The Gorosei no longer had any interest in watching the World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament; they just kept listening to the information coming from intelligence agents in North Sea, learning that the Revolution Army had received widespread support from civilians.
Now, it was the royalty and nobles who were being persecuted. The Marine in North Sea was already the weakest among the Four Seas, second only to East Blue, due to being constantly attacked by pirates. Germa helped the Revolution Army suppress the Marine forces in North Sea.
This rapid, cancer-like proliferation filled the giant that was the World Government with fear.
Every day, hearing the news felt like a death knell.
The Revolution Army hadn't expected to gain so much civilian support. As long as they dealt with the forces that exploited them, the civilians almost unconditionally supported them.
This situation forced the Gorosei to endure it no longer, because they felt that if it continued, even if North Sea was retaken, it wouldn't stabilize in a short time. The World Government's intelligence organizations simply didn't have enough manpower to deal with the Revolution Army, so they could only turn to the Marine.
"Sakazuki, if you cannot resolve the trouble in North Sea, then we will find someone else to serve as Fleet Admiral!"
This time, the Gorosei's threat was blatant.
Although doing so would cause turmoil, what the Revolution Army was doing now was digging at their roots. And there was still Sengoku, who had just been replaced, available to use; this was their confidence.
"I understand!"
Sakazuki finished speaking and hung up the Den Den Mushi.
After much hesitation, he chose the less reliable Kizaru to send to North Sea.
He felt that this fellow was unreliable, and somehow problematic. Keeping him in the New World would probably only tie down one of the Four Emperors, so it would be better to send him to North Sea.
At the same time, he also knew what was happening in North Sea and was somewhat shocked by how strong the civilian resistance was.
He didn't know whether stopping the Revolution Army was right or wrong, which left him very confused.
"Has it begun already?"
Meanwhile, Sengoku was patrolling the Marine base. Looking at the news from North Sea, he felt that this must be Uchiha Tamahiko's doing.
Didn't he say it would be completed within ten years?
How could such a large-scale operation be underway after only a few months?
At this moment, he also didn't know if it was time to help Uchiha Tamahiko, and it was inconvenient to contact Uchiha Tamahiko privately. He could only constantly monitor the situation in North Sea, asking his former subordinates to send him the latest news.
The involvement of Uchiha Tamahiko in the North Sea situation quickly came to light.
This was because photos of Uchiha Tamahiko personally intercepting the Marine were captured.
The Gorosei were almost furious when they saw it. Giving him face by buying his weapons wasn't enough, and now he was directly and openly helping the Revolution Army?
At the same time, they also realized that this World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament was designed to attract their attention, allowing the Revolution Army to act in secret.
Therefore, they ordered the CP0 at the combat venue to reveal the news that Uchiha Tamahiko on the field was just a clone. They also suspected whether Kuzan was an informant, as he apparently didn't know such information?
The CP0 who received this order looked grim, clearly knowing that doing this here would surely mean his demise, but the orders of the Celestial Dragons could not be disobeyed.
He took out an amplified Den Den Mushi, used Moonwalk and Soru to quickly arrive above the combat venue, primarily addressing the Four Emperors.
"This World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament is a conspiracy, a means used by Uchiha Tamahiko to attract the World Government's attention and help the Revolution Army."
"The Uchiha Tamahiko here is actually just his clone; he is fake and possesses no combat power whatsoever. That's why he chose to let Kuzan participate, to lull everyone into a false sense of security. You pirates are merely being used and toyed with by him, you're all a bunch of fools!"
This CP0, holding the Den Den Mushi in mid-air, directly shouted loudly.
The sound, amplified by the Den Den Mushi, instantly spread throughout the entire combat venue. After hearing these words, the pirates on the field were stunned for a moment, then their expressions immediately turned ugly.
All eyes were fixed on Uchiha Tamahiko, who was watching the show with several of the Four Emperors in the distance. If this was truly the case, they found it somewhat unacceptable to be used.
"The matter with the Revolution Army doesn't concern us, but if you're just a clone, are you toying with us?"
Charlotte's face was filled with malice. She hadn't expected the situation she was waiting for to happen so quickly, with everyone targeting Uchiha.
If Uchiha Tamahiko himself were here, what happened with the World Government would have nothing to do with them, the pirates.
But he wasn't; he was just a clone. That meant he was toying with them, the Four Emperors, treating them as tools, and this was something they couldn't accept.
"Brat, I thought you were someone important, but I didn't expect you to dare to toy with me like this!"
Kaido was furious.
He couldn't accept such a fact; after all, he had come to participate in this competition wholeheartedly.
If he ended up winning first place, but then someone said that Uchiha Tamahiko hadn't participated, and that those who did participate were just being toyed with by this person, he couldn't stand that.
Shanks, on the other hand, wasn't too surprised. His expression was a bit complex, but he didn't say anything.
"Why do you, as pirates, believe what the World Government says?"
"Perhaps you are the ones being used by the World Government!"
Uchiha Tamahiko rose from his seat, showing no signs of panic, as calm as ever.
"Proof?"
"The proof is this!"
Charlotte, already impatient, was eager to incite all the pirates to attack Uchiha.
Hearing Uchiha Tamahiko's words, she unhesitatingly took off her Homies hat, turning it into an emperor sword, imbuing it with Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki Two-Colored Haki, and directly cleaved towards Uchiha Tamahiko.
Kaido and Red Hair, who were nearby, watched indifferently. Since he dared to use them, he naturally had to bear the consequences.
The pirates on the field showed excited expressions, raising their hands and cheering, wanting to see this guy who toyed with them disappear.
However, the scene they hoped to see did not occur.
"Bang!"
Uchiha Tamahiko simply raised his hand, compressing the repulsive force of Shinra Tensei to less than a meter, making it almost invisible, while simultaneously surrounding it with black and red electrical arcs. He directly and forcefully met Charlotte's resentful strike.
The two Conqueror's Haki clashed, and the overflowing black electricity flickered everywhere, continuously shattering the ice surface Kuzan had created around them.
"What!"
Charlotte couldn't believe that her full-power slash was blocked by a clone.
But before she could react much, she felt the unknown power she had struck explode, and a powerful impact directly hit her head-on.
Even with her legs pushing off, she couldn't resist. She was uncontrollably sent flying hundreds of meters backward, scraping a deep gully into the ground.
Within a second, Uchiha Tamahiko injected more Chakra, increasing the power of Shinra Tensei several times over. Relying solely on brute force, Charlotte naturally couldn't contend with it.
"A Four Emperor, nothing more!"
Uchiha Tamahiko's words fell.
The field instantly fell silent, unable to believe that Uchiha Tamahiko, whom they considered a clone, could actually send Charlotte, one of the Four Emperors, flying.
Had Uchiha become so strong that even his clone possessed such power?
....
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