Chapter 368: Melting the Iceberg!

Mercury City

The rescue work continued with great difficulty amidst the devastated ruins.

Although Tatsuya had used invisible repulsive force to blow away the lethal poison gas that hung over the streets.

And although the Straw Hat crew had been tirelessly rescuing many injured people from beneath the rubble.

Heart-wrenching wails of pain still echoed throughout this city-turned-wasteland.

Faced with the approach and assistance of Luffy and the others, the first reaction of many severely injured Mink Tribe civilians was not gratitude, but a subconscious, desperate retreat.

Some even pointed their broken weapons at them warily.

The Beasts Pirates' five-day and five-night massacre had brought an indelible nightmare to this once-peaceful country.

The horrific atrocities left the surviving Mink Tribe filled with overwhelming fear and distrust toward all outsiders, whether humans or pirates.

In their eyes, the pirate flag was synonymous with slaughter and destruction.

Faced with this hostile and guarded attitude from the Mink Tribe, the members of the Straw Hat crew did not complain, nor did they stop their rescue efforts.

They knew well what kind of hell these residents had just endured.

Chopper carried his heavy medical kit, weaving among the wounded despite the deep exhaustion from working non-stop.

Sanji set up a large iron pot in a corner of the temporary camp.

Using the few clean ingredients left in the ruined city, he carefully brewed a large pot of easily digestible and nutritious hot soup.

The seemingly flippant but soft-hearted chef personally carried steaming bowls of soup, handing them one by one to the Mink children shivering in the corners.

The delicious golden soup emitted a rich aroma, gradually dispelling the fear and chill in the children's hearts.

On the second day, just as everything seemed to be improving, a sudden natural disaster struck again.

The entire island of Zou trembled violently without warning, the ground undulating like waves.

Immediately after, a terrifyingly loud roar echoed from the sky.

The sound was deafening, as if the entire sky were collapsing, like an apocalyptic tsunami gathering overhead.

Wanda, who was tending to the wounded, suddenly looked up, her already pale face turning ashen instantly.

She pointed to the sky in terror and shouted loudly:

"Oh no! It's Zunesha's 'Erupting Rain'! Everyone, find cover quickly!"

The Straw Hat crew looked up and finally understood what the so-called 'Erupting Rain' was.

It turned out that this ancient giant elephant, which had lived for a thousand years, used its several-thousand-meter-long trunk every day to suck up endless seawater from the ocean and spray it on its back to bathe.

In peaceful times, this seawater falling from the sky was a blessing and the source of fresh water the Mink nation relied on for survival, bringing life to the city.

But now, the situation was completely different.

Because of 'Drought' Jack's devastating and mad destruction,

Mercury City's originally perfect underground drainage system and sturdy flood levees had all been ruthlessly destroyed.

Without anything to block or divert it, hundreds of millions of tons of violent seawater, mixed with countless giant deep-sea fish, came flooding straight toward the temporary medical camp filled with wounded people.

Looking at the towering wall of water that seemed ready to swallow everything,

the Mink Tribe members, who had just survived thanks to the Straw Hat crew's treatment, fell into deep despair once again.

The wounded were completely unable to run and could only watch helplessly as the flood approached.

Under those despairing gazes, the Straw Hat crew displayed incredible coordination.

Tatsuya's figure flickered, instantly rising into mid-air.

His gaze was cold as he faced the seawater crashing down like a mountain, and he slammed his palms together in front of his chest.

"Shinra Tensei!"

BOOM—!

An appalling and terrifying repulsive force field erupted from his body, instantly turning into a giant, invisible dome.

The tens of thousands of tons of rampaging seawater crashing toward the camp were split right down the middle by an irresistible force the moment they touched the repulsive dome, forced to flow around both sides of the camp with a deafening roar of rushing water!

Zoro's eyes widened as he crossed his arms and drew the famous swords at his waist.

Facing the giant house wreckage and towering broken trees being washed along by the flood toward the civilians behind,

he swung his blades, unleashing countless sharp blue flying slashes that cut all those deadly threats into tiny wooden fragments in mid-air.

Luffy didn't hesitate to bite his thumb, activating Gear Third.

His giant fist, coated in pitch-black Armament Haki, met the current and smashed the thousand-ton boulders rolling through the outer defenses into powder, punch after punch.

Franky frantically burned the spare cola stored in his body.

