Chapter 907 - 907: Stop! Stop, You Guys! Don't Fight Anymore!

Yasopp's face instantly stiffened.

He stood there dumbfounded for several seconds before his brain finally caught up. His eyes widened as he suddenly stared, "Wait! Then... then that Great Liar who told us about Sky Island on Jaya Island back then was also one of you World Government people?"

"More or less," Gan Fall's tone was calm, "Montblanc really did spend his whole life pursuing Sky Island. It's just that he had already come here a few years ago. Since then, he swore his allegiance to His Highness."

"I see..."

Crocodile closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to suppress the anger surging inside him.

His expression was extremely ugly.

Anyone would feel unhappy if even their choice of where to go had been misled and manipulated by the other side.

Being a pirate on the sea was supposed to be about that freedom from restraint.

But this kind of freedom, carefully arranged and deliberately guided by the World Government, was this fucking still freedom?

They were like a flock of sheep being kept in captivity, walking along a path the shepherd had planned long ago, while naively thinking they were running freely.

The realization made him feel sick.

"Let us deepen our understanding of the World Government, and then use the Poneglyph to give us a little motivation to move forward?"

Robin gave a self-mocking smile, the smile filled with bitterness and helplessness, "Heh, what a good plan."

"Eh?", Yasopp was completely confused and hurriedly asked, "What does that mean? The more I listen, the more confused I get."

This time, even Crocodile failed to understand Robin's meaning immediately. He frowned and looked toward Robin, waiting for her explanation.

Robin raised her hand and pointed at the stone tablet, saying bluntly, "The contents of the stone tablet are very clear. According to this prophecy, Luffy really does have the potential to stand against Rosse in the future. That counts as recognition of our efforts and gives us a little hope."

"But at the same time..."

Her voice suddenly sank, "Every step we take is within the calculations of the World Government and Rosse. Under these circumstances, can Luffy really grow to the point we expect?"

For the first time, a nearly desperate confusion appeared in her eyes.

This was a vicious cycle.

If Luffy could grow, then it would prove that the World Government's arrangements were correct.

But if Luffy could not grow, then all their efforts would come to nothing.

And no matter which result it was, it meant, from beginning to end, they were merely pawns in the hands of the World Government.

And there was another crucial point.

If Luffy grew, could he really stand against the World Government? Would that man, who looked arrogant but had actually calculated everything, really make such a huge oversight?

"Hey, hey, can you just talk about Luffy's situation like this?"

Yasopp glanced at Gan Fall, frowned, and lowered his voice, his face full of displeasure, "He's our biggest trump card! Aren't you afraid the World Government will find out if you just say it like that?"

"At this point, there's no need to hide it anymore."

Crocodile sneered and turned to walk outside, "After all, the World Government may know more than we do."

Robin had already made her meaning so clear that there was no need to say much more.

That was simply the reality.

The World Government was strong.

So strong that it was despairing.

But they had no choice.

Whether Luffy could do it or not, he was already their last hope.

Even if this was a dead end deliberately placed before them by the World Government, with the outcome already decided.

They still had to walk into it.

Because apart from this, they could no longer find another path.

"Safe travels. I won't see you out."

Gan Fall stood quietly amid the ruins, watching the backs of Crocodile and the others gradually disappear into the distance.

He said nothing more and made no attempt to stop them.

His old, deep-set eyes contained not the slightest trace of emotion. He merely watched them calmly, as though looking at a group of passersby whose ending had long since been decided.

Some things, once said this far, were enough.

The rest of the road had to be walked by them themselves.

As for whether it led to hope or the abyss, that was no longer something he, the guardian of this pass, could control.

The wind passed through the straight Path of God, making a low whimpering sound.

Gan Fall turned around and looked at the silent stone tablet standing there. A trace of complicated emotion that was difficult to notice flashed through his eyes.

After a long while, he too started walking, slowly heading deeper into Skypiea.

