On the other side of the battlefield, after the Marines had fully retreated, a heavy gloom settled over the fleet. The failure of this war was no small blow; every face on deck showed defeat.
Aboard one of the warships, Saint Mars listened to Admiral Aramaki's report, his expression darkening. He snorted in disgust.
"Hmph. Sengoku and Garp are too old and useless. They actually let Kaido escape and brought about this defeat."
Aramaki fell silent. As a newly appointed admiral, his very first mission had ended in failure, and shame weighed on him. It wasn't just his own disgrace—it was the Marine's. Even the Gorosei had been forced to intervene, and yet they still couldn't turn the tide. He could only grit his teeth, powerless.
Saint Mars didn't spare him another glance. To him, this new admiral still knew too little about the Marines to be of any real use. Expecting meaningful input from him was pointless. Instead, Mars picked up a Den Den Mushi and dialed Sengoku directly.
"Sengoku, this is one of the Gorosei…"
On the other end, Sengoku stiffened in surprise before answering respectfully, "Yes, Saint Mars-sama."
Mars got straight to the point.
"Sengoku, I now order you to resume the position of fleet admiral. Report to headquarters immediately and stabilize the situation. Also, contact Aokiji and summon him back."
Being told to reassume the Fleet Admiral position did not shock Sengoku. He had already received word that Sakazuki had died in the line of duty.
Of the current Three Admirals, Kizaru had been captured alive by the Phoenix Pirates, while Aramaki and Fujitora were both newcomers. It was inevitable that Sengoku would be dragged out of retirement.
"…Understood," Sengoku replied.
After ending the call, Mars' mood was no better. He waved Aramaki away with obvious irritation. "You may leave."
"…Yes."
—
Holy Land Mariejois, Pangaea Castle.
A magic circle flared to life on the floor, and in the next instant, Mars was summoned into the chamber where Nusjuro and the others waited.
"How is the Marine doing?" Nusjuro asked without preamble.
"I've already sent Sengoku to contact Aokiji," Mars reported. "But this disastrous defeat has caused serious damage to the marine. We'll probably need to continue the World Military Draft."
Saturn snorted, unconcerned. "It doesn't matter. They're just a bunch of ants; it makes no difference how many die. It's only a pity about Sakazuki."
The other Gorosei shared that sentiment. In their eyes, everyone from the lower world was nothing but insects—but Admiral-level combat power was truly rare. Those few stood at the pinnacle above countless lives. Losing even one meant their strength was diminished. Even they couldn't help but feel regret.
Nusjuro spoke up again. "Are we going to let Aokiji take the Fleet Admiral position later?"
Saint Peter replied coldly, "We'll discuss that after we find him. He resigned from the Marines of his own will after losing to Sakazuki. If we make him Fleet Admiral the moment he returns, it'll look like we can't do without him."
Nusjuro pressed on. "Then what about Borsalino? How are we handling his situation?"
At that, the room fell into a troubled silence. Even the Gorosei felt the problem was troublesome. Saturn finally said, a hint of frustration in his voice, "Let the Marine negotiate with the Phoenix Pirates first. See if we can trade something to get Borsalino back."
The Gorosei all nodded in agreement. Warcury said coldly, "Leave marine affairs to Sengoku. He's been fleet admiral for so many years—he should be able to handle it. The real problem now is that the Three Emperors Alliance's strength has far exceeded our expectations. They're far more dangerous than the Rocks Pirates ever were."
The others nodded again. Nusjuro said solemnly, "Putting Big Mom aside for the moment, Marco was able to defeat Kizaru and kill Sakazuki. That alone suggests Marco now has strength on par with Rocks back then."
Saint Mars, however, voiced a different view. "That's not certain. According to Aramaki's report, it was Marco who deliberately provoked Sakazuki first. Sakazuki then chose to trade blows with him head‑on, and walked right into Marco's trap. Before he could bring out the full might of his Logia powers, Marco had already pierced through his body. That's what led to his defeat."
"A trick, then?" Warcury immediately understood what Mars was implying.
"Trick or not," Nusjuro said coldly, "the fact remains: he killed Sakazuki in front of a marine admiral. Maybe Sakazuki was injured from his previous fight with Big Mom, but a loss is a loss, and death is death. There's no room for excuses. On top of that, we fought Marco ourselves afterward. His strength is undeniably extraordinary.
"I'd say that even if Sakazuki hadn't been careless and had gone at Marco with full caution, he still wouldn't have been Marco's match."
