The roar of thunder suddenly rolled across the sky.
Everyone present instinctively looked up.
An enormous Marine warship was flying toward Mary Geoise at incredible speed. It went from a barely visible black speck to a clearly recognizable vessel in only a few breaths.
The Five Elders watched the approaching warship with grim expressions.
There was no doubt that Raleigh and the Marine Admirals were aboard.
The Revolutionary Army made no unnecessary moves either.
Everyone stood behind Dragon with complicated expressions.
Even without Dragon saying a word, they had already begun to understand the truth.
From the very beginning, the Revolutionary Army had been cultivated to draw the World Government's attention away from the Marines.
And now, the mastermind who had manipulated them from behind the scenes was finally about to reveal himself.
Whoosh!
The warship came to a steady stop between the two factions. A tall figure appeared before everyone.
He wore a white suit, with the Fleet Admiral's coat—symbolizing glory and authority—draped over his shoulders.
Raleigh folded his arms and looked coldly down at both sides.
"Christian Raleigh!"
"I should have recognized your treacherous ambitions long ago! We never should have chosen you!"
The furious Five Elders began cursing at Raleigh in the sky.
Raleigh merely glanced at them before turning his attention toward Dragon's side.
Dragon wore a complicated expression. Sengoku and Garp beside him looked much the same.
Raleigh's appearance was unexpected, yet at the same time, it made perfect sense.
"Christian Raleigh… He finally showed himself."
Hidden in the shadows of Mary Geoise, the Red Hair Pirates stared at Raleigh with clenched teeth.
What they felt toward him was pure hatred.
Because of Raleigh's rise and everything he had done, their companions had suffered grievous injuries, and they had been forced to abandon their home like beaten dogs.
He had also slaughtered Shanks's friends and mentors one after another.
If Shanks had not been desperately restraining his rage, he would have already drawn Griffin and charged at Raleigh.
Raleigh looked calmly at Dragon.
"Does anyone have any final questions?"
"I can answer them before you die."
The Five Elders immediately erupted into furious roars and accusations, but Raleigh ignored them and kept his gaze on Dragon.
Dragon took a deep breath.
"All these years, were you the one secretly pushing the Revolutionary Army forward?"
Raleigh nodded.
"From the moment I first met you, I understood your goal."
"You wanted to overthrow the World Government, which happened to align with my own objective."
"But your path was different from mine. Your existence drew the World Government's attention and loosened the restraints they placed on me."
Dragon gave a bitter laugh.
"So while you publicly did everything possible to suppress the Revolutionary Army, you secretly offered us plans and assistance from every direction."
"Those valuable materials were given to us by Vegapunk under your orders, weren't they?"
Raleigh nodded again.
"Vegapunk and I discussed most of what was sent to you. Some of it, however, came from Vegapunk himself."
"You have one final question."
Dragon took another deep breath.
"Since you've come to claim the fruits of victory, what do you intend to do with this world?"
Raleigh stood atop the warship with the blazing sun behind him.
His gaze burned with the same intensity.
"I have already removed the cancer known as piracy from this world."
"Once I cleanse it of the World Government as well, the world can finally begin operating the way I believe it should."
"I've imagined a world where anyone can live freely."
"Merchants can sell goods from distant lands. Farmers can survive simply by cultivating their own fields. Travelers can show the world's beauty to everyone."
"They will no longer need to fear being murdered by pirates who might appear at any moment."
"They will not be crushed beneath unbearable taxes, nor will they live in terror of suddenly being reduced to slaves."
"Once I finish dealing with all of you, I will build that world one step at a time."
Dragon fell silent after hearing Raleigh's answer.
Raleigh's goal was not identical to his own, but even Dragon yearned for the life he had described.
That was how the world should have been from the beginning.
Instead, the World Government that had ruled for eight hundred years had become a cancer obstructing humanity's progress.
Whether Raleigh succeeded or not, Dragon was still prepared to sacrifice his life to overthrow its rule.
Suddenly, a loud shout came from inside the warship.
"Let me out, you bastard!"
"Let me out!"
The unexpected voice drew everyone's attention.
Garp's expression immediately became terrible.
He knew that voice better than almost anyone.
It belonged to his most beloved grandson.
Monkey D. Luffy!
Garp's face turned ashen as he stared coldly at Raleigh in the sky.
"Fleet Admiral Raleigh, who are you holding inside that ship?"
Seeing how quickly Garp had reacted, Raleigh made no attempt to hide it.
"Your grandson, Monkey D. Luffy."
"Oh, and Dragon's son as well."
"He formed a pirate crew, so the Marines arrested him."
"Cleveland, bring them out."
Cleveland nodded before disappearing into the cabin.
A moment later, he dragged the shouting Luffy and the others onto the deck.
"Bastard! Let me go! Fight me!"
"You damn bastard!"
Luffy's face was twisted with fury.
Raleigh glanced at him, then showed obvious disappointment.
As expected, even a godlike Devil Fruit required its user to grow step by step.
The current Luffy was nowhere near mature. The aura he gave off was only around the level of a Commodore.
The Marines had removed every trial and opponent he should have encountered along the path of his growth.
Without those experiences, even the Nika fruit showed no response.
Under Garp and Dragon's icy gazes, Raleigh raised his right leg and kicked Luffy off the ship.
Garp slammed his foot into the ground and shot into the sky.
"Luffy!"
"Grandpa!"
As Luffy fell, he spotted his grandfather.
Before he could even wonder why Garp was there, Garp caught him and carried him safely back to the ground.
"Grandpa, break these cuffs! I'm going to send that bastard flying!"
Luffy still wore his usual careless expression.
