An unbearable pain exploded from Pudding's head and spread through her entire body, as if her soul were being torn apart.
Her face twisted and she tried to scream, but Sakazuki's left hand suddenly clamped down on both sides of her cheeks. The pressure was suffocating, nearly enough to drive her insane.
She clawed at his wrist, veins bulging along her arms, yet his grip did not move in the slightest.
Sakazuki watched her struggle without emotion, lifting her off the ground with that same left hand and shaking her lightly from side to side.
Crack, crack…
A series of sharp sounds rang out, like bones being forced back into place. The twisted expression on Pudding's face gradually relaxed; her eyes closed, her body went limp, and her arms and legs dropped as she lost consciousness.
Sakazuki tossed her toward Carlo. "Lock her up."
A trace of helplessness crossed Carlo's face as he reached out and caught the girl, who now felt boneless in his arms. "Yes."
He vanished in an instant, taking her away for treatment.
Sakazuki turned his attention to the eyeball in his hand as his right palm slowly turned red.
Sizzle!
The sound resembled hot iron searing flesh, as if the eye itself were crying in pain. The heat kept rising until, after a few seconds, it swelled.
Pop!
It burst like popcorn and disappeared completely.
Sakazuki flicked his hand once, then walked toward the silent Road Poneglyph and let out a cold snort. Placing his palm against it, Armament Haki flowed out, and in a way that defied logic, he lifted the massive stone and carried it toward the fortress wall.
With a swing of his arm, he hurled it at the execution platform.
Boom!
The crash echoed across the island, and the entire headquarters trembled. Everyone turned to look.
The execution platform, built from steel and giant stones, was the only reason it did not collapse. The Poneglyph slammed into it and sank halfway inside, the side with the writing buried downward and hidden from sight.
Hurried footsteps approached along the top of the fortress. Something had smashed into the platform, and several soldiers rushed to report to the Fleet Admiral.
When they arrived, they saw Sakazuki standing quietly by the wall, his gaze fixed on the embedded stone.
The soldiers exchanged uncertain glances and were about to speak when, without turning, he said calmly, "Inform the reporters. Spread it across the world as fast as possible. The road sign that points to the legendary great treasure, the Road Poneglyph, is here at Marine Headquarters."
A cold laugh followed. "If they have the courage, come and take it. Otherwise the Pirate King will remain a joke forever."
There were many Poneglyphs scattered across the seas, yet only four revealed the path to the final island. Now the one from Whole Cake Island was at Marine Headquarters.
If no one could break through the Marines to take it, then the goal pirates had chased for years would shatter. Without all four stones, there was no way to reach the final island, and the title of Pirate King along with the great treasure would become nothing more than a cruel joke.
* * *
On islands across the world.
As noon approached and people prepared to rest, newspapers suddenly fell from the sky like rain. Startled, people stopped and picked them up.
"What… what is this?!"
Shouts erupted everywhere. On the front page was a massive headline:
"The Pirate King Legend Reduced to a Joke. The Road Poneglyph That Points to the Great Treasure."
That single line was enough to grab anyone's attention. Beneath it was a photo of the huge stone embedded in the execution platform at Marine Headquarters.
A Marine spokesperson explained the origin of the Pirate King and certain hidden history, revealing that only by gathering four Road Poneglyphs could someone reach the final island, and that Gol D. Roger had done exactly that.
The report even listed which great pirates currently possessed the other known stones, information ordinary pirates and civilians had never known.
Now the Marines had revealed it openly.
The article described the heavy sacrifices made by brave marines to seize this Poneglyph and praised the fierce battle during their assault on Whole Cake Island. At the end, it addressed pirates across the world:
"Foolish pirates. Do you want the Pirate King's treasure? If you want it, you can have it all. Come to Marine Headquarters and take this Poneglyph."
They even echoed the words Roger spoke before his death, turning them into open mockery aimed at every pirate at sea.
Now the whole world understood that without all four stones, no one could become Pirate King. But there was one problem: that stone was at Marine Headquarters, under the command of the most ruthless Fleet Admiral in history.
The Marines' power had never been greater.
No one knew how the pirates reacted, yet across the world civilians cheered for a long time after reading the news.
* * *
New World. New Marineford.
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office, Carlo held the latest newspaper and sighed. "This is cruel in a different way. How many pirates will lose their dreams because of this. It's quite interesting…"
This move mainly deceived the public and naive pirates, reducing the number willing to set sail and crushing countless dreams. After all, the Poneglyph had been in Big Mom's possession for years, was it possible she had never made a copy?
Even if she had not, she might have memorized it after staring at it for so long. This alone would not shake the Four Emperors.
So was it merely to disgust them and frighten civilians?
No.
Sakazuki's true target was Pudding.
On this sea, aside from Carlo, who had secretly taught Robin years ago, and Vegapunk now, only two known people could read the Poneglyphs: Nico Robin, the survivor of Ohara, and a Three-Eye tribe member who had awakened.
Robin had been missing for years; only Crocodile and a few high-ranking members of the Revolutionary Army knew her whereabouts. That meant there was only one known person left who might read the Poneglyph—Big Mom's daughter, the only Three-Eye tribe member, Pudding.
Yet after all these years she had shown no sign of awakening her power, and even her mother had grown impatient. Still, she remained the only hope.
Now that hope was in the Navy's hands, secretly imprisoned somewhere.
Sakazuki stood by the window, gazing toward the distant sea as a faint smile touched his lips.
The day that "hope" was publicly executed, the expressions on those pieces of trash at sea… that would surely be interesting.
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