The sound of a shutter clicking echoed in the air.
Lafitte, thoroughly enjoying himself, pressed the shutter several more times in quick succession.
Maude shot an exasperated glance at Lafitte, who was inexplicably excited, before shifting his gaze toward the direction where Brook had gone earlier.
"Yohohoho...!"
As if responding to Maude's gaze, Brook's light skeletal frame soared into the air from a mansion.
Like Lafitte, he too was carrying an unconscious middle-aged Celestial Dragon.
Both of them had luck on their side, managing to capture a Celestial Dragon in such a short time.
Unbeknownst to them, this significantly reduced the difficulty of their retreat in this lightning-fast operation.
Maude retracted his gaze from Brook and turned to look at the enemies rising from the ground.
The forces responsible for the security of the Holy Land all seemed to be adept at using Moonwalk.
"Lafitte."
Maude tossed the three Celestial Dragons—who were bound together by thin shadow strings—directly toward Lafitte.
Lafitte put away his Den Den Mushi camera and effortlessly caught the three Celestial Dragons. He glanced at Maude with a hint of inquiry in his eyes.
"You and Brook retreat first."
"Understood."
Realizing that Maude intended to stay behind as the rearguard, Lafitte did not hesitate. Without a word of protest, he spread his wings and flew toward Brook.
Carrying people while using Moonwalk would inevitably affect one's posture and speed.
Even though Brook's skeletal body was light, he still couldn't avoid being hindered by the added weight.
However, Lafitte had no such concerns. As he passed Brook, he took the middle-aged Celestial Dragon from him.
"Eh?"
Brook, now empty-handed as Lafitte took all five Celestial Dragons, had an unreadable expression in his hollow eye sockets.
"Go."
Lafitte ascended higher into the sky.
"What about the Captain?"
Brook used Moonwalk to keep pace with Lafitte, moving rapidly through the air.
"He's covering our retreat."
Lafitte looked down at Maude below.
"Covering our retreat?" Brook was taken aback and said gravely, "Facing so many enemies alone— even for the Captain..."
"Don't forget the Captain's abilities, Brook."
Lafitte's voice carried unwavering confidence in Maude's strength.
"Our job is to get these Celestial Dragons back to the ship as quickly as possible, not to worry about the Captain here."
"..."
Brook silently nodded.
Below.
Maude hovered in midair, the black wings on his back rhythmically beating.
He lowered his head slightly, calmly observing the swarm of enemies rising from the ground.
"Every single one of them knows Moonwalk, huh..."
The number of enemies taking to the air far exceeded Maude's expectations.
It was no wonder this place was known as the safest location in the world.
The security here was impenetrable on land, sea, and air alike.
However, an island granted by the Float-Float Fruit had become the key to breaking through the Holy Land's defenses.
"But still, it's too late for you all."
Maude gripped the twin pistols formed from Bailey's transformed body and aimed at the dense swarm of enemies below.
"Bang! Bang!"
As he pulled the trigger, a thought crossed Maude's mind—it was about time to update Bailey's transformation arsenal.
If he remembered correctly, this world even had Gatling guns.
Once this mission was over, he would put in the effort to acquire the necessary blueprints for Bailey.
Or, if he wanted a more direct approach, he could seize a large-scale weapons factory.
Speaking of which...
Doflamingo's Dressrosa had one, didn't it?
As his thoughts drifted, the lead bullets fired from his gun barrels blazed with heat as they rained down upon the Holy Land's guards.
Facing Maude's gunfire, the guards skillfully executed Moonwalk maneuvers, weaving through the air to evade the incoming bullets with ease.
If they were the type to be taken down by ordinary bullets, they wouldn't be qualified to guard the Holy Land.
However—
While Maude's shots didn't injure the guards, they still managed to slow their pursuit.
"Honestly, I never expected 'ordinary' bullets to take you down in the first place..."
A smirk played on Maude's lips as he began mixing in Armament Haki-infused bullets between his standard shots.
This was his usual tactic.
After all, anyone with even a bit of strength in this world was practically immune to normal gunfire.
"Hmm? Something's off...!"
The foremost guards, despite lacking Observation Haki, still keenly sensed the looming danger.
Unfortunately for them, the speed of Haki-infused bullets was on an entirely different level compared to regular rounds.
By the time they dodged the normal bullets, they had already been locked onto by the Armament Haki-infused shots. Even though they sensed the danger, it was too late to react.
Unable to clad themselves in Haki in time, they were struck in their vital points, dropping from the sky like birds shot mid-flight.
Watching their comrades fall, the remaining guards did not waver in the slightest and continued their relentless pursuit.
"Bang! Bang!"
One by one, more guards were taken down by Maude.
Yet, their sheer numbers and individual strength were formidable.
No matter how powerful Maude's gunfire was, he couldn't completely stop their advance.
As the Holy Land's guards closed the distance, Maude showed no intention of retreating—his stance made it clear that he was ready to fight to the death.
"Their priority will be rescuing the Celestial Dragons... I'll just hold off as many of them as I can."
With this thought, Maude pushed his firing rate to its limits.
With so many enemies, a breakthrough was inevitable.
And just as Maude expected, the pursuing guards split into two groups upon closing in.
One group engaged Maude, while the other bypassed him to chase Lafitte and Brook.
However, Maude's fierce suppression had already eliminated any chance they had of catching up to Lafitte and Brook.
The outcome was decided.
Maude chuckled, switching to a single pistol while drawing his sword, Shusui, with his other hand.
With a powerful beat of his black wings, Maude didn't retreat—he advanced instead, transforming into a streak of darkness that tore through the formation of guards like a falling star before diving straight toward the Celestial Dragons' district.
Rather than fleeing, he willingly dropped to the ground?
This irrational move left both the guards and CP agents stunned.
Under countless gazes, Maude landed lightly on top of a tower-like building, his black wings retracting back into his shadow.
"At a time like this, you still have the nerve to watch from the sidelines?"
Maude turned his head toward a nearby building where a group of Celestial Dragons stood, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"Are all Celestial Dragons really this brainless?"
Before his words even finished, Maude swung his blade, unleashing a Hakoku slash toward them.
At that moment—
An elderly man wielding a cursed blade stepped in front of the Celestial Dragons, countering Maude's Hakoku with a reverse slash of his own.
The colliding forces sent violent winds howling through the air.
Inside the building—
The Celestial Dragons, witnessing the scene firsthand, trembled in terror and collapsed to the ground.
Outside—
Maude didn't spare a glance at the old man who blocked his attack. Instead, his gaze shifted in a particular direction.
He had sensed a cold, piercing stare from afar.
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