The Poseidon that Momousagi was worried about was now deep in the ocean, having fled the violence above. A terrifying, oppressive aura radiated from her body, making all surrounding sea creatures keep a wide distance.
Gurgle…
A string of bubbles escaped from her lowered mouth, tinged with a trace of blood. Her limbs hung limply, making it clear that she was not in good condition. She was severely injured.
At that moment, a small fish wandered nearby, as if sensing a momentary lull in the danger. It suddenly flicked its tail and tried to swim away.
But a pale, lotus-white arm shot out, gripping it tightly in her palm and dragging it back in front of her face.
Creak… Creak…
A teeth-aching sound of tearing echoed through the water. Soon, only a few tiny scales remained, proof that the fish had ever existed.
She raised her head. The exquisitely beautiful face was twisted by hatred into something ferocious and terrifying.
"After that hit, even if you don't die, you won't be able to move anymore, right?"
This was still the Adrian Sea Trench. The Poseidon would rather endure the overwhelming might of submarine volcanic eruptions than flee outside, because she knew that escaping the trench would only lead to an even worse, immediate fate.
On the contrary, hiding in this deep sea allowed her to avoid the raging winds and waves, making it, relatively speaking, safer.
Relatively safe.
BOOM… RUMBLE!!
At that moment, violent tremors came from the sea above. The water scattered chaotically, like willow branches whipped up by a storm.
The Poseidon clutched a sharp rock tightly to keep herself from being swept away, yet there was little fear on her face, only fierce exhilaration.
"That's right, just like this!"
"Make as much chaos as you can!"
"Let the world feel pain!"
"Oh no, here it comes again!"
Standing at the ventilation opening left in the ice sphere encasing Pluton, Aokiji's eyelids twitched violently in exhaustion. He then crouched down, pressing both hands against the inner surface of the ice shell.
Ice Age!
Shua!
There was no slow-freezing visual this time. Only the howl of icy wind was heard as the sea, along with the massive ice sphere, instantly turned pure white across dozens of kilometers.
The solid ice layer froze everything in place in an instant. Some sea creatures didn't even realize a natural disaster had struck before they died.
However, Aokiji's target wasn't them. He did this only to prevent the ice sphere from being blasted away or shattered by the surging seawater from behind.
BOOM… RUMBLE!!
The rolling sea crashed in, producing deafening, soul-shaking noise.
Momousagi came outside just in time to see this scene. Her pupils shrank sharply.
"That mountain… is it alive?"
From her vantage point, the towering "mountain" that pierced the clouds was stirring the sea with movements that seemed slow but were in fact extremely fast. However, like a prisoner stretching an arm from a cage, every time it reached a certain extent, it was forced to retract, repeating the process over and over.
Yet given its colossal size, even this clearly restricted range of motion was frighteningly exaggerated. Countless massive waves, no less powerful than the Adrian Sea Howl, suddenly formed and surged violently in all directions.
Including their direction…
"Danger!"
Aokiji roared as he grabbed Momousagi and pulled her away from the ventilation spot, then swept his hand back to seal the opening completely.
A spherical shape was excellent at dispersing force, but the continuous tremors still made their eardrums ache and their vision blur.
Brought back onto Pluton's deck, Momousagi said blankly, "What exactly… is going on?"
Weren't they on the battlefield dealing with the Sea King? What was that mountain supposed to be?
Aokiji was unable to answer. He was breathing heavily and shook his head, refusing the cup of water offered by a soldier.
Freezing the sea repeatedly to this extent was no easy task. He had performed the same action dozens of times already and was at the very edge of his limits.
But it was also because of this that they had managed to escape the most dangerous central zone. G-11 Branch was now within arm's reach, offering a place for repairs.
"That's the Mountain Ancestor. The Poseidon woke it up."
Chaton answered with a bitter grin, a cigarette clenched between his teeth.
The smile was filled with self-mockery and helplessness.
His Deceleration Fruit slowed an enemy's thinking speed to create a slowing effect; it wasn't true physical deceleration. In the face of such overwhelming natural might, aside from earlier using pure physical combat to shatter the tsunami and carve out a sliver of survival for Pluton, his power was now completely useless.
"Mountain Ancestor…"
The dullness in Momousagi's eyes gradually gave way to terrible clarity. She subconsciously tightened her grip on her katana, Kinbira.
"That… is the Mountain Ancestor?!"
