Chapter 196 Support and Helpers

"Huff, huff—"

Violet frowned, one hand on her hip, panting heavily. Opposite her was a strange creature with the lower body of a skeletal horse and the upper body of a human.

In Violet's eyes, Nasujuro, whose head she had just severed with a single blow, did not fall. On the contrary, flesh and blood rapidly grew back on the smooth severed neck at an astonishing speed. In just a moment, Nasujuro was completely restored.

Violet: "..."

The invincibility cheat is so annoying!

With hundreds of years of combat experience, an immortal body, and a powerful Devil Fruit, even a pig would be quite difficult to deal with. And Nasujuro is more intelligent than a pig.

However, when it comes to having unlimited health, players are just as good.

As soon as Nassou Sei regained his vision, what he saw was Vera grabbing the bone knife that he had just plunged into her chest with her backhand, and ignoring the blood gushing from the wound, she expressionlessly and roughly ripped it out.

The fatal wound turned her face instantly pale, and she swayed slightly.

But before Nassuro could even rejoice at his impending victory, Violet pulled a steaming plate of dumplings from her pocket and devoured it in one bite.

After eating the Polish dumplings, Violet instantly recovered from her severe injuries, which had made it difficult for her to even stand. Even the wound on her chest completely healed and was no longer visible.

Even though he had seen similar scenes no less than ten times in previous battles, Nasujiro still frowned deeply.

The ability to infinitely regenerate and live forever was a gift from Lord Im, and Nasujuro Sei regarded it as a symbol of his status and position. But never before had Nasujuro Sei found this ability so disgusting.

Both sides are filled with people who are not afraid of bloodshed or injury, which leads to a desperate and endless cycle in the battle between Nassuro Sei and Violet.

Neither side could overcome the other's terrifying regenerative abilities, and neither could do anything about the other.

But Violet's goal is to stop Nassuro Sei, and this stalemate is exactly what she wants to achieve!

Boom—

Just as the two were getting tired of each other and preparing to launch another attack, Nassuro Sei and Violet suddenly heard a rumbling sound approaching.

Is that the sound of a cannonball?

Nasujuro's first thought was that the naval warships docked at the shore had broken free from the pirates' obstruction and were heading to God Valley to provide support, as ordered. Although Nasujuro looked down on this group composed of commoners, he had to admit that there were a few strong individuals on the Navy side who were worthy of his attention.

Is it Sengoku period or Garp?

Boom—

The loud sound grew closer and closer, and before Nasujiro Sei could even smile, it was frozen by the sudden burst of light that shone upon him.

The exceptionally bright light, even in broad daylight, proved that the sound was not the cannon fire that Nasujiro Sei had expected, but rather daytime thunder!

"Thunder!"

"Thunderous Eight Trigrams!"

Two voices, one male and one female, rang out simultaneously, followed by several thick bolts of blue-purple lightning that struck down on Nasujiro's head.

Looking at the familiar lightning, Violet couldn't help but smile.

"They're finally here." Violet turned around to look at the two tall, imposing figures behind her. "Linlin, Kaido."

"Hmph, if it weren't for that woman Lingling blocking my way, I would have flown over here long ago."

"Kaido, I haven't even settled accounts with you for stealing my Devil Fruit yet!"

"Huh?! You say it's your fruit? Then why don't you try turning into a blue dragon and see what happens!"

Violet watched the two arguing again and couldn't help but rub her forehead. Actually, thinking about it, it wasn't entirely his fault that Rocks liked to use his fists to persuade his crew.

Caught completely off guard and charred by several bolts of lightning, Nasujuro felt a deep sense of shame as he watched the pirates arguing and ignoring his presence. Beneath his charred skin, the bright red flesh vanished rapidly at a visible speed, revealing grim, ever-expanding bones.

The bones creaked and groaned as they tore through his flesh and skin, and through his simple, well-tailored clothes—a massive monster, consisting only of bones and a tattered horsehide hanging from them, appeared before the three.

The enormous monster was over fifty meters tall. Even the giants Linlin and Kaido appeared tiny in its presence. Black smoke swirled around the horse's neck and shoulders. It lowered its head and glanced at the three of them with its terrifying, bloody yellow eyes before raising its skeletal hooves and stomping them down.

With a deafening roar, dust billowed, and trees toppled in all directions as the ground trembled violently. Violet stumbled and nearly fell. She steadied herself and drew her sword to strike the horse's leg, but just then, a large hand reached out from behind, encircled her waist, and lifted her up.

"Kid, are you going to give this ugly horse a pedicure?"

Kaido glanced down at Violet, then looked at Nasujuro Sei and scoffed disdainfully, "Stupid and clumsy horse."

Clearly, Kaido, who has finally obtained his own Devil Fruit, and the extremely powerful Mythical Zoan type fruit like the Azure Dragon Fruit, is in a state of excessive excitement and is very keen to make various sharp comments on other people's Devil Fruit abilities.

Lingling, who was already standing on the thunderclouds and carrying Napoleon, exclaimed upon hearing this: "MAMAMA! Now you know why I argued with this brat!"

Violet: "..."

One can imagine that when Linlin and Kaido rushed over after hearing the commotion, Kaido probably grumbled a lot. The fact that Linlin was able to hold back until she attacked Nasujuro before arguing with Kaido shows that she is one of the calmest and most rational members of the Rocks Pirates.