His massive steel body stood at the edge of the most dangerous torrent, his mechanical arms turning into heavy pile drivers to forcefully drive thick steel pillars into the floodwater to stabilize the foundation.

Meanwhile, Robin crossed her arms, exerting the full power of her Hana Hana no Mi.

Countless petals danced in front of the camp as she created giant arms covered in Armament Haki.

These rock-solid black giant arms intertwined, establishing a temporary steel flood levee for the Mink Tribe behind her.

To protect this group of strangers they had only met yesterday—people who were even guarded and hostile toward them—

the Straw Hat crew truly gave their all, setting aside concerns for their own lives.

The flood lasted for a long time before finally receding along the edges of the island.

The Mink Tribe members in the camp looked at this group of panting pirates from the outer seas, and the ice in their hearts began to show massive cracks.

However, just as the Straw Hat crew breathed a sigh of relief, dozens of eerie figures that had been hiding for a long time suddenly lunged out from the shadows of the ruins.

They bore various animal characteristics; they were the 'Gifters' left behind by 'Drought' Jack to cover his retreat.

These despicable fellows actually intended to take advantage of the chaos brought by the flood to sneak into the camp and capture young Minks to exchange for bounties.

When the Mink Tribe saw these culprits—those who had brought endless pain and death to their country and kin—daring to appear here so brazenly,

new and old hatred intertwined, and the Mink Tribe's suppressed rage of several days erupted like a volcano at that moment!

The Mink warriors who had been lying on the ground, their bodies weak, felt a surge of strength from somewhere.

A blood-red light full of wildness and hatred burst from their eyes, and their fur stood on end, flickering with blinding sparks of static electricity.

Accompanied by bursts of angry roars,

they ignored their injuries and charged at the remnants like a pack of frenzied beasts.

The Straw Hat crew keenly sensed the Mink Tribe's current emotions.

They knew that the Mink Tribe needed to vent this deep-seated hatred personally with the enemies' blood.

Thus, everyone tactfully held back their attacks, instead assisting and safeguarding the Mink Tribe's revenge.

When a Gifter tried to counterattack with a heavy weapon, Zoro instantly appeared before the warriors, steadily blocking the enemy's heavy strike with his sturdy blades.

When a grunt tried to hide in the shadows and fire a cold arrow, Sanji's figure flashed like a ghost, a burning kick sending the opponent flying.

With the powerful support of the Straw Hat crew,

these once-arrogant remnants of the Beasts Pirates soon faced a one-sided slaughter and were all dealt with by the furious Mink Tribe.

Among the fallen enemy corpses, only the last Gifter sub-leader remained.

He was covered in blood, slumped miserably in the mud.

He looked in terror at the surrounding Minks, who looked like Shura demons ready to eat him alive.

Then he looked at the foreign pirates standing on the periphery, whose strength was terrifying enough to cause despair.

He trembled violently and, with a sob, loudly asked who these pirates were and why they were meddling in others' business.

However, the Mink Tribe didn't bother to answer his question at all.

Without a word, they tightly gripped their weapons, which flickered with eerie blue lightning, and stepped forward with faces full of indifference and killing intent, surrounding the leader in the center.

Seeing the Minks closing in without a shred of mercy in their eyes, the remnant leader knew he had no way out today.

Under the fear of death, he roared crazily to the sky, his face contorted as he spat out his malicious final words:

"Don't get cocky too soon! Lord Jack will definitely return!"

"Lord Jack... will kill every last one of you animals!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was no hesitation.

Several sharp blades wreathed in violent lightning traced deadly arcs through the air and fell ruthlessly at the same time.

The remnant leader didn't even have time to scream before he died directly under the Mink Tribe's blades of revenge, falling into the filthy mud.

With the annihilation of these remnants, the Mink Tribe members, their great revenge settled, slowly turned around.

They looked at the Straw Hat crew standing not far away, soaked to the skin but having given their all to protect them.

Recalling the various kind acts of these pirates—dispersing the poison gas, brewing hot soup, and blocking the flood—

the last bit of defense and suspicion in the Minks' eyes finally melted, turning into tears of gratitude that burst from their eyes.

Wanda dropped her weapon and walked up to Luffy, Tatsuya, and the others.

Her expression was solemn, and with the deepest respect, she formally knelt on one knee:

"Benefactors, the Mink Tribe will never forget your great kindness."

"Our two kings, Duke Inuarashi and Master Nekomamushi, have awakened."

"They wish to thank you in person. Please come with me to meet them."

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