Just how terrifying Arceus was in his prime remained a mystery to the members of the Beasts Pirates, for no one had ever seen an Arceus that possessed all of his Plates.
For ordinary people, recovering even a single Plate was a monumental achievement. Even just bringing back news about one was worthy of a generous reward. But among these people, Yamato was once again an exception.
In any other dynasty, she would be a great general with no higher titles left to bestow—though she herself doesn't care about such things. Right now, her biggest goal was just to break free from Kaido.
"Yamato, take a look at this battlefield. This is hell for the weak, a meat grinder of life itself. A single decision by those in power can cause countless deaths on this battlefield.
If that last attack had landed, who knows what would have been the outcome?"
"That's why I hate war. I don't get why Father is so addicted to it—what's so great about this kind of thing anyway?"
"War isn't a good thing, but peace is something that can only be obtained through strength. Relying on the kindness of others is a fantasy. Only by becoming so powerful that no one dares to challenge you—that's the real way to survive in this chaotic world.
So I agree with your father's approach. Harsh as it is, it pushes you to grow stronger, and it ensures you live on."
"No, no, no, Dad, I think your logic's messed up. Obviously, Father's the one with a screw loose—what kind of normal person uses Conqueror's Haki to wake someone up?"
Thinking back to those days, Yamato still found it absurd. If she overslept, Kaido would not only increase her training, but also intentionally use his Conqueror's Haki to wake her up.
Back then, she couldn't withstand Kaido's Conqueror's Haki, so it would knock her out cold on the spot. Thus she'd end up being late, and then he'd increase her training even more. And that was just one of many such examples.
Compared to training, it felt more like Kaido was just toying with her.
"That's why you should keep working to get stronger. If you can fully master Zekrom's power, even the current Kaido wouldn't be your match."
"Wait, Dad, what do you mean by 'the current'?"
When it came to Kaido, Yamato's mind was always razor-sharp. She felt like she'd just caught wind of something terrifying.
"I mean exactly what I said. You'll understand more for yourself soon enough."
At that very moment, a massive shadow descended from the sky. In Hydrachton's jaws was a CP0 agent as it landed squarely in front of Genesis.
The shockwave from that recent attack didn't just affect the ground—it reached the skies as well. The Marine's wyvern unit and Hydrachton were hit head-on.
Under the decision of the Five Elders, the wyvern unit, which had still been capable of holding its own against Hydrachton for a while, was ultimately destroyed by the shockwave. None of the five had ever imagined that someone could reflect an attack of that magnitude.
Even Hydrachton, due to being too close to the explosion, lost one of its lives. The one currently present was a resurrected version. As for the CP0 agent in its mouth, Hydrachton had captured him while passing through the area.
Hydrachton was very aware that its creator absolutely despised those agents.
One upside of Hydrachton's resurrection was that it removed all the earlier debuffs from its body. As a result, the revived Hydrachton was unaffected by the blast's lingering effects. When it encountered the CP0 agent—who had been left dizzy and disoriented by the shockwave—it was able to take him down effortlessly.
"Roar~"
"Mm, you did well. Just looking at these CP agents is irritating. Let's keep moving and see just how far Kaido plans to take things."
While Yamato was still pondering about life aboard the ship, Genesis continued sailing deeper into Marineford. A large surface of ice around Marineford had shattered under the force of the explosion's shockwave, creating a ready-made waterway.
However, the CP0 agent attacked by Hydrachton was only one among several. The other CP0 agents active on the battlefield had already sent their reports back to Mariejois.
"How is that even possible? That attack got blocked?"
The Five Elders—usually the picture of calm—now wore rare expressions of panic. During their long rule, they had received all manner of strange news from across the world on a daily basis.
The fall of nations, the extinction of royal families, the rise of pirates, the coming of the Great Pirate Era—none of these had ever rattled them. But today was different.
"How could that level of power…"
The World Government possessed trump cards that no one else in the world could stand against. Thanks to these, even if it was always chaotic, the world could be kept under relatively stable control.
If something ever fell beyond their control, they would simply erase it. That was the World Government's method of elimination.
Throughout their long history, countless islands had been wiped out for exactly that reason. The Five Elders were not Imu, nor did they use the old methods—this was just a new weapon.
