Brook once again took on the Dark God Urs form.
Only the binding power of the Dark Dark Fruit could keep him from getting blindsided by so many Devil Fruit abilities at once. But this form still wasn't deep enough. Compared to the Hell God Jin state, it was noticeably weaker, nowhere near enough to truly contend with Imu head on.
And yet Brook had no choice.
With Linlin and Redfield already fighting at his side, Brook forced himself into that slightly inferior darkness and threw himself back into the clash against that monster called Imu.
He repelled strikes from unknown Devil Fruit powers, endured their tricks, and relied on his mythical beast recovery to stitch his battered body back together through sheer will. Between exchanges, he shoved blood crystal dandelions into his mouth in huge bites, chewing down the pain and swallowing strength like fuel.
Elsewhere, Shiki peeled away to intercept the blond Five Elders, Peter, locking him down by force.
Brook's eyes tightened as Linlin and Redfield took hit after hit. In the Dark God Urs form, he could not match Imu. He didn't have the advanced underworld energy that came with Hell God Jin. Without it, every second turned into a slow grind toward disaster.
This isn't a solution.
Brook's teeth clenched. He'd known it. The right move would've been to push Dark God Urs to its peak before ever launching an assault on Mary Geoise.
But regrets were useless now.
"Everyone, listen up!" Brook roared, dark aura boiling around him like a storm. "All out attack on Mary Geoise! Level the buildings! Don't leave anyone alive, especially Devil Fruit users!"
Murder surged through his voice as he shot forward again.
He would be the main blade against Imu. Linlin and Redfield could only support, only restrain, only buy slivers of timing.
If there was a hidden Devil Fruit power waiting to strike again, then Brook would erase the very ground it stood on.
Recruiting Mary Geoise?
That idea was dead.
Brook wanted it destroyed. He wanted every living thing wiped clean.
Above them, in the flying fleet, warship after warship and the Pluton replica vessels swung their guns into position. Cannons charged. Barrels blazed. Then the bombardment began, indiscriminate and overwhelming, drowning the holy land in fire.
It didn't matter how many golden treasures sat behind those polished walls. It didn't matter how many Devil Fruits were locked inside vaults. It didn't matter how many slaves still hadn't been freed.
Everything had to burn.
Because Brook's orders were absolute.
Navy Admiral Kong watched in horror as firepower dozens of times more extreme than a Buster Call rolled across Mary Geoise like a tidal wave. A world holy land raised over centuries was being ripped apart, piece by piece, under a curtain of steel and light.
"What a sin!!" Kong bellowed, fury shaking his voice as his hatred for the invaders deepened.
Nearby, Shakky and Stussy, still locked in battle against Kong, cried out as well.
"What a waste!"
"What a pity!"
But even they couldn't truly blame Brook.
Not when Brook's life, and the lives of their people, hung on the edge of Imu's blade.
Money could be earned again. Devil Fruits could be hunted down again. And none of the riches of Mary Geoise had ever belonged to them in the first place.
If Brook fell, there would be no spoils at all.
Back on a Pluton replica ship, Sniper Hiruba returned to the deck and opened his Glare Fruit to its fullest. His gaze swept across the chaos of Mary Geoise, piercing smoke and distance, mapping the battlefield in his mind.
Then his eyes locked onto the tallest and most luxurious structure of all.
Pangu City.
Without hesitation, Hiruba aimed a Pluton Annihilation Cannon and fired.
A violent blast struck, followed by continuous laser cannon bombardment that hammered Pangu City without pause.
Deep inside, in a sealed area known as Huajian, a mysterious team felt the world shudder. Walls trembled. Buildings collapsed around them. Dust poured down like rain.
"Those ants dare attack the divine realm!" an old scarecrow like figure snarled, rage twisting his voice. "Unforgivable. I'm going out there and killing them!"
"Don't forget Master Imu's orders," said a middle aged man whose body was covered in strange tattoos, his tone calm enough to freeze the room. "Our only targets are Brook, and the Sun God Nika who still hasn't appeared."
One sentence. That was all it took to suppress the old man's frenzy.
Nearby, an elderly man in a gray robe continued using his ability, pressing his legs and one kidney against a golden scale as if forcing his own body into balance through sheer madness.
In the end, with Brook unable to remain in Dark God Urs long enough to finish the exchange, the gray robed man had to halt. He accepted treatment from someone beside him and waited, saving himself for the next chance to offer his life for Lord Imu.
They watched the battle outside through a special Den Den Mushi, measuring every shift.
They had already confirmed it, Brook's dark form made him immune to many Devil Fruit attacks.
Even if the gray robed elder died, he had to die with purpose. Not meaningless. Not wasted.
But now the flying fleet's endless artillery fire became a sweeping purge. Dust and smoke rose so thick that even their Den Den Mushi view began to fail. Visibility collapsed into a gray blur.
