"I can summon two of these meteorites at once," Luo Chen said slowly.
Below, the faces of Sengoku and Akainu twitched almost imperceptibly.
Garp and Tsuru turned pale.
The Vice Admirals were frozen like statues, staring blankly at Luo Chen.
It seemed they hadn't yet processed this information.
The color that had just returned to many of the Marines' faces drained away again, leaving them as white as paper.
One Marine managed a smile that was uglier than crying, his voice trembling, "You're... you're lying, right? Luo Chen, do you think we'll be... scared by you?"
Doflamingo stood up from the ground, his eyebrows above his sunglasses twitching nonstop. He laughed unnaturally.
"You've already won this war. There's no need to scare them anymore."
Luo Chen said with a blank expression, "It's the truth. You'll know if you just use your Observation Haki."
Doflamingo immediately shut his mouth and spread his Observation Haki to its maximum range.
Mihawk, Sengoku, Akainu, and Blackbeard all spread their Observation Haki.
The expressions on their faces all changed at the same time.
Tens of thousands of Marines looked up at the sky. They could vaguely make out a black shadow, and a fiery red high in the sky.
It wasn't very clear yet, but the expressions on Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the others said everything.
"This time... we're really dead."
A giant Vice Admiral's battle-axe fell from his hand. He collapsed powerlessly to the ground, his face filled with despair.
'There's another meteorite?'
'Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Admiral Akainu clearly haven't recovered their stamina.'
'And another one is already here.'
'How are we supposed to stop it? With our heads?'
Many of the Marines completely broke down.
They were elites of the Marines, gathered from all four seas, and their wills were strong.
But in the face of two world-ending meteorite impacts, their final psychological defense was shattered.
Someone began to laugh hysterically, tears streaming down his face as he laughed.
Another Marine raised his rifle, pressed it to his temple, and pulled the trigger.
"Run! Run!" There were still Marines who wanted to struggle to survive, roaring as they charged toward the edges of the shattered island.
They dove headfirst into the sea, swimming for the distance.
As if triggering a chain reaction, the entire Marine force scattered, fleeing in all directions like startled birds and beasts.
Almost all of them were trying to swim into the sea, attempting to escape the meteorite's impact.
Seeing this, Sengoku and the other high-ranking Marine officers were devastated. They didn't even try to stop it.
What could they say?
Even Akainu had no desire to stop them now.
Because he knew he couldn't stop the second meteorite.
What was the use of making these soldiers stay?
In the face of the meteorite, they were like ants trying to shake a tree.
Besides, even if they swam away, how far could they get?
In the end, they still wouldn't be able to escape the meteorite's impact zone.
At this moment, the meteorite high in the sky was becoming clearer.
The shadow of death loomed over everyone, and over the entire sea region where Marineford was located.
The second meteorite was even bigger.
It was twice the size of the first one.
Even Marineford before it was shattered... the entire island would be enveloped by this meteorite!
Luo Chen raised the live broadcast Den Den Mushi in his hand, aiming it at Sengoku, Tsuru, and the others.
"This is your last chance. Tell the truth about the East Blue, and I can help you save some of the Marines."
"Otherwise, all of them will be buried with your stubbornness."
Hearing this, Sengoku and Tsuru's bodies trembled.
Sengoku clenched his fists so hard that blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
Tsuru's body swayed, a bitter look on her face.
"I'll... talk."
The moment she spoke, Sengoku and Onigumo—still in the wooden dragon's mouth—looked over sharply.
Their expressions were extremely ugly.
Sengoku said, "Tsuru..."
"That's enough, Sengoku!" Tsuru said angrily. "So many people have died! Have you still not repented?!"
"If all the Marines die, who will be left to stop the pirates on the seas?!"
She roared, holding nothing back.
Sengoku's words were cut off.
Garp, Akainu, and the dozen or so Vice Admirals watched this scene, their bodies trembling.
