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**Chapter 526: Devouring, Towards Death, Towards Life**
In two days, the Roger Pirates had already had over twenty members die in battle.
For a Pirate Crew with such a small number of members, this was a significant loss.
The World Government and the Marines wouldn't show mercy like the Flying Pirates did.
Another half day passed in the intense battle, and the Roger Pirates sacrificed a few more members.
The Roger Pirates, who originally had over fifty members, now only had just over twenty remaining.
The more time passed, the greater the disadvantage for the Roger Pirates.
Those who could still persist until now were undoubtedly the elite of the elite.
Even the Oro Jackson suffered heavy damage, taking a blast of Dragon Breath from the CP0 Director-General.
A third of its hull was destroyed, its internal frame clearly visible.
This action was carried out under Tsuru's command.
The Roger Pirates, pinned down by the encirclement, were completely unable to stop it.
The further they went, the more they had to cut off the Roger Pirates' hope.
In the vast Great Sea, without a ship, there was no way to escape, no matter what.
The entire Great Sea was eerily peaceful, as if it were the calm before a storm.
Suddenly, the ice surface beneath them began to tremble.
The sudden anomaly broke the situation of the battle.
No one knew what was happening.
They only felt the ground disappear underfoot as the ice surface seemed to be sinking.
Through the ice surface, they could see that the sea current of the originally peaceful sea surface was flowing at an astonishing speed.
Facing the power of the Great Sea, the trembling ice surface, even the nearly hundred-meter-thick ice layer, was extremely fragile.
Cracks appeared in the ice layer, one after another.
Countless spiderweb-like cracks rapidly spread outwards.
The Area frozen by Kuzan was too vast, spanning dozens of kilometers.
Located at the core of the battlefield, they simply didn't know what was happening.
Perhaps only Roger knew.
Everyone else also realized this.
"Boom!"
The ice layer exploded, and the ground tilted.
The ice layer, ravaged by the battle, first split open in the central area.
A gigantic ice layer, like a small mountain, fell into the depths below.
At this moment, the ice layer was split into dozens of pieces by an irresistible strength.
The battle was still continuing.
Unable to see what exactly was happening, the numerous combat forces of the World Government and the Marines intensified their offensive.
Having reached this point, it was impossible for them to give up.
This was merely the Roger Pirates' last struggle.
No matter what method they used, it would have no effect on them.
That's how it seemed for now.
"Ice Age!"
Kuzan, as an Ice-Ice Fruit Ability User, exerted his strength again.
The terrifying cold froze the Great Sea once more.
He wanted to use this to buy time.
However, he still underestimated the power of nature.
Only three seconds passed, and the trembling ice layer was split into several pieces.
It was as if a terrifying strength struck the core of the ice layer.
Suddenly, a gigantic ice layer, like a small mountain, suddenly sank, disappearing without a trace as if devoured by something.
The ice surface was too vast and completely blocked the view.
However, the people still in the battle didn't notice such a scene.
The sudden change brought the Roger Pirates a glimmer of hope for survival, even though they didn't know what had happened.
But for Captain Roger, they had unconditional trust.
"Is it a whirlpool?"
The ice surface was moving, sinking, tilting, and even to some extent rotating.
A flash of wisdom shone in Tsuru's eyes as she guessed with a hint of doubt.
This was the only thing she could think of.
But, she didn't know what Roger wanted to do?
How would creating a whirlpool let them escape?
Could it be that he wanted them to achieve mutual destruction?
Tsuru felt a bad premonition in her heart.
The truth definitely wouldn't be as she guessed.
Here, they had Flying-type Devil Fruit Users.
If they wanted to, they could escape anytime.
What about the Roger Pirates themselves?
Tsuru had already determined the location of the whirlpool.
A powerful suction was constantly pulling the ice layer towards the core of the whirlpool.
No, they were inside the whirlpool from the start.
The terrifying strength of the seawater, reaching tens of thousands of tons, easily tore and split the ice layer.
"Storm Dragon, go take a look, what exactly happened?"
