One by one, Marine warships appeared in the waters near the Red Line, drawing steadily closer.
But the black-clad men stationed at the Red Line hadn't received any notice of the Marines' arrival. This was clearly extremely unusual.
Four of the Elders suddenly appeared at the edge of the Red Line. The black-clad men around them immediately dropped to one knee, shouting in unison,
"Five Elder-sama!"
In truth, they should only be called the Four Elders now. The death of the blond Elder had been concealed well. These men still didn't know that besides the twenty Celestial Dragon family heads, one of the Elders had also perished.
If they knew that, the situation would be even more chaotic than it already was.
The flat-hat Elder looked down at the steadily advancing Marine fleet, his voice low and grave.
"Seems the Navy did receive word. Was it Kong? Wasn't he missing?"
"Does it matter who? The question now is whether we should even let them up here."
"I say we leave them hanging for a while. They didn't even report in before coming. A little reminder might be in order."
"Is that wise? I see that Uchiha Kaito came too."
"Hmph. I don't believe he'd dare openly betray the World Government in front of this many witnesses. If the Navy did that, what would make them any different from pirates?"
The kimono-clad Elder stood silently to the side, his gaze fixed on the warship carrying Kaito. A faint, knowing smile played on his lips. He didn't involve himself in the others' debate.
Ever since he'd cut down the blond Elder with a single stroke, the other three had kept him at arm's length.
If not for the fact that the kimono Elder's ties to Imu were much closer than theirs, they wouldn't have let the matter go so easily. After all, their colleague was the one who'd been killed, and no one could guarantee they wouldn't be next.
So the three conferred among themselves and decided not to let the Marines come up, never once asking the kimono Elder's opinion.
...
Onboard the Six Paths Reincarnation,
Kaito stood at the prow with his arms folded, Rinnegan calmly watching the Red Line draw nearer.
Kalifa came running out of the cabin and stopped before him.
"Boss, a message from Mary Geoise. They say because we didn't give prior notice, we should wait—"
"Heh. Those old fossils. Even now they can't let go of their pride. Pass down my order—keep advancing!"
"Yes!"
Without hesitation, Kalifa turned back and relayed Kaito's command to the fleet.
Every commander carried it out firmly. Not a single warship lagged behind.
...
Above the Red Line, the three Elders stared in disbelief. The flat-hat Elder grabbed a black-clad subordinate and barked,
"Did you not deliver my order to the Navy?"
The man shook so hard his entire body trembled.
"N-no! I swear I relayed your words exactly as you commanded!"
"Worthless cur!"
With a furious curse, the flat-hat Elder swung his arm and hurled the man straight off the Red Line.
"The Navy no longer obeys us. It must be Uchiha Kaito's doing!"
"Then what now? Do we let them come up?"
"No! Deploy Vegapunk's weapons. If the Marines dare force their way up, have them open fire!"
The flat-hat Elder had been pushed to the brink by all that had happened in Mary Geoise, and the Marines' defiance only frayed his nerves further. He was no longer thinking rationally.
Normally, this was when the kimono Elder would step in, stop the outburst, and make the most logical choice for the situation. But today, he remained uncharacteristically silent, letting the flat-hat Elder vent however he pleased.
The long-bearded Elder and the birthmark Elder exchanged glances. They too felt the Marines' actions were excessive—an outright provocation against the World Government.
When had they ever encountered such a thing? In the end, they agreed with the flat-hat Elder and ordered the weapons to be brought out.
Moments later, row after row of massive figures emerged along the edge of the Red Line.
The Marines on the warships froze in shock. Those figures all looked exactly the same—and disturbingly familiar.
A cold gleam flashed behind Kizaru's tinted shades as he muttered,
"So it's complete already… should've never cooperated with Vegapunk."
On Kaito's warship, Kalifa gasped, covering her mouth as she pointed upward.
"Boss, isn't that Bartholomew Kuma? How can there be so many?"
Kaito shook his head. He knew they were just weapons in human form—replicas modeled after Kuma.
He said evenly,
"Those are the human weapons Vegapunk engineered from Kuma. Pacifists. Each one costs as much as an entire warship to produce."
Now that the World Government had deployed them, it was obviously not for show.
Sure enough, as the fleet neared the Red Line, every Pacifist opened its mouth, a glowing cross-shaped light gathering within.
The Marines recognized that move instantly—it was none other than Admiral Kizaru's laser. Only this time, the lasers were aimed at the Navy itself.
"Damn it," Kizaru cursed under his breath, his body already transforming into photons. He launched into the air, preparing the opening stance of Yasakani no Magatama. He would personally shield the fleet from the Pacifists' assault.
Kaito had been ready to intervene, but seeing Kizaru step forward, he let the thought go.
A small smile curved his lips. A hard-working Kizaru was surprisingly dashing.
The Pacifists' mouths blazed, their stored energy bursting forth as thick laser beams rained down upon the Marine fleet.
At that exact instant, Kizaru's low shout rang out:
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
A torrent of golden light cascaded from his hands, colliding with the Pacifists' laser barrage. The clash erupted in a blinding explosion of gold.
But copies could never surpass the original. In both quality and quantity, the Pacifists' firepower was no match for Kizaru's technique. Within moments, their attack was crushed.
The leftover beams blasted into the Red Line itself, gouging out smoking craters and destroying several Pacifists on the spot.
The sight shredded what little composure the flat-hat Elder still had. He let out a deranged laugh.
"Damn you, Borsalino! This time you're actually taking things seriously, huh?"
His gaze shifted to one Pacifist behind him. This one looked no different from the rest—except that it held a thick book in its hands.