Above the Holy Land of Mariejois, the Five Elders had safely returned. Following Peter Saint's command, the imprisoned Celestial Dragons and Admiral Akainu were released.
But as soon as they stepped out and saw the countless corpses of the Celestial Dragons scattered across the sacred ground, Akainu was immediately ordered to leave Mariejois.
He was told to return to Marine Headquarters and await punishment.
The great families of the Celestial Dragons rushed in one after another — some to recover the few survivors, others to collect the remains of their fallen kin.
And yet, there were many who would never return from Demon-God Island at all, their bodies lost forever to the chaos.
For a time, Mariejois was filled with shouts of rage, curses, and even a few cries of sorrow.
But sorrow was not the dominant emotion.
What they felt most strongly was humiliation — and fury.
The deaths of so many of their kind weren't just losses; they were insults.
In that moment, every Celestial Dragon swore hatred toward the great pirates, the Aratatsu Clan, and the Revolutionary Army.
At the same time, in the darkened throne chamber, the figure of Imu sat before a flickering projection — eyes like frozen stars, fixed on the ongoing broadcast.
Especially on that man who had arrogantly declared war on the world: Souta Kiryuu.
Watching the infighting among the great pirates eased Imu's tension slightly.
An alliance of scattered Yonko was not frightening — what was frightening was the possibility that they might truly unite and turn their combined power upon the World Government.
It seemed this Souta Kiryuu had simply used a few underhanded tricks to force these pirates into temporary cooperation.
Their relationships were far from solid — no different from the old Rocks Pirates of legend.
"If only we'd left someone stationed on Demon-God Island," muttered Saint Nasujuro, his killing intent flashing as he glared at the screen. "We could've teleported back there right now and finished them all off!"
The teleportation magic they used required a fixed coordinate — a marked anchor point.
Usually, one of the Five Elders would go ahead first to set the location, and the others would follow once the situation demanded.
The reason Imu hadn't gone personally this time wasn't just to avoid exposure during the live broadcast.
If he had teleported there, there would've been no anchor point left in Mariejois to bring him back.
He would've been stranded on Demon-God Island — forced to return by ship, alongside the Five Elders.
And with the current level of chaos on that island, even Imu felt there was a twenty to thirty percent chance of falling there.
That was a risk he could not afford.
As the eternal sovereign of this world, how could he allow himself to gamble his life against filthy pirates?
A golden porcelain vase never clashes with a cracked pot.
After all, even Rocks D. Xebec — who had once nearly rivaled Imu's strength — had perished at the hands of two other members of the D clan.
Even a one-in-ten chance of defeat was unacceptable.
Let these pirates fight among themselves.
When they inevitably split apart, the World Government could crush them one by one at leisure.
And indeed — now, the Yonko were already at each other's throats over those luxurious warships.
"If we had left someone behind," said Saint Warcury coldly, "they would have been surrounded and killed before even having the chance to activate the teleportation array."
Even Imu's personal teleportation formation had been affected by the interference — had the Five Elders stayed behind, they would've been trapped on Demon-God Island and slaughtered.
Even though their mythical Zoan awakenings made them extraordinarily hard to kill — and Imu had even blessed them with certain immortal traits — they were still vulnerable to seastone and seawater.
"This humiliation, dealt to us by lowly pirates and criminals," growled Saint Mars, his voice laced with killing intent, "must be repaid in blood!"
Souta Kiryuu, the orchestrator of this disaster, deserved death — but so did the Yonko who aided him or refused to leave.
All must perish.
"On the open sea, the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit remains a major threat," said Saint Saturn grimly. "The Whitebeard Pirates have no fixed territory — that makes them harder to corner.
But Totto Land — unlike Wano — has no natural defenses. It must be wiped out completely."
His expression twisted with shame.
The Demon-God Island incident had been even more catastrophic than the God Valley incident.
He bore much of the responsibility.
If the World Government didn't make an example of the Yonko, its sacred authority would crumble — slipping into dangerous decline.
"Hmph! Even if Wano is protected by its natural barriers," Saint Mars sneered, "I can fly over them. We can all teleport in and erase Wano from the map if we must."
He had no intention of sparing Big Mom or Kaido — two Yonko with permanent territories.
Their strongholds would fall.
"That Fire Fist Ace… turns out he's Roger's son! He must be erased as well!"
Saint Peter's voice was like a blade drawn across glass. "If Souta Kiryuu could capture Fire Fist Ace to force Whitebeard into battle, then we can use Ace ourselves — to drive Whitebeard out of the New World, or force him into a decisive battle on our chosen ground."
A sinister grin spread across his face.
A plan to kill both Ace and Whitebeard in one move — perfect.
"Whitebeard's old," murmured Saint Nasujuro, eyes gleaming dangerously behind his gold-rimmed glasses. "His power has clearly declined. He's not the monster he once was."
They had all watched Whitebeard rise from nothing — and now they watched him decay.
The Five Elders remained untouched by time, still seated atop the pinnacle of worldly power.
That was how the World Government had survived for centuries.
No matter how strong its enemies, they all grew old.
Time alone would bury them.
Even without lifting a finger, the Five Elders could outlast any pirate.
"Souta Kiryuu must be annihilated. Retrieve Vegapunk at all costs!"
Imu's ethereal voice echoed directly in their minds, sending all five to their knees in terror.
The world's king had spoken — and his wrath was absolute.
Even if they had to scour every inch of the sea, they would find the Aratatsu Clan's base and wipe it from existence.
On Demon-God Island
The Whitebeard Pirates were engaged in a chaotic brawl with Kaido's Beast Pirates while arranging their retreat.
Now that Ace had been rescued, their mission was complete.
Meanwhile, the Revolutionary Army was evacuating civilians from the island, helping them seize any remaining warships to escape.
The remaining Marine forces, broken and terrified, fled onto their own ships and retreated at full speed.
The revolutionaries and pirates didn't bother to hunt them down — both sides simply broke off and withdrew.
But in the sky above, the battle raged on.
"Forget the ships — take the loot and move!" Souta Kiryuu laughed wildly.
Those luxurious warships were only dead weight — slowing their next objective: Impel Down.
Their real target now was the Golden Lion, Shiki.
Even if Shiki brought those ships back to his floating island fleet, they'd eventually belong to the Aratatsu Clan anyway.
He was merely holding them in trust for Souta Kiryuu.
Kiryuu even considered lending Shiki a hand against Big Mom, to help him haul those ships away.
But then, a warning came from the Ark Oracle — a crimson dragon was rapidly approaching the island.
At once, Souta Kiryuu called off the raid.
"Everyone, move out!"
Under the furious roars of Shiki and Big Mom, the entire Aratatsu Clan boarded the Ark Oracle and departed swiftly, soaring away from Demon-God Island and back toward the Grand Line.
Enel, the Thunder God, was tempted to unleash another "Thunder Greeting" on the island, but Souta Kiryuu dragged him away.
There was no time to waste.
As Shiki floated away with a fleet of captured warships, Big Mom pursued him on her thundercloud Zeus, screaming for her share of the spoils.
Kaido, meanwhile, was still clashing with Whitebeard — refusing to let them retreat easily.
By the time the Red-Haired Pirates arrived, the war was nearly over.
Shanks looked around, but there was no sign of Souta Kiryuu.
With a sigh, he turned his attention to stopping the rampaging Kaido — ensuring the Whitebeard Pirates could withdraw safely from Demon-God Island.
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