That afternoon, a peculiar News Coo landed on the deck of the Moby Dick.
"Huh? Why doesn't this bird have any newspapers? And why is it coming so late in the day?"
The lookout of the Whitebeard Pirates frowned in confusion.
But under Whitebeard's direct order, Marco personally retrieved a Permanent Log Pose from the bird's delivery pouch.
Whitebeard gave no explanation to the other division commanders. He simply told Marco that, by nightfall, they were to set sail toward the island indicated by the Log Pose—and they had to move at full speed. By dawn the next day, the Moby Dick needed to be far from its current waters, before any spies could catch wind of their departure.
Marco suspected this was about rescuing Ace.
Though he was uneasy, with the whole crew setting out together, he felt confident that no trick from Souta Kiryuu could catch them off guard.
On the seas or on land, their father's Tremor-Tremor Fruit was still the strongest force alive.
If Souta's crew dared act against them, the Whitebeard Pirates would show the world what the mightiest Emperor truly was.
Meanwhile, on Totto Land's Whole Cake Island, the Big Mom Pirates received their own Permanent Log Pose from a News Coo.
The lure of the Poneglyphs alone wasn't enough to sway Charlotte Linlin—she remained hesitant.
But Souta released another piece of information: his crew had a prophet-like figure who might know the whereabouts of Sister Carmel.
That news nearly drove Big Mom into a frenzy.
Coupled with the fact that Souta revealed Kaido would also be participating, she felt reassured. After all, Kaido owed her a tremendous debt for a gifted Devil Fruit. Wherever Kaido went, she would have that hidden ally by default. That meant she didn't need to fear being deceived by Souta.
After careful thought, Big Mom chose to bring Katakuri and Cracker with her, leaving Smoothie and Snack behind to guard Totto Land.
In the Sorbet Kingdom war, Smoothie and Perospero's performances had left her deeply dissatisfied.
So this time, Perospero too was forced to stay behind.
Following the same raiding strategy as before, the Big Mom Pirates entered Brûlée's Mirror World. With Brûlée and Zeus carrying her, Big Mom herself took to the skies, racing toward the island indicated by the Log Pose.
This time, if Souta dared to toy with her again, she swore to cut ties with him completely.
No one was allowed to deceive her with talk of Sister Carmel.
No one anticipated it: three Emperors vanished from their territories in the same night.
By the next day, spies and informants scoured for signs of them, only to come up empty-handed.
A full day passed with no sightings, leaving agents puzzled.
On the third day, still nothing. Reports poured in:
"Kaido has been missing for two days—possibly suicidal."
"Big Mom has not been seen for two days—likely asleep."
"The Moby Dick has been gone for two days—whereabouts unknown."
To individual field agents, the reports didn't seem alarming. Emperors occasionally disappeared for stretches of time.
But by the fourth morning, when Fleet Admiral Sengoku the Buddha and Chief of Staff Tsuru received the collated intelligence, chills ran down their spines.
The Celestial Dragons' "Native Purge Tournament" was already making them uneasy.
Now, with three Emperors simultaneously vanishing—only Red-Hair's crew still accounted for—this was no coincidence.
"Where are the Celestial Dragons now?" Sengoku asked urgently, a heavy sense of dread gnawing at him.
"How could the Marines possibly know such hidden information?" Tsuru snapped, brows furrowed. Her face was grim.
"But if they departed in the dead of night, they should already have reached that island," she admitted quietly.
This kind of intelligence was classified beyond even Tsuru's rank. Only Sengoku's absolute trust in her allowed her access to what only the Admirals knew.
Akainu Sakazuki had already been dispatched on a top-secret mission, likely stationed near that island to safeguard the Celestial Dragons. Even so, not even Akainu was permitted to set foot on the island—his role was only to patrol the surrounding waters.
As for Hero of the Marines Garp, ever since the God Valley Incident he had refused the promotion to Admiral. For that reason, both the Celestial Dragons and Sengoku agreed he must remain ignorant of such details.
Garp only knew the massacre tournament still continued every three years, but not the precise locations or times.
"Today is the fourth day…" Sengoku gritted his teeth.
By tradition, the tournament should begin at noon. That meant the Celestial Dragons had just landed on Demon-God Island this morning.
CP agents would spend over an hour "releasing" the ten-plus SR-class "Rabbits" brought along for the hunt. Before that, they had already unleashed 150 R-class "Rabbits" and a staggering 100,000 ordinary civilians designated as prey across the island.
All of it, just to heighten the Celestial Dragons' thrill in hunting.
"Damn it! What were our intelligence officers doing? Why report their disappearances after two whole days?!"
Sengoku slammed his palm on the desk, livid.
No one yet knew if the disappearance of the three Emperors was tied to the purge tournament.
But Sengoku, haunted by memories of God Valley, dared not ignore the possibility.
Whitebeard, Kaido, Big Mom—the three of them were all once remnants of the Rocks Pirates.
Perhaps they truly intended to recreate God Valley, to avenge Rocks.
To make matters worse, even Golden Lion Shiki and Souta Kiryuu had gone silent in recent days.
The mounting coincidences left Sengoku deeply unsettled.
"Should we contact Saint Saturn on Demon-God Island?" Tsuru suggested.
Even if it was mere speculation, it was safer to warn him. If the three Emperors really approached, the Celestial Dragons could immediately retreat, avoiding another God Valley disaster.
Sengoku sighed heavily. "We have no choice. Let's hope our fears are just that—fears."
He picked up a special transponder snail and dialed directly to Saint Saturn of the Five Elders, warning him to stay vigilant.
At that moment, on a small island near Demon-God Island—
Souta Kiryuu's Ark Maxim had already arrived, guided by the Permanent Log Pose.
From Violet's trembling voice came the report: dozens of ornate World Government warships had docked at the island's temporary harbor. A large host of Celestial Dragons had already set foot on shore.
"Ehahaha!! The main course has arrived!! Our guests are already here, aren't they?!"
Souta trembled with excitement, his fingers twitching erratically. Unless something extraordinary disrupted events, this war was inevitable.
Even if the Celestial Dragons tried to flee into the seas immediately, Souta was determined to unleash a world-shaking battle right then and there.
Above, a blue dragon streaked across the sky.
A thundercloud bore a massive form upon it.
An airborne island-ship loomed in the distance.
And from the rear, a colossal whale-shaped battleship plowed across the waves, heading straight for an unknown island.
War was coming.
...
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