Worse, they could no longer tell whether Brook had returned to the white haired, fanged Hell God Jin form.
They were forced to rely on CP agents running back and forth, constantly reporting the situation outside.
And it was those very agents that gave Hiruba his opening.
Using the Glare Fruit, Hiruba tracked their movements with the patience of a predator. The pattern felt wrong. Too careful. Too consistent.
Then he saw it.
A place behind Pangu City that seemed to block even his Glare Fruit, a section that resisted his observation as if reality itself hardened there. It looked solid. Hidden. Unnaturally protected.
Trying to cover up your guilt, huh?
Hiruba's grin turned sharp.
He immediately seized command authority over the three Pluton replica ships and aimed them at that concealed location.
Aim.
Charge.
Fire.
Boom. Three times, back to back, no hesitation.
No drama. No delay.
He, Hiruba, was the world's number one sniper.
The World Government's bounty on the sniper god Hiruba stood at 1.39 billion Berries.
Within the Hell Guild, he ranked among the highest cadres, second only to the Six Hell Kings, standing on the same level as top tier power brokers like Stussy and Shakky.
The area took the full impact of that brutal bombardment. The mysterious team inside was shaken hard enough to abandon their so called safe haven, retreating from the stronghold under the pressure of annihilation.
They weren't front line fighters.
They were strange superhuman Devil Fruit users, people who had thrown their entire lives into developing abilities, but lacked the physical strength and raw combat instincts to survive in open war.
The moment they pulled back from that place, Hiruba spotted them.
He had been watching.
Waiting.
And then the entire flying fleet redirected its fire, locking onto that team and the CP agents escorting them.
Every cannon and laser turned into a hunting pack.
When Brook saw Hiruba's brutal pinpoint strike, he understood immediately.
That sharp bastard found something.
Brook also caught Imu's micro expression, a flicker so small most would miss it, but Brook didn't.
Delight surged through him.
Hiruba's battlefield instinct and intelligence were no less than Ben Beckman, the man praised as having the highest IQ.
Brook didn't waste the opening.
He surged back into Hell God Jin, white hair flaring, fangs bared, and Underworld energy erupting like a storm. In an instant, his counterattack turned fierce and merciless.
Brook had the Six Hell Kings as the iron core of his military strength.
And he had monsters of talent on the thinking side, Vegapunk, Antonio, Hiruba, Stussy.
Civil and military. Mind and blade.
A true force.
The kind of crew that stood up at the critical moment and solved problems without Brook needing to shoulder everything alone.
Brook's eyes locked onto Imu.
"Imu! Let's fight to the death!"
High level dark energy exploded from his body as he roared and charged.
At the same time, Hiruba barked new orders across the flying fleet, driving the hunt forward.
"Don't let them vanish! Track them, bombard them, and erase them all the way down!"
-------------
In a plaza on the Sabaody Archipelago, a beam of light descended from the sky, and a Seraphim slowly took shape within it.
White hair. Brown skin. Black wings.
He clutched a green parrot in his arms, and the moment the teleportation ended, his body sagged as if all the strength had been ripped out of him. He swayed, shaking his head weakly. Even the translucent green tube embedded along his arm dimmed, its glow fading like a lantern running out of oil.
"We're here, come out!" the parrot shouted.
Tiny doors popped open across the parrot's body, and one figure after another jumped out, landing on the ground and snapping back to their original size the instant their feet touched down.
"This is Sabaody," someone announced. "Marineford is still about half an hour away."
As the user of the Teleport Teleport Fruit, Jesus Burges's mark point had been set here. It had taken them eight seconds to cross from the West Blue to Sabaody in the Grand Line.
"It looks like Dr. Vegapunk still needs to strengthen this Seraphim," the second princess, the Immortal Phoenix Hel, said, tilting her head as she watched the exhausted teleporting Seraphim. "He's about to collapse."
The eldest prince, Hades, gave a small nod and spoke calmly. "Uju. Take the Seraphim back to your castle. Let him rest."
His eyes swept over the archipelago. Something felt off.
Why was it so quiet?
Hadn't the reports said the Revolutionary Army was besieging Marineford, and attacking Sabaody to loot supplies?
"Brother," the second prince Osiris asked, "should we fly straight to the Navy Headquarters, or take a ship? Most of us can fly. Satan's Weather Fruit, Marco's Cloud Fruit, even Issho's Gravity Fruit, we can carry everyone."
"Heh, my dear prince," Borsalino drawled, sounding like the world's most tired babysitter. "A ship would be better, you know."
Before anyone could argue further, a large figure appeared in front of them.
A man with a cute bear hat.
The moment they recognized him, both the Second Generation of Hell and the three newly appointed Navy Admirals lowered their guard.
