"The man who will rule the world… why can't it be me?"
Luffy seemed to be questioning Sengoku while simultaneously speaking to himself.
The power of the Gura Gura no Mi spread without restraint as he repeatedly punched the air. Every impact made space tremble, and the shockwaves tore through Onigashima.
Along the Marines' retreat route, a massive crack split the land apart.
On both sides of the island, the sea rose into colossal waves. The walls of water towered like living fortresses before crashing down toward the Marines attempting to evacuate.
Those waves, hundreds of meters tall, looked like a flood capable of destroying the world itself.
Countless soldiers turned pale with terror.
There was no doubt: if they were hit, they would die without any chance to resist.
"Ice Age!"
However, at that exact moment, a freezing force swept across the battlefield.
The giant waves were instantly frozen, transforming into massive walls of ice suspended in midair.
"Aokiji!"
The surviving Marines erupted in relief and hope.
Without question, that ability could only belong to Kuzan.
Seeing his attack blocked, Luffy slightly raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"So you didn't die."
"Admiral Aokiji…"
Sengoku let out a sigh of relief and stepped back a few paces.
Sitting cross-legged on the branch of a towering tree, Kuzan looked as though he had been there the entire time.
Scratching the back of his head, he exhaled intense cold into the surroundings.
"I'm not an Admiral anymore. Don't try to put me back in that role."
Then he turned his gaze toward Luffy.
"You've already won this war. There's no need to kill everyone. There are over fifty thousand Marines here… less than half will make it back if this continues."
"And so what if you stopped my tsunami, Admiral Aokiji?" Luffy replied calmly. "What about Big Mom?"
He was in no hurry.
In fact, Luffy intended to keep those Marines there.
They had come to kill him—it made no sense to simply let them leave so easily.
Of course, he had no intention of massacring them.
After all, they were merely soldiers following orders, manipulated by the name of "justice" and the Celestial Dragons.
If they could be used by the World Government, then they could also be captured and transformed into manpower for the Neo Marines.
But at that moment, Kuzan's presence seemed more important.
That was why Luffy did not mind letting a few escape.
Kuzan sighed irritably.
"I already said I'm not an Admiral. I didn't come here to participate in this war."
After a brief pause, he pointed at Luffy.
"And by the way, I was invited to a wedding. So where's the wedding? Did it turn into a funeral?"
"Speaking of funerals, Mariejois is going to need to prepare one soon."
Luffy smiled.
"You might even attend… the funeral of one of the Five Elders."
Kuzan fell silent for a moment.
"Aokiji!" Sengoku spoke firmly. "Have you lost your mind? Even outside the Marines, you're still yourself! Justice doesn't change because of a title!"
"Mr. Sengoku…" Kuzan replied lightly. "You're retired too. You shouldn't be involved in this."
He gave a small smile.
"Consider this a favor to Akainu. He defeated me once and didn't kill me. Now we're even."
With that said, he leaped from the branch.
With every step, intense cold spread across the ground.
In moments, the ice rapidly advanced until it reached Luffy's feet.
But as it approached within ten meters of him, it was dispersed by the pale flames surrounding his body.
Kuzan then spoke:
"Can you let the Marines leave?"
Luffy looked at him… then at Sengoku… and smiled.
"Then you two… stay here."
The moment he finished speaking, he vanished.
The next instant—
BOOM!
The golden Buddha's chest was struck.
Luffy's punch pierced through Sengoku's abdomen.
Or rather—
His body appeared to have been distorted like rubber.
---xXx---
In the sky, a golden beam flashed.
Borsalino had intercepted the attack.
Hovering in the air, he crossed his arms, and his entire body transformed into a brilliant star-shaped cross of light.
"I can't let you destroy the fleet, Big Mom!"
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
Instantly, thousands of light projectiles rained down like a storm.
Even someone like Charlotte Linlin was forced to stop.
"Bufh!"
Big Mom snorted, swinging Napoleon like a saber.
With a single slash, she deflected dozens of the light projectiles.
But against thousands per second, it was useless.
She was completely pinned down.
Meanwhile, on the ground—
"ROOM!"
A spatial sphere enveloped an area spanning hundreds of meters.
Inside it were dozens of Pacifistas… and countless Marines.
Trafalgar D. Water Law drew his sword, Kikoku, and sliced through the air.
An invisible slash cut through everything.
As if the world itself were a painting, everything inside the space was divided in half.
Pacifistas and Marines were sliced apart instantly.
And yet not a single drop of blood fell.
Law smiled faintly.
"Shambles."
In an instant, body parts began to move.
Arms, legs, heads—
Everything was rearranged chaotically.
A grotesque monster made from hundreds of bodies emerged.
"Idiot!"
Vice Admiral Tokikake was inside the area, resisting with Haki.
Seeing his subordinates in that state, he charged forward furiously.
"Captain of the Straw Hat 4th Division! Trafalgar Law!"
"The Admiral candidate?" Law replied coldly, raising his sword.
At the same time—
"Hehehehehe!"
Gecko Moria burst into laughter.
"More than forty thousand Marines on the island! If they all die… they'll all become my zombies!"
"Shadow's Asgard!"
His shadow expanded violently.
Gigantic black spears rose from the ground.
They split apart in the air… curved… and rained down upon the retreating Marines.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Hundreds were pierced instantly.