'What is Vice Admiral Tsuru going to say?'
'Fleet Admiral Sengoku caused many deaths? Repent for what?'
Sengoku opened his mouth. His already pale face lost all its color, turning a deathly blue-white, like the skin of a corpse.
All the strength seemed to be drained from his body, and he sat down on the ground with a plop.
His lowered face seemed to have aged, gaining many more wrinkles in that instant.
Sengoku said nothing more. He just hung his head, as if he had fallen asleep from exhaustion.
Tsuru looked up, facing the Den Den Mushi in Luo Chen's hand, her face filled with guilt and pain:
"In the East Blue, at Cocoyasi Village... the 16th Branch Marine who colluded with the Arlong Pirates was not Luo Chen."
"It was the branch's captain at the time, Nezumi."
"The one who massacred the 537 civilians of Cocoyasi Village was also not Luo Chen."
"It was Marine Headquarters Captain, Gal Locke."
"Captain Nezumi colluded with the Arlong Pirates, deceived his superiors and subordinates, extorted the people, and persecuted twenty villages, including Cocoyasi."
"It was later discovered that Headquarters Vice Admiral Onigumo had illicit dealings with Captain Nezumi, and accepted bribes."
"Gal Locke, under Onigumo's orders, massacred the Cocoyasi villagers who knew the truth, and attempted to kill Luo Chen to pin all of Captain Nezumi's crimes on him."
"But Luo Chen didn't die. He killed Gal Locke."
"Then, in Loguetown, he killed Rear Admiral Marcus, who had been dispatched by Onigumo."
"By that time, I had already discovered the issue with Onigumo's assets and reported it to Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
"After he learned that Luo Chen had likely been framed, he did not immediately investigate Onigumo. Instead, he let the mistake stand and continued to try and kill Luo Chen to silence him..."
Vice Admiral Tsuru told the truth of the matter.
Blood dripped from her tightly clenched fists.
The group of Vice Admirals, Garp, and Akainu listened, stunned. No one spoke.
This... was something they had never known.
A ferocious look appeared on Garp's face. His shoulders trembled, and he looked at Sengoku with complete disbelief.
'You... How could you do this?!'
Sengoku was his closest friend, with whom he had fought side-by-side for decades.
He was the Fleet Admiral of the Marines, yet he had personally forced a just Marine to become a pirate.
He had forced Luo Chen, for the sake of proving his innocence, to fight his way to Marine Headquarters and threaten tens of thousands of Marines to make Sengoku confess!
This was too absurd!
It was too ridiculous!
Garp couldn't accept the facts Tsuru had laid out. His mind was in chaos.
He shook his head violently, and with his Armament Haki-covered iron fist, he slammed his own head!
Blood ran down from Garp's forehead. His expression was one of extreme pain, and his eyes were red.
"Sengoku!"
Garp suddenly roared. In an instant, he was next to Sengoku, and he smashed his fist into his face.
Sengoku didn't dodge. He didn't use Armament Haki or his fruit ability to defend.
He spat out a mouthful of bloody teeth, tumbling and rolling into the distance.
"You're a fool!" Garp roared in grief and anger, smashing his fist into the ground beneath him.
Cracks spread across the only piece of land they had left to stand on.
Sakazuki and the other Vice Admirals were silent, their eyes wavering.
They truly never expected that Mr. Sengoku would know he was wrong, but do it anyway—siding with Onigumo and forcing Luo Chen to become a pirate.
'If...'
'If Mr. Sengoku had just stopped the hunt for Luo Chen back then...'
'If he had investigated Onigumo in time...'
'Would things have turned out completely differently?'
'Luo Chen was once a just Marine.'
'He could have become a reliable comrade, fighting alongside them.'
'But now... he had become their most difficult, most terrifying enemy.'
'Things... should never have turned out this way.'
'The ones who should be facing this second meteorite... should be those goddamn Emperor pirates!'
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]