Bartholomew Kuma, commander of the Revolutionary Army's Southern Army. A subordinate of Dragon, Brook's so called cheap disciple, which also meant Kuma was, at least loosely, within Brook's sphere.
Kuma's expression was stiff as ever. "The battleship is ready. We can depart now."
With the Second Generation of Hell and three new Admirals here, there was no reason for the Revolutionary Army to keep dragging out the siege. They could strike directly and seize Marineford.
"Let's go!" Bullet grinned, excitement flashing in his eyes. "I can't wait to fight Admiral Kong!"
His smile widened like a blade. "If I beat Kong, that makes me an Admiral for sure, right? Even if we don't replace anyone, we should expand the lineup, make a fourth Admiral seat for candidates like me!"
Kuma opened his mouth slightly, then shut it again.
He didn't dare tell them that Kong and the Holy Knight Sagon had already broken through the storm and headed for Mary Geoise.
If he said that, these hot blooded lunatics would explode on the spot.
"Dragon's over there, right?" Hel flared with impatience, wings of blue flame unfurling behind her. "Just smack me over there. Follow me!"
"I want to go too!" voices shouted in a wave.
Kuma stared at them, face blank.
If something went wrong, he would be blamed. If everything went right, he would get nothing.
If you can't offend them, then you can at least dodge them.
In the next instant, he melted into shadow and vanished.
Whether he stayed or left, he would still get dragged into trouble, so slipping away first was the smarter choice.
Besides, there was a Teleport user among them. Let him deal with the headache.
"Hmph." Hel snorted, eyes snapping toward Jesus. "Jesus. Take me there."
Her wings crackled, and the threat was obvious. If he refused, she would just fly there herself. It wasn't far.
"That's enough," Hades said, voice quiet but absolute. "All of you. On the ship."
Even Hel and Bullet went still.
Under Hades' command, the Second Generation of Hell and the new Navy commanders boarded the Revolutionary Army's warship and surged toward Marineford at full speed.
A storm brewed overhead.
With Satan's Weather Fruit pushing the winds, the battleship cut its travel time by a third, slicing across the sea and reaching the Navy Headquarters in no time.
As their reinforcements arrived, Dragon, who had been battling his father Garp inside the storm, finally withdrew from the heart of the clash.
With this many monsters here, there was no need to keep them boxed in. Just crush the entire place like a dragon descending from the sky.
And really, Marineford only had one true top tier defender left, the Buddha Sengoku, plus a handful of Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals.
Against the Second Generation of Hell and the three new Admirals, they didn't stand a chance.
As for Garp, Dragon let him be.
If Garp hurt any of these Second Generation brats, or if Garp got beaten to death, Dragon couldn't accept either outcome.
With the Monkey father and son still locked in their own storm of fists and anger, the Second Generation of Hell and the three new Admirals ignored them entirely and rushed toward Marineford with overwhelming momentum.
They were almost too eager.
There were so many of them now, but the enemy side had so few high level targets.
Even if it became three on one, there still wouldn't be enough opponents to go around.
On Marineford, the moment Sengoku sensed the warship approaching, carrying more than ten crushing auras, his heart sank.
He already knew.
Today really might be the end.
"How is this possible?" Hel's voice rang out before the ship even reached shore. She transformed into a blue phoenix and shot forward, blazing through the air. "Why is it only Sengoku? Where are Kong and Holy Knight Sagon?"
Behind her, the other Second Generation warriors of Hell burst forward as well, surging onto the battlefield like a tidal wave.
But when they landed, the scene in front of them was almost insulting.
A shabby lineup of battered Navy veterans.
The Fleet Admiral they wanted to snatch was gone.
A flash of light, magma, and ice ripped through the air, and three figures arrived, forming into human shape as they hit the ground.
Among them, Sakazuki stared at the pitiful defensive line and frowned.
Other than Sengoku, who here was even qualified to fight him?
But with the Second Generation of Hell eyeing him like starving wolves, it clearly wasn't his turn to move.
He exhaled through his nose, irritated.
So today, he was going to be stuck playing babysitter too, just like Borsalino, the King of Slacking.
In a war this big, they didn't even have room to maneuver. It felt like the whole thing was about to end before it even started.
Frustrating.
"Ah, I can't take this!" Hel snapped, fury boiling as she stared at the weak lineup. "Jesus! Take us to Mary Geoise! I want to fight the Elders!"
This wasn't the fierce battlefield she'd been expecting.
She wanted the hottest war, the most violent clash, the kind that left the sky cracked and the sea boiling.
She remembered her sixth brother, Nika, and his giant elephant were near Mary Geoise too.
And Jesus teleportation marks included Zou.
Even if it wasn't within his sight, they could still jump there instantly.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 10–50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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