"Let's drop the act. No more pretending."
Gern Reginald Sigmar didn't release his grip on Dragon's head. His other hand slowly lifted, extending past the tense formation of the Straw Hat crew to point at the pale-faced Kozuki Hiyori behind them.
"By the way," Gern said, his voice once again carrying the unmistakable authority of a Fleet Admiral, "I didn't come to Wano just to 'congratulate' you all on defeating Kaido."
He paused, gaze sharp as a blade, locking onto Hiyori's trembling eyes.
"I'm here on official business as well."
A beat.
"On behalf of the Marines… I am formally taking control of Wano Country."
"!"
Hiyori's entire body shuddered violently. Her legs gave out, and she staggered backward, barely managing to cover her mouth as despair flooded her eyes.
They had only just reclaimed the shogunate… only just glimpsed the dawn after twenty years of darkness…
Was it all about to be swallowed again—this time by an even greater, more unstoppable force?
"LIKE HELL IT IS!!"
Luffy's roar shattered the suffocating silence.
He tore free from Jinbe and Sanji's support, stepping forward, his back straight, his gaze blazing as he faced Gern head-on without a shred of fear.
"Wano is free now!!" Luffy declared, his voice firm, unyielding."The people here, the samurai, all of us—we're the ones who took down Kaido and Orochi!This land belongs to the Kozuki clan—and to the people who want to live here freely!!"
He drew in a deep breath, chest rising and falling, his eyes more serious than ever before.
"If… if the Marines try to take it—"
"Then—!!"
He raised his arm and pointed straight at his chest.
"You can fly my flag here!!"
"My Straw Hat flag—MY flag, Monkey D. Luffy's!!!"
This was the first time Luffy, as the newly acknowledged "Fifth Emperor," as the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, as the man who had defeated two Emperors, openly and formally claimed a land as his territory.
A declaration.A promise.And a direct challenge to Gern.
The tension in the courtyard snapped taut to its absolute limit.
"…Heh."
Gern simply let out a short, cold laugh.
Tilting his head slightly, he looked at Luffy as though observing a naive child throwing a tantrum.
"Raise your flag here? You say that so easily, Straw Hat… Monkey D. Luffy."
"Do you even understand what it means to be an 'Emperor'?"
"If not… then let me ask you something simpler."
"Your so-called 'protection'—does it mean you're willing to abandon your journey to become Pirate King… and remain here, in Wano, for the rest of your life?"
"To guard every blade of grass, every citizen… forever?"
"When your crew calls you to the next island… when clues to Laugh Tale appear across the sea… when new enemies threaten your companions…"
His gaze sharpened.
"Will you stay here and fulfill your duty as a protector—"
"Or will you do what you've always done… and set sail without hesitation to chase your dream?"
"Do you truly have the resolve to be an Emperor?"
Kaido ruled Wano.Big Mom ruled Totto Land.Whitebeard had his territories.Red-Haired Shanks patrolled his domain.
"And even I," Gern continued calmly, "had to stake everything to carve out G-10 alone… standing against the Four Emperors by myself."
"Luffy… you're still just a free-spirited adventurer with Emperor-level strength."
"Are you willing to give up the vast ocean… and spend years building a dominion that none can invade?"
That question struck like a blade.
The fire in Luffy's eyes flickered—then dimmed.
He fell silent.
His mouth opened… but no words came out.
For the first time, his face—normally filled with unwavering conviction—was etched with raw, painful conflict.
Stay here? Forever?
What about Zoro? Nami?Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, Jinbe…The Thousand Sunny?The sea beyond the horizon?And… the Pirate King?
His dream. His crew. His adventure.
Could any of that truly coexist with the burden of protecting an entire nation… forever?
Gern's question pierced directly into the deepest contradiction within Luffy's soul.
Absolute freedom… and absolute responsibility.
They could not coexist.
Luffy could risk his life for friends.He could throw everything away for justice in the moment.
But to abandon the sea… to give up everything he was… for the long-term stability of a single nation?
That was almost a denial of his very existence.
Gern watched him—speechless, struggling—and knew he had struck true.
He didn't press further.
Instead, he slowly lowered his hand.
"…Can you really do it?" he asked quietly."Plant your flag here?"
Meanwhile, on the other side of Wano—Ringo's port.
The Polar Tang and the Victoria Punk lay docked side by side.
"I have to go back," Trafalgar Law said, his expression grim.
He had clearly felt the two bursts of Conqueror's Haki from the Flower Capital.
One was familiar—Straw Hat's.
The other… sent a chill down his spine.
"Have you lost your mind, Trafalgar?!" Eustass Kid snapped, running a hand through his red hair, his metal arm twitching irritably.
"Something's clearly gone to hell over there! That kind of Haki? Going back now is suicide!"
"We just took down two Emperors! Our ships are wrecked, our crews are half-dead—this is the moment we get the hell out!"
"Straw Hat might be in trouble," Law insisted, already gripping Kikoku.
"Trouble? Not our damn problem!" Kid barked. "We were allies for the fight. That's it! War's over—we go our separate ways!"
"Kid!" Law's voice rose sharply. "Some things aren't about calculations. I need to confirm—"
"Confirm my ass!" Kid cut him off brutally.
But beneath the anger… there was something else.
Fear.
Kid was reckless—but not stupid.
Back at Sabaody, even he knew when to run after provoking a Celestial Dragon.
And now?
The one who had arrived wasn't just a Marine Admiral.
It was the Fleet Admiral.
And worse—
Kid suddenly pulled out a crumpled photograph and shoved it into Law's hands.
"Look at this! Got it while picking up supplies in Kuri!"
Law glanced down—
—and his pupils shrank instantly.
The image was blurry, but unmistakable.
A towering figure walking through the streets of the Flower Capital.
In one hand—Red-Haired Shanks, unconscious.
In the other—Dragon, barely alive.
Dragged like dead weight.
And that figure…
Even without a clear face—
That signature blade at his waist—
"'Heavenquake'… Gern…" Law whispered, his voice tight.
"Yeah!" Kid hissed. "The current Fleet Admiral! The guy who took my arm—and the same Red-Haired Shanks you saw!"
"And the head of the Revolutionary Army!"
"They're both being dragged like corpses!"
Kid jabbed a finger toward the Flower Capital.
"Do you understand what that means?!"
"It means he came to Wano carrying those two as trophies!"
"And you think he came alone?!"
Behind him—
Was the newly independent Marine force that had just shaken the world.
"Who knows if he's here to make an example out of us?!" Kid growled.
He grabbed Law by the collar, voice low and urgent.
"So wake the hell up, Law! We're barely standing after fighting two Emperors!"
"And now we might be facing a fully prepared Marine fleet led by their Fleet Admiral!"
"And their target might not just be Straw Hat…"
His grip tightened.
"…but all of us. The entire Worst Generation—wounded, exhausted, and ripe for the taking."
Kid released him abruptly and turned toward the Victoria Punk.
"If we don't leave now…"
He didn't look back.
"…we might not get the chance to leave at all."