Marco continued, "This isn't some fantasy. It's the future the Eternal Divine Kingdom is already bringing into reality! It is the direction all of us are working toward together, and the belief we will never waver from!"
Jozu, Vista, and the other commanders nodded one after another.
The same conviction burned in their eyes.
That belief was like a blazing fire, burning endlessly in their hearts.
Even the usually composed Crocodile clenched his fists, Armament Haki flowing around his fingers.
"As for the God's Knights?"
Marco suddenly sneered, his laugh filled with disdain and contempt.
His tone was cold and firm, as though he were stating an unquestionable fact.
"Before the Eternal Divine Kingdom, they're nothing more than a group of self-important ants!"
His words rang out like thunder across the smoke-filled battlefield.
The roaring sound seemed ready to pierce the clouds, shocking everyone present.
Whitebeard stared blankly at his sons.
A trace of daze appeared on his once-firm face.
Only now did he suddenly realize that the sons he had always thought needed his protection had grown into strong men capable of standing on their own.
Thinking back on the past, those children who had once needed him to shelter them from wind and rain had now fully spread their wings and possessed the strength to fight alongside him.
The sea breeze blew Marco's blond fringe.
He straightened his back, standing tall like a pine tree.
"Pops, you don't have to carry everything alone anymore. The Eternal Divine Kingdom now has the strength to contend with any force!"
A trace of moisture flashed in Whitebeard's eyes.
It was emotion and relief.
"Gurararara! Good! Very good!"
He heavily patted Marco on the shoulder. The force in his palm conveyed his recognition and expectations for his sons.
"Looks like your old man underestimated you!"
A proud smile spread across Whitebeard's rugged face, and his gaze was filled with admiration for his sons.
Big Mom and Kaido exchanged shocked looks.
Their eyes revealed disbelief.
They had originally thought these enemies would be easy to deal with, yet now they had displayed such powerful strength and unity.
Only then did they realize that the strength of the Whitebeard Pirates was far more terrifying than what appeared on the surface.
The rise of the Eternal Divine Kingdom might truly change the structure of the New World and stir up an unprecedented storm in this grand era of pirates.
Whitebeard threw his head back and laughed. His bold laughter echoed across the sea, breaking through the boundless sky and ocean.
His broad palm landed heavily on Marco's shoulder, and his eyes shone with relief and pride.
"Gurararara… Linlin, I almost forgot about these troublesome brats of mine!"
He looked around at the sons surrounding him, and a rare gentleness appeared on his rugged face.
His gaze passed over each child's face one by one, recalling every moment of their growth.
"What they lack now is only the tempering of more life-and-death battles. These brats are all plenty strong!"
The atmosphere had already become like a drawn bowstring, ready to snap at any moment.
After Big Mom heard that shocking news, her heavily made-up face instantly looked as if it had been violently kneaded by an invisible hand, twisting into a fierce and distorted expression.
Her eyes were like two bottomless pools filled with raging waves, brimming with disbelief.
Her gaze seemed as though it wanted to pierce straight through the people who had brought this news, searching their eyes for the slightest trace of falsehood.
Yet all she saw was firmness and certainty.
"What kind of joke is this?!"
Big Mom's voice suddenly exploded through the heavy air like thunder, carrying endless anger and shock.
"Armament Haki requires years and years of bitter training! It's power built up little by little through countless days and nights, wandering along the edge of life and death, clashing with powerful enemies again and again, sweating endlessly, and nearly dying countless times!"
She raised her head slightly, as if recalling her own difficult past.
A trace of age and bitterness flashed in her eyes.
"How many years did it take me to reach my current level?! Every single day and night, every battle, was something I exchanged with my life!"
At this point, her voice trembled slightly.
It was the emotion of remembering her long road of training.
Her thick fingers trembled uncontrollably, like dead leaves in the wind, as she slowly pointed toward the commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates.
That finger seemed filled with endless resentment and confusion.
"These brats… how could they possibly reach that level in such a short time…"
Her words stopped abruptly.
All of a sudden, her voice went silent like a snapped string, cutting off without warning.
Her bloodshot eyes, now like two red gems burning with flame, slowly turned toward Ron, who stood nearby.
Her pupils contracted violently.
A terrifying yet reasonable guess gradually surfaced in her already complicated and chaotic mind.
Could it be because of Ron again?
"Mamamama…"
Big Mom's laughter suddenly became strange, echoing across the smoke-filled battlefield.
She stared fixedly at Ron.
Her gaze was almost tangible, as if it could see straight into his heart.
"Ron, kid… Don't tell me this is your work again?"
Her voice carried shock, greed, and a faint trace of fear that was hard to detect.
She was shocked that Ron might possess such heaven-defying ability.
Her greed came from her desire for that power.
And that trace of fear came from the unknown methods of this mysterious young man.
"What incredible thing have you researched this time?"
Her voice was low and hoarse.
A faint smile hung on Ron's lips, vague and unreadable, like a flower hidden in mist.
He neither admitted nor denied it, as though the entire matter had nothing to do with him, yet also as though everything was under his control.
He casually played with the glass bottle in his hand.
His movements were light and skillful, as though what he held was not a simple bottle, but the fate of the entire world.
Inside the glass bottle, the dark red blood of the Five Elders glimmered strangely beneath the sunlight.
That glow was like a demon's eye, flickering with a mysterious and dangerous aura.
His unfathomable appearance made Big Mom's expression grow increasingly ugly, like the gloomy sky before a storm.
"Terrifying…"
Big Mom was secretly shocked in her heart, fine beads of sweat seeping from her forehead.
The sweat slid down her plump cheeks and dripped onto the ground.
If Ron truly possessed technology capable of rapidly enhancing Haki, then the bargaining chips she had originally planned to use—the blood samples of those powerful figures—would probably lose a great deal of their value.