The Holy Land of Mary Geoise had been swiftly rebuilt.Yet, the nineteen remaining Celestial Dragon families, after the massacre on Divine Demon Island and the mass kidnapping incident within the Holy Land, had lost much of their former arrogance.
They finally realized that even "gods" could die at the hands of the so-called "lesser beings."Those pirates and criminals hadn't knelt before them — they had aimed weapons right at their heads.
Since then, many Celestial Dragons no longer dared to descend to the Sabaody Archipelago for recreation.Even the Holy Land itself no longer felt safe.
Because of this, the heads of each noble family submitted a joint decree:The Five Elders were no longer permitted to leave Mary Geoise at will.They were personally responsible for the Holy Land's safety.
The God's Knights had to be rebuilt as quickly as possible, and CP agents needed accelerated training.The Celestial Dragons could not afford to lose the shields that protected their divine bloodline.
They swore never to allow another invasion of Mary Geoise.
Some of the family heads even demanded that two Marine Admirals be permanently stationed in the Holy Land.And if there weren't enough high-ranking Marines, they proposed a worldwide military recruitment, expanding the Admiral ranks if necessary.
Now, the once-proud Celestial Dragons had become frightened birds, desperate to fill Mary Geoise with powerhouses to protect them.
But after Imu's warning and the Five Elders' reassurance, the terrified nobles gradually calmed down.The request for two Admirals was adjusted — instead, Fleet Admiral Kong and two Admiral candidates would reside in the Holy Land full-time.
Even so, their hatred and fear of Souta Kiryuu ran deep.Several families had even tried to privately fund an increase to his bounty — raising it to an astronomical 20 billion Berries.
But the Five Elders vetoed it.Raising his bounty now would only elevate Souta Kiryuu's infamy and prestige.No bounty hunter in the world would dare challenge this man — the criminal who dared to strike Whitebeard, fight the Five Elders, and even threaten the King of the World himself.
The name Souta Kiryuu, the God-Slayer, now eclipsed even the Four Emperors.Titles like "the world's strongest man" or "the strongest creature on land, sea, or air" paled before him.
The Five Elders had known no peace in recent days.Imu had spent time studying the members of Kiryuu's crew, assigning missions accordingly — but every single operation had been ruined or interrupted by Kiryuu himself.
And now, to make matters worse, they were living under constant threat of another attack.
A few days passed.
Just when the Five Elders began to believe Souta Kiryuu's words were mere intimidation—
The alarms of Mary Geoise suddenly wailed across the Holy Land once again.
Three enormous living bombs, each covered in eyes, mouths, and ears, hurtled through the air inside Kuma's Paw-shaped air bubbles, shrieking with mad laughter.
"I'm gonna explode! I'm gonna explode!"
The toxic gas bombs — Homies created from Kiryuu's soul-infused powers — charged straight toward the Holy Land, cackling maniacally.
"BOOM!!!"
A single, sky-splitting slash of sword energy came first — it cleaved through one of the bombs midair.But even as it exploded above the clouds, the dense purple gas rapidly spread outward with the blast.
The scale of the detonation was enough to engulf an entire island.
"No! It's a poison bomb!"
Vice Admiral Gion (Peach Rabbit) paled. She had thought she'd intercepted it early — but hadn't expected the bomb to be filled with deadly gas.
"ROOOOAR!!"
A monstrous shockwave erupted — a roar of compressed air — surging toward the remaining two bombs to push them away from the Holy Land.
But the bombs screamed back:
"No! I don't wanna go! I'm gonna explode!""For our master!"
Defying the blast, the two remaining Homies detonated midair, refusing to be moved.
Two enormous explosions followed, their violet fumes blanketing the sky — as if the heavens themselves were drowned in poison.
The shockwaves shattered countless Celestial Dragon palaces. The blasts were so powerful that they could be heard even from Marineford.
At that moment, every Marine and Celestial Dragon stared upward in horror.Souta Kiryuu — that wretched demon — how far would his madness go?!
From Marineford, countless officers rushed outside, gazing toward the distant Red Line, where purple clouds loomed over Mary Geoise.The combined toxins of the three bombs could have easily covered two or three Punk Hazards.
As the gas spread, Celestial Dragon guards, slaves, and even lower-ranking Marines began collapsing to the ground — foaming at the mouth.Only the nobles, sealed inside their glass helmets, remained safe.
"No! My little Bighton! Don't die on me!"
A Celestial Dragon noblewoman screamed as the tiny lapdog in her arms started convulsing and frothing.All around her, rare plants and flowers withered to dust in seconds.
"Air Pressure Wave!"
Kong, body tensed, unleashed a massive shockwave skyward, driving the purple gas higher into the atmosphere.
"Divine Slash!"
Saint Nusjuro drew his sword, sending a blinding arc of energy that split the cloud of poison clean in half.
"Heavenly Tornado!"
Saint Mars, transformed into a monstrous bird, took flight — his vast wings beating with the force of a hurricane, sweeping the toxic miasma out over the Red Line.
Saint Warcury unleashed another boar-like roar wave, blasting the last remnants upward,while Saint Peter rushed to save the Celestial Dragons too slow to seal their helmets.
Amid the chaos, Imu stood silently within the Flower Chamber, eyes cold and lifeless, watching the swirl of purple poison drift across the skies.The killing intent in her gaze toward Souta Kiryuu was unmistakable.
Through the combined might of the Five Elders and Kong, the Holy Land barely averted total destruction.Had they not been there, Mary Geoise would have once again been reduced to rubble — with thousands of Celestial Dragons dead.
It was clear now: this was Kiryuu's warning.
If the Five Elders dared leave the Holy Land again to hunt his crew, then they might as well abandon the Holy Land altogether —because Souta Kiryuu would not hesitate to trade territories.
Unless the World Government had the power to annihilate Kiryuu's entire crew in one strike, they had no choice but to play by his rules.
The poison-bomb assault left the Celestial Dragon families even more paranoid.They were now absolutely determined to keep the Five Elders and Kong stationed within Mary Geoise.
If any of them left again, the entire Holy Land could be destroyed from afar once more.
The very idea of someone lobbing bombs across thousands of miles made even hardened warriors shudder.
Meanwhile, deep beneath the sea, Shirahoshi, the Mermaid Princess, was enduring her own terror —under constant harassment and threats from users of the Target-Target Fruit.
The Five Elders stared upward at the drifting purple haze, their expressions dark and grim.
In their desperate efforts to disperse the poison clouds, they had failed to locate the Paw-Paw Fruit mark left behind by Seraphim Kuma.Which meant that Souta Kiryuu could teleport bombs to Mary Geoise at any time.
It was an unacceptable threat.
They began seriously considering demolishing every area Kuma had ever marked,then rebuilding the Holy Land from scratch — because otherwise, the danger would never end.