"Admiral Ryokugyu...!"
The surrounding Marines cried out in shock. This time, Ryokugyu didn't get back up. His eyes rolled back as he finally collapsed, crashing to the ground in a torn, ragged uniform. His justice cloak was gone without a trace.
"We won?" Yamato pressed a hand to her wound and stared at Ryokugyu's fallen form. Through her Observation Haki, she confirmed it—Ryokugyu's consciousness had completely faded.
"Well done, Ace…" Zack's voice came from behind as he stepped up beside him.
"Zack…" Ace's face lit up at his appearance.
Zack's expression turned serious. "Can you still fight? Next, we have to wipe out the Marines in one go and then take down the God's Knights. As for the Gorosei, we can only leave them to Marco and the others."
Ace nodded, a long-lost smile tugging at his lips. Even if it had been two against one, they had finally brought down an admiral.
With Ryokugyu defeated, the only top-tier Marine combatant left on this battlefield was Admiral Fujitora.
Right now, Fujitora was under a fierce joint assault from the commanders of the 6th through 18th Divisions. Several Marine Vice Admirals were doing their best to share the pressure, but Fujitora was still besieged by multiple commanders at once, making the situation extremely troublesome.
Their individual strength might not quite reach Fire Fist Ace's level, but they weren't far behind. Even with Marine support, Fujitora alone was finding it hard to reverse the tide.
"Ryokugyu has actually fallen? It seems the situation grows ever more uncertain." Fujitora's expression darkened. His Observation Haki was exceptionally sharp; he could feel lives flickering out across the battlefield, Marine and pirate alike. The casualties were heavy.
The Phoenix Pirates in particular were bearing the brunt of the clash against the 30,000 Marine troops.
"How pathetic. Ryokugyu actually lost just like that."
An arrogant voice cut through the chaos.
Both Marines and pirates turned to look. Five members of God's Knights were approaching, having arrived under Saint Garling's orders to support the Marines.
After all, the Marines were the World Government's public facade. If even the last two admirals were defeated, it would deal a massive blow to the government's prestige.
Elsewhere, Kaido was locked in combat with Saint Warcury and Saint Garling. At first, Saint Warcury had held the advantage in strength. But Kaido, with his monstrous battle instincts and terrifying capacity to grow mid-fight, had steadily risen to match him blow for blow.
It was right then that Saint Garling had joined the fray, instantly tipping the balance. Kaido was forced back into a disadvantage.
King, Jack, and the Tobiroppo tried to rush over to support Kaido, but the five God's Knights moved to intercept, cutting them off.
Kaido, hemmed in on both sides and clearly at a disadvantage, only grew more exhilarated. "Worororo! So this is the combined power of the God's Knights' captain and a Gorosei? Your strength really is something!"
Saint Warcury replied coldly, "I acknowledge your strength. Even as a mere mortal, you wield power close to that of a god. But defeating us is impossible."
Kaido wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and sneered. "Can't defeat you? Isn't that even better?"
