Rayleigh answered the question, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes as he spoke in a low, measured voice. "On this vast sea, true order is never about rules, but about the balance of power. Monsters like the Admirals and the Four Emperors each possess the strength to suppress an entire sea. However, mere strength isn't enough to maintain balance, because each of the four Emperors possesses the power to defeat an Admiral. So, what is it that truly balances such an volatile power structure?"
"Is it the Shichibukai?" Koala asked, looking toward the Empress, Hancock.
Rayleigh's answer surprised everyone in the room. "No. I admit that Hancock and the others are strong, but in front of the Admirals and the Four Emperors, there is an unbridgeable chasm. Among the Shichibukai, only that boy named Hawkeye is truly decent. The others—even Kuma—are lacking when faced with an Admiral, let alone one of the Four Emperors."
"Rayleigh, are you talking about the God's Knights?" Elder Nyon asked, beginning to understand the underlying implication.
"That is correct," Rayleigh replied. "You and I witnessed that battle together—the one that changed the fate of this world. You should understand the power the Celestial Dragons wield through the God's Knights better than anyone."
A chill ran down everyone's spines. "Elder Nyon," Sabo asked with a grave expression, "are those God's Knights really that terrifying?"
Elder Nyon recalled the past. "They are strong, but their power is different from what you might imagine. Let's look at the Beasts Pirates. You might think they are powerful, and their technology is incredible. However, I want to tell you that the Blue Dragon Fruit Kaido possesses, the Paw-Paw Fruit Kuma possesses, Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, and Shiki's Float-Float Fruit were all rewards offered by the Celestial Dragons during the God Valley Incident thirty-eight years ago."
The room went silent, everyone's expression darkening as the weight of the statement set in.
"Before God Valley, the Celestial Dragons held such competitions every four years," Nyon continued. "That particular incident might have offered the best rewards, but it proves one thing: powerful Devil Fruits are just ordinary toys to the Celestial Dragons."
Hancock's sisters grew pale, their minds flashing to their own traumatic history.
"You might think Kaido's Artificial Devil Fruit army is terrifying, but he only manufactures Zoan types," Nyon explained. "The Celestial Dragons, however, have mastered the creation of Paramecia and even Mythical Zoan types. We saw this at God Valley. Most of the God's Knights we encountered possessed powerful Devil Fruit abilities. Beyond that, they mastered the ability to awaken Devil Fruits and even force objects to consume them."
"What!" Sabo exclaimed.
"You heard me correctly," Nyon said. "We saw it with our own eyes. I think you understand what Devil Fruit awakening means. And the Celestial Dragons' ability to make objects consume Devil Fruits isn't limited to simple Paramecia types like the Beasts Pirates use—they can do it with Mythical Zoan types as well."
The room went cold. But Elder Nyon's next words made everyone's pupils shrink in genuine fear. "That is not even the most terrifying part. The most terrifying thing is that those individuals seem to possess a form of immortality."
"Immortal? That... that can't be true," Sabo shouted in disbelief.
Rayleigh intervened. "Unfortunately, it is true. I saw it with my own eyes. You cannot say they are truly immortal, but only those strong enough to use advanced Haoshoku coating can harm them. On this vast sea, those who possess such power are few and far between. Now you understand why the World Government fears the Four Emperors but disdains the Admirals: the Four Emperors can truly kill them, while the Admirals cannot."
Sabo gasped. Even the leader of the Revolutionary Army was the only one he knew to possess such power. "This is truly despair-inducing!"
"Does that mean no one can defeat the Celestial Dragons?" Koala cried out. As a former slave of the Celestial Dragons, her hatred was profound.
Silence filled the room. Even Rayleigh had no answer. This was precisely why Roger had surrendered in the end—the enemy was simply too terrifying. They could only wait for the person destined to end the cycle.
Just then, the cry of a seagull sounded from outside. "It's the News Coo!" Shaki walked to the entrance.
The group waited, but Shaki did not return. They looked toward the bar entrance and saw her standing perfectly still, clutching a newspaper.
"What is wrong, Shaki?" Rayleigh asked, sensing the shift in atmosphere.
Shaki turned, looked at them, and walked inside to hand the paper to Rayleigh. He took one look, and old memories assaulted him.
"This is..."
The headline read: "The Cycle of Destiny, or the Manipulation of a Mastermind?"
Below it was a photograph featuring six people. On the right were two faces everyone recognized: Luffy and Ace. Beside them were photos of the Marine Hero Garp and the Pirate King Roger. Opposite these four was a face Rayleigh did not want to recall: the man who had ruled the seas thirty-eight years ago, Rocks D. Xebec. Below Rocks's photo was Marshall D. Teach.
Seeing the two nearly identical faces, Rayleigh was stunned. "So that is it... Blackbeard is actually the child of Rocks?"
Everyone was shocked. Elder Nyon rushed forward, looked at the photo, and recoiled, her body trembling as cold sweat streamed down her forehead. "The Rocks bloodline still exists... So that is it. Is Newgate insane? To actually take in Rocks's child..."
At that moment, Shaki took a long drag from her cigarette and exhaled. "Didn't any of you notice? The person in the shadows of this photo?"
Rayleigh had already seen it. Behind the six figures was a man hidden in the shadows, seemingly pulling every string: Shanks.
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