Chapter 125: Do Me a Favor

The shot Mord fired with all his might from that moment on changed the course of fate.

Lafitte descended from the sky, shielding Mord and Sabo from Kizaru’s attack.

At this very moment, every nerve in Lafitte’s body was exhilarated.

He had taken a liking to the man behind him.

Lafitte’s sudden rescue took Sabo by surprise, while Mord struggled to lift his eyelids and look toward Thor’s position.

Without the aid of Observation Haki, all he could see were two black dots.

As for Garp’s punch, it ultimately never landed.

Jesus Burgess’s consecutive sniper shots were at best a warning, not enough to make Garp stop.

What truly made Garp cease was the overwhelming Conqueror’s Haki exuded by Red-Haired Shanks.

Without uttering a single word to restrain Garp, the powerful aura, burning like the sun itself, was enough for Garp to instantly understand Shanks’s stance.

If one were to strike with intent to kill.

Here.

No surrender, no retreat.

That was Shanks’s message.

“Red-Haired…”

Garp turned sideways, frowning as Shanks strode forward with purposeful steps.

The aura radiating from him was domineering; with each step, dust silently rose.

Yet, it had no tangible effect on Garp.

The only thing Garp cared to heed was Shanks’s attitude.

He did not fear Shanks, but he had to consider the consequences of an all-out fight.

Shanks’s arrival also caused Kizaru to abandon his pursuit.

“Ah, well…”

Ignoring Lafitte, who had blocked the ice shards meant for Mord and Sabo, Kizaru turned sideways and glanced at the imposing Shanks.

A formidable figure had arrived…

In this situation, the only sensible choice was to call it quits.

In an instant, Kizaru saw the reality clearly.

A fight to the death here would be a terrible outcome for all parties.

The Red Hair Pirates surely understood this well.

Step by step, Shanks advanced.

He crossed the dust and stepped onto the solid ice.

His footsteps were silent, yet the ice cracked beneath him.

Stopping not far from Garp, Shanks ceased moving, but the aura he released continued to intensify.

“Show me some respect and stand down. It won’t be a bad thing for either of us.”

“Red-Haired…”

Garp’s forehead darkened with shadows.

Suddenly, he threw a punch at Shanks.

Unfazed, Shanks drew his sword calmly, holding it horizontally to block Garp’s fist.

Clang!

The collision between fist and blade sparked a fierce energy that radiated outward, shattering the ice within a hundred meters.

Thor, lying nearby, was knocked unconscious by the shockwave.

Already severely injured, he had been holding on by sheer willpower.

But that overwhelming aura was the final straw that broke him.

Shanks’s sword, held steady like a mountain before him, prevented Garp’s punch from advancing further, yet it also made Shanks wary.

This old man was not someone to be trifled with.

Afterward, Garp silently withdrew his fist.

Though he said nothing, Shanks knew he had consented.

“A wise choice.”

Shanks sheathed his sword, stepped past Garp, and approached Thor.

His gaze lingered briefly on Thor’s shattered leg before he gently lifted the unconscious, gravely wounded man.

Elsewhere, Jesus Burgess made his way to Mord.

Along the path, he exchanged a brief, silent glance with Kizaru.

As one of the earliest recruits of Shanks, Jesus Burgess did not fear Kizaru.

Under Kizaru’s watchful eyes, Jesus Burgess reached Lafitte.

Lafitte narrowed his eyes, assessing Jesus Burgess, then stepped aside respectfully.

Jesus Burgess glanced once more at Lafitte before turning to the weary Mord.

He chuckled heartily, then slapped Mord firmly on the shoulder.

“You’ve got some guts, kid. Just a few months gone, and you’ve become so formidable.”

“Jesus Burgess… Is Thor alright?”

Mord winced at the slap, baring his teeth slightly, not accepting the praise.

His concern lay with Thor’s safety.

Jesus Burgess grinned confidently.

“Since we’re here, how could we let Mr. Thor come to harm?”

His words brimmed with assurance.

Mord finally relaxed, though his head felt heavy, as if blood flow was insufficient.

Jesus Burgess then looked down at the shattered remains of Usopp.

Mord lowered his voice.

“Sorry, I didn’t handle him well…”

Only after firing that last shot did Mord fully grasp the value of Usopp.

To a seasoned marksman, a trusty old gun like Usopp was nothing short of priceless.

“No, you did just fine.”

Jesus Burgess patted Mord’s shoulder again and spoke earnestly.

“Handing over the old friend to you was the smartest choice I’ve made in years.”

With that, Jesus Burgess knelt and retrieved a drop-shaped mechanism—the gun’s core—from the scattered parts.

“Keep the mechanism safe. It’s not wasted, having completed its final journey in your hands.”

“Yeah.”

Mord carefully took the worn mechanism and placed it in his inner pocket.

“By the way, I want to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“I heard there’s a big shot in Mad Hatter Town named Usopp…”

“Hm?”

Mord was momentarily taken aback.

Sabo and Lafitte instinctively turned toward Mord, a flicker of surprise in their eyes.

“Because he shares the same name as my son, I’m curious, Mord, you…”

Jesus Burgess was speaking when he noticed Mord clutch his forehead, then close his eyes, as if utterly exhausted, suddenly collapsing against Sabo.

Sabo caught him instinctively, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Lafitte lowered his hat brim, silent.

Jesus Burgess raised an eyebrow, looking at Mord sprawled over Sabo, and asked oddly, “What’s the matter? Why are you suddenly playing dead?”

“Uh…”

Mord was at a loss for words.

...

The intervention of the Red Hair Pirates brought this conflict to a close.

Both sides acted with reason, avoiding further escalation.

In the end, Mord and the others boarded the Red Hair Pirates’ Red Force and set sail from the inner bay of Mad Hatter Island.

As for Sabo and the others, they returned to their ship anchored on the opposite side of Mad Hatter Island.

In this rescue operation for the pig farm slaves, the Revolutionary Army deployed two ships.

To aid Mord, Sabo first sent one ship carrying the slaves away from Mad Hatter Island, a place fraught with trouble.

Then, they stayed behind with the other ship, which led to the subsequent events.

Because the Sunny and the Bailie were aboard the Revolutionary Army’s ship, after leaving the inner bay, the Red Force made a deliberate half-circle around the island to rendezvous with the Revolutionary Army’s ship.

The gangplanks connected, and the Sunny came aboard the Red Force.

After confirming Thor was out of danger, and tending to his injuries, the Sunny tightly embraced Mord in silence for a long while.

Shanks, however, oblivious to the tender moment, quietly leaned in and whispered, “Little Nini, do you know where Thor hides his stash of liquor?”

“I do.”

“Heh heh.”

...

Meanwhile,

After the Red Hair Pirates departed, Gion led a team to purge the remaining pirate remnants still trapped on Mad Hatter Island.

Before this, some had already escaped on makeshift rafts.

Among them was Arthur.