"Thank you, young girl. Thank you so much," the old lady's hair was disheveled, and her thin frame made her look quite fragile. She had reading glasses perched on her nose, giving her a kind and gentle appearance.

"Thank you. I knew I shouldn't have come to Loguetown, but Barto insisted. Oh, this must be divine retribution. It has to be! Oh dear, how unfortunate! Oh my, young girl, your forehead is swollen. Let me teach you a remedy. Find some ice and wrap it in a cloth…"

The old lady's words flowed endlessly, and Vivi hurriedly pushed her aside.

"Grandma, please rest over there. I still need to save people. You don't need to help. You should rest well at your age!"

Vivi considered herself skilled, and with her loyal duck as her savior, she managed to escape the shipwreck despite being bruised and battered. But the old lady, despite her messy hair, appeared to be completely unharmed from head to toe. It truly was a miracle!

At one point, Vivi even suspected that this old woman was a hidden master residing in the East Blue, but upon closer inspection, it seemed unlikely.

After some effort, she finally pulled her unconscious pet duck out from a pile of broken planks.

Exhausted, she was covered in sweat, and her sky-blue hair was caked with dirt. Her right arm, left knee, and forearm were all swollen and bruised.

While saving the duck, she also rescued a bunch of people, including her newly recognized subordinates, Johnny and Yosaku.

"Johnny, get your ass up!"

"Yosaku, your Zoro-aniki is here!"

Gradually, the group regained consciousness. Vivi finally let out a sigh of relief and sat on a broken plank. Her sword "Kashu" and the newly acquired Meito were placed nearby. Her eyes were vacant as she stared straight ahead, but after regaining some energy, she began to contemplate an escape plan.

First, she surveyed her surroundings and didn't spot Golden Lion anywhere. It seemed that the guy wasn't concerned about their escape at all.

Vivi peered down below the floating island and estimated it to be over ten thousand meters high.

In the world of One Piece, there were numerous peculiar physical rules. Just like Enel's Ark Maxim, which allowed him to effortlessly soar to the moon without any form of protection. The Automata were even more impressive, capable of ascending into the sky by simply holding onto balloons.

Vivi let out a long sigh. Jumping down from such a height with Karoo would be asking too much of the poor duck, wouldn't it?

"Gaah?" As Vivi gazed downward at the floating island, Karoo stretched its neck and took a peek as well. 

'Wow! It's so high!' It scared the duck out of its wits!

Karoo jerked its head back and coincidentally locked eyes with Vivi, who had a look of "scientific exploration spirit" in her eyes. This only frightened Karoo even more. It quickly folded its wings across its chest and frantically formed an "X" shape, indicating, "No, no, absolutely not! Your idea is incredibly dangerous!"

Vivi inwardly shook her head. It was indeed too challenging.

Johnny and Yosaku, on the other hand, were filled with enthusiasm. They still had the strength to help the injured survivors.

Among Vivi's group, her ship benefited from her initial guidance and subsequent rescue efforts, making it have the highest number of survivors. The other merchant ships were filled with corpses, and blood and body parts were scattered everywhere. Most of the casualties occurred when the ships collided.

"Huh? Old Van, what are you doing here?" Vivi unexpectedly spotted the sniper Van Augur amidst the crowd.

Perhaps there had been some animosity before, but in the current situation, that animosity was insignificant.

Van Augur accepted the moniker "Old Van." The top-tier sniper's velvet cloak had frayed and his clothes were tattered. Only the monocle over his right eye and the long rifle in his hand remained intact.

His gaze toward Vivi was quite complex, but in the end, he swallowed the words he intended to say. He pointed with his left hand toward a nearby mountain hollow and said, "I don't understand the reasons, but I know that guy should be dealing with the Marines. We were just caught up together. Perhaps those Marines know more information."

'The Marines are here too?' Vivi didn't have Van Augur's keen eyesight. When she was boasting with Johnny and Yosaku in the cabin, she had no idea that a Marine warship was trailing far behind.

Seeing that Van Augur showed no intention of taking action and everyone on her side was civilians, Vivi decided to negotiate on her own. She wanted to ask if the Marines had a Den Den Mushi with them, and if they did, it would be best to quickly contact the headquarters and send an Admiral to rescue them! If an Admiral was not available, then a Vice Admiral would do, like Luffy's grandfather, Garp.

She arrived at the mountain hollow, looking at the scattered soldiers and the chaotic scene. For a moment, she couldn't spot any high-ranking Marine Officer.

Her attention was drawn to a young girl sitting on the ground. The wailing soldiers were all wearing standard Marine uniforms, but there was no higher-ranking officer with a "cloak of justice" in sight. Only this young girl was dressed in civilian attire. Most importantly, Vivi noticed the calluses on her palm near the base of her thumb, likely from sword training.

"Hey, is this your sword?" Vivi asked from a distance, holding up the Meito she had "picked up" on the way.

After being effortlessly defeated by Golden Lion, Petty Officer Tashigi couldn't feel more powerless. She realized just how weak she was!

However, as someone dedicated to collecting Meito from all over the world, her attention was immediately diverted when she heard the word "sword." Her focus shifted to Vivi.

"Ah! That's... that's mine."

Vivi tossed the sword to her, and upon learning that the girl was Petty Officer Tashigi stationed at the Marine Headquarters in Loguetown, Vivi asked with excitement, "You're Tashigi? The female swordsman of the Marines? I've heard so much about you! Is Captain Smoker also on this mission with you? Where is he?"

Vivi remembered Smoker having the Moku Moku no Mi. If he could transform into smoke, there was no reason he couldn't fly in smoke form. Now that they were at an altitude of over ten thousand meters, Smoker could transform into smoke and descend, potentially saving a few civilians along the way. A weak young girl and a duck were in desperate need of help!

However, Tashigi's subsequent words left her feeling disappointed.

"Captain... Captain was captured by that weird person!"

Tashigi's tone, filled with despair as if her mentor had been taken by a monster, caused Vivi to lower her head and think carefully, "Then, what about the Den Den Mushi? Who has the Den Den Mushi that can contact your headquarters?"

Seeing Vivi's determined expression, Tashigi forgot that she was an officer and the other party was a civilian. She replied weakly, "It should be in the Captain's possession."

Vivi didn't have time to scold Smoker for being weak. Her mind was racing, trying to come up with a plan. 

What should she do? Should she start training Karoo to fly from now on? Gather clothes and make an improvised parachute? Or should she inform Arabasta and ask for the assistance of Pell, the Tori Tori no Mi user, to fly over and rescue them?

While she was lost in thought, a coarse voice sounded from beside her.

"Women are useless. Hmph! What's there to be afraid of? The honor of the Marines needs us to protect it! Since the soldiers from headquarters are incompetent, let's see what my 153rd Branch soldiers can do! I was caught off guard earlier, but now that I'm on solid ground, if that guy dares to come again, I, Morgan, will kill him with a single swing of my axe!"

(End of the Chapter)

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