On the other side, Crocodile, Robin, and Yasopp followed the path they had come by, passing through the long canyon and returning to the edge of the White-White Sea.

And when that beach paved with Cloud Sand appeared before them again, the three of them stopped in unison.

The scene before them made their hearts suddenly sink.

The rain had stopped at some point.

But the beach was a complete mess.

Shanks lay stiffly in the Cloud Sand, his eyes tightly shut and his face as pale as paper, without the slightest trace of color.

Beside him, Rayleigh's already-cold corpse lay quietly.

Only, both arms of the corpse had already been severed at the roots and were nowhere to be seen.

And on Shanks's shoulders, two arms that clearly did not belong to him and were obviously mismatched with his build were strangely attached to his body.

"Captain!"

Yasopp was the first to react. He let out a miserable cry and scrambled forward, grabbing the unconscious Shanks and holding him:

"Captain! What happened to you?! Wake up, Captain!"

Crocodile and Robin quickly approached. When they saw the arms forcibly attached to Shanks, the two of them fell silent as well.

Robin lowered her eyes, a trace of knowing sorrow passing through them.

She could more or less guess what had happened.

Shanks's remaining right arm had presumably been severed by Conis.

And now, looking at Rayleigh's corpse, which had lost both arms, she understood everything about the two arms now attached to Shanks.

This was Conis's punishment, and it was also Conis's gift.

That woman had used an almost cruel way of toying with him to both deprive Shanks of his arms and generously return a complete set of limbs to him.

After this incident, Shanks would inevitably become stronger.

But it was in the way Shanks least wanted to accept.

Crocodile's fists tightened slightly, but in the end, he said nothing.

At this point, anger was meaningless.

"Don't just stand there," He spoke in a low voice, fatigue showing in his tone, "Take them back first."

Robin nodded. Her power surged, and dozens of arms appeared out of thin air, carefully lifting the unconscious Shanks and the severely injured Luffy.

The three of them did not delay any longer. Taking the two unconscious men with them, they headed all the way back toward Angel Island.

The return journey was unexpectedly peaceful.

The Thunder Barrier that had once left them helpless and nearly torn the Going Merry to pieces had now completely disappeared without a trace, as though it had never existed.

And those Skypiea warriors who had once surrounded them and desperately tried to stop them, now ignored them completely.

They walked in groups of three or four through the streets of Angel Island, carrying goods or chatting casually, their expressions relaxed.

It was as though Crocodile and the others were nothing more than a few insignificant breezes, completely unworthy of even the slightest attention.

This strange permission to pass only made the feeling of being toyed with in Crocodile's heart grow heavier.

From beginning to end, their every move had been under the other side's control.

When they wanted them to enter, they set up obstacle after obstacle.

When they wanted them to leave, they removed every obstruction.

In the eyes of the other side, their attempts to overcome the obstacles might have been nothing more than a performance with a script already written, put on for someone's amusement.

Everyone walked in silence. No one said a word.

That feeling of helplessness, so heavy it was suffocating, hung over every person's heart as though it were tangible.

Before long, they returned to the place where they had once been imprisoned, the three-story Cloud Stone building.

"You're back!"

Lucky Roux, Snake, and the other Red Hair Pirates who had stayed behind hurried over when they saw everyone return.

But when their eyes fell on Shanks, who was being carried by Robin's powers and was unconscious.

Especially when they saw the two arms forcibly attached to Shanks's shoulders, everyone's expression changed abruptly.

"Captain?! What happened to Captain?!"

"His arms, what happened to them?"

Lucky Roux rushed forward in a single stride and supported Shanks, anxiously questioning them.

His rough eyes were filled with fear and heartache.

"What happened?! Tell me!"

He suddenly turned his head and stared fixedly at Yasopp.

That's right, hadn't Yasopp been following the Captain the whole time?

As the only person who had accompanied him the entire way, he should have been the one who knew best what exactly had happened to the Captain!

