hotmtlnovel Page 37
Page 37
Another line of ancient text appeared in the blood moon.
"Living wings cover the eyes of the heavens, true blood opens the door to eternal life."
"True blood? You must be referring to bat blood."
Blake stroked his chin, looked at the groove that had appeared on the altar, and gave the order:
"Try pressing the wings of those giant bats into the grooves."
As the wingtips of the thirteen bats were secured, their blood flowed along the grooves in the recesses, gradually drawing intricate patterns in the center of the altar.
The original text was also changed accordingly.
"With the might of a king, break the curse of eternal slumber."
"The might of a king?"
As he spoke, Black's Conqueror's Haki suddenly erupted.
The Conqueror's Haki, now under precise control, crashed steadily into the altar without affecting Robin and the others nearby.
When Conqueror's Haki landed on the altar, glowing patterns began to appear on the temple.
As the light faded, the stone slab in the center of the altar slowly opened.
A dark red fruit shaped like a bat floated in the blood-red mist, its surface covered with mysterious spiral patterns.
It was here that Barolok Redfield obtained the Zoan-type Mythical Zoan-type Bat-Bat Fruit in Vampire form.
"Be careful, Your Highness!"
Just then, Stella suddenly lunged forward and shielded Blake's back with her body.
Chapter 50 The New Era of the Navy
Black's Observation Haki has reached the level of being able to foresee the future.
Although it's not usually turned on, how can we not be more vigilant in this environment where traps and mechanisms could appear out of nowhere?
Blake had already seen what these people were doing, but he didn't take it to heart at all.
He gently pulled Stella into his arms, then turned and instantly dodged the poisoned arrow that was about to strike.
Blake turned his head and looked towards the doorway:
"So that's why you guys were so quiet before. Turns out you were just like me, sneaky old men, thinking of getting a bargain."
Outside the temple, almost all the residents of Sleeping Town appeared, looking at Blake and his group with hostile expressions.
"This is a gift from the Bat God who has guarded Eternal Sleep Island for generations. You outsiders, put it down immediately!"
An elderly woman, who appeared to be the leader, stepped forward with a cane, and the townspeople behind her raised their weapons.
Blake scoffed:
"Since it is a gift from your God, why didn't you take it out sooner?"
"Isn't it simply because they can't find anyone who can read ancient texts?"
"I'm always the one taking advantage of others, and you ignorant fools actually want to take advantage of me?"
Before he finished speaking, a surge of Conqueror's Haki, mixed with ghostly energy, erupted.
Almost instantly, the residents of Sleeping Ancient Town collapsed to the ground.
Blake waved his hand somewhat boredly and gave Mandy an order:
"Get rid of them."
While Black's personality wasn't as brutal as other Celestial Dragons, he wasn't so docile as to let go of anyone who wanted to attack him.
Furthermore, information about Eternal Sleep Island is not well-kept; even CP knows how to enter.
If these people are allowed to continue living on the island, the information that Black obtained the vampire fruit will be leaked sooner or later.
It would be better to use them to help Mandy build up her courage, so that she won't be afraid to go all out when it comes to a life-or-death battle.
Mandy hesitated for a moment, but in the end she silently stepped forward and pierced the heads of these people one by one.
Stella and Robin frowned slightly and turned their heads to the side.
Kella silently encouraged herself while watching the scene intently.
"I am a combatant! I cannot be afraid!"
Perona's sense of good and evil differs from that of ordinary people, and she doesn't react much to the scene before her.
Rami felt slightly unwell.
But having witnessed many deaths in Frevans, he seemed to adapt fairly well.
After Mandy finished dealing with the situation, Blake waved his hand:
"Treasure in hand! Let's continue our journey!"
Just as the Temple set sail again.
Naval Headquarters, Marinevando.
At dawn, tens of thousands of naval personnel stood in neat rows in the square of Marineford, their uniforms and the banners of justice fluttering in the wind.
Steel Bones smoothed out the last wrinkles in the marshal's cloak and stood on the high platform.
Three steps behind him, the figure of Sengoku, wearing round-framed glasses, stood straight as a javelin.
Garp secretly smeared the food scraps in his hand onto Kuzan's cloak, and then pretended to nudge him:
"Kuzan kid, your cloak is frozen."
"Mr. Garp..."
Kuzan glanced helplessly at the unreliable old man:
"Mr. Garp, your beard is frozen."
