So many people had died. They had paid such a terrible price. And now, in the end, it was all going to end like some kind of joke?
Why?!
Just because that hostage was a Celestial Dragon?!
There were no small number of Marines who thought the same way he did. Even if they knew that this was indeed the logic behind it, they still could not accept such a reality.
At this moment, Kuzan, who stood on the execution platform, suddenly opened his eyes. A freezing wind began to blow with him at its center.
It swept across the bay plaza, swept across the entire battlefield, and physically lowered the "flames of rage."
But such an action was meaningless. A fundamental change had already occurred.
Everything was already—irreversible!
'Sengoku...'
Tsuru sighed and lowered her head without saying a word. Then she heard Sengoku's voice, so steady that not even the slightest tremor could be heard within it.
"We can make the exchange. But you must ensure Saint Charlos's safety."
"Gurararara, that's only natural."
Whitebeard gave a ferocious grin. No one knew where he had taken it from, but he pulled out an explosive collar and, under everyone's eyes, fastened it around the Celestial Dragon's neck.
Then, beneath countless dumbfounded gazes, he directly threw Saint Charlos out.
Amid that shrill scream, Kizaru turned into light and shot forward, catching Saint Charlos before landing safely.
However, when he saw the explosive collar around the man's neck, even he could not help the twitch at the corner of his mouth.
The Celestial Dragons, who had always used explosive collars on slaves, had now been fitted with one themselves.
How ironic!
"This is only one exchange for one!"
Whitebeard shook the little object in his hand and said coldly, "I'm taking my son home. As for the other Celestial Dragon, that depends on what price you're willing to offer."
"..."
The corner of Sengoku's mouth twitched, but he still ordered someone to unlock Ace's shackles.
Then he grabbed the still somewhat dazed Ace and fiercely threw him toward Whitebeard's direction.
It was an act of venting his anger, but because of the other Celestial Dragon, no accident occurred in the end.
And just like that, Ace returned to Whitebeard's side.
The process happened so quickly that everyone who noticed it was left in a daze.
"Ace!"
Oz Jr. stretched out his hand and caught Ace in delight, then placed him on his shoulder. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah..."
Ace nodded, but he could not help looking up at Pops.
Although he did not know exactly what had happened, the current situation was truly... difficult to describe.
As a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, he did not believe this was a scheme Pops could have come up with.
"We'll talk when we get back."
Whitebeard glanced at him and shook his head, signaling that Ace did not need to say anything more.
He tossed away the remote control in his hand. Immediately after, Kizaru crushed the explosive collar on the other side and threw it away.
Saint Charlos was finally rescued. Then, right there on the plaza, he began angrily cursing at the Marines.
His words were nothing more than calling them useless trash, screaming that they had actually allowed him, a Celestial Dragon, to be harmed.
He even wanted the Marines to kill Whitebeard, the one who had harmed him.
Only, no one paid any attention to him.
At this moment, the Marines were still trapped in the aftermath brought by that order from just now.
What was the most terrifying way to kill someone?
The answer: to destroy their heart!
At this very moment, no matter what rank they held, every Marine felt shaken in the justice they had upheld.
It was precisely because of the justice they upheld that they had fought to the death without retreating in the bay plaza.
With blood and flesh, they had forged themselves into a war chariot, intending to crush their enemies and plant the flag of justice firmly in the eyes of the world.
And yet now, they could no longer even face themselves.
"Gurararara, how pathetic, Marines."
At just this moment, Whitebeard's voice rang out once again, drawing the furious glares of many Marines.
However, Edward Newgate did not care at all. Instead, he mockingly raised his fist and assumed an attacking stance.
That was not the posture of a victor.
It was the prelude to an attack.
Sengoku's expression changed, but it was already too late.
"Remember this, you Marine brats! As long as you submit beneath the World Government, you will never obtain the justice in your hearts!"
Amid that deafening laugh, Whitebeard fiercely swung his fist and smashed it into the atmosphere before him.
Like a shattered mirror, countless streaks of light spread outward, enveloping all of Marineford within them!
Perhaps in terms of scale, it was not comparable to a Seaquake. But in terms of destructive power, it was absolutely no less terrifying.
Boom—!
The earth and sea shook and churned. On the towering building of Marineford, the two characters reading "Justice" suddenly split open with dense cracks.
Then "Justice" shattered into pieces, gradually sinking amid thunderous rumbling.
What followed was a large-scale earthquake.
A surging storm rose within the bay, forming a rapid current of air that blew outward.
The pirates' flags snapped violently in the wind!
"Boys, let's go home! As victors!"
Whitebeard laughed loudly and spread his arms wide, issuing his captain's command amid the surging wind.
"Oh! Long live Pops!"
"Home! We're going home!"
The currents surged outward toward the open sea. Although they were retreating, the Whitebeard Pirates' morale was sky-high.
They were the victors.
The Marines did not stop them. Instead, they stood where they were like men in mourning.
They were the losers.
The reason behind those words just now was like a blade driven into an already open wound, leaving behind an even deeper scar that could never heal.
What could wound them more deeply than the mockery of the enemies they had been fighting to the death moments before?