Bodies skewered like meat on spikes.
"Hehehehehe… nobody escapes…!"
Moria laughed triumphantly.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the ground abruptly, silently, and lethally, and a palm pierced through Moria's body from behind!
The bandaged knight pulled Moria's heart out with a precise motion. His eyes were dark and hollow as he opened his mouth and said:
"The captain of the Straw Hats' 3rd Division… Straw Hat killed my younger brother, and I killed his captain. That's fair."
Moria slowly lowered his gaze to his own chest.
An arm was protruding through his body from behind… and in that hand's palm was a still-beating heart.
His heart!
"Ugh…!"
With a muffled sound, Gecko Moria coughed blood, gritting his teeth as he managed to utter:
"God's Knights…!"
Puff!
The bandaged knight crushed Moria's heart without hesitation.
"Moria!!"
Jinbe was shocked for a moment before charging furiously:
"Fish-Man Karate—"
But before he could attack, the knight's body sank back into the ground, vanishing as though he had never been there.
Jinbe's expression darkened.
What kind of ability was that?
Suddenly he sensed something.
Looking downward, he saw a hand emerging directly beneath his feet, lunging toward his chest!
At the critical moment, Jinbe's reaction was flawless.
He stepped back and launched an Armament Haki-coated punch.
BOOM!
The impact blocked the enemy's attack.
"Tch!"
The bandaged knight clicked his tongue, retreated once more, and disappeared underground.
His ability clearly was not suited for direct combat.
In a one-on-one fight, he probably could not defeat Jinbe.
"He ran away…?"
Jinbe's Observation Haki spread through the earth… but found absolutely no trace.
Then he looked up.
Not far away, Moria's body lay in a pool of blood.
And at that moment, among the many empty fruits floating in the air, one began to transform.
A spiral pattern slowly emerged… until a new Devil Fruit took shape.
Paramecia — the Kage Kage no Mi had just reincarnated.
Former Shichibukai, captain of Thriller Bark, captain of the Straw Hats' 3rd Fleet—
Gecko Moria was dead!
—
With the death of one of the Five Elders, the Marines immediately chose to retreat.
The retreating forces triggered a fierce reaction from the pirates.
Sengoku and Kuzan were holding back Luffy.
Big Mom continued her assault.
Issho was fighting Marco, Vista, and Ace alone, holding back multiple top-tier fighters.
Even so, casualties continued to rise rapidly.
The Marine evacuation lasted for more than half an hour.
More than forty thousand Marines had landed on Onigashima.
In the end, less than one-third managed to return to the fleet.
More than twenty thousand—perhaps nearly thirty thousand—were left behind.
Some died trapped within vines.
Others fell directly on the battlefield.
Losses comparable to the Battle of Marineford.
No, even greater.
For the World Government, ordinary soldiers could be replaced.
But an Admiral… someone like Ryokugyu… was not easily replaced.
Of course, the pirates also paid a terrible price.
When the fleet finally began pulling away from those waters, Borsalino let out a sigh of relief:
"Well… I suppose I can leave now."
Having no interest in fighting Big Mom to the death, he disappeared in a beam of light.
"What an annoying ability!"
Charlotte Linlin was clearly irritated.
Descending atop Zeus, she expanded her Observation Haki, and her expression worsened further.
Many Marines had died…
But several of her own children had fallen as well.
Now, only two major battlefields remained on the island.
Within the distant forest—
The world's greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, against Roronoa Zoro.
And Luffy's battle amidst the ruins of the skull castle.
In the air, Luffy clapped his hands.
Instantly, a colossal tree erupted from the ground.
Each branch split apart… forming gigantic fists.
A barrage of blows rained down upon Sengoku's golden Buddha.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Buddha form was smashed into the ground.
After several minutes of relentless bombardment—
Sengoku lost his transformation.
His body returned to normal.
His uniform was torn apart… and his aged body no longer possessed the strength it once had.
Lying at the bottom of a crater, he murmured:
"They… retreated?"
Even wounded, upon realizing the fleet had escaped, a faint smile appeared on his face.
Luffy slowly descended and stopped before him.
"It's over… but is this really the end?"
His voice was calm.
"As long as I'm alive, the World Government will repeat wars like this… again and again. Today one of the Five Elders died… there are still four left."
Sengoku's smile disappeared.
That was reality.
"And even if all of them die… there's still Imu."
Luffy continued.
"You Marines… truly know nothing about him?"
Sengoku remained silent.
What could he even say?
That Luffy should kill him to end everything?
"About Imu…" Kuzan approached, curious. "Does he really exist?"
—
Holy Land, Mariejois.
News of the Marines' defeat arrived quickly.
Now, only four of the Five Elders remained.
Inside the authority chamber, the atmosphere was heavy.
"Nusjuro… is dead?"
"Yes."
A female voice answered through a Den Den Mushi.
"Understood. Continue observing."
After hanging up, Saint Saturn did not ask for details.
The result alone was enough.
Another Elder stood up with a grim expression:
"We need to report this immediately."
Without hesitation, all four stood.
They walked toward the depths of Pangaea Castle.
Before the Empty Throne, the four knelt down.
"Master Imu!"
Upon the empty seat, a figure silently appeared.
Wearing a crown of thorns.
A cold voice, filled with fury, echoed through the chamber:
"…I am already aware."
(End of Chapter)