"In the meantime, the two of you will stay inside this space."
After saying that to Sengoku and Kizaru, Ryūjin did not waste another word. With a single thought, he exited the Kamui Dimension.
The next moment, he appeared above a quiet stretch of ocean, floating high in the air.
Clap!
Ryūjin pressed his palms together.
"Wood Release: Continuous Pillar House Technique!"
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Wood surged outward like living roots, twisting and expanding rapidly. Thick wooden branches intertwined, forming the frame of a brand-new ship in moments.
Their previous vessel had long since been blown apart by the Marine Buster Call.
Ryūjin landed on the deck.
With another thought, Nami, Nico Robin, Crocodile, and the others who had been transferred into the Chibaku Tensei space reappeared.
The group instinctively looked around.
The violent battlefield was gone.
All that remained was an unfamiliar sea, silent and peaceful, as though nothing had ever happened.
"Ryūjin-san, where are the Marines?" Nami asked, blinking rapidly in confusion. "Did you deal with all of them?"
When the nameless island had been bombarded earlier, she had managed to glimpse part of the battlefield.
The sight of those warships had been terrifying.
And it was not just ordinary Marines.
There had been Fleet Admiral Sengoku, the Marine Hero Garp, and the Admirals.
That lineup alone was enough to terrify anyone.
Yet somehow, Ryūjin had ended everything in such a short amount of time.
"The Marines were stupid enough to launch a Buster Call against Lord Ryūjin."
Crocodile let out a cold snort, cigar smoke escaping his mouth.
"They were asking for death."
"Sengoku and the others got sent packing."
Ryūjin shrugged casually.
"As for the rest…"
His expression did not change in the slightest.
"They're dead."
A cold silence followed.
Robin instinctively inhaled sharply.
No one understood the terror of a Buster Call better than her.
She knew exactly what it represented.
Ten thousand Marines.
Ten warships.
A military force capable of erasing an island from existence.
Yet Ryūjin had wiped them out.
Robin had spent enough time around him to know he rarely bothered killing people without reason.
Still, when he did move, the consequences were absurdly overwhelming.
"R-Ryūjin-san…"
Nami's legs trembled slightly.
"You really killed ten thousand Marines?"
Cold sweat appeared on her forehead.
"The Marine definitely won't let this go."
"Nami, you've got it backwards."
Crocodile exhaled smoke lazily.
"The ones who should be worried right now are the Marines, not Lord Ryūjin."
Five top-tier Marine fighters.
Ten thousand Marines.
An entire Buster Call fleet.
And even then, Ryūjin walked away untouched.
At this point, the Marine simply lacked the strength to do anything to him.
"Don't waste time worrying about meaningless things."
Ryūjin dismissed the concern without interest.
Then he turned toward Crocodile.
"Call Miss Friday over. I want information on the Yonko."
"Yes, Lord Ryūjin."
Crocodile responded immediately and took out a Den Den Mushi.
Before long, Miss Friday returned.
Ryūjin's next target had already been decided.
More specifically, Kaido and Big Mom.
After all, their Devil Fruits had exceptional compatibility with his Yin Release and Yang Release Chakra.
Compared to the others, they naturally took priority.
As for Red Hair?
Ryūjin was interested in testing and refining his Haki against him.
Still, compared to Kaido and Big Mom, he was lower on the list.
"What's Kaido and Big Mom's current situation?" Ryūjin asked casually.
Miss Friday, perched on the railing, answered respectfully.
"Lord Ryūjin, Kaido and Big Mom are currently stationed near the waters outside Marineford. They've remained in a standoff with Marine Headquarters but haven't made any major moves."
"Nami, map."
Nami reacted instantly and brought one over without complaint.
Miss Friday glanced at it briefly before pointing with her claw.
"They're around this location, Lord Ryūjin."
"Crocodile."
Ryūjin glanced at him.
"We're moving."
"Yes, Lord Ryūjin."
The ship immediately changed course.
The group set sail once again.
Because of Kotoamatsukami's cooldown period, Ryūjin intentionally waited a full day after controlling Sengoku and Kizaru.
On the second day, he casually captured two unlucky pirates and used them as sacrifices for Edo Tensei.
Using the exact same process as before, he resurrected Sakazuki and Kuzan.
Naturally, he turned them into puppets as well.
As for Garp…
Ryūjin genuinely had no interest in dealing with the old man.
At least, not because of Luffy and Ace.
As long as Garp stopped acting like a stubborn idiot and stayed out of his way, Ryūjin could tolerate him.
After some consideration, Ryūjin waited for Kotoamatsukami to become available again.
Then he altered Garp's memories.
He erased everything involving Sengoku and the Admirals dying.
In Garp's revised memory, the Buster Call had ended exactly as Ryūjin told Nami and the others.
The Marine suffered devastating losses.
Everyone else died.
