One Piece: Scourge of the Seas

The Pig Farm was primarily a production base, mainly focused on agriculture and livestock, resulting in a sprawling array of buildings.

At this moment:

The night sky was ablaze.

Most of the buildings were engulfed in flames.

Such a severe fire clearly indicated the handiwork of the Revolutionary Army, indirectly reflecting the difficulty they faced in rescuing the enslaved workers.

To counter their struggles, the Revolutionary Army resorted to arson in an attempt to divert enemy forces.

However, after setting fire to several structures, the Revolutionary Army discovered something unexpected—the armed forces at the Pig Farm showed no intention of extinguishing the flames.

Even as the fire spread to grain storage warehouses, the armed forces remained indifferent, wielding their weapons and unleashing unrestrained hostility upon their enemies.

This response was due to Ralph's orders.

Ralph, who owned numerous enterprises in Mad Hat Town, including auction houses, investments in the Wine District, and Pleasure District, had no regard for the Pig Farm's modest output.

With his immense wealth, Ralph prioritized assets that ensured continued productivity, such as the enslaved workforce and the underground weapons factory, both of which were far more valuable.

The slaves, though, were replaceable. Should they perish, Ralph could always replenish his stock by funding the slave-hunting teams.

Money could resolve such issues, and for Ralph, problems solvable with money were no problems at all.

The weapons factory, however, was his lifeline and a key step in connecting with the "Joker."

Now, the Revolutionary Army dared to target him directly—and even went as far as to plant explosives in his weapons factory.

Were it not for his meticulous attention to the factory's defenses, the consequences would have been catastrophic.

Enraged beyond measure, Ralph declared an order of indiscriminate execution, motivating his forces with promises of hefty rewards.

Even if it meant collateral damage among the slaves, Ralph was adamant—no Revolutionary Army members were to escape.

Under the lure of substantial bounties, Ralph's subordinates became frenzied, bringing tremendous pressure upon the Revolutionary Army.

The battle raged under the fiery glow of the night, and the cacophony of violent clashes echoed across the Pig Farm.

Ralph's armed forces held a numerical advantage and were equipped with advanced weaponry, including shoulder-mounted cannons.

After all, a weapons factory was located right there.

The armed forces leveraged their substantial arsenal of shoulder-mounted cannons to significantly hinder the Revolutionary Army's retreat.

At this moment, in an underground tunnel.

Trembling slaves huddled together, supporting one another as they shuffled through a long underground tunnel, forming a slow-moving line.

Revolutionary Army members were stationed at regular intervals along both sides of the line, maintaining order and preventing chaos.

At the head of the line was a shirtless male giant clad only in a checkered skirt.

This was Morley, the Commander of the Revolutionary Army's Western Forces. His Devil Fruit ability allowed him to carve out tunnels effortlessly beneath the ground.

Thanks to his unique ability, Morley was the busiest among the four commanders during any mission involving rescue operations.

This time, it was Sabo who had contacted Morley for assistance with the Mad Hat Town mission.

The explosions on the surface sent faint tremors through the tunnel.

Dust fell in a constant drizzle, creating a palpable sense of unease.

Morley glanced up at the ceiling of the tunnel, a flicker of concern crossing his eyes.

It wasn't the tunnel's structural integrity that worried him but rather the safety of his comrades fighting aboveground to buy time.

"Can we move faster?" he asked, turning to look at the long line of slaves. He tightened his grip on the massive trident in his hand.

Given the significant height difference between the cliffs of Mad Hat Island and the sea, along with the large number of elderly, weak, and infirm among the slaves, Morley couldn't preemptively excavate a tunnel connecting directly to the escape ships.

His task was to dig a descending tunnel leading to the ships, ensuring it wasn't too steep for the slaves to traverse.

Though Morley's tunneling efficiency was nothing to scoff at, the sluggish pace of the slaves proved to be the real challenge.

Such difficulties were expected in rescue missions, and Morley had long grown accustomed to them.

But that didn't stop him from worrying about his comrades above.