The others nodded grimly. Nusjuro continued, "I also contacted Sengoku. He said Kaido's strength has already surpassed Whitebeard and Roger. Even if Sengoku and Garp fought together, their chances of victory would be slim."
Saint Mars added solemnly, "So both Marco and Kaido possess power not inferior to Rocks back then. This truly is a terrifying era."
At the mention of Rocks, all of the Gorosei felt a headache coming on. Back then, just one Rocks had already been enough to trouble them endlessly. Now there were Marco and Kaido, each with power not beneath Rocks, and on top of that a Yonko-level Big Mom. Under the banner of the Three Emperors Alliance, this force already far surpassed the Rocks Pirates of the past.
Their original plan had been to take advantage of the Three Emperors Alliance's recent formation, launch a surprise attack, eliminate Big Mom—the weakest of the three—and then move on to the remaining two Emperors.
Unfortunately, they had simply underestimated the Three Emperors Alliance.
On Cake Island this time, they had in fact only fought against two Yonko crews: the Big Mom Pirates and the Phoenix Pirates. Even so, with all five Gorosei, two Admirals, and the Shichibukai on their side, they had managed only a slight upper hand. The moment Kaido arrived, they were forced to retreat.
For the Gorosei, this war was an unprecedented disgrace in a hundred years. They had personally stepped onto the battlefield, yet still failed. It was humiliation, plain and simple.
It also drove home to them that this was undoubtedly the greatest crisis the World Government had faced in a century—an even greater threat than the Rocks Pirates forty years ago. If they handled this poorly, it would surely shake the very foundations of the World Government's rule.
They exchanged looks, gave silent nods, and then proceeded toward the deepest part of Pangaea Castle.
At last, they reached the inner sanctum, before the Empty Throne.
A dark silhouette slowly took its seat upon the throne, and the Gorosei all dropped to their knees.
"Greetings, Imu‑sama…"
—
On Cake Island, amid a sea of shattered candy and crumbling frosting towers, Katakuri and Perospero worked their abilities in tandem, conjuring long rows of tables and chairs and piling them high with food.
The island itself was in ruins, but the Three Emperors Alliance had just repelled the joint offensive of the Marines and the World Government. Even in this wasteland, the thrill of victory drowned out any sense of loss, and a grand banquet erupted among the rubble.
It was a roaring feast for tens of thousands.
Marco, Kaido, and Big Mom were seated in a room Katakuri had specially formed out of mochi. They ate together—though Big Mom's appetite was on an entirely different level, even by Yonko standards.
No one could really blame her. Eating was the fastest way for her to restore her strength.
She had clashed, one after another, with Akainu, Aramaki, and the Gorosei. Akainu had left her with heavy injuries at the start, and later, facing Saint Topman Warcury, she'd suffered repeated internal damage from his Haki. The toll on her body had been brutal.
Kaido tipped back his sake gourd, then glanced at the other two. "Speaking of which, Marco, Linlin… you both fought the Gorosei. Got any way to deal with that immortality of theirs?"
Big Mom snorted, displeased. "How would I know? But back in the God Valley incident, I remember Rayleigh and Gaban seemed to have killed some of the God's Knights."
"And those God's Knights also seemed to have that immortality power. As for what they used to kill them, I'm not too clear on it. After God Valley, I never ran into any more God's Knights."
Kaido gave a low grunt of acknowledgment, not particularly surprised.
"I've heard a bit too." He scratched his chin, his tone turning serious. "Roger once said that only Haki can transcend everything. So I figure that if your Haki is strong enough, you should be able to kill them. However…"
His expression hardened. "I tried using Conqueror's Haki infusion to finish them off before, but their wounds still healed. It's just that after being hit by a Conqueror's Haki infusion, their regeneration slowed down a lot. That means attacks with Conqueror's Haki do work on them…"
"They all have a special mark on them," Marco added, speaking around a mouthful of bread. "When I fought them, I noticed some marks on their backs that looked like magic circles. I'm guessing it has something to do with that."
"Magic circle?" Kaido frowned, the term sounding both odd and vaguely familiar to him.
Marco took a sip of juice and went on, "The Gorosei didn't all show up on Cake Island at the same time. One of them, a Gorosei named Saint Mars—the one with the big bird Zoan—came first."
"After he arrived, the other four Gorosei suddenly appeared using some kind of teleportation technique that looked like a magic circle. It should've been that Gorosei, Saint Mars, who summoned them."
"Summon?" Big Mom's brows knit slightly. She had witnessed it herself and had been shocked even then. She let out a cold laugh. "How is that so similar to the magic in legends! Is their Immortality also magic?"
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