Time moved quickly, and three long days slowly passed by. Despite the massive shifts in the world, everything within Wano Country was proceeding in a surprisingly calm and orderly fashion.
The Celestial Dragons, who once ruled this entire world with an iron fist, were now treated exactly like the slaves they had once brutally enslaved. Heavy iron shackles were tightly fastened around their wrists and ankles. They were kept closely together in cramped conditions, treated as if they were livestock from birth.
Surrounding this miserable group were the fierce, battle-hardened warriors of the newly established Dragon Empire. These guards glared down at the former world nobles with cold, unforgiving eyes, ensuring none of them stepped out of line.
Besides the fallen Celestial Dragons, this massive prison also held other incredibly important figures. Captured members of Cipher Pol, who belonged to the World Government, were locked away here alongside many high-ranking officials of the Marines.
It truly had to be said that this was an incredibly peculiar world. As a global power structure originally controlled by peculiar beings like the Celestial Dragons, it paradoxically contained countless brave Marines. These were people who genuinely upheld their so-called justice, proudly refusing to ever surrender to a pirate like Kaido, even if it meant facing their own deaths.
Amidst the dense, miserable crowd of captured prisoners, two familiar figures suddenly walked into the area. It was Blueno and Kalifa, former elite assassins of the World Government's secret organization, CP9. Their reason for being there in this dreary prison was entirely singular.
"Long time no see, Lucci, Kaku, Jabra, Kumadori, and Fukuro!" Blueno called out smoothly.
Hearing this confident voice, the five dejected and battered individuals slowly looked up from the dirt. They saw the immensely successful, well-dressed figures of Blueno and Kalifa standing tall before them.
The five captured assassins wore incredibly complex, conflicted expressions on their tired faces. This was especially true for Rob Lucci and Kaku. They had all once been proud, equal members of CP9, completely trusting each other when they had secretly infiltrated Enies Lobby together so many years ago.
Who among them could have ever possibly thought that everything in their lives would now be completely turned upside down? They had unfortunately become helpless prisoners of war, while Blueno and Kalifa had suddenly ascended to the absolute pinnacle of global power under Kaido's new regime.
When the massive, terrifying forces of the Beasts Pirates mercilessly attacked the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, the assault was simply too sudden and overwhelming. Because of this, those powerful agents responsible for protecting the Celestial Dragons had absolutely no time to escape the carnage and were captured alive.
Lucci, looking incredibly disheveled and completely covered in dark bruises and severe injuries, glared fiercely at his two former comrades. "What, are you just here to gloat about your new status?"
As the absolute strongest fighter among the elite CP0, Lucci was naturally kept under heavy, constant guard by Eneru. Although the Zoan user possessed an incredible combat strength that was close to that of a Marine Admiral, it was still completely insufficient against the lightning user. Eneru already possessed a terrifying power level that rivaled the Yonko of the sea. Because of this massive gap in power, Lucci was mercilessly beaten black and blue within just a few short rounds.
Hearing Lucci's bitter words, Kalifa showed a slight, brief hint of resentment on her face, but Blueno remained completely unfazed. He now confidently considered his own personal strength to be no weaker than Lucci's.
Lucci was indeed an incredibly rare combat genius. But Blueno had the backing of Lord Kaido. During these past three days, Lord Kaido had generously bestowed immense power upon them. He had elevated the Oni Squad captains, allowing them to truly earn the mighty titles of Fleet Admiral and Admiral.
Blueno looked coldly down at his former colleagues. "Lucci, put away your pointless arrogance. Now, the victor is the absolute king of this world. I am only here out of pure consideration for our former camaraderie, to offer you all a rare chance at survival. Join me and Kalifa. Not only can you safely save your own lives, but you can also easily gain the exact same high status you once proudly held in Cipher Pol."
At these surprising words, the tired expressions of the other four assassins shifted slightly in genuine consideration. However, Lucci, without bothering to conceal his deep sarcasm, immediately shot back.
"Hey, Blueno, who do you actually think you are? Do you two traitors really believe you have the right to order me around?"
Kalifa did not seem to care much about the harsh rejection, but Blueno's stoic expression instantly turned very ugly. He shifted his gaze, looking closely at the others sitting in the dirt. He found that everyone seemed to be strictly on the verge of speaking up, but they hesitated under Lucci's intense glare.
"Hmph, it seems you fools still haven't truly realized your current predicament. But that is perfectly alright with me. For the sake of our past history as colleagues, I will at least make sure to collect your dead bodies."
As his cold words fell, Blueno turned his back on them to leave the prison area. But as soon as he took a single step forward, various loud, desperate shouts suddenly came from right behind him.
"Wait, Blueno, we surrender!" "Please, you have to save us!" "We really don't want to die in here!"
Hearing these pathetic, pleading voices, a very satisfied, knowing smile slowly appeared on Blueno's lips.
In another, separate corner of the massive prison yard, the former high-ranking officials of the Marines sat together in silent defeat. They were all heavily handcuffed and bound by thick iron shackles.
