Marine Headquarters.
The meeting of the Seven Warlords was in full swing, and the air in the grand hall was thick with tension.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku sat at the head of the conference table, his powerful voice echoing off the high ceilings.
"I'll be blunt. You are all the scum of the sea," he began, his gaze hard as steel.
"But to the World Government, even scum can be useful. Crocodile's work in Alabasta has been highly praised by the Five Elders. This serves as an important demonstration of why the Warlord system exists."
Sengoku continued, a complex look in his eyes.
"Because of this success, the World Government plans to optimize the system." He paused, letting the words hang in the air.
"From now on, the Warlord system will implement… a scoring system for your affiliated nations!"
The words dropped like a bomb in the quiet room.
The atmosphere, already tense, instantly froze.
Crocodile, Doflamingo, and the other Warlords were visibly stunned.
"What?"
"A scoring system?"
"Yes," Sengoku confirmed with a slow nod.
"The World Government-affiliated nations in your territories will evaluate your performance annually during the Reverie." He let his gaze drift across their shocked faces.
"Warlords who receive high scores will have their mandatory contributions to the government reduced. Furthermore, you will be granted more governmental authority and support."
He leaned forward, his voice dropping slightly, delivering the final, shocking piece of the puzzle.
"Including… the right to request assistance from CP0."
"..."
"..."
The air in the room seemed to turn to solid glass.
A heavy, calculating silence fell as each Warlord processed the immense implications of this new policy.
Sengoku's sharp eyes swept over each of them.
'This is the Five Elders' real game', he thought.
On the surface, it looked like a reward, a privilege.
But in reality, it was a leash.
They wanted to use these perks to make the pirates more obedient, to turn these wild beasts into tools of the government.
'But are any of these monsters not rebellious and ambitious to their core?' Sengoku wondered.
'Will this really go as the Five Elders hope? Or are they just setting a trap for themselves?'
But his personal feelings didn't matter.
He had his orders.
The meeting soon concluded, and the Warlords began to leave, each lost in their own thoughts.
Just then, a familiar sound cut through the air.
"Brrr brrr~ Brrr brrr~"
Doflamingo pulled out his personal Den Den Mushi.
"Hmm?"
As he listened, his playful expression instantly vanished, replaced by a dark, cold fury.
Veins bulged on his forehead.
"What did you say? The Bellamy Pirates… completely wiped out?"
A low, chilling laugh escaped his lips.
"Fufufufu!"
Bellamy was trash.
His life meant nothing to Doflamingo.
But for someone to dare touch one of his pawns, on his turf? That was an insult he couldn't ignore.
"Fufufufu!" Doflamingo's laughter was now filled with icy killing intent.
"I don't care who you are. Prepare to face a living nightmare. Set a course for Mock Town. I'll see for myself who had the nerve!" (yeah lol)
*****
Skypiea.
Every eye on the sky island was glued to the two figures facing off in the air.
"Yahahahaha!" Enel's arrogant laugh boomed across the clouds.
"This god hereby declares your execution!"
He raised a hand, and the sky itself seemed to answer.
Lightning crackled, coiling around his fingertips like a silver serpent.
The very air grew thick with voltage, making it hard to breathe.
"Divine Judgment!!!"
With a roar, Enel swung his arm down.
The lightning exploded from his hand, forming a colossal pillar of pure energy that streaked through the sky, aimed squarely at Mike.
The air warped, and the blinding flash turned the world white.
The lightning pillar descended with world-ending force.
Yet Mike just hovered there, his expression relaxed, almost bored.
Enel's all-seeing Mantra was locked onto him, but he didn't even flinch..
"BOOM—"
The lightning struck Mike head-on.
The entire island trembled from the shockwave, and the air filled with the smell of burnt ozone.
Mike's figure was completely swallowed by the blinding light.
"Yahahahaha!" Enel laughed, his voice dripping with contempt.
"That's more like it! Die! Feel the terror of a god!"
On the ground, the onlookers watched in horror.
"He's done for…"
"The god has struck."
"That handsome young man is finished…"
The Skypieans murmured in despair, their faces a mix of terror and resignation.
The Shandian warriors, watching from the edge of the island, were equally stunned into silence.
This was the invincible power they had been fighting for years.
Conis clamped her hands over her mouth, hot tears welling in her eyes.
Only Kuzan and Smoker stood nearby with their arms crossed, faint, confident smirks on their faces.
As the blinding light finally faded, the air still crackling with leftover electricity, a collective gasp swept through the crowd.
There, at the center of the devastation, stood Mike. Completely unharmed.
Countless bolts of lightning now encircled him, not as attackers, but as loyal servants, rising and falling with his steady breath.
His white "Justice" cloak billowed behind him like the robes of a true war god, giving him an air of unrivaled majesty.
"Haa—" Mike let out a soft breath.
The lightning around him seemed to awaken, dancing wildly in the air.
"Is this all the lightning you've got?" A faint smirk played on Mike's lips, his eyes flashing with utter disdain.
"Enel."
"NANIII?" Enel's arrogant expression froze, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks.
His own lightning… the power he commanded as a god… had actually submitted to another person?
"Then," Mike said calmly, "it's my turn."
He casually turned his head and gave Conis a quick wave, letting her know he was fine.
Then, he faced Enel again.
Kusanagi was in his hand in a flash.
The instant the steel was unsheathed, thunder erupted.
A low growl rumbled in his throat as he swung the blade, unleashing five lightning-fast slashes that tore through the air like shooting stars.
The lightning that had been dancing around him was sucked into the slashes, forming five brilliant streaks of electricity that surged toward the stunned god.
"Thunder Breathing, Second Form: Rice Spirit!"
-----------------------------
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