They had lost.
They had already lost completely.
Even if the Celestial Dragon had been rescued, the justice within their hearts had already been defeated.
Sengoku watched this scene with complicated eyes, a pained look flashing through them.
Heavy losses were not terrifying. What was terrifying... was losing the soul!
But there was nothing he could do. The Five Elders would not think about such things.
To the World Government, the Marines were nothing more than a tool of violence used to rule the world and maintain order.
He could only turn his gaze toward the black dot in the distance.
At just that moment, their eyes met.
Ren revealed a brilliant smile and reached out his hand.
A black-gold card gathered and took form between his fingers. Then he took a step back.
With one arm, he wrapped it around Hancock's slender waist. Energy surged around him and spread outward, incidentally enveloping that giant snake as well.
"Let's go. It's already over."
A pitch-black blazing sun appeared where he stood, then turned into a streak of light and flew away.
On the surface, the Whitebeard Pirates still had the bargaining chip of one Celestial Dragon. On the surface, he did not.
If he did not leave now, Sengoku might need to pacify his own ranks, but at the very least, Kuzan would want to make a move against him.
In fact, that was exactly the case.
A little over a second later, a burst of cold air struck that place.
Kuzan stepped out from the ice, his gaze turning toward the flame-colored trail left behind in the sky.
In the end, he still chose not to pursue with all his strength.
There was no point. Everyone knew the other party possessed the ability to move over long distances.
He pressed his lips together, then finally looked toward Mihawk in the distance. "May I ask what happened here just now?"
"I have no obligation to answer you."
"You were one of his pieces too?"
"No."
Mihawk frowned and shook his head, then turned to leave. "The contents of the contract have been fulfilled. I will leave this place myself."
Kuzan's eyes flickered, but he still made no move.
If the world's greatest swordsman had become that man's piece... then perhaps this war really would have been a grand play to destroy Marine Headquarters.
Although that sounded exaggerated, if it was that man, perhaps he truly could have done such a thing.
So that probably was not the case. And thankfully, it was not.
On the main battlefield, Red-Haired Shanks frowned as he stared at the departing blazing sun. Just as he was about to say something, the Den Den Mushi on him rang.
He seemed to realize something and chose to give up on pursuing.
Then he led the Red-Haired Pirates and Roger's old crew into retreat, taking the chance to leave Marineford, which was still shaking from the earthquake.
Whitebeard's final attack seemed limited in the range it affected.
But in reality, it had been a vicious stomp upon Marineford, which had already been on the verge of collapse.
The ground across the entire island was splitting open with countless cracks, and no one knew how many buildings were falling into the abyss.
Even the Marines who had lost their fighting spirit had no choice but to move under these circumstances.
Kuzan also acted to stabilize the island's condition, preventing Marine Headquarters from sinking into the sea along with the island itself.
And at this moment, the technical personnel of Marine Headquarters finally managed to break through the interference with the radio waves and regain the Marines' control over the Den Den Mushi network.
In truth, it was because the Angel of Glory had stopped interfering.
But at this point, it no longer mattered.
Everything that should have been broadcast had already been broadcast to every corner of the world.
Sabaody Archipelago, broadcast center.
The stunned reporters finally snapped back to their senses and erupted into chaos as if their backsides were on fire.
"Hurry, hurry! Contact the president!"
Based on their understanding of the World Government, the next step might very well be a complete information lockdown.
They had to spread this big news as quickly as possible!
Of course, they did not know that a certain clip from the Marineford War had already set off a tremendous uproar across the sea.
New World, Totto Land waters.
"What a... madman..."
On Whole Cake Island, Big Mom withdrew her gaze. Then she let out an ear-piercing laugh. "That old man really dragged the Celestial Dragons down from their altar."
This was not empty boasting, but a description of reality.
In the past, no one had ever truly dared to kidnap a Celestial Dragon and use them as a bargaining chip.
No, it should be said that there had been.
Back in the past, during God Valley, the Rocks Pirates she belonged to had done just that.
However, the World Government would never allow that information to spread, because there was a difference between zero and one.
Once the number one appeared, it meant the Celestial Dragons' sacredness had been broken through one layer.
Even if they still held supreme authority, they would no longer be as sacred and inviolable as they had once been.
If something else happened after this...
"Mamamama, I'm starting to look forward to how the situation develops next."
"I'm looking forward to it too, Mama."
Perospero stuck out his tongue and smiled. "After Whitebeard did something like this, the World Government will definitely do everything in its power to eliminate the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Once that old man dies, the New World will belong to you, Mama. If everything goes smoothly, you'll be the next Pirate King!"
"The Pirate King, huh?"
Big Mom rose to her feet with a savage grin. "Before that, we'll need to deal with that brat called Ace first, won't we?
"Bloodline is no reason for him to become the next Pirate King. Power is the foundation of everything.
"However..."
Her tone shifted. "For now, let the World Government and the Marines clash with him first.
"Perospero, did you see the person in the image?"
"I saw him. Demon Ren appeared."
Perospero said respectfully, "Previously, we were never able to find his whereabouts. It seems his base is a giant flying ship."
(End of Chapter)