Holy Land, Pangea Castle, Void Throne.
At this moment, the Gorosei knelt before the throne, while the figure seated upon the Void Throne was Imu.
The Gorosei carefully reported the events of the day. After hearing everything, Imu frowned deeply.
"It seems he truly possesses power from another world. His growth is happening too quickly. Before long, even I may no longer be his opponent."
As she spoke, anger and resentment filled her eyes. If not for that man, she would never have been trapped inside Pangea Castle, unable to leave. It was that person who had confined her here with a mysterious power that even she, the ruler of the world, could not break.
When Imu first noticed Marco's abnormal growth, she immediately possessed Klimi in an attempt to eliminate him. Unfortunately, she still underestimated the speed of his rise.
The Gorosei became visibly uneasy after hearing her words. If even Imu could not suppress Marco, then the future of the Celestial Dragons would truly be in danger.
However, Imu herself remained composed, as though she had already prepared for everything that was about to happen.
"Prepare for war. Soon, the Holy Land will become a battlefield."
Her cold gaze swept across the room.
"I have prepared for this day long ago. If they dare to come here, then none of them will leave alive."
The Gorosei immediately lowered their heads respectfully.
"Yes, Imu-sama."
Imu's expression turned even colder.
"Gather every available force within the Holy Land. We will wage an unprecedented war against the Emperors Alliance. This battle will surpass even the great war from eight hundred years ago."
"Understood."
After the Gorosei left, Imu slowly clenched her fists and muttered to herself:
"No one will control my destiny. Joy Boy cannot. Marco cannot. That man cannot. No matter the cost, nobody will take away my freedom. One day, I will leave this Holy Land."
Meanwhile, in the New World, the Beasts Pirates finally ended their battle after repelling the Marines.
Kaido did not order a pursuit because the Beasts Pirates themselves had suffered devastating losses.
The war had lasted an entire day and night before finally coming to an end.
New Onigashima had become a scorched wasteland. Corpses covered the battlefield, Marines and pirates alike.
At that moment, King approached Kaido and reported solemnly:
"Kaido-san, the numbers have been confirmed. Only 976 people survived. The rest are either dead or captured."
Kaido's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Only that many?"
The Beasts Pirates had once expanded to nearly ten thousand members, yet after this battle, less than a thousand remained alive. Their casualties had exceeded ninety percent.
Even King fell silent for a moment. No one could have imagined that a Yonko crew would one day be reduced to this state.
Ever since the formation of the Emperors Alliance, they had experienced one catastrophic war after another.
Although the Beasts Pirates failed to participate in the Whole Cake Island conflict in time, the World Government retaliated afterward and destroyed Wano Country.
Then came the Egghead incident.
The alliance managed to repel the Gorosei, the God's Knights, and the Marines, but Marco's destruction of Uranus triggered a massive explosion that caused severe casualties among all allied crews. The Beasts Pirates, the Big Mom Pirates, and even the Phoenix Pirates all suffered tremendous losses.
And now, this was the third disaster.
Only one out of every ten members of the Beasts Pirates survived. The Big Mom Pirates were likely no better off.
After all, this war had been a carefully planned operation by the World Government and the Marines. They took advantage of the Phoenix Pirates being absent and launched a massive offensive against both the Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates.
Kaido raised his sake gourd and laughed.
"Worororo! What about Linlin and her crew?"
King immediately answered:
"When the Marines arrived, the Big Mom Pirates abandoned their territory and escaped immediately. They were nearly wiped out by the Marines and Saint Garling, but for some reason, Saint Garling and the God's Knights suddenly withdrew, allowing them to survive."
Kaido frowned slightly after hearing this.
King continued:
"This should be related to the Phoenix Pirates. Beforehand, they said they would attack Marineford and the Holy Land, forcing the Gorosei and the God's Knights to return and defend Mary Geoise. That's probably why the Big Mom Pirates survived."
Kaido burst into laughter again.
"Worororo! So that's what happened. Good. At least the old hag survived. Contact them immediately."
"Understood."
Meanwhile, after withdrawing from the Holy Land, Marco and the Phoenix Pirates also noticed that neither the Gorosei nor the God's Knights attempted to pursue them.
It was likely because they feared the Phoenix Pirates' current strength.
The Phoenix Pirates now possessed five fighters with Admiral level strength, over fifteen Yonko Commander level fighters, and Marco himself, whose strength had already surpassed common understanding.
Even the World Government would hesitate before directly confronting such a force.
Marco had already instructed Jozu to contact the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates to confirm whether they had escaped safely. If they were still trapped, then the Phoenix Pirates would immediately continue attacking Marineford and Mary Geoise to divert enemy forces and rescue them.
However, just as Jozu took out his Den Den Mushi, it suddenly rang.
Jozu answered immediately.
"This is Jozu speaking."
A familiar voice soon came from the other side.
"It's connected. Good. This is Katakuri."
Jozu immediately asked:
"How are things on your side?"
Katakuri replied seriously:
"We're safe for now. The Marines, the Gorosei, and the God's Knights have all retreated, although our losses were still severe."
The members of the Phoenix Pirates quietly sighed in relief after hearing this.
The Big Mom Pirates had clearly gone through a brutal battle as well. Being surrounded by the Marines, the Gorosei, and the God's Knights at the same time was practically a death sentence.
Fortunately, they chose to abandon Totto Land and retreat immediately. Had they remained behind and fought to the end, they would have been completely annihilated.
Marco then spoke calmly:
"Contact the Beasts Pirates. After that, we'll discuss everything together."
Jozu nodded and quickly placed another call to the Beasts Pirates.
===
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