However, Yasopp stammered, his eyes darting away, "I... I don't know."

"What did you say?"

Lucky Roux could hardly believe his ears.

"I said I don't know!", Yasopp stuck out his neck and raised his voice, "I wasn't with the Captain! I was following Crocodile and the others to look at the Poneglyph! How would I know what happened to the Captain!"

As soon as he said this, Lucky Roux's face darkened instantly.

The veins on his rough face bulged, and a suppressed rage that had been building for a long time suddenly surged up.

BANG!

He punched Yasopp squarely in the face.

Yasopp reacted quickly, raising his arm and barely blocking the punch.

But the force shook him back two steps, leaving his arm numb.

"What are you doing?", Yasopp shouted angrily, "Are you trying to rebel? I'm the Vice Captain!"

"Vice Captain?"

Lucky Roux laughed in anger, the laughter filled with sarcasm and rage, "What kind of Vice Captain follows the Captain out, comes back, and doesn't know a damn thing about what happened to the Captain?"

Those words were like a loud slap, viciously striking Yasopp across the face.

That's right.

Shanks was unconscious, and Luffy was also severely injured and unconscious.

Something this serious had happened. Anyone with common sense would know that something had gone wrong.

But as the Vice Captain, as the only person who had accompanied the Captain the entire way, Yasopp actually knew nothing?

What kind of Vice Captain was that?

"I had something more important to do!", Yasopp's face flushed red as he roared angrily, "It's not like I did nothing! Keeping an eye on Crocodile and the others and looking at the Poneglyph was also an important mission!"

He did not think he had done anything wrong.

He had let the Captain down.

He really had failed to fulfill the responsibility a Vice Captain should have.

But he owed Lucky Roux nothing!

Besides, what right did the other man have to criticize him like this?

Back then, it was Lucky Roux and the others who hadn't been determined enough and hadn't insisted on going along.

Now that something had happened, they were blaming it all on him instead?

What kind of logic was that?

"Something more important?"

Lucky Roux's chest rose and fell violently. He stared fixedly at Yasopp, each word seemingly squeezed through his teeth:

"For you, Yasopp, what could possibly be more important than the Captain's life?"

"You...!"

Yasopp still wanted to argue, but Lucky Roux no longer wanted to listen.

"Fuck!"

He shouted and threw another punch.

This time, he did not hold back. Every punch carried the fury of thunder.

Yasopp was forced back step by step, barely able to defend himself, "Are you crazy? Stop! Stop!"

But Lucky Roux ignored his shouts and attacked even more fiercely.

And right at this moment, something Yasopp never could have imagined happened.

Snake and the other Red Hair Pirates not only failed to step forward and pull apart this farce of infighting.

Instead, one after another, they clenched their fists and surrounded Yasopp with grim expressions.

"Snake? You... what are you guys doing?!", Yasopp stared at them in disbelief, his eyes wide.

Snake said nothing. He merely gave him a cold look, his eyes suppressing some emotion that had finally found an outlet.

During these past few days, relying on his identity as Vice Captain, Yasopp had been ordering these old brothers around and throwing his weight around, which had already made everyone dissatisfied.

It was only out of consideration for Shanks that everyone had endured it without saying anything.

But now, the Captain was unconscious, and the stone weighing on their hearts had temporarily loosened.

They had a legitimate reason, and there was no longer anyone who would step in to stop them.

How could they let such a rare opportunity pass?

It was just the right excuse to teach this normally arrogant and overbearing bastard a good lesson.

"You...!"

Yasopp still wanted to say something, but fists were already raining down on him.

Lucky Roux's, Snake's, and those of the others...

For a moment, fists and feet flew, dull thuds sounding without end.

Yasopp was outnumbered. Before long, he was beaten until he could no longer fight back, able only to clutch his head and curl up miserably on the ground as fists and feet landed on him.

"AAAAAAAH!"

"Stop! Stop, you guys! Don't fight anymore!"

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