A few minutes passed, and the situation seemed increasingly critical.
Tsuru noticed that a large amount of ice layer had disappeared.
The Storm Dragon, who was slashed, heard this, spread his wings, and flew into the Sky.
This mission was relatively easy for him.
Same as Dragon, Storm Dragon was also holding back, especially after his colleague of many years, "White Ghost", was killed.
He was even more scared and didn't dare to fight with his life, being somewhat restrained and getting injured when an opportunity was seized.
"How, how could this be?"
Flying to a height of a thousand meters and looking down, "The Storm Dragon" was completely shocked, looking at this scene in disbelief.
The terrifying whirlpool covered a range of over a hundred kilometers.
It was attracting countless seawater to converge towards the center.
Especially at the core, the high-speed rotating sea current, like a Chasm, was devouring everything.
The whirlpool was too vast; it couldn't be seen at all from the ice layer.
But from high above, he could clearly see a gigantic ice layer submerged into the whirlpool, being directly devoured without causing a single ripple.
He had no doubt that even a Small Island would be devoured in front of it.
He could clearly feel that terrifying suction, even from the Sky.
A bird flying in the Sky directly fell under this suction.
He could even see Sea Kings.
"What, what kind of monster is this!"
A monster that devours everything.
A super whirlpool.
When Tsuru received the news, her expression changed.
Even she wasn't sure if they could escape in that short time once swept into the whirlpool.
With that terrifying suction, maybe the CP0 Director-General couldn't even fly up.
Let alone using Moonwalk under that anti-air zone-like condition; he couldn't fly up at all.
But there was still time.
Wanting to personally destroy the Roger Pirates was impossible now.
She didn't know if the Roger Pirates still had means to escape.
No matter what, they must try their best to delay time, to the maximum extent reducing the Roger Pirates' reaction time.
In front of such a terrifying whirlpool, once devoured, it could be said survival was impossible.
Time was short, and they couldn't achieve many results.
Tsuru had been waiting, while also paying attention to "The Storm Dragon"'s signal in the Sky.
Finally.
"Retreat!"
A red signal lit up in the Sky.
Those still fighting who received the command didn't know what happened, but they didn't get entangled further and quickly evacuated.
They had already realized something was wrong with the battlefield, so their reaction was very fast.
"Everyone jump onto Black Dragon's back!"
Under Tsuru's command, soon, one Strongman after another boarded the CP0 Director-General's back and flew into the Sky, only then knowing what exactly had happened.
The remaining Roger Pirates were already too late.
As the ice layer rapidly sank, they would soon be sucked into the whirlpool.
At this time, what means did they still have?
Since Roger created it, he definitely had a plan.
"Companions! I'll go first."
Without saying much, Roger put Ace back into its sheath.
He smiled, panting.
Standing on the ice surface, he directly jumped down towards that whirlpool that devours everything, as if going to his death.
"Is that how it is? It really is you, Roger."
Rayleigh glanced at the companion beside him and followed closely behind.
At this time, the rest of the companions, one by one, smiling, also jumped into the Chasm.
What method did Roger have?
In such a desperate situation, the only method he could think of was this.
Towards death, towards life!
As long as they didn't die at the hands of the Marines and the World Government, then they still had hope of survival.
Even if it was this nearly inescapable terrifying whirlpool.
Leave everything to destiny!
Leave everything to miracles!
The Roger Pirates actually jumped down voluntarily.
All of this was beyond the expectation of the many Strongmen of the Marines and the Government.
Even though they didn't know how the Roger Pirates would face it, they never thought it would be like this.
He didn't know why, but Garp felt a faint sadness in his heart.
"Let's go back and regroup first. Send people to search in the surrounding Sea Area."
Tsuru issued another command.
No matter what, they must send people to search.
What if someone miraculously survived?
Black Dragon spread his wings and left.
In the endless deep ocean depths, a damaged Pirate Ship seemed to be shining, sailing in the rapid current.
On top of the mast stood a small figure like a ghost, looking around, seemingly searching for something.
