one piece: gene extraction and fusion system-Chapter 267: Flames of Mary Geoise and the Devil’s Bargain

Mary Geoise.

In the middle of the night, Mary Geoise was usually as peaceful as ever.

But tonight, the Holy Land was in utter chaos.

The area where the slaves were held was ablaze, consumed by raging fire. Flames engulfed buildings, and the air was filled with both desperate screams and exhilarating roars of freedom.

"Kill them! Kill those damn World Nobles!"

"Quick, over there! Follow Mr. Tiger!"

"Run! If we make it out of here, we'll be free!"

The deafening cries continued as a wave of slaves stormed out. Once hopeless and resigned, tonight they burst forth with unrelenting will to survive, chasing after the red-skinned Fishman who led the charge with unwavering determination.

Along the way, some encountered nobles who had not yet escaped. Overwhelmed by hatred and vengeance, they struck down those symbols of their suffering.

The guards of Mary Geoise fought back, trying to contain the riot, but the slaves pushed forward like a tsunami of wrath and desperation.

At the head of the group was Tiger, leading the path of escape. In his hand, he clutched a memory of a map sent by a friend—Mio. The marked escape route led to a hidden coast, and the drawing of a ship suggested salvation was waiting there.

And indeed, Mio had made sure of it.

Everything had been prepared well in advance. The riot in Mary Geoise, the escape ship near the island—all were part of Mio's plan. Renee had been watching from the shadows, ready to alert the Black Shadow Corps to move the vessel as soon as Tiger acted.

...

At the same time, Mio remained unaware of the specific developments in Mary Geoise.

He had already arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago and made his way to Shakky's bar.

Despite the late hour, the lights were still on.

Mio opened the door and stepped inside.

Only Rayleigh and Shakky were present, seemingly in the middle of a quiet conversation. They turned in surprise, clearly not expecting visitors at this hour. But when they saw it was Mio, surprise turned into intrigue.

"You actually came here," Shakky said, raising an eyebrow.

Rayleigh's eyes passed over Mio and the crew of the Black Crow behind him. A flash of amazement flickered in his gaze before he smiled.

"You've grown stronger than you were two years ago. Your strength... it's impossible to gauge." freeωebnovēl.c૦m

"If I hadn't improved, then those two years would've been wasted, wouldn't they?" Mio replied calmly, walking straight to the bar and sitting down.

Shakky poured him a glass of wine, added ice cubes, and handed it over.

The rest of the Black Crow crew spread out to different corners of the bar.

Rayleigh leaned on the counter and asked, "Are you planning to stay in Sabaody for a while?"

"That depends. There are a few things I need to take care of. Right now, I'm just waiting on some news," Mio replied, sipping his drink.

"You should have your own intelligence network by now, right?" Shakky asked suddenly.

Mio nodded. "I do."

While the Black Crow's intelligence wasn't all-encompassing, it was still more than capable of uncovering many secrets.

Hearing that, Shakky spoke again. "Then I'd like to ask a favor."

"Hmm?" Mio raised a brow. "You, asking me for help? That's rare. What's going on?"

"It's not a big issue. Just a matter of timing and manpower." She exhaled a puff of smoke and continued, "You know about Amazon Lily, right? I have a friend from there. Three girls were apparently captured by a slave-hunting group yesterday. One of them is the next ruler of the island. We're running out of time—if we don't locate the group in the next two days, they'll likely be sold to the Celestial Dragons."

"So, I'm hoping you can use your intelligence network to help find them."

Rayleigh also nodded. "Please assist us on this, Mio."

Mio frowned, mildly surprised.

The Marijoa riot had started earlier than expected because of his own planning. Yet coincidentally, Hancock was still captured like in the original timeline. It seemed the events had only shifted slightly in sequence.

"Amazon Lily, huh..."

Mio's eyes gleamed thoughtfully. This might be an opportunity.

Without further delay, he pulled out a Den Den Mushi and made a call.

"Sir."

"Track the slave-hunting group that operated near Amazon Lily yesterday. Find the three girls from that island."

"Understood, sir," Renee responded respectfully, and the call ended.

Shakky let out a slow breath and took another drag from her cigarette. "With your help, the chances just got a lot better."

"Don't worry," Mio smirked, "they'll be found soon enough."

With Linglong News' current strength, tracking down a slave-hunting group was no challenge.

Rayleigh chuckled as he watched Mio's confident expression. "You really are full of surprises. It's impossible to grasp the full scope of the Black Crow's influence."

But with this, both Rayleigh and Shakky owed Mio a debt. Favors didn't come cheap in this world. When Mio came to collect, neither of them could refuse.

After spending a short while at the bar, Mio left and returned to the Black Glory.

The dark night wrapped around the ship.

At the bow, Mio sat alone, a deep frown etched on his face.

He hadn't left for nothing—he had something critical to deal with.

Staring at the Den Den Mushi in his hand, his voice dropped low, serious. "Is what you're telling me true?"

"Fufufufufu. Would I dare lie to you?" Doflamingo's signature laugh echoed through the line. "It's real. Even I was shocked something like that showed up in the North Blue. Right now, no one knows about it except you and me. I've already got the island surrounded. If possible, send me some backup. The pirates are easy, but I'll need more manpower to wipe out an entire town in one night."

"Alright," Mio grinned slightly. After a moment of thought, he added, "I'll send people to support you. They'll follow your command for now. But you know the rules. That thing, I want it."

"Fufufu... Of course. In exchange, I can help you take back Dressrosa right now. How about that?"

"Perfect."

The call ended.

Far away, in the North Blue—

Outside a small island—

Doflamingo set down the Den Den Mushi. Figures suddenly emerged from the darkness—soldiers of the Black Shadow Corps—facing him, silent and ready.

His eyes gleamed with desire as he glanced at a torn page from the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. The name of the fruit on the page made his fingers twitch.

"What a pity. If this were my time, I'd snatch it without hesitation. Hehehehe..."

But his expression turned ice cold a second later.

Grinning wickedly, Doflamingo commanded, "Kill everyone on the island."

The moment his words dropped—

The Black Shadow Corps moved like death itself, storming toward the island...