Garp was not angry at all. On the contrary, he was thrilled.
With Harry's strength, there was no longer any need to worry about the final battle against the undead a few days from now. The undead scourge was made up mainly of the Whitebeard Pirates, and among them, only Whitebeard had ever possessed Conqueror's Haki.
As long as Harry released his Conqueror's Haki before the battle, the Marines and the pirates would only need to deal with an undead Whitebeard. With the Admirals joining forces to besiege Whitebeard alone, plus Harry, whose combat power was beyond even Admiral level, this battle was absolutely in the bag.
While Garp stood there thinking about tomorrow's battle with open excitement on his face, Harry slowly stepped forward and stopped in front of the CP0 agents.
Unlike the Marines, who still retained some sense of justice, these CP0 agents were nothing more than lapdogs for the Celestial Dragons, so Harry had no intention of sparing them.
He lightly tapped the ground with the tip of his foot. A hazy green ripple spread outward, engulfing every last CP0 agent in the blink of an eye.
Wrapped in a disintegration beam, their bodies rapidly came apart, until not a trace of flesh remained.
Garp watched the entire thing happen and did nothing to stop it.
Right now, Harry was the hope of the pirate world. As long as he did not turn on the Marines, Garp could pretend none of this had happened.
Besides, Garp was just as dissatisfied with CP0. Those damned scumbags could die and stay dead.
After the CP0 agents were wiped out, another moment passed before the Marines gradually started to regain consciousness.
As Admirals, Aokiji and Akainu naturally woke first. Once they got to their feet, they stared around in slight confusion. When they saw the tens of thousands of Marines still sprawled on the ground, they finally remembered what had happened.
Both of them looked at Harry in disbelief, shock written all over their faces.
Conqueror's Haki?
But what kind of Conqueror's Haki could knock out an Admiral?
After learning Harry's true strength, whether they were Admirals or ordinary Marine soldiers, everyone fell silent. They all turned a blind eye to Harry killing the CP0 agents.
This was not their fault. Faced with a powerhouse who could knock out an Admiral with Conqueror's Haki alone, they had no ability to resist in the first place.
So instead of throwing their lives away scolding Harry over CP0, it was better to conserve their strength for the undead scourge to come.
What was more, with Harry on their side, even without CP0, their odds in tomorrow's decisive battle had actually improved.
Not long after Harry used Conqueror's Soul Projection to knock out the Marines, the Five Elders in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise also received the news.
Deep within the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, the conference chamber of the Five Elders sank into a strange, deathly silence.
The black obsidian table, inlaid with the emblem of the World Government, suddenly cracked with a sharp snap, spiderweb fractures racing across its surface. The Warrior God of Agriculture slammed his palm against the table and shot to his feet, sending a Devil Fruit encyclopedia scattering across the floor.
"This is absurd! A mere pirate dares trample on the dignity of the World Government right under our noses?"
"Enough," said the Warrior God of Finance, slowly lifting his head. His eyes gleamed with the cold light of a viper. "According to the intelligence we received, this man's Conqueror's Haki has gone beyond all conventional forms. It can even…"
He paused deliberately, and the temperature in the chamber seemed to plummet.
"…strip away souls."
"Impossible!" The Warrior God of Science and Defense's pupils contracted violently. "Not even Roger or Whitebeard ever reached such a level!"
The Warrior God of Legal Affairs looked grave as he said in a deep voice, "Now is not the time for shock. The undead scourge is nearly upon us. If this man's power can be used for our benefit, the undead will no longer be a threat."
The Warrior God of Environment nodded in agreement.
"That's right. Before the undead scourge is dealt with, there is no need to move against him. But once it is over, we must erase him before he loses control completely.
"Perhaps we can subject him to Divine Judgment. Only then can we ensure his death beyond all doubt."
"I agree."
"I agree."
"I agree."
"I agree."
And with that, the meeting at the pinnacle of world power came to an end.
Time flew by, and several days passed in the blink of an eye.
That morning, Harry woke up, stretched lazily, and headed outside.
He was currently staying in a spacious room, one that looked a little like his bedroom in the multiverse. Harry had created the whole thing himself with Transfiguration.
When he stepped out, the Straw Hat crew was already in the hall getting ready. The moment Usopp saw Harry, he asked in a trembling voice, "Harry, aren't you nervous at all? We're fighting the undead scourge today!"
