Across the world, people were stunned by the Revolutionary Army's audacity.
No one had ever imagined that anyone would truly challenge the World Government head-on, much less cast everything aside and burn their own lives away just to make the so-called Celestial Dragons bleed.
The entire world was shaken.
Among the countless viewers, a small number began to reflect.
They had always believed the system surrounding the Celestial Dragons was unjust, but generations of rigid thinking had prevented them from ever imagining that those rulers could be overthrown.
Now, things were different.
The Revolutionary Army had shown them that it could be done.
Once gods began to bleed, it meant gods could also be killed.
In front of the enormous palace, the Five Elders realized this as well.
Their faces were ashen, and flames of rage seemed to burn in their eyes.
They wanted nothing more than to tear Dragon apart with their own hands.
If not for Dragon's power and the beliefs he had spread, the World Government would still be the same World Government, and the world would still belong to the Celestial Dragons.
Things were not completely over yet, but their authority would now be questioned more deeply than ever before.
"Pass down the order. Seal off all information."
"Take control of everyone inside Mary Geoise."
"Deploy the God's Knights and wipe out every member of the Revolutionary Army."
Nusjuro forced down his fury as he issued the orders to the Cipher Pol agents around him.
As long as the Revolutionary Army was completely destroyed here and the news was contained, there was still a chance to salvage the situation.
However, a Cipher Pol agent hurried over before they could act.
"Five Elders, the Revolutionary Army is broadcasting this war to the outside world. The entire world has received the signal."
"Our initial suspicion is that the Marines provided the global broadcast channel."
His words carried a trace of uncertainty, but everyone understood that the Marines had to be responsible.
Nusjuro seemed to lose all patience with covering up the incident.
"Then let them watch."
"At worst, we will create another Void Century."
"The foundation of our rule has always been strength. As long as Lord Imu and Uranus remain in our hands, we cannot lose this war."
...
The battlefield was filled with gunfire and flying bullets.
The Revolutionary Army was not relying only on the rifles and blades in their hands.
Some soldiers had remained aboard the ships, operating the cannons and bombarding different parts of Mary Geoise.
After eight hundred years of comfort, Mary Geoise had never been equipped with much heavy firepower.
Most of its defenders could only rely on the individual strength of Cipher Pol agents to resist the Revolutionary Army's artillery.
But individual strength had limits.
There were only so many Cipher Pol agents capable of blocking cannon fire.
The buildings collapsing everywhere proved that they could not withstand the Revolutionary Army's bombardment.
"Dragon, what the hell are you trying to do?!"
The deafening shout made Dragon frown as he fought the Shield of the Celestial Dragons.
Kong drove a powerful fist into Sabo and sent him flying away.
Then he looked around.
Mary Geoise, once filled with beautiful statues and spotless streets, had become a landscape of shattered walls and burning ruins.
Screams, the clash of weapons, and the roar of artillery filled the air.
Kong could not understand it.
Dragon looked coldly at the old man he had once respected.
"Fleet Admiral Kong—no, I suppose I should call you Commander-in-Chief Kong now."
"Has living in luxury at Mary Geoise for so long made you unable to stomach a scene like this?"
"If so, I can only apologize."
"The Revolutionary Army's goal is to destroy the tyrannical World Government led by the Celestial Dragons. As long as the World Government exists, we will never stop fighting, even if every last one of us dies."
Kong was genuinely furious.
The truth was, he wanted nothing to do with any of this.
Back when he had been Fleet Admiral, he had worked tirelessly to uphold justice and spent nearly every day fighting pirates.
Rocks, Edward Newgate, Shiki, and countless others had kept him constantly occupied.
Only when the position of Commander-in-Chief became vacant and Sengoku had matured enough to succeed him did Kong step down as Fleet Admiral and take what he had intended to be a quiet retirement post.
If not for the incident involving Raleigh, Kong would have spent all these years remaining inside Mary Geoise without ever leaving.
Living here for so long had undoubtedly given him a sense of attachment to the place.
