One Piece: Reborn in God's Valley

With a thunderous roar, smoke still curled from the dark mouth of the cannon beneath the sword-wielding skull figurehead on the Blackthorn's prow.

The Giant Turtle Pirates' helm had been blown to pieces, and the force of the blast, laced with wooden shrapnel, instantly killed several pirates standing next to Uges.

They were all part of Begrin's crew. Since their ship had been the closest to the shore, they had rushed in this direction.

It made sense, they knew Begrin had just been beheaded by Ashen, and no one was giving them orders anymore. 

If the Giant Turtle Pirates boarded first, there was no guarantee they'd wait for anyone else.

"Waaah!! Run!! Get back to our ship!!"

Realizing the situation had turned against them, the dozen or so remaining pirates from the other crew panicked. 

Desperate to survive, they leapt into the sea, swimming toward their remaining ship.

"Idiots!"

On the other side, seeing the Blackthorn take out his ship with a single shot and sail toward the port with alarming speed, Uges chose to stay on land, stopping his crew from running.

He knew he was a Devil Fruit user. If the Blackthorn hadn't shown up, he might've had a chance to escape.

But now? Trying to flee across the water would only get him sent to the bottom of the sea by the Helgrave Pirates.

"Aaahh! Help. What's dragging me?"

Uges's instincts were dead on. The pirates hadn't swum far before they were dragged beneath the waves by something unseen. The sea churned violently, then began to turn red, blood.

Seeing this, the pirates behind Uges shuddered in terror, swallowing nervously. But deep down, they were grateful. At least they'd stayed behind their captain and hadn't moved recklessly.

Minutes later, the water had become a feeding ground for sharks. Dozens of them gathered, tearing into the floating corpses in a savage frenzy.

Splash!

The massive anchor of the Blackthorn plunged into the water. One by one, figures leapt from the deck to the shore. From beneath the water, more figures emerged.

Only then did the Giant Turtle Pirates realize what had killed those swimmers, a squad of over twenty Fishmen had been lying in wait beneath the surface.

"Salles. Are you okay?"

Lafitte was the first off the ship. The moment he saw the severely injured and unconscious Salles, he rushed to his side in panic.

"Don't worry, Lafitte. Salles is just exhausted. Let him rest," Ashen said gently, noticing Lafitte's reddened eyes.

Now that Ashen had taken down Begrin, the tension finally left the crew. Everyone except Abbas and Parnell collapsed on the ground, too drained to keep standing.

Salles had passed out from overusing his powers, and Jean had fallen unconscious from blood loss.

"Bahahaha.. Didn't think you'd survive without me, kid. Nice job holding out so long without your old pal Walton."

Clapping Parnell on the shoulder, Walton burst into laughter. He rarely got to see his rival in such a sorry state.

"Agh... Dammit, Walton. Are you trying to kill me?"

Parnell winced in pain from the slap landing square on his wound, but his eyes sparkled with joy. 

'Damn, it's good to see you alive, brother.'

"Hurry! Get their wounds dressed!"

Tesla exhaled in relief seeing the others still alive. He immediately ordered the Fishmen to start treating everyone's injuries.

…

"Captain, maybe we should make a run for it now…"

Elsewhere, a trembling pirate whispered to Uges. The Helgrave Pirates seemed to have forgotten them entirely.

Uges didn't respond. He simply began walking toward the Helgrave Pirates.

He understood clearly, there was no escape. The reason they hadn't been captured yet was because the Helgrave Pirates were so confident they didn't see them as a threat.

"Give it to me straight, Ashen. What are you going to do with us?"

Uges's deep, gruff voice cut through the bustle as he stopped in front of Ashen.

"I've got no interest in them," Ashen said, pointing to the thirty-plus terrified pirates huddled in the distance. 

"They're just trash. Let them crawl into the sea and fend for themselves."

His voice grew colder as he turned back to Uges. 

"But you? You came to my territory, caused trouble, and hurt my crew. That doesn't go unpunished."

Ashen had already heard from Abbas how his leg had been injured, and how Jean had been wounded.

"If you can survive two blows from me, I'll let you live, in another way. Consider it payment for what you did to my men."

He slowly stepped up to Uges, sizing up the man's massive, muscular form. He already had an idea.

"Fine. I was a fool to believe Komilin's lies. But I take responsibility for my actions. Come!"

Roar!!

Uges roared as his body transformed into a massive crocodile turtle, charging at Ashen with jaws wide open. He had already accepted death and wanted to go down with dignity.

As for Ashen's talk of "another way to live," he didn't believe a word of it. Just empty talk, surely.

Boom!

Ashen met the charge head-on, leaping into the air with a fist clad in Armament Haki and slamming it down on the beast's armored head.

Wham!

The giant turtle's skull snapped back into its shell as the massive body was hurled back over ten meters, crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.

"Impressive defense," Ashen muttered in genuine admiration. 

That brief exchange told him enough, Uges's sheer size and Zoan boost gave him power on par with an elite Vice Admiral of the Navy.

But his defense? That was Admiral-level, no doubt. The physical toughness granted by some Zoans was astonishing.

"Again…"

Shaking off his dizziness, Uges charged once more. The earth rumbled under his steps.

"Try this!"

This time, Ashen didn't hold back. If this didn't take Uges down, then maybe he really was unkillable.

Buzz!!

Ashen's fist crashed into Uges's plated head again, sending visible shockwaves through the air.

"Gaaaah…."

Uges spat blood and collapsed, transforming back into his human form as he lost consciousness. 

The armor-breaking effect of Ashen's attack had done its job.

"Kyros, bring him back."

Sensing with Observation Haki that Uges was still alive, Ashen shook his head and activated his Devil Fruit power, freezing the unconscious man solid.

"Oh right! Captain King Riku's side is still under attack. We need to move."

Parnell suddenly recalled the cannon fire from Central Street the night before and quickly reported it.

Ashen frowned. Ulysses's intel, Komilin's name, and everything else pointed to one conclusion, he needed to go, now.

"Tesla, gather the fallen comrades and give them a proper burial. Walton, get the wounded treated."

Mounting the back of Abbas's sea eagle, Ashen gave his final order as he looked coldly at the terrified pirates still trembling on the shore.

"As for them… tie them all together. Then throw them into the sea."

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