Harry pulled out food from his Pocket dimension and placed it on the table beside the dishes Sanji had cooked himself. In a lazy tone, he said, "Don't worry. It's just the undead scourge. We've got a ninety percent chance of winning."
Even after hearing their odds were that high, Usopp only let out a breath of relief. He was nowhere near relaxed.
"But there's still a ten percent chance we lose," he said anxiously. "And if we lose, this whole world is going to turn into hell!"
Harry teased him, "Don't worry. Even if that demon god trying to invade your world is stronger than I expected, we still have Plan B."
"Plan B? What's that?" Usopp asked.
The others also turned to Harry, curious about this so-called backup plan.
Harry gave them a faint smile and explained, "We transfer all of you to another world. So you'll be safe, no problem. Besides, that ninety percent win rate assumes I don't lose control. If I fight while risking that, then our chance of victory goes up to ninety-nine percent."
Usopp's eyes lit up and he blurted out excitedly, "Then what are we waiting for? Harry, hurry up and lose control!"
Nami instantly slammed her fist down on his head, leaving a huge lump behind.
Usopp yelped, clutching his head as he glared at her. "Nami, why did you hit me out of nowhere?"
Nami's face was serious. "Unless it is absolutely, desperately necessary, Harry cannot lose control."
"Why not?"
"The undead scourge would only devour our planet at most. But if Harry loses control, and our luck is bad, then this entire universe could be wiped out."
"Ah? Ah!" Usopp turned pale and hurriedly said, "Then never mind. Forget I said anything."
Even Luffy looked a little scared. "No, I don't want that! If the universe gets destroyed, does that mean there won't be any meat left? Harry, you absolutely cannot lose control!"
By the time Harry and the others reached the shore, hundreds of thousands of Marines and pirates had already assembled.
They were stationed across every corner of the Sabaody Archipelago, waiting to launch their attack the moment the undead scourge arrived.
Thanks to the strange and convenient powers of Devil Fruits, a huge number of temporary defenses had been built around the archipelago. Towering walls of ice loomed like mountains, and even within the sea stood blazing magma walls that still radiated intense heat. Alongside them were all sorts of other specialized defensive barriers.
As soon as Harry appeared, everyone present turned to look at him, pirates and Marines alike.
In the waters not far from the Sabaody Archipelago, a burst of hearty laughter suddenly rang out from the deck of the Red Hair Pirates' ship.
Shanks, wearing his straw hat at a slant, swirled crimson wine in the glass between his fingers, but his eyes stayed locked on Harry in the distance at the shoreline.
"What an interesting young man. To think he could use Conqueror's Haki to knock out an Admiral. A level of Conqueror's Haki like that is beyond anything I imagined!"
In this world, anyone with enough standing knew exactly how terrifying Red-Haired Shanks's mastery of Conqueror's Haki was.
He had even been faintly acknowledged as the number one user of Conqueror's Haki in the world.
But now, that title had changed hands.
Beckman stepped closer with a cigarette in his mouth, his eyes narrowing behind his lenses. "Captain, this kid's Conqueror's Haki has already gone beyond common sense. Maybe he can…"
At that point Beckman stopped, leaving the rest unsaid. But as his closest friend, Shanks naturally knew exactly what he meant.
"That's right. Maybe we don't need to wait for Luffy to grow anymore. Harry might be able to change this world too." Shanks raised his wineglass, excitement written all over his face. "Let's get a little closer. I want to see for myself just how far Conqueror's Haki can go if it's strong enough to knock out an Admiral."
Including Red-Haired Shanks, all four Emperors had arrived, except Whitebeard, who had already fallen and become an undead king.
On a massive ship, Kaido slammed his sake gourd onto the deck with a heavy crash. Liquor splashed everywhere like blood as he threw back his head and roared with laughter.
"A brat like that? Knocking Marine Admirals out like flies?"
He abruptly stood up and kicked aside one of the Beast Pirates officers next to him.
"No matter what, Kizaru is still the Glint-Glint Fruit user. Even for me, taking him down would take real effort.
"So this rumor has to be the World Government exaggerating on purpose, just to trick pirates like us into marching to our deaths with our guard down.
"I'll see for myself what this Harry Potter is capable of. If he doesn't live up to my expectations, then after the battle is over, I'm going to crush every bone in his body, one by one!"