But based on the feedback they received, that thing actually suffered damage—something not even the Five Elders could repair.
"Lord Imu will be furious when they wake up."
"At least it hasn't been destroyed. We can repair it later—Vegapunk is capable of that. The real question is: what do we do next? Especially in response to their attitude."
"How did he even manage that? Don't tell me… is that ship Pluton? Or something built by the shipwrights of Water 7?"
They had their own speculations about Tom's whereabouts. The ones most closely connected with the Fish-Men were Whitebeard and Kaido. But Whitebeard's personality was such that he only offered Fishman Island protection under his flag. If Tom really had ties to anyone, odds were high it was with the Beasts Pirates.
In the Five Elders' view, the Ancient Weapons represented the most terrifying forces in the world. Aside from Pluton and the legendary weapons created by Water 7's shipwrights that could rival Pluton, they simply couldn't imagine what else it could be.
"Wano Country is still perfectly intact—that alone rules out Pluton. But that doesn't matter. Whether this power came from a person or some weapon, it means the Beasts Pirates now possess a powerful weapon.
And if that thing could reflect our attack, then it must be capable of unleashing something even more devastating!"
The bald elder's voice cut through their argument, pointing straight at the heart of the issue.
This wasn't some Lineage Factor technology that needed dissecting to understand the source of its power. This was a threat with a deterrent force comparable to the Ancient Weapons.
Who wielded it or who created it didn't matter. What mattered was that they now had the capability to launch devastating attacks against Marine branches, affiliated nations, and even the World Government itself.
"As long as that is still around, Mariejois's security should be fine."
"Let's hold off on some of our operations. If we push them too hard, it'll only backfire. Let's wait until Lord Imu wakes up to deal with this."
"Agreed. Let's also delay the operation against Queen. That Arceus—who usually had such a negligible presence—is the real threat now."
Before, they didn't care and were able to maintain order on the seas, so they allowed pirates to act freely—only sending a few subordinates to deal with special problems.
But now it's different. The military power displayed by the Beasts Pirates forced them to take these monsters more seriously. This brief clash made them temporarily abandon direct force and instead begin plotting something else.
"The Summit War wasn't a success. Since Kaido has his eyes on Whitebeard, let him go."
"Fine by me… though about that live broadcast…"
"Send someone to cut off the signal. If any more information gets out, it'll be bad."
They had already decided to end the war, but to the outside world, it must never appear that the World Government was the one to back down. They would only relay this message to the Marines, and let them make their own decision. But before that, they decided to cut off the signal from that Den Den Mushi.
A brand-new order was handed to the CP0 agents present, and they began to move according to the new directive.
At that very moment, the man who had been furiously criticized by photographers around the world as an idiot crawled out from the ruins.
Ever since Zephyr detonated the Dyna Stone, Buggy understood—this war wasn't one he should be part of. So he used "taking a roundabout route" as an excuse, took his underlings, made a big detour, and started moving away from the center of the battlefield.
Just when Buggy thought he was out of danger, an even bigger crisis came.
"Ha! What the hell was that thing! Since when did the Marines have something this terrifying?!"
Overwhelmed by emotions, Buggy's body had already split into several pieces, and the hand holding the Den Den Mushi was waving around wildly, causing another wave of curses from the reporters watching the live broadcast.
"Captain Buggy! Brother 3 got knocked out just now, and then was kidnapped by that beetle who is always beside that Straw Hat boy!"
"What did you say?? A beetle kidnapped Mr. 3?? Forget it—let's just slip out of here. There's no time to worry about him now. I'll remember you fondly, Mr. 3."
Buggy muttered his thoughts out loud, then made a sorrowful face. But the recent explosion had left the pirates dizzy and disoriented—many of them had blood flowing from their ears. They didn't have Arceus to protect them, so their hearing had dropped significantly.
Mr. 3's wax wall could block part of the impact, but it was extremely limited, only slightly reducing the damage.
With their ears not functioning well and Buggy's exaggerated expressions, the pirates started imagining some wildly ridiculous things on their own.
"Save Brother 3!"
"Defeat Straw Hat and rescue Brother 3!"
"Enough all of you!"
Buggy looked angrily at the pirates in front of him—but his head suddenly flew into the air, as a blue scythe-shaped slash struck the ice surface behind him.
