"This concerns our army's next strategic deployment. Even if you know, do not disclose it to anyone. This is war, so put away your misplaced compassion.
"The era of forming bonds with pirates is over. What we need to do is completely eliminate every pirate in the New World without leaving any room. Uproot them all…
"Before long, the so-called Pirate King legend will disappear from history forever, along with the destruction of Sabaody Archipelago and the fall of the Four Emperors.
"I don't want anyone dragging us down…"
Click.
The call ended.
In truth, destroying Sabaody Archipelago would not affect the battle situation in the New World at all. However, its meaning was significant. It was not aimed at the Four Emperors, but at the entire world. It was a declaration that the path to the New World was completely gone.
Previously, when the Poneglyph was made public at headquarters, the route to becoming Pirate King had already been spread across the world, and that path could not avoid the New World.
Now, that only path would be destroyed.
If anyone still wanted to become Pirate King, they could keep dreaming.
It was not that there were no adventure crews on the seas, but why were they so rare?
Because adventurers did not commit crimes. They relied on honest trade while traveling, and that could never compare to how fast pirates made money.
Pirates had always been a symbol of brutality. Yet after the legend of the Pirate King spread, it turned into something else, into freedom, adventure, comradeship, and loyalty. Words that drew people in.
And children, naive and unaware, were the most vulnerable to such ideas.
Just like how every child wanted to grow up quickly, believing that was freedom.
That was the real danger.
Sakazuki leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment before calling over a messenger.
"Pass down the order. All officers and soldiers at the Sabaody Archipelago branch are to evacuate the island immediately. Inspector General Sengoku will lead them and relocate to Fish-Man Island. Inform the Warlord Jinbe and have him prepare to receive them. Go."
The messenger responded loudly.
"Yes, sir!"
He immediately ran out to relay the order.
* * *
Grand Line, Sabaody Archipelago.
Inside the Marine Base, Sengoku was about to say something, but before he could react, the call had already been cut. He stood there for a moment, slightly stunned.
After a while, he sighed. "Forget it…"
Rosinante stood to the side, feeling a bit at a loss, as if he had somehow done something wrong.
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the door.
The two of them snapped back to their senses as Sengoku looked toward the door.
"Come in."
A communications soldier rushed in.
"Inspector General Sengoku. Headquarters has issued an order. All soldiers at the Sabaody Archipelago branch are to evacuate immediately. You will lead them to Fish-Man Island and station there. Headquarters has already informed the Warlord Jinbe to prepare to receive all forces from Sabaody."
Hearing the order, Sengoku fell silent for a moment.
The communications soldier looked confused. "Inspector General?"
Sengoku waved his hand. "I understand. Go inform all the soldiers on the island to prepare for evacuation."
The soldier immediately replied, "Yes, sir!"
Then he ran out.
Sengoku remained silent for a long time before letting out a quiet sigh. "So… you don't trust me…"
A self-mocking smile appeared on his face. "Misplaced compassion…"
Rosinante looked at him, who seemed to have aged in an instant, and felt uneasy. "Father…"
Sengoku shook his head and smiled. "I'm fine."
He picked up the snack bag again, took out a rice cracker, and tossed it into his mouth.
"Getting old… hope Sakazuki finishes things soon. Otherwise, I won't even be able to properly retire."
His expression returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.
"It's been a long time since we went out together, hasn't it? Let's take a walk around here. If we don't now, it'll be gone soon."
Rosinante smiled as well.
"Let's go, Father!"
* * *
As the battle lines on both sides of the New World were nearly abandoned, the Marines initially retreated while resisting. But at some point, a batch of floating warships appeared.
Soter's aerial fleet had been entirely sent to Kuzan's front to evacuate civilians and soldiers, greatly easing the pressure. This new fleet, however, was controlled by Enel.
High above the border between Marine and pirate territories in the New World, thousands of meters in the sky, a strange fleet appeared.
Every ship bore the Marine flag, yet they were nothing like the usual seafaring warships. Their bodies were streamlined and glowed with a deep blue light, with no visible joints or seams, as if each one had been forged in a single piece.
There were no sails or masts, yet the dozens of cannons mounted on both sides made it clear they were still warships.
This eerie fleet looked as if it had leapt thousands of years ahead of the current era, stepping straight into a spacefaring age.
Inside the control room.
Enel stood before a massive screen and let out a light chuckle. "Found another unlucky bunch. Let's show them what a dimensional gap really looks like."
As he spoke, electricity flickered beneath his feet and surged into the floor. Strangely, the surrounding soldiers were unaffected.
Extremely high-voltage electricity continuously flowed into the ground. Through the conversion devices installed on each ship, it did not need physical connections. The energy was converted into magnetic force and transmitted wirelessly to the other ships.
Across the slowly advancing fleet, the muzzles of the energy cannons shifted and aimed toward a point below at an angle.
Blue light gathered within each barrel. As Enel increased the current, the light condensed into glowing blue energy spheres.
Crackle!
Nearly a thousand streaks of blue light shot out with the sound of electricity. Each one was a compressed sphere of lightning carrying immense voltage. Almost the moment they were fired, they struck the sea below and obliterated several pirate ships.
A trace of boredom crossed Enel's face. "They died too easily."
The magnetic signals on the screen had completely vanished. It was clear that everyone on those ships had been wiped out in the attack.
"Record all the test data and upload it to the cloud."
The researchers in white coats inside the control room were filled with excitement.
"Yes!"
Enel shrugged and prepared to go back and rest.
This floating fleet seemed useful, but in reality, it wasn't.
Even though its technology far surpassed the era, the problem was energy. Without a proper power source, it relied entirely on him as a walking battery.
Otherwise, if he really wanted to destroy those pirate ships, a few lightning strikes would have been far simpler.
It was all for the data…
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