Just as the atmosphere inside the auction house tightened to the extreme—
One of the guards who had been protecting the Celestial Dragons slipped through the chaos.
He crawled away in utter panic, face drained of color, hands trembling as he pulled out a Den Den Mushi.
As a guard assigned to Celestial Dragons, he possessed a direct line—
A line to the Five Elders themselves.
"L-Lords of the Five Elders! Saint Rosward, Saint Charlos, and Princess Shalria… all of them have been killed!"
"They were killed by the Fifth Emperor—Luo Xing!"
Inside the Chamber of Authority, the Five Elders erupted in fury the moment they heard this.
Their faces flushed purple as they slammed the table before them into dust!
"Outrageous! To slaughter Celestial Dragons openly right under our noses—this is beyond arrogant!"
The elderly man with the sword spoke coldly:
"Three Celestial Dragons may be dead, but Luo Xing has finally revealed himself."
"He's no longer hiding in Wano under Kaido's protection."
"This is our chance to kill him."
Another elder nodded.
"At last, we can fulfill the task Lord Im assigned."
"Immediately contact Sengoku and have him dispatch an admiral!"
"One admiral may not be enough—three would be safest."
"That won't do," another interrupted sharply.
"The Whitebeard Pirates are about to arrive. If all admirals leave, Marineford will be exposed."
After a brief but intense discussion—
The Five Elders reached a decision.
They would dispatch the World Government's highest intelligence organization—
CP0.
CP0 was known as the strongest shield of the Celestial Dragons.
Their leader was a figure whose strength rivaled that of a Marine admiral.
The Five Elders contacted Sengoku and learned that he had already sent Admiral Kizaru and Chief of Staff Tsuru—
And that the Warlord Bartholomew Kuma was accompanying them as well.
The Five Elders finally showed satisfied smiles.
With Kizaru, Tsuru, Kuma, and CP0—
This force was enough to dominate the seas.
Moreover, according to the guard's report, Luo Xing had brought only two unknown subordinates.
They weren't the famed Calamities or the Flying Six.
In terms of raw power comparison—
The World Government and Marines clearly held the advantage.
As for the troublesome Pirate Empress who was close to him—
If she didn't want Amazon Lily wiped off the map, she would never dare openly oppose the Government.
The Five Elders believed they had accounted for every variable.
This time, Luo Xing would certainly die.
Another massive threat to the World Government would finally be erased.
Lord Im would surely be pleased.
—
When Sengoku received the call from the Five Elders, his heart shook violently.
That man's audacity was unbelievable.
To kill Celestial Dragons—and three of them at once!
Why was he so fearless?
Did he truly not fear the combined pursuit of the Marines and the World Government?
Sengoku frowned deeply, a sense of unease growing stronger.
Ever since receiving Drake's report, he had felt something was off.
Luo Xing's behavior at Sabaody was far too conspicuous.
No mask.
No concealment.
This was completely unlike his usual style.
"That man… is he planning something?"
Sengoku felt an ominous chill.
Yet no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't see through Luo Xing's intentions.
Kaido hadn't moved in Wano.
The Beasts Pirates in Dressrosa and Punk Hazard hadn't moved either.
With only Luo Xing himself—
What kind of grand scheme could he possibly execute under the eyes of the Government and Marines?
Unable to figure it out, Sengoku could only contact Tsuru, informing her that CP0 would be joining the operation.
He also emphasized to Kizaru that no matter the cost, Luo Xing must be kept in Sabaody.
Even if it meant increasing Kizaru's salary tenfold.
Kizaru's eyes lit up instantly.
"Oh? A raise at last, huh…"
"Well then, I suppose this old man should work a little harder."
Thus—
Kizaru ordered the helmsman to push the warship to maximum speed.
All forces advanced toward Sabaody.
At the same time—
CP0 departed from the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
—
Inside the Sabaody slave auction house.
Even without knowing what was happening at Marineford or Mary Geoise—
Luo Xing could easily guess it.
Three Celestial Dragons were dead.
Those old monsters would surely go berserk.
The strongest forces of the Marines and the World Government were already rushing here.
Time, in truth, was not on his side.
Yet his expression remained calm, that faint, amused smile still hanging on his lips.
He held Enma and walked toward the Straw Hat crew.
Rayleigh's expression changed sharply.
"Stop!"
Buzz—
A terrifying aura surged from Rayleigh's body.
Like waves, it spread outward in expanding circles.
"Th-That's… Conqueror's Haki?!"
Kid, who had been preparing to retreat, felt his body suddenly weighed down.
Killer felt the same and said anxiously,
"The Dark King and the Fifth Emperor are about to clash."
"The Marines and the Government won't stay idle."
"This place is no longer safe!"
Then—
The pressure multiplied several times over.
It was like a mountain crashing down upon them.
Even standing became difficult.
"Impossible…"
Fear filled Kid's eyes as he stared at the man holding Enma.
"This is the Fifth Emperor's Conqueror's Haki?!"
"It's even stronger than Rayleigh's!"
Yes—
Luo Xing had released his own Conqueror's Haki.
Boom!
Two overwhelmingly tyrannical wills collided like ferocious beasts.
Black-and-red currents tore through the air.
The shockwave ripped the entire auction house apart.
The roof was obliterated in an instant.
Everyone was exposed beneath the open sky.
Across Sabaody, people who witnessed the scene froze in shock.
When they noticed the three Celestial Dragon corpses—
They screamed and turned to flee.
But it was already too late.
When the clash of Conqueror's Haki swept over them, they collapsed unconscious one after another.
Only a handful managed to remain standing.
Among them were Capone "Gang" Bege and Jewelry Bonney.
The two had formed a temporary alliance earlier and followed over out of curiosity.
They never imagined—
They would witness something this earth-shattering.
Three Celestial Dragons slaughtered.
The legendary Dark King Rayleigh clashing wills with a mysterious man.
"What the hell… this gap in power is insane!"
Bege quietly stepped backward.
He had only come out of curiosity.
But after seeing Luo Xing contend with Rayleigh head-on—
He knew this was someone he absolutely could not afford to provoke.
Bege had no intention of throwing his life away.
Bonney was no fool either.
This was a battlefield of the world's highest-tier monsters.
As a Supernova, she had no right to be involved.
On a distant rooftop—
Apoo, Urouge, Hawkins, and the returning Drake stood watching.
Apoo swallowed hard.
"Just their Conqueror's Haki alone is this oppressive…"
"So this is the power of emperors of the sea?"
Urouge forced a smile.
"He's the man who made the Sky God Enel submit."
"Strength like this… isn't surprising."
Hawkins continued shuffling his tarot cards.
"Dark King Rayleigh's survival rate: seventy percent."
"Mysterious unknown man: one hundred percent."
"Eustass Kid's survival rate: twenty percent."
"Straw Hat Luffy's survival rate: one percent."
"Our survival rate… fifty percent."
After finishing the reading, Hawkins looked up.
"We only have a fifty percent chance to live."
"The correct action is to leave immediately."
His words made Apoo and Urouge uneasy.
Apoo wiped sweat from his forehead.
"Damn it, Hawkins, you always use that stuff to scare people!"
Urouge frowned.
"We're not even participating in the fight. Why would our survival rate be that low?"
Only Drake remained silent.
Because among the four—
Only the Marine spy truly understood what kind of monster Luo Xing was.
The man known as the Fifth Emperor of the sea—
No one in the world truly knew how terrifying he really was.
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