” Abyss said.

Hearing this, Vivi whispered softly in her ear.

Abyss’s expression shifted from surprise to determination. She nodded firmly, “Then we’re willing to sail with you and help fight the Celestial Dragons.”

Buffon silently praised, “With Vivi and Reiko, I can leave these matters to them.”

At that moment, Betty appeared beside them. After sizing up Buffon, she asked, “Why is Kizaru chasing you?”

Knowing her identity, Buffon answered without reservation, “I killed a Celestial Dragon!”

“Is that so? Heh. Would you like to join our Revolutionary Army?”

This was the third time Buffon had been invited to join the revolution.

Considering Betty’s fruit abilities and future events, Buffon countered with an invitation, “Your General and Vice General are in the Sabaody Archipelago. We’re headed there next. Want to come along?”

Betty’s suspicion faded instantly upon hearing this. The Sabaody Archipelago housed those who had escaped the Marineford prison through tunnels dug during the Mori breakout—a rare success the Navy never admitted to.

“Good. To thank you for the information, leave Kizaru to me!”

Waving her flag, Betty charged toward Kizaru.

Buffon didn’t know how Betty planned to handle Kizaru, but based on his understanding and past speculations, he believed it would be fine.

“Abyss, use your ability to communicate with the millennium dragons. Tell them to stop attacking the Navy admiral. His target isn’t the dragons but me!”

“Understood, Captain Buffon!”

Abyss seemed to quickly adapt to her role. After agreeing briskly, she jumped onto Lili’s shoulder.

Lili warned her to be careful, then began to enlarge her body infinitely so Abyss could reach a distance suitable for telepathic communication with the dragons.

Meanwhile, the battle between Baggio and Yukihide neared its conclusion. Though Yukihide was a general-level fighter, Baggio’s Senbonzakura gave him some advantage, but the gap was still significant.

Buffon flashed forward, executing the Goalkeeper’s Secret Technique: crushing Yukihide’s pink fist with one hand. Then he said to the attacking Baggio, “Go find Labu and get ready to leave! With two general-level fighters here, I can’t protect everyone.”

Baggio reluctantly nodded and quickly turned away. Without Buffon’s presence, the others couldn’t escape.

Seeing her treasured sword about to be taken away again, Yukihide summoned her strength and delivered a fierce whirlwind kick aimed at Buffon’s waist.

Having fought her twice, Buffon knew her power well. He didn’t dare absorb the kick directly. Instead, he released her fist, vanished, and appeared behind Baggio.

His intention was clear: prevent Yukihide from taking Senbonzakura.

“Do you think without Senbonzakura, I’m powerless?” Yukihide said, picking up a random fallen sword from the battlefield as she advanced on Buffon.

Cherry blossom petals swirled around the blade again.

Buffon had thought this technique required Senbonzakura, but now he realized he had underestimated this general-level swordswoman.

However, since Buffon had defeated her twice before, he believed he could do it a third time. Without Senbonzakura, her strength was surely diminished.

Moreover, Isao was nearby, a fact Buffon intended to use.

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