With that, he lightly brushed it away, freezing Garp's beard into ice crystals.
Garp patted Kuzan on the shoulder and laughed heartily.
Zefa stood on the other side of the platform with the students from the recruit training camp, his short purple hair giving him a neat and tidy look.
With a wave of his hand, Steel Bone Kong silenced the entire square so completely that you could hear a pin drop.
"I stood here back then."
The sound of emptiness shattered the morning mist; he lifted his cloak to reveal a gruesome scar on his abdomen.
"I once said that scars are the Navy's best medals."
"But I forgot to mention the second half of the sentence—only the blood shed for the weak deserves to be called honor!"
"Honor belongs to the collective, and mistakes are attributed to the individual."
He slowly turned around and stood before the Warring States:
"Today I hand over this position to you, Sengoku."
He pressed the marshal's seal onto Sengoku's chest, then turned to face the numerous naval soldiers below the stage:
"Not because of his strength, but because he, like you and me, will always remember why we bear the burden of justice!"
Steel Bone patted Sengoku on the shoulder:
"Go, go and tell them why justice exists."
Warring States slowly stepped forward, took the loudspeaker, and announced in a clear voice:
"This is not a change of power, but a burning of will!"
When the Human-Human Fruit's Great Buddha form was activated, his figure seemed to be enveloped in a holy light.
"We don't need commemorations, because the keel of every warship is a monument!"
"We don't seek praise, because protecting children's laughter is heavenly music!"
"Justice needs no echo! For the peaceful rest of the protected are the best hymn!"
"The Navy doesn't seek to be remembered! Because true greatness lies in protecting what is forgotten!"
The Conqueror's Haki emanating from Sengoku surged into the sky.
His cloak moved without wind:
"From this day forward, let pirates hear the sound of the waves and be reminded of their bugle call, and let civilians see the seagulls and be reminded of their hope!"
"Justice will prevail!!!"
Below the stage, tens of thousands of naval personnel shouted in unison:
"Justice will prevail!!!"
Sakassky had a cigar in his mouth; he smoked half of it, and Feng smoked the other half.
Kuzan stood perfectly straight for the first time ever.
Borsalino took off his sunglasses.
Steel Bone Kong smiled and placed a pocket watch in Sengoku's hand.
The inner lid is engraved with a line he wrote himself: The next generation is yours.
The ceremony for the succession of the Admiral of the Navy thus came to an end.
Steelbone Sky is about to travel to Mary Geoise to assume the role of Commander-in-Chief.
In name, it's a promotion, but it's actually a demotion in disguise.
The admiral is responsible for dealing with threats at sea, and commands hundreds of thousands of naval soldiers with influence throughout the ocean.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces usually resides in Mary Geoise, primarily responsible for guarding the Holy Land.
But the Holy Land doesn't know how often it will encounter danger, and the so-called commander-in-chief is just a sinecure.
Moreover, living in the holy land for a long time would mean facing all sorts of oddities from nineteen families.
When the warship responsible for escorting him to Mary Geoise arrived at the port, Kong looked down at the "Naval Rising Star Files" in his hand.
Above, the faces of Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, and Tsuru are displayed one by one.
As the warship set sail, Steelbone Kong took one last look in the direction of Marineford.
Sengoku was adjusting his marshal's hat.
Garp patted him on the shoulder with a grin, seemingly teasing him.
Crane stood behind the two of them, a smile on her face.
Zefa's figure was receding into the distance, followed by a group of somewhat inexperienced new recruits.
The sound drifted faintly on the wind—
"Stand tall! You represent the future of the Navy!"
"Justice will prevail!"
The shouts of the new recruits drowned out the sound of the waves. Steelbone Kong stood smiling at the bow of the ship and slowly sailed away.
Chapter 51 Justice! Absolutely too just! (Bonus chapter for apology)
The succession ceremony of the admiral caused a great stir around the world.
The World Economic News devoted an entire page to the report, even including Kong and Sengoku's speeches.
But it's also quite shameless.
It was clearly Steel Bone who made a major mistake and was forced to transfer.
Their actions have somehow made it seem quite inspiring.
As the New World sun baked the deck into a honey cake, Blake was tossing a piece of tiramisu with a gold fork in one hand and holding a newspaper in the other.
Cream splattered onto the gold-embroidered cuffs due to his rough movements.
"That's right, that's it! Justice! It's just too just!"