(end of chapter)
In two days, the Roger Pirates had already had over twenty members die in battle.
For a Pirate Crew with such a small number of members, this was a significant loss.
The World Government and the Marines wouldn't show mercy like the Flying Pirates did.
Another half day passed in the intense battle, and the Roger Pirates sacrificed a few more members.
The Roger Pirates, who originally had over fifty members, now only had just over twenty remaining.
The more time passed, the greater the disadvantage for the Roger Pirates.
Those who could still persist until now were undoubtedly the elite of the elite.
Even the Oro Jackson suffered heavy damage, taking a blast of Dragon Breath from the CP0 Director-General.
A third of its hull was destroyed, its internal frame clearly visible.
This action was carried out under Tsuru's command.
The Roger Pirates, pinned down by the encirclement, were completely unable to stop it.
The further they went, the more they had to cut off the Roger Pirates' hope.
In the vast Great Sea, without a ship, there was no way to escape, no matter what.
The entire Great Sea was eerily peaceful, as if it were the calm before a storm.
Suddenly, the ice surface beneath them began to tremble.
The sudden anomaly broke the situation of the battle.
No one knew what was happening.
They only felt the ground disappear underfoot as the ice surface seemed to be sinking.
Through the ice surface, they could see that the sea current of the originally peaceful sea surface was flowing at an astonishing speed.
Facing the power of the Great Sea, the trembling ice surface, even the nearly hundred-meter-thick ice layer, was extremely fragile.
Cracks appeared in the ice layer, one after another.
Countless spiderweb-like cracks rapidly spread outwards.
The Area frozen by Kuzan was too vast, spanning dozens of kilometers.
Located at the core of the battlefield, they simply didn't know what was happening.
Perhaps only Roger knew.
Everyone else also realized this.
"Boom!"
The ice layer exploded, and the ground tilted.
The ice layer, ravaged by the battle, first split open in the central area.
A gigantic ice layer, like a small mountain, fell into the depths below.
At this moment, the ice layer was split into dozens of pieces by an irresistible strength.
The battle was still continuing.
Unable to see what exactly was happening, the numerous combat forces of the World Government and the Marines intensified their offensive.
Having reached this point, it was impossible for them to give up.
This was merely the Roger Pirates' last struggle.
No matter what method they used, it would have no effect on them.
That's how it seemed for now.
"Ice Age!"
Kuzan, as an Ice-Ice Fruit Ability User, exerted his strength again.
The terrifying cold froze the Great Sea once more.
He wanted to use this to buy time.
However, he still underestimated the power of nature.
Only three seconds passed, and the trembling ice layer was split into several pieces.
It was as if a terrifying strength struck the core of the ice layer.
Suddenly, a gigantic ice layer, like a small mountain, suddenly sank, disappearing without a trace as if devoured by something.
The ice surface was too vast and completely blocked the view.
However, the people still in the battle didn't notice such a scene.
The sudden change brought the Roger Pirates a glimmer of hope for survival, even though they didn't know what had happened.
But for Captain Roger, they had unconditional trust.
"Is it a whirlpool?"
The ice surface was moving, sinking, tilting, and even to some extent rotating.
A flash of wisdom shone in Tsuru's eyes as she guessed with a hint of doubt.
This was the only thing she could think of.
But, she didn't know what Roger wanted to do?
How would creating a whirlpool let them escape?
Could it be that he wanted them to achieve mutual destruction?
Tsuru felt a bad premonition in her heart.
The truth definitely wouldn't be as she guessed.
Here, they had Flying-type Devil Fruit Users.
If they wanted to, they could escape anytime.
What about the Roger Pirates themselves?
Tsuru had already determined the location of the whirlpool.
A powerful suction was constantly pulling the ice layer towards the core of the whirlpool.
No, they were inside the whirlpool from the start.
The terrifying strength of the seawater, reaching tens of thousands of tons, easily tore and split the ice layer.
"Storm Dragon, go take a look, what exactly happened?"