Only Sengoku, Garp, and the Admirals escaped after being overwhelmed.
Ryūjin also gave Sengoku one direct order.
Do not send Garp after him again.
He had already gone this far.
If Garp still showed up trying to interfere later, then Ryūjin would simply assume the old man needed another beating.
After finishing everything, Ryūjin released them.
The group quickly contacted a nearby Marine branch, acquired a ship, and began heading back toward Marineford.
Brulu. Brulu.
Halfway through the journey, a special Den Den Mushi in Sengoku's possession suddenly rang.
His expression became serious.
This line connected directly to Kong.
The former Fleet Admiral.
After a brief pause, Sengoku answered.
"This is Sengoku."
Sure enough, a deep and commanding voice echoed through the receiver.
"This is Kong."
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office.
Kong sat behind his desk, his expression grave.
A bad feeling had settled heavily in his chest.
Three days ago, Sengoku had contacted him.
At the time, preparations for Ryūjin's ambush had already been completed.
The nameless island had been selected.
The Buster Call was ready.
According to calculations, Ryūjin should have arrived within hours.
Everything should have ended long ago.
Yet three days had passed.
No report.
No contact.
Nothing.
Kong had finally run out of patience.
"Sengoku."
His tone grew heavy.
"What happened? Did the operation succeed?"
"The Admirals have been recovered."
Sengoku's response allowed Kong to relax slightly.
At least the hostages had survived.
"So the mission worked?"
Kong asked immediately.
"Not exactly."
Sengoku's voice turned solemn.
"After recovering the Admirals, we launched the Buster Call according to plan."
"The goal was to erase Ryūjin and the island completely."
Kong frowned.
That strategy should have worked.
The island had been carefully chosen.
Small enough to erase.
Remote enough to avoid civilian casualties.
Even if Ryūjin somehow survived the bombardment, he should have drowned.
The sea itself was meant to kill him.
"What went wrong?"
"Ryūjin can fly."
Sengoku's answer came immediately.
"He also possesses spatial abilities."
"Our entire plan failed."
A brief pause followed.
Then Sengoku continued.
"Besides myself, Garp, Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Kizaru…"
"All ten thousand Marines were killed."
"And the five of us were injured."
Silence.
Kong slowly stood up.
Shock covered his face.
"Sengoku…"
His voice turned heavy.
"Are you telling me Ryūjin fought all of you at once?"
Sengoku's tone became even more serious.
"Fleet Admiral."
"I don't think he even used his full strength."
Kong fell silent.
The weight of those words settled heavily in the room.
How many years had it been since a monster like this appeared on the sea?
No.
Even monsters from the past felt inadequate.
The Red Count had once terrified the world.
But compared to Ryūjin?
Kong could not confidently say they belonged in the same category.
"We're returning to Marineford now," Sengoku continued.
"I'll explain everything in detail once we arrive."
"For now, please continue overseeing headquarters."
"…Understood."
Kong ended the call.
Then he slowly sat back down.
A deep frown appeared on his face.
If Ryūjin truly possessed this kind of overwhelming power…
What force remained in the Marine capable of stopping him?
Could it really come to this?
Would he have to move personally?
"These old bones…"
A sharp glint flashed in Kong's eyes.
"They haven't moved in a long damn time."
Thanks to Marine-exclusive currents and military ships, Sengoku's group returned quickly.
Roughly twenty days later, they arrived at Marineford.
The moment Sengoku returned, he reported directly to Kong.
Naturally, the story had been adjusted.
The deaths and control through Kotoamatsukami were omitted.
Everything else remained largely true.
Ryūjin controlling massive tidal waves.
Spatial abilities.
Flight.
Techniques capable of damaging Logia users.
The more Kong heard, the darker his expression became.
"This completely breaks the rules of the sea…"
He rubbed his forehead.
How could someone possess this many impossible abilities?
"Sengoku."
Kong finally made a decision.
"Do not provoke Ryūjin recklessly from now on."
"He is no longer someone the Marine can handle with ordinary military force."
"Monitor him."
"That's enough."
"As for the rest, I'll report directly to the Gorosei in Mary Geoise."
"We'll let them decide how to proceed."
Not long after, Kong left Marineford in a hurry.
Once he was gone, Sengoku called for his secretary.
"Raise The Demon Eye bounty."
The secretary nodded immediately.
"To how much, Fleet Admiral?"
Sengoku's expression remained u
nreadable.
"Ten billion."
The secretary nearly dropped dead on the spot.
"T-Ten billion?!"
That was absurd.
An amount no pirate had ever reached.
But after thinking about Ryūjin's actions…
Destroying ten warships.
Killing over ten thousand Marines.
Fighting Sengoku, Garp, and all Three Admirals.
And surviving.
No one in Marine history had ever posed this level of threat.
Soon after, the new bounty was issued.