On the high execution platform at Marineford, Sengoku, Kong, and the others all looked grim to the extreme.
The outcome they had most desperately hoped to avoid…
had finally been confirmed.
"Rōmu… so all these years, you really have been planning in secret."
Sengoku stared at him through gritted teeth.
There he stood—
with Kaido, Mihawk, Hancock, Doflamingo, and Kuma gathered around him like stars surrounding a king.
Sengoku's heart was a chaos of emotions.
For decades after God Valley, the World Government had done everything possible to suppress news of that humiliating defeat.
They had tried to erase Rōmu's name from history itself.
And during all those years, they had met no resistance.
But now—
with Rōmu's return and the sudden surfacing of his hidden forces—
Sengoku finally understood the message behind it all:
We saw everything you did. We simply chose not to interfere. Because when the day came, all of it would be overturned anyway, and all your efforts would become one giant joke.
That was what it felt like.
As if he and the Marines had been clowns dancing on a stage the entire time.
"Did you really think I spent the last forty years doing nothing but sleeping?"
Rōmu gave a cold laugh.
Sengoku's face darkened, but he replied evenly,
"You hid yourself well. Not a single trace of you surfaced."
As he spoke, his eyes drifted toward the Five Elders.
He was trying to stall for time.
After the Warlords' betrayal, the Navy's top combat strength was no longer overwhelmingly superior.
Two Warlords had already been eliminated in an instant, and four more had become enemies.
There was even Blackbeard, whose loyalty was suspect at best.
At this point, the only hope left was the Five Elders.
If they could kill Rōmu—
then everyone else would become manageable.
The Five Elders naturally understood the meaning behind Sengoku's glance.
The moment the Warlords betrayed them, they had already guessed Rōmu was their leader.
Now they had simply confirmed it.
The five exchanged looks.
No words were needed.
They understood each other perfectly.
But just then—
a huge explosion erupted at the outer edge of Crescent Bay.
Flames shot into the sky.
Everyone immediately turned to look.
A few Navy warships had just been blown apart and were sinking into the sea.
And at the entrance to the bay—
eight enormous pirate ships were approaching.
At the front stood three men.
The one in the center wore a green long coat and yellow trousers. His white beard grew so wildly that it covered nearly half his face, and his cone-shaped head was instantly recognizable.
To his left stood a man in green, gripping a massive blade.
To his right stood another, with long hair, a skull tattoo on his arm, and twin axes on his back.
This was none other than the Happō Navy.
And at its head—
the former supreme leader, Chinjao.
"You see that? It's the Happō Navy!"
"Why are they here too?!"
"The news never said anything about them attacking Marineford!"
"They've never had much to do with Whitebeard, Shiki, or Kaido, have they?"
"So why are they standing on the same side now?"
"Could it be Rōmu again…?"
People instantly recognized them.
The Happō Navy was one of the official pirate military forces of the Kano Country.
Though not as overwhelmingly powerful as Whitebeard or Kaido, they were still a major force capable of dominating an entire region of the sea.
But precisely because of that, their appearance here was even more baffling.
They had no connection to Ace.
No deep ties to Whitebeard or Shiki either.
As a martial force, they would never risk involvement in something of this scale without a compelling reason.
And that only made the answer feel more obvious.
"Hahahaha!"
"Looks like we made it in time. The battle hasn't ended yet."
Standing at the bow, Chinjao laughed loudly as he looked at the Marine high command on the execution platform.
Kong looked at him and spoke coldly.
"So the Happō Navy really chose to throw itself into this mess."
Before coming to Marineford, the secret intelligence arm of the World Government had already reported that the Happō Navy was gathering overseas.
And they weren't the only force doing so.
There were more still on the way.
The Five Elders, however, looked displeased.
"These Marine fools are useless."
The white-haired elder's face darkened.
"Completely incapable of suppressing the pirates."
As far as he was concerned, the very fact that the Happō Navy still existed was proof of Marine incompetence.
If the Navy had done its job, these pirate forces should have long since been wiped out.
"And it won't stop with them," the kimono-clad elder said sharply, staring at the three leading figures.
"There are still more forces yet to appear."
One of the elders in the dark green suit lowered his voice.
"Then we should make our move now and kill them all."
But the kimono-clad elder immediately shook his head.
"Impossible."
"You think Rōmu is just decoration?"
"The Happō Navy's arrival at a time like this means they must have some connection to him."
"It would be foolish to waste our focus on them."
"For us, only one man truly poses a threat."
"So the one we must deal with…"
"…has always only been Rōmu."
He paused, then added coldly,
"And more forces are still coming."
The other elders exchanged glances.
After a moment, the elder with curled pink hair let out a breath.
"Then let them all come."
The Five Elders' thinking was simple.
Since these people all wanted to use this opportunity to sink Marineford—
then let them gather here.
And before the eyes of the entire world—
they would conduct a grand and righteous execution.
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