The moment Jake's voice emerged, Saint Garling felt a warm current slowly rising from the depths of his heart, bringing a comfort akin to basking in winter sunlight.

His body had never felt so light, his spirit never so joyous.

Under the guidance of this power, Saint Garling felt every muscle in his body being perfectly directed and released.

Unable to contain himself, he let out a soft cry as sword light roared from his blade, slicing through several waves in one stroke.

The other officers, whose attacks had begun to falter, also managed to shatter large swathes of the surging waves once more with Jake's assistance.

Saint Garling turned his head to see Jake rapidly approaching the Celestial Dragons' ship using Moon Walk.

Beside Jake, the Logia user of the Snow-Snow Fruit was desperately creating an ice path to facilitate the Celestial Dragons' escape.

However, due to the terrifying waves, the construction of the ice path was extremely difficult.

The commodore named Monet was straining every ounce of her strength, barely managing to maintain a small section of the path.

Witnessing this, Saint Garling's initial suspicions toward the Marines gradually faded.

If the Marines had truly orchestrated this tsunami, they wouldn't be working so frantically to save the Celestial Dragons now.

He wasn't a fool—he could tell whether those present were giving their all to rescue efforts.

Yet even so, Saint Garling could already imagine the staggering number of Celestial Dragons who would perish in this disaster.

'Damn it!'

'Could there truly be such a thing as divine punishment in this world?!'

No, impossible! They themselves were gods—Imu-sama was a god!

As the waves crashed down, the entire sea fell into eerie silence.

When calm finally returned, a weary voice broke through the stillness.

"Healing Prayer."

Pale golden ripples radiated outward from Jake's position, mending the wounds of those who had survived the storm.

The tsunami had torn the Celestial Dragons' ship to shreds, while the Marine warships, being farther from the epicenter of the waves, suffered relatively minor damage.

Still, two warships had been completely obliterated.

Fortunately, the soldiers aboard those vessels had been close to Monet and managed to escape via the ice path before the ships were destroyed, narrowly avoiding disaster.

Debris now floated across the sea as Garp darted back and forth through the waters, rescuing one drowning Marine or Celestial Dragon after another and bringing them aboard the remaining warships.

Standing on Kizaru's ship, Saint Garling trembled as he surveyed the scene.

"How many Celestial Dragons survived?"

Kizaru felt an inexplicable amusement at the question, though his tone remained solemn.

"My apologies, Saint Garling. Only thirty or so remain. We did everything we could, but the waves came too swiftly—we..."

At this, Saint Garling's vision darkened, his heart skipping a beat.

Out of the eighty-plus Celestial Dragons who had come, more than fifty had perished.

Returning with such losses would likely cost him his position as leader of the God Knights!

He wanted to shift the blame onto someone else, but he reluctantly realized that, in this rescue operation, the Admirals had all performed their duties admirably.

Kizaru had used his speed to save seven Celestial Dragons—by the eighth, the waves had already crashed down.

Even the old-timers like Zephyr and Garp had jumped into the sea in the end, attempting to physically push the Celestial Dragons' ship to safety.

But the currents were too powerful—even their combined strength couldn't move the vessel quickly enough.

Sakazuki only put in some effort at the beginning and didn't move afterward.

But this couldn't be blamed on him.

If Sakazuki had kept attacking the waves, any Marines or Celestial Dragons who fell into the sea would have been boiled alive instantly.

Him not acting was already the greatest help he could offer.

What about shifting the blame to the lower-ranking Marine officers? That wouldn't work either.

Because Garling had personally witnessed Jake using his abilities to save nearly a dozen Celestial Dragons.

That commodore?

If not for the ice path she created, even more Celestial Dragons would have died.

Everyone present had done their best.

Against a disaster of that magnitude, Garling even felt that the survival of nearly half the Celestial Dragons was nothing short of a miracle.

But… would Im-sama listen to these excuses?

Most likely not.

To Im-sama, his failure in this matter was simply a lack of capability—something that deserved punishment!

The thought of Im-sama's punishment filled Garling heart with despair.

Yet, no matter how he looked around, he couldn't find anyone to shift the blame onto.

Just as his temper reached its peak, Jake's voice suddenly rang out from nearby.

"Saint Garling, among the surviving Celestial Dragons, a few seem emotionally unstable. They keep saying…"

"Saying what?!"

Already irritated, Garling grew even more furious at Jake's hesitant tone and urged him impatiently.

Jake, appearing somewhat awkward, lowered his voice and replied.

"They say this is all your fault. The Hunting Season was supposed to last three days. If you hadn't made them leave early, none of this would have happened. They also said… once they return to the Holy Land, they'll report your negligence to their fathers or clan leaders."

At this, Garling felt a metallic taste rise in his throat and a mouthful of crimson blood spilled from his lips.

Clutching his chest, his eyes turn bloodshot as he glared at Jake.

"Tell me, who said this?! No—don't tell me! Take me to them!"

Watching Garling furious reaction, Jake felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction.

Honestly, this turn of events had caught him off guard.

Those Celestial Dragons were unbelievably stupid.

They had handed him the perfect opportunity to sow discord.

If played right, another batch of Celestial Dragons might end up dead.

Jake nodded slightly and said softly.

"Then please follow me. They're just shaken from surviving the disaster. You shouldn't be too harsh on them."

"Shut your mouth and lead the way! I know how to handle this myself!"