He raised his Seastone-bound hands as though the request were perfectly reasonable.
Crack!
Garp raised his iron fist and shattered the Seastone cuffs with a single blow.
"Great!"
Luffy moved his hands around, feeling his lost strength flow back into him.
"Now I'm going up there to send him flying!"
He spoke with absolute confidence.
Garp raised his Haki-coated fist and slammed it down on Luffy's head.
"Ow, ow, ow! Grandpa, what are you doing?!"
A huge lump immediately rose from Luffy's head as he glared at Garp in complaint.
Garp stared back at him accusingly.
"Didn't I tell you to stay quietly in Foosha Village?"
"And how did you end up becoming a pirate again? Did you forget that I told you to join the Marines?"
Luffy looked slightly guilty.
"Grandpa, when I was in the East Blue, I saw the Marines execute Uta."
"I wanted to find Shanks and ask why he didn't save her, so I went out to sea."
"Besides, I don't want to become a Marine!"
"I'm the man who'll become Pirate King!"
Before Garp could answer, two loud screams came from the sky.
"Aaaah!"
"Aaaah!"
Recognizing the voices, Luffy jerked his head upward.
"Nami!"
"Usopp!"
His arms instantly stretched into the sky.
Nami and Usopp saw Luffy's hands reaching toward them. Trusting him completely, they both stopped screaming and waited for him to catch them.
Just as his rubber arms were about to touch them—
Bang!
Bang!
Two explosions rang out.
Nami and Usopp, who had been waiting for Luffy to save them, burst into clouds of blood.
Luffy's fingertips had already brushed their clothes.
Now his arms passed straight through the two warm, sticky clouds.
Luffy froze.
His thoughts seemed to stop completely.
He did not even realize when his arms retracted.
After some time, he finally felt the warm blood clinging to them, still carrying traces of Nami and Usopp's body heat.
He stood motionless, no longer knowing what he was supposed to do.
Then several more black dots appeared in his vision.
His other companions.
Sanji.
Zoro.
Chopper…
Something seemed to awaken inside Luffy.
He roared with all his strength.
"I'll never let you hurt my friends again!"
"Zoro! Sanji!"
Ignoring the damage to his body, Luffy forced both arms to stretch toward the sky with everything he had.
As though trying hard enough could pull his companions out of danger.
But—
It was already too late.
The moment Raleigh decided to throw the others from the ship, their fate had been sealed.
Luffy had no way to stop it.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The same scene repeated itself.
The three figures burst into blood mist just before Luffy could touch them.
His hands passed through the blood of his companions once again and closed around nothing.
Thump.
Thump, thump.
Thump, thump, thump!
Everyone suddenly heard a strange sound.
It resembled the beating of a heart.
"Luffy!"
Garp and Dragon, who stood closest to him, were the first to notice his transformation.
Luffy's short black hair began to burn, rapidly turning white. His eyebrows curled into an unnatural spiral.
White flames ignited across his body.
Then Luffy suddenly leaped into the sky.
He was going to take revenge on Raleigh.
Even after awakening, however, he was still no match for him.
The moment Luffy's flaming figure appeared in midair, the Five Elders' previous fury toward the Marines vanished beneath absolute shock.
Their pupils contracted as they stared motionlessly at the white figure in the sky.
Then they roared in terror.
"Quickly! Kill him!"
"He is Joy Boy!"
Luffy had no idea what was happening to his body.
He only knew that limitless energy now seemed to flow through him.
The pounding of his heart echoed throughout Mary Geoise.
These were the legendary Drums of Liberation.
According to ancient legend, when the Drums of Liberation resounded across heaven and earth, Joy Boy would return.
On the battlefield below, the Five Elders stared fixedly at Luffy.
There could be no mistake.
They would never mistake that form.
The white flames covering his body.
The entrancing rhythm of the Drums of Liberation.
They belonged only to the enemy of the "gods"—the Warrior of Liberation, Nika.
The aura of the cursed-blade Elder surged violently.
The muscular Elder beside him did the same.
"Kill him!"
"He is the gods' mortal enemy—Nika!"
Both figures shot into the sky, carrying endless killing intent as they charged toward Luffy.
They moved even faster than the God's Knights who had already begun advancing.
The Five Elders' sudden eruption drew everyone's attention away from Luffy and onto them.
Garp and Dragon did not know what transformation had occurred, but they could clearly see that the Five Elders intended to kill Luffy.
Garp did not hesitate.
He exploded forward and flew into the sky.
"Sengoku! Dragon! Stop them!"
Boom!
The ground beneath Garp collapsed as though struck by a meteor.
His body seemed to teleport into midair.
Sengoku followed immediately after hearing his shout.
Dragon activated his Devil Fruit ability and flew toward Luffy like a tornado.
Even though Garp had reacted a moment later than the Five Elders, his full speed allowed him to reach Luffy almost simultaneously.
Ignoring the injuries covering his body, Garp wrapped himself in dark Armament Haki and rammed Luffy back toward their side.
At the same time, he raised his right fist high.
Even when the cursed-blade Elder's furious slash tore across his chest, Garp showed no fear.
His eyes widened, as though he wanted to devour the man before him.
Then his raised fist descended with lightning speed and smashed into the Elder's chest.
"Meteor Bone!"
Crack!
The cursed blade tore through the Armament Haki covering Garp's body without resistance.
Had Garp not trained his physique to its absolute limit, that strike might have cleaved him in half.
Garp ignored the wound.
His Haki-coated fist crashed into the cursed-blade Elder's chest.
Amid a series of sickening cracks, the iron fist shattered the Elder's ribs.
Locked together, the two men plummeted from the sky and crashed toward Mary Geoise below.