Hearing Souta Kiryuu's words, Issho's heart was torn. What he sought was a path of change from within, a way to reduce civilian casualties without bathing the world in fire and blood. That was why he had never joined the Revolutionary Army. If he could rise within the Navy or the World Government, he believed he could gradually shift the tides of the world.
But Souta's voice cut through his hesitation like a blade.
"Issho, since the dawn of time, true peace has always required baptism in blood. The Celestial Dragons are rotten to their core. Even if you became a high-ranking admiral, you could never change their will. Fist of Justice Garp couldn't do it. Sengoku the Buddha couldn't do it. Even Dragon abandoned the Navy to found the Revolutionary Army."
Souta's words thundered in Issho's ears. As he spoke, the black-and-red lightning of his Conqueror's Haki spread outward, splitting the air. His eyes locked onto the trembling Montabard, one of the so-called Holy Knights. Laser beams shot from his gaze again and again, hunting him down. Purple veins of poison crawled across his dragon claws as he prepared to tear the knight apart.
"Poisonous Demon Dragon Claw!"
Souta ignored Conifer's assault and swung straight for Montabard, his killing intent resolute.
"No!"
Issho stepped in, blade raised, intercepting Conifer's Haki-coated sword while simultaneously using the power of the Gravity Fruit to slow Souta's strike. He forced Montabard away from Souta's lethal reach. He couldn't allow a Celestial Dragon to die here.
"Blind man!! Help us kill Souta Kiryuu, and I'll make you a Navy admiral!!" Montabard's panicked voice cracked as he struggled to block the monstrous claw. The image of his fellow knight Gust being ripped apart by Souta replayed vividly in his mind.
"Too late!!"
Souta roared, his arm swelling threefold with the combined might of the Oni and ancient giant bloodlines running in his veins. His claw tore through Issho's gravity field, raking across Montabard's Haki-armored arm. Bone cracked, blood spattered, and three jagged gashes reached deep enough to scrape white bone. Poison seeped instantly into the wound, turning the flesh around it a sickly black-purple.
"No!!"
"Fos, Conifer! Hold him off! I need treatment!!"
Montabard's scream was raw as his arm went numb, rotting rapidly. He bolted, abandoning his comrades, sprinting for the CP medical unit in a frenzy. In all his years as a Holy Knight, he had never been wounded so terribly. The agony was unbearable.
His retreat shattered Fos and Conifer's morale. The two knights staggered back hundreds of meters, unwilling to keep fighting.
Souta lunged forward, ready to finish them off, but Issho stopped him with a firm hand.
"Let them go! Saving lives comes first!" Issho's blind eyes seemed to pierce Souta. He had no wish to protect Celestial Dragons, but he refused to fight Souta head-on either.
"You're certain? Then if I said you must join us in exchange for this mercy—what would you answer?" Souta asked quietly. Fos and Conifer seized the chance to flee, retreating far from the battlefield.
Issho sighed deeply, lowering his blade. "Your path is the same as the Revolutionary Army's—too much sacrifice, too much madness. That's not the road I wish to walk. Not after what you did at Enies Lobby. Too many innocent soldiers died there."
"In that case, I'll take just a little of your blood. This," Souta held out several crystalline seeds glowing faintly with life, "is a Blood Crystal Dandelion, born from the ability of a healing fruit user. With it, you can save lives."
Issho fell silent, then took the dandelions. Without a word, he drew his blade across his own arm, offering his blood. Souta eagerly collected it in a special container until a vial was full.
Issho consumed one of the dandelions. His wound sealed instantly, leaving him astonished. "This… this is a miracle medicine. If my blood can be exchanged for these, I don't mind giving more—so long as it saves lives."
"Agreed." Souta handed over the rest of the crystals and personally collected more blood and a small sample of Issho's flesh.
When Issho tore a strip of cloth to bandage himself rather than use another dandelion, Souta was unexpectedly moved. In a world of cruelty and corruption, here stood a man of genuine justice, patching what was broken, shining faint light in endless darkness.
"You're truly a good man. I hope one day, we can stand as comrades." Souta tossed Issho a higher-grade Blood Crystal Dandelion. "Take this. Don't refuse." Then he transformed into his dragon form and soared away.
Issho caught the crystal, pausing in silence. After a moment, he consumed it, and the fatigue and wounds vanished, his strength surging back. "You, too, have a land of kindness in your heart." He smiled faintly, then rushed to the wounded civilians. Carefully rationing the dandelions, he healed only the most grievously injured, saving lives that would otherwise have been lost.
Seeing shattered limbs restored, Issho knew how priceless these crystals truly were. Trading a little blood for them was worth it beyond measure. And Souta had even healed him in the end. In truth, he had lost nothing.
Elsewhere, Fos and Conifer sprinted into the battle between Garlin, Kaido, and King. "Garlin! We can't hold out! Gust is dead! Montabard's gravely injured! Payne and Klein are barely holding against Big Mom and Golden Lion! And we couldn't stop Souta Kiryuu or that damned blind man!" Fos shouted in rage. The mission had collapsed utterly. For the first time in countless years, the Holy Knights had suffered death. One of their exalted ranks had fallen.
If this war continued, more would die. They had no intention of trading lives with "lowly" pirates. Better to throw the full might of the Navy into the fray and let the marines bleed in their place.