At that moment, a message was relayed among the Revolutionary Army members stationed in the tunnel, traveling from the rear to the front until it reached the member closest to Morley.

It was a message from Koala.

"Morley, Koala has gone to the surface to assist Sabo. She asked me to inform you," said the Revolutionary Army member.

"I see," Morley responded without looking back, focusing on carving the tunnel.

Meanwhile, on the surface.

Amid the chaos, Sabo wielded a steel pipe, fearlessly charging into the enemy ranks.

To reduce the pressure on his comrades, Sabo targeted the soldiers equipped with shoulder-mounted cannons.

His relentless assault slowly but steadily diminished the number of such weapons among the enemy.

Alone in the fray, Sabo naturally became the focus of the enemy's retaliation.

Yet, thanks to his formidable combat skills, Sabo rendered their numerical superiority meaningless. The armed forces couldn't land a decisive blow on him, while he used his steel pipe to eliminate many of them.

The soldiers were baffled by the material of Sabo's weapon. With one swing, he could destroy their shoulder-mounted cannons.

As for those hit by the steel pipe—they never stood a chance.

Thanks to Sabo's remarkable performance, the Revolutionary Army began to turn the tide of battle.

However, the arrival of Ralph's top enforcer shifted the balance.

Sabo's eyes narrowed as a man suddenly appeared in his path.

"Copperbeard Scott," Sabo muttered, recognizing the man's distinctive bronze-colored pointed beard.

Scott was Ralph's most powerful enforcer and the one who had recently brought the Castle-Castle Fruit back from the Grand Line.

"Impressive," Scott said, raising a fist that gleamed like bronze. Upon noticing Sabo's youthful appearance, his eyes flashed with surprise.

Sabo glanced at his steel pipe, noting a faint dent. He remained silent.

Sensing Sabo's wariness, Scott smirked arrogantly.

"Kid, you should be gra—"

Clang!

A lead bullet suddenly struck Scott's temple mid-sentence, cutting him off.

The impact caused Scott's head to tilt slightly to one side.

"Hmm?" Sabo was momentarily startled by the unexpected shot. He quickly looked toward the bullet's origin, his eyes filled with confusion.

The direction of the shot was entirely occupied by the enemy forces.

Scott, too, was baffled. "Which idiot shot that?!"

Had it not been for the Copper-Copper Fruit's ability, a shot to the temple like that would have been lethal.

As Scott turned back to Sabo, he attempted to finish his earlier sentence. "You should be gra—"

Clang!

Another lead bullet struck his temple, interrupting him once again.

"Damn it!" Scott roared, his gaze snapping toward the source of the bullets.

All he saw were his own armed soldiers.

Questions swirled in Scott's mind.

Sabo found the situation strange but wasted no time pondering it. He seized the opportunity to attack Scott, aiming to end the fight quickly and resume targeting the shoulder-mounted cannons to relieve his comrades.

Scott wanted to identify the shooter but had no choice but to focus on Sabo's assault.

The two clashed fiercely.

Meanwhile.

In a distance not too far away.

"Wow, that's tough," Maude muttered, regret flashing across his soot-streaked face.

Wearing a uniform of the armed forces and smeared with dirt, he raised his firearm, aiming it at the Revolutionary Army once more.

Of course, his carefully aimed shots would never actually hit them.

In the chaos of battle, accidental friendly fire was inevitable.

Nearby, Sunny, also disguised in an armed forces uniform, muttered under her breath, "I told you that shot wasn't a miss."

"Ah, my bad. I owe you an apology," Maude replied softly.

Then, with a menacing expression, he fired again, shouting, "How dare you cause trouble here at the Pig Farm! I'll shoot every last one of you bastards!"

Sunny blinked at Maude, stunned by his immersive act. Without a word, she shuffled a few steps away from him.

The surrounding soldiers, inspired by Maude's fervor, shouted their support.

"Good job, brother!"

"Yeah, shoot those bastards who dared to stir up trouble!"

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