A few minutes passed, and the situation seemed increasingly critical.
Tsuru noticed that a large amount of ice layer had disappeared.
The Storm Dragon, who was slashed, heard this, spread his wings, and flew into the Sky.
This mission was relatively easy for him.
Same as Dragon, Storm Dragon was also holding back, especially after his colleague of many years, "White Ghost", was killed.
He was even more scared and didn't dare to fight with his life, being somewhat restrained and getting injured when an opportunity was seized.
"How, how could this be?"
Flying to a height of a thousand meters and looking down, "The Storm Dragon" was completely shocked, looking at this scene in disbelief.
The terrifying whirlpool covered a range of over a hundred kilometers.
It was attracting countless seawater to converge towards the center.
Especially at the core, the high-speed rotating sea current, like a Chasm, was devouring everything.
The whirlpool was too vast; it couldn't be seen at all from the ice layer.
But from high above, he could clearly see a gigantic ice layer submerged into the whirlpool, being directly devoured without causing a single ripple.
He had no doubt that even a Small Island would be devoured in front of it.
He could clearly feel that terrifying suction, even from the Sky.
A bird flying in the Sky directly fell under this suction.
He could even see Sea Kings.
"What, what kind of monster is this!"
A monster that devours everything.
A super whirlpool.
When Tsuru received the news, her expression changed.
Even she wasn't sure if they could escape in that short time once swept into the whirlpool.
With that terrifying suction, maybe the CP0 Director-General couldn't even fly up.
Let alone using Moonwalk under that anti-air zone-like condition; he couldn't fly up at all.
But there was still time.
Wanting to personally destroy the Roger Pirates was impossible now.
She didn't know if the Roger Pirates still had means to escape.
No matter what, they must try their best to delay time, to the maximum extent reducing the Roger Pirates' reaction time.
In front of such a terrifying whirlpool, once devoured, it could be said survival was impossible.
Time was short, and they couldn't achieve many results.
Tsuru had been waiting, while also paying attention to "The Storm Dragon"'s signal in the Sky.
Finally.
"Retreat!"
A red signal lit up in the Sky.
Those still fighting who received the command didn't know what happened, but they didn't get entangled further and quickly evacuated.
They had already realized something was wrong with the battlefield, so their reaction was very fast.
"Everyone jump onto Black Dragon's back!"
Under Tsuru's command, soon, one Strongman after another boarded the CP0 Director-General's back and flew into the Sky, only then knowing what exactly had happened.
The remaining Roger Pirates were already too late.
As the ice layer rapidly sank, they would soon be sucked into the whirlpool.
At this time, what means did they still have?
Since Roger created it, he definitely had a plan.
"Companions! I'll go first."
Without saying much, Roger put Ace back into its sheath.
He smiled, panting.
Standing on the ice surface, he directly jumped down towards that whirlpool that devours everything, as if going to his death.
"Is that how it is? It really is you, Roger."
Rayleigh glanced at the companion beside him and followed closely behind.
At this time, the rest of the companions, one by one, smiling, also jumped into the Chasm.
What method did Roger have?
In such a desperate situation, the only method he could think of was this.
Towards death, towards life!
As long as they didn't die at the hands of the Marines and the World Government, then they still had hope of survival.
Even if it was this nearly inescapable terrifying whirlpool.
Leave everything to destiny!
Leave everything to miracles!
The Roger Pirates actually jumped down voluntarily.
All of this was beyond the expectation of the many Strongmen of the Marines and the Government.
Even though they didn't know how the Roger Pirates would face it, they never thought it would be like this.
He didn't know why, but Garp felt a faint sadness in his heart.
"Let's go back and regroup first. Send people to search in the surrounding Sea Area."
Tsuru issued another command.
No matter what, they must send people to search.
What if someone miraculously survived?
Black Dragon spread his wings and left.
In the endless deep ocean depths, a damaged Pirate Ship seemed to be shining, sailing in the rapid current.
On top of the mast stood a small figure like a ghost, looking around, seemingly searching for something.
(end of chapter)