Big Mom was actually on Kaido's ship as well, laughing at his outburst from the side.
Clearly, she also did not believe that some young nobody could possess combat power capable of crushing an Admiral.
After all, the Admirals were not that much weaker than they were.
And if someone really could crush an Admiral, wouldn't that mean they could crush them too?
If a monster like that really existed in this world, he would have made himself known long ago. There was no way he could have remained obscure.
Harry glanced toward Kaido's ship. Using the good-and-evil sensing magic he had gotten from Naruto, he could feel countless malicious gazes coming from that direction.
But he quickly looked away again. They were all just small fry. The strongest among them was no different from an Admiral. For now, his focus was still on the undead scourge that was about to arrive.
Hopefully, the demon god behind all this had not poured too much power into this world. Otherwise, things would get troublesome.
The Marines' estimate of the undead scourge's arrival was accurate. Dozens of minutes later, it came exactly as expected.
It was still early morning, and the dawn light had not yet faded.
Then, all at once, the sunlight over the Sabaody Archipelago was swallowed by a strange gray mist. The ocean, which had been gleaming gold moments earlier, suddenly rippled with countless fine waves. The sea churned like boiling tar, and pale skeletal claws burst from the deep, raking through the surf and shredding the foam.
The first thing to rise above the surface was half a rotting sail. Decaying ropes hung from it, wrapped around bleached skeletons, and at the end fluttered the torn remains of the Whitebeard Pirates' flag.
Then a gigantic ship slowly tore its way up through the sea. Twisted undead were coiled around its keel, their half-transparent bodies fused into the vessel itself, ghostly blue flames burning inside their empty eye sockets.
At the bow stood Whitebeard's skeleton in a tattered cloak. Rotting flesh flaked from his body in the sea wind, but the hand gripping Murakumogiri remained as steady as stone, and along its broken blade clung dark-red, congealed blood.
When the entire ship had fully emerged from the water, the sea suddenly came flooding backward into the massive hole in its deck.
Countless undead poured up from deep within the hull. They wore the shredded uniforms of the Whitebeard Pirates, and phosphorescent flames writhed out of their wounds. Every howl that left their mouths sounded like a sob drifting up from the depths of hell.
Marco the Phoenix, commander of the 1st Division. Diamond Jozu, commander of the 3rd Division. Flower Sword Vista, commander of the 5th Division.
These world-famous powerhouses, and many others, had all become rotten undead, radiating desecration and ill omen.
But perhaps because of the influence of the demon god behind the scenes, even though they had become undead, their strength had not decreased. On the contrary, it had increased drastically.
When the strongest fighters in the Marine-pirate alliance sensed the pressure coming from those division commanders, their expressions changed immediately.
They realized that these already-formidable monsters had grown even stronger than before. Marco alone now clearly possessed Admiral-level combat power, and the other commanders were not far behind.
As for Whitebeard, the man once known as the strongest in the world, the aura he radiated was even more overwhelming than before.
He had absolutely become a monster beyond Admiral level.
At that moment, every member of the Marine-pirate alliance wore a grim expression. They had thought that by gathering all the forces of the Marines and pirates together, their side would be stronger than the undead scourge. The only things they had truly needed to worry about were the undead's immortality and ability to spread infection.
But now it was obvious that the fallen Whitebeard Pirates possessed fighting power far beyond their expectations. Once the masses of undead civilians were added in, the undead army was not weaker than the Marine-pirate alliance at all. If anything, it was stronger.
On the execution platform at the rear of the army, Fire Fist Ace was imprisoned there.
But the Marines had no intention of executing Ace. His current role was simply to draw in any lingering emotions the Whitebeard Pirates still had for him, preventing them from carrying the undead scourge deeper into Paradise.
From atop the platform, Ace looked at the family he had once known, now fallen into rotting undead things, tears filling his eyes as he cried out in grief, "Old man! Marco!"
His voice carried across to the Whitebeard Pirates' ship, and to everyone's surprise, even after becoming undead, Whitebeard still retained feelings for Ace.
Only now, under the demon god's influence, those feelings had become twisted.
Whitebeard let out a roar.
"Gurararara! A...Ace, we're coming to save you. Come...come join the glorious evolution with us!"
In the next instant, he swung the ruined Murakumogiri in his hand, and violent cracks ripped through the air as they spread toward the Sabaody Archipelago.
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