But what Dragon said was also true.
At the very least, Kong knew about the disgusting things the Celestial Dragons had done.
"Dragon Claw Fist!"
Sabo had no interest in the history between Kong and Dragon.
All he could see was Revolutionary Army soldiers dying one after another.
Every soldier who had joined this operation was among the elite of the elite.
After spending months traveling together at sea, Sabo had come to know nearly all of them.
He wanted to finish this battle quickly, then turn around and help the other soldiers expand their gains.
Deep down, Dragon believed this operation would most likely fail.
Sabo did not share that belief.
He did not know what trump cards the World Government held.
In his mind, once they broke into Mary Geoise, they could complete the Revolutionary Army's mission.
...
At that moment, Koala led more than a dozen Revolutionary soldiers to the Celestial Dragons' prison.
This was where their slaves were kept.
More than ten years ago, when Fisher Tiger rampaged through Mary Geoise, Koala had been one of those slaves.
Her hatred of the Celestial Dragons had driven her to join the Revolutionary Army and fight against them.
"It's the Revolutionary Army!"
Panicked voices rang out inside the prison.
This was not a secret facility, and its guards were not elite Cipher Pol agents.
When they saw the Revolutionary soldiers advancing toward them, the guards gripped their rifles and began trembling.
"Take them down!"
Koala waved her hand, and gunfire erupted.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets poured down like a storm, forcing the guards to stay below the windows.
The occasional scream made the remaining guards even more terrified.
"Stop shooting! We surrender!"
"We surrender! We surrender!"
Under the pressure of death, the surviving guards threw down their rifles and came out carrying a white flag.
"Koala, are we letting them live?"
A young Revolutionary soldier kept his rifle trained on them as he turned and asked.
Koala shook her head.
"These people are guilty of terrible crimes. I was once a slave here, so I know exactly how they treated the prisoners."
"Executing them outright is already merciful."
"Kill them."
The guards had believed that surrendering would earn them favorable treatment from the Revolutionary Army.
They had not expected the commander before them to be the person who hated them most.
Gunshots rang out one after another.
Their eyes remained wide open as they fell dead to the ground, unable to accept their fate.
Koala and the other Revolutionary soldiers stepped over the guards' bodies and entered the prison.
"Who are you?"
"Let me out! I don't care who you are—if you free me, I'll go with you!"
"Please let me out! My wife is still waiting for me at home!"
The scene inside the cells was just as it had been when Koala was imprisoned here.
Men and women, old and young, and people of countless races had all been reduced to slaves of the Celestial Dragons.
Each of them still had some reason to keep living. Otherwise, they would have found a way to kill themselves long ago.
Clatter, clatter.
The young Revolutionary soldier who had spoken to Koala earlier came over carrying a large ring of keys.
"Quickly, pass these keys around."
The Revolutionary soldiers were carrying out their mission of liberating the world, while Koala was following in the footsteps of her idol, Fisher Tiger, by freeing the slaves.
"Honored lady, you have released us. Is there anything you require us to do?"
The newly freed slaves gathered around them.
An elderly man slowly stepped out from among the crowd.
"Grandpa Bert, it's me. Koala!"
Koala's eyes grew wet.
More than ten years ago, Koala had still been a child.
Without Bert's care, she might never have survived long enough for Fisher Tiger to rescue her.
"Koala?"
Bert's eyes widened as he studied the woman before him.
"It really is you Koala. You've grown up, and you've become so beautiful that I didn't recognize you."
Bert sighed at how much time had changed them.
Koala took hold of his arm, which had grown thin as dry wood.
"Grandpa Bert, come with me. I'll take all of you out."
Bert smiled and shook his head.
"Koala, Grandpa Bert is old. Even if I leave, I won't live much longer. Take the others instead."
"By the way, I heard cannon fire outside. Are those your comrades?"
"Good. This filthy place should have been destroyed long ago."
"This so-called Holy Land was built on the bones of people from all over the world."