"That's right…"
Chaton nodded. He glanced at Aokiji, whose stamina had been drained so badly that his lips had turned pale, and gave a bitter smile.
"Since the Adrian Sea Howl could appear at this moment in blatant defiance of logic, it's obvious that it isn't a natural disaster in the usual sense."
Not a natural disaster, but a controlled calamity!
"And to be precise," He continued, emphasizing the terrifying scale, "that wasn't even the Mountain Ancestor's main body, just one of its claws."
Aokiji finally caught his breath, holding a cup of sugar-salt water and gulping it down in large mouthfuls.
"Phew…"
He set the cup down and went on:
"Its true body is still suppressed beneath the Red Line… yes, just as you're thinking, the Mountain Ancestor's main body is as large as more than half of the Four Seas combined!"
Since they could see the Mountain Ancestor's claw in the Adrian Sea, combining that with existing intelligence and legends made it easy to deduce its true scale.
Fully two-thirds that size!
There might be differences in strength among the Four Seas, but not in area, they were all equally divided by the Grand Line and the Red Line.
Two-thirds of the North Blue was also two-thirds of the East Blue…
Sss…!!
Momousagi sucked in a sharp breath, the implications hitting her like a physical blow.
"Then… how is the outside world right now?"
"No idea, but barring surprises, it's very…"
"Tragic."
Aokiji shook his head. Before he could finish, Bald Zero emerged from the cabin entrance and took over.
"We just received delayed reports. At the same time, both the North Blue and the West Blue were struck by synchronized tsunamis. The New World is even worse, utter devastation. The number of casualties… is impossible to estimate."
The atmosphere instantly grew heavy with the weight of global catastrophe.
In truth, they had all guessed the answer already, they just couldn't bear to think about the human cost.
"Pluton has suffered severe damage. Soryu (Azure Dragon)-sama has ordered us to conduct nearby repairs at G-11 Branch…"
That was only natural. The reason the Sea King awakened the Mountain Ancestor was obvious to everyone, she had been cornered and desperate, her hordes suppressed by Pluton.
Now that the Mountain Ancestor had awakened, the waves stirred up by just one claw had nearly torn Pluton apart. Perhaps that was partly because the Pluton they built was inferior to the ancient version, but it didn't change the fact that the Mountain Ancestor was far beyond what Pluton could handle.
"Also…"
Bald Zero paused for dramatic effect.
"Fleet Admiral Akainu has been ordered into action and is already on his way here with Uranus."
Momousagi was momentarily stunned, then lowered her head, the color draining from her face.
Right, she'd almost forgotten. Their mission was only to force the Poseidon into the open. Akainu and the Marine main force had been lying in wait behind them all along.
The moment the Poseidon showed herself, she would be met with a full-scale encirclement and annihilation.
The Poseidon awakening the Mountain Ancestor as a counterattack had caught everyone off guard, but it still couldn't change the fact that her primary plan had failed.
And as a backup measure for the ultimate threat, deploying Uranus was inevitable.
"At least… we no longer need to worry about innocent civilians being caught up in it."
Because the innocents had already perished in that heaven-shaking tsunami.
Chaton said this in his usual cynical tone, prompting Momousagi to jab Kinbira straight into his stomach, silencing him with a grunt of pain.
"Wait, if the Mountain Ancestor's main body is in the Red Line, what's Akainu coming here for?"
Suddenly, Aokiji caught the key point and frowned sharply.
According to legend, the Mountain Ancestor's body spanned the Grand Line, half extending into the West Blue, half into the North Blue, like a giant green crab pinned beneath a massive boulder.
What appeared here was only one of its claws. What could Uranus possibly do to a creature of that scale?
"It's to deal with the Poseidon…"
Bald Zero turned to him and replied.
"As for the Mountain Ancestor, Soryu (Azure Dragon)-sama already has arrangements."
Arrangements?
What arrangements could possibly be sufficient?
Aokiji knew he couldn't defeat Rowen, but he also didn't believe Rowen could easily kill the Mountain Ancestor.
It had already awakened. It wouldn't just sit there and wait to die. If it were pushed too far, like the Sea King this time, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Could it be… him?!"
Suddenly, Aokiji's pupils shrank, realization dawning.
If there was anyone in this world who might still be able to deal with a threat of this magnitude, only one name, one force, came to his mind.
(End of Chapter)
This novel is finished, and I have posted all the advanced chapters on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395