Kaido, who was indeed in the wrong, snorted but did not refute. He transformed into a blue dragon, grabbed Wil and flew toward the head of the skeletal horse.

"Hey kid, do you have a way to deal with this guy's immortality?"

Along the way, Linlin and Kaido also met some members of the God Knights, and were still wary of their ability to instantly regenerate no matter how they were killed.

"Where are the others?"

“Newgate and John went to find the captain.” Kaido finished speaking and then asked, “Do you have a way to deal with this old man?”

"I……"

Before Violet could offer any suggestions, Kaido, who had transformed into a dragon, and Violet simultaneously looked up at the sky. Not far away, Linlin frowned as she watched the black sphere that had suddenly appeared above God Valley and gripped Napoleon tightly.

That black ball gave her a very dangerous feeling.

Sensing an incredibly familiar aura emanating from the black sphere, Violet suddenly raised her voice to warn Kaido and Linlin, "Be careful, that's..."

Before the words were finished, countless black arms emerged from the black sphere. The slender hands made of shadows and the long, withered wrists that seemed to stretch endlessly were clearly the ghostly hands that stole light and fire from the darkness!

Countless ghostly hands exploded out of the black sphere and stretched down towards the island below. The ghostly hands intertwined and clung to each other, quickly obscuring the view and light outside the island.

This unfolding form is somewhat similar to Doflamingo's "Birdcage," but it is far more dangerous and difficult to deal with.

In the shadow cast by the demon hand, Linlin and Kaido's bodies jolted simultaneously, a strong sense of dizziness assaulting them, almost causing them to fall directly from the sky.

Vera looked at Nassshurou Sei: "What did you do?!"

The grotesque horsebone form of Nasujuro, with its torn skin twitching, emitted a chilling laugh: "Not me, but..."

"That esteemed person has arrived."

[Conditions met]

[You can now use [Fragile Rose]!]

[Fragile Rose]

[A seemingly ordinary rose, its bright red bud resembling a heart just ripped from a chest—is this a greeting or a warning?]

[Currently detectable: A cherished item from the Throne Master of the Eternal Realm; use it to obtain the truth about the world]

[Currently available: A rose plucked from the garden of the Lord of the Eternal Realm, imbued with extremely powerful magical energy. After use, you can make any wish upon it, and magic will grant it.]

[Currently cannot be destroyed]

The Eternal Realm... Has the master of the throne arrived?

Violet looked up at the sky, where even the last glimmer of light had been swallowed up.

Who is that person?

Nasujiro bowed slightly respectfully: "Lord Im."

——

Something's not right.

Roger punched the Celestial Dragon who was blocking his way with a gun, knocking him unconscious, and then said something to Newgate and Shiki beside him.

"Hmm, what?"

The two, engrossed in their battle, replied absentmindedly. While Roger was distracted, Shiki threw a long sword in an attempt to ambush him, but Roger caught it with his Armament Haki-covered hand and crushed it without even turning his head.

Roger was speechless: "You really are a bastard, Shiki. Didn't we agree to go find Rocks?"

"Haha? The captain would be very happy if he knew I could kill you here."

"Wait, Shiki, now is not the time for infighting. The most urgent matter is..."

Swoosh—

A series of whooshing sounds rang out as black shells accurately struck the three people's location and exploded rapidly.

"Garp!"

As Garp's old rival, Roger naturally recognized who was behind this immediately.

"Hahaha, look what I found! The damn Roger Pirates have actually teamed up with the scum Rocks Pirates!" Garp hurled cannonballs at the three men relentlessly, laughing triumphantly as they fled in panic. "You mere pirates, don't be so arrogant!"

"Garp, are you trying to stop us?" Roger placed his hand on the sword at his waist, his expression serious. "Get out of the way, we need to find Rocks."

"Haha, so you guys are going to find Rocks." Garp paused for a moment and stopped throwing, but before Roger and the others could even smile, he pulled out a cannonball bigger than himself from somewhere behind him and hurled it at the three of them!

"I saw the Marines lying unconscious all the way here!" Garp glared at the three of them, his fists clenching so tightly they cracked. "This is the work of you three, isn't it!"

“Sigh—” Roger sighed, looking up at Skeeter and Newgate, “I said, we can talk about our conflict later.”

"The most important thing now is to defeat this navy in front of us."

Shiki, whose forehead was starting to bead with cold sweat, nodded: "...You're right."

Newgate looked at Garp with a serious expression. Although he did not answer Roger's question, his expression showed that he agreed with Roger's suggestion.

"Very well, the three of you coming at me together will at least give me a chance to warm up."

"Huh?! Don't talk big here, Garp!"

"Wait until I smash my fist into your infuriatingly stupid face, then you'll know whether I'm just bragging or not!"

Shiki and Newgate exchanged a glance, simultaneously preparing to activate their Devil Fruit powers.

Roger and Garp, one drawing his sword and the other clenching his fist, were about to charge at their mortal enemies for a thrilling life-or-death duel when they both looked up at the empty sky.

Shiki and Newgate, whose Observation Haki was inferior to the two, were puzzled, but the next second, the terrifying black sphere and the countless black ghostly hands emerging from it made them hold their breath.

"What is that...?"

Shiki stared in disbelief at the rapidly darkening sky.

Could this terrifying aura also be the power of someone's Devil Fruit?

Just how many monsters are gathered on this island right now?