Before long, the Revolutionary soldiers had released every slave.
The prison corridors were packed with people.
Koala raised her hand.
"You're free. Go wherever you need to go."
The moment they heard those words, most of the slaves rushed toward the exit, unwilling to spend even one more second inside that prison.
Soon, only a dozen or so slaves remained without moving.
"Why aren't you leaving with the others?"
One of the Revolutionary soldiers asked curiously.
A fierce-looking, one-eyed man covered in tattoos answered, "Where would I go? The Celestial Dragons already destroyed my homeland."
"I heard that you're fighting the World Government outside. I want to join you."
The Revolutionary soldier shook his head.
"We don't need anyone else joining us right now. We don't even know how this battle will end."
"If you join us, there's a good chance you'll die."
"You've finally gained your freedom. Why stay here and throw your life away?"
The remaining slaves exchanged glances before bursting into laughter.
"Brother, sometimes death is a good thing."
"Freedom matters, but right now, revenge would satisfy us far more. We have no family left except ourselves."
"Give us rifles or swords. We'll charge first and open the road to victory for you."
Their sincere words made the Revolutionary soldier remember what he had been like when Dragon first saved him.
"All right. But eat something and recover your strength before you join us."
And just like that, more than a dozen former slaves joined the unit led by Koala.
...
In the New World, Garp was also watching the broadcast from the battlefield.
He recognized his son immediately.
The leader of the Revolutionary Army—Monkey D. Dragon.
Garp instantly lost all interest in continuing the battle before him.
The muscles in his right arm swelled, and Armament Haki covered his fist. With one full-powered punch, he knocked the pirate captain in front of him unconscious.
Boom!
Garp launched himself toward Mary Geoise.
His feet slammed into the ground, and the force sent him soaring into the air.
Sengoku, who had been fighting alongside him, frowned.
Garp seemed not to notice his expression and said anxiously, "Sengoku, Dragon is in Mary Geoise. I need to find him."
Sengoku found himself in a difficult position.
Their standing within the Marines was already awkward, largely because of their close relationship with Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army.
After years of effort, they had finally managed to reduce the Marines' attention on that issue.
Now the Revolutionary Army had done something like this, and Garp was losing control.
"Garp, if we leave immediately, we'll be treated as deserters."
Sengoku reminded him.
Even though Sengoku wanted to go to Mary Geoise as well, they first had to eliminate every pirate on the island.
Otherwise, Raleigh would absolutely label Garp a deserter.
"Besides, Fleet Admiral Kong is still in Mary Geoise. I believe he won't simply stand there and watch Dragon die."
"Use this time to contact a few people who can go with us."
The moment Sengoku finished speaking, Garp turned around and charged into the pirates with killing intent pouring from his body.
The pirates had already been unable to resist.
Now, Garp tore through them so violently that they were sent flying in every direction without any chance to fight back.
The thunderous crashes did not stop after Garp returned.
Sengoku opened his mouth but said nothing.
"Honestly…"
In a situation like this, it was better to let Garp vent some of his anger first.
If he carried all that rage into Mary Geoise, Sengoku had no idea what kind of outrageous thing Garp might do.
Half an hour later, every pirate on the island had been eliminated.
Garp did not pause for even a moment before turning and leaving.
Using Geppo, he shot toward Mary Geoise like a blade.
Sengoku remained behind long enough to handle the aftermath and inform Tsuru, then left to chase after Garp.
He could not watch his old friend walk into certain death alone.
Mary Geoise had become a true den of monsters. Even someone with Admiral-level strength would have difficulty protecting themselves there.
Sengoku had to go with Garp.
Only two Admiral-level fighters working together could maximize their chances of surviving the chaos in Mary Geoise.
...
When the news that Sengoku and Garp had left the New World reached New Marineford, Raleigh silently dialed a secret number.
"Master?"
Raleigh looked at the calendar hanging on the wall.
"Miles, be ready to move at any moment."
"I have a feeling that this time, we'll be able to deal with those troublesome bastards once and for all."