Among them sat the stern Fleet Admiral Akainu. Beside him were the powerful Admirals, Kizaru and Aramaki. Further down the row sat the wise Vice Admiral and Chief Staff Officer Tsuru, alongside the former Fleet Admiral and current Grand Inspector, Sengoku. Surrounding these legendary figures were numerous Marine Vice Admirals, experienced Rear Admirals, and countless Commodores and Colonels.
They were rarely, if ever, seen by the public in such a completely disheveled, defeated state.
After they had initially returned to the Red Port from their massive campaign in the New World, everything had already come to a sudden end. There were absolutely no overly intense conflicts or final stands. The exact moment Kaido descended from the sky like a terrifying god, casually holding the severed heads of the Gorosei, everyone instantly understood everything.
A completely new era had finally arrived to crush the old world.
Facing the absolutely overwhelming, terrifying presence of the Beasts Pirates and Kaido himself, the top brass had to make a choice. At the ultimate cost of sparing the lives of all the regular, lower-ranking Marines, Fleet Admiral Akainu and the other high-ranking officials chose to completely surrender their own freedom.
"I really never thought we would actually see a day when we became helpless prisoners of war," Kizaru said gently.
Although he had tragically become a prisoner in chains, Kizaru's wrinkled face remained relatively calm and composed. He even had the strange inclination to softly make fun of himself and their dire situation. It was quite strange. Looking around the gloomy yard, although the mighty Marines were in a rather sorry, beaten state, a rare, genuine sense of relief could actually be seen on many of their tired faces.
"Indeed, who in the world would have ever thought that Kaido would be the final, ultimate victor of this grand era?" Staff Officer Tsuru agreed, her voice calm and steady despite the heavy chains. At her advanced age, she truly no longer cared very much about her own life or death.
Aramaki, however, spoke up with a great deal of noticeable displeasure and frustration in his voice. "Does that mean this entire sea will just be the pirates' playground from now on? Hey, Fleet Admiral Akainu, Vice Admiral Garp, Grand Inspector Sengoku! Shouldn't we at least try to break out and escape from this hellhole?"
"Escape? How exactly do we escape?" Tsuru asked flatly. "Not to mention these heavy Seastone handcuffs draining our energy, with the strange curse Kaido put on you, can you even still use your Devil Fruit abilities right now?"
Hearing this harsh reality, Aramaki's expression turned grim and hopeless. The various Devil Fruit users present in the yard all quietly looked down at the backs of their hands.
There, a dark, ominous symbol of the Beasts Pirates was clearly visible, burned directly into their skin. Ever since this dark symbol had magically appeared on them, everyone quickly realized they could no longer draw upon or use their Devil Fruit abilities at all. They were completely cut off from their powers.
At this exact moment, among all the powerful officers present, the only one completely unaffected by this magical curse was the legendary hero, Monkey D. Garp. He had never eaten a Devil Fruit in his life.
As for the Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals surrounding him, their raw physical strength was simply insufficient to forcibly break or remove the hardened Seastone handcuffs. But with so many of his loyal, former comrades trapped here with him, the honorable Garp simply couldn't bring himself to just break out and escape all alone.
"Hey, what if I just completely cut off my own hand? Would that finally remove this stupid curse?" Aramaki asked bitterly.
No one bothered to respond to Aramaki's desperate words. Because at this late point in the game, a mere physical curse was no longer the key factor influencing the direction of the world. From the exact moment Kaido, standing entirely alone and completely victorious, descended from the ruined Holy Land of Mary Geoise, the Marine forces had already completely lost their true right and power to resist his rule.
Seeing the utter lack of response from his superiors, Aramaki also felt somewhat bored and dejected. At their incredible, monster-like level of strength, they truly no longer cared so much about mere life and death anyway.
Just then, a sudden, loud commotion arose in the dense crowd of prisoners. Amidst nervous gasps of pure surprise and fear, the heavily armed pirates actively guarding them quickly parted to make a wide path.
A massive, terrifying figure slowly appeared, walking purposefully toward them. It was the one man whom all the proud Marines present absolutely did not ever wish to see again.
Seeing this towering, demonic figure approach, Akainu, who had been sitting completely silent until now, finally stood up slowly from the dirt. Even in heavy chains, he still fiercely exuded the terrifying, commanding aura he once proudly held as the Fleet Admiral of the Navy.
Following his bold lead, the other high-ranking Marines also slowly stood up to face their conqueror. Although they had tragically become helpless prisoners, they still stubbornly refused to ever show any sign of weakness before a pirate like Kaido.
"Kaido, don't you ever think I will beg for mercy from pirate scum like you! Do exactly as you please with us. Kill us or torture us, it makes absolutely no difference to me!" Akainu growled fiercely, his eyes burning with absolute hatred.
Suddenly, another loud, desperate voice rang out from the back of the crowd of Marines. It was Garp, his voice suddenly filled with an intense, fierce protectiveness.
"Kaido, you hear me? You are absolutely not allowed to lay a single finger on Luffy!"