"Who was that?! How dare you sneak attack me?!"
Looking back, Buggy saw a man in a white suit wearing a clown mask staring directly at him.
"Buggy the Clown, hand over the Den Den Mushi in your hand. Immediately."
"No way! My plan to rise to fame hasn't even begun yet—don't think you can stop me!"
Even though he was trying to escape, Buggy hadn't given up on his plan. In his eyes, running away and becoming famous weren't contradictory at all—they just required a few clever tricks.
"A criminal with a mere 15 million bounty—Buggy the Clown, you're far too full of yourself."
"You think I'm still the same as before?! Boys! Capture him!"
Thanks to some indescribably bizarre good luck, the prisoners from Impel Down were actually willing to risk their lives for Buggy.
But they had overestimated themselves. These prisoners from the first and second levels were no match at all for CP0 agents.
Under the agent's masterful use of Rokushiki, the charging pirates were quickly repelled and soon utterly routed.
The prisoners from the first two levels were mostly criminals from the first half of the Grand Line. If they were from the Four Seas, they were typically imprisoned locally—only a few rare exceptions were sent to Impel Down.
They were decent at bullying ordinary folks, but against elite agents of the World Government, they were hopelessly outclassed.
"Captain Buggy! This guy's too strong!"
"Captain Buggy, please take action—we can't defeat him!"
All the underlings around him looked at Buggy with eager, hopeful eyes, waiting for him to show off his powerful strength. Those gazes were practically putting Buggy on the spot—he couldn't run, but he couldn't fight either.
"Captain Buggy, don't tell me… you're scared? Your underlings are fighting with their lives on the line, and you're backing away?!"
"I-I… actually…"
Just as Buggy was hesitating, the CP0 agent broke past the pirates' attacks and lunged for Buggy, reaching for his head. But at that moment, an overwhelming wave of killing intent suddenly engulfed the CP0 agent.
"That guy's my bro, y'know. Mind giving me some face and stand down for now?"
"D-did you hear that? He just called Captain Buggy his brother!"
"I heard it! That's Red Hair Shanks! To be on brotherly terms with Red Hair Shanks—no wonder he wants to take Whitebeard's head!"
"I get it now! Captain Buggy came here just to find Red Hair! He didn't want Red Hair interfering in his battle, so he came here to stop him!"
"Captain Buggy, we will follow you forever!"
The crowd of prisoners once again sank into their own self-delusions. Meanwhile, the CP0 agent stood drenched in cold sweat, staring at Red Hair before him. Facing one of the Four Emperors was the last thing he wanted to do.
"Red Hair Shanks, this is a direct order from the World Government."
"I'll say it once—move aside."
"…"
The CP0 agent had no desire to oppose one of the Four Emperors. But he carried an order from the Five Elders. With that kind of command, these CP0 agents would dare to do anything—whether it was interfering with Kaido's battle, or showing no respect to Red Hair, it made no difference to them.
"Soru."
Right in front of Shanks, the CP0 agent launched an attack on Buggy. What awaited him, however, was only the blade of Gryphon.
Effortlessly taking down the CP0 agent in front of him, Shanks turned and looked at Buggy beside him.
"Long time no see, Buggy."
"Long time my ass... You're still the same! Just seeing your face pisses me off! Don't you remember? All I have for you is hatred!"
"Huh? Is that so? Didn't I just save your life? Shouldn't you be thanking me or something?"
"Thank you?! Screw you! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have eaten that damn Devil Fruit, and I wouldn't have turned into this! Who do you think is to blame for all this, huh?!"
Red Hair Shanks—youngest of the Four Emperors, a monster of the New World, and the one man Buggy wasn't afraid of.
In front of Whitebeard or Kaido, Buggy could only pretend to be strong and calm. But in front of Shanks, he could truly show his temper.
"Wait a minute—you b*stard, what the hell are you doing here?!"
After all that ranting, Buggy suddenly snapped back to reality. This was Marineford. For Shanks—an Emperor of the Sea—to appear here… that couldn't mean anything good.
"Me? I'm just here to offer a proposal. This war—it's time for it to end."
With that, Shanks sheathed Gryphon, brushed some dust off his clothes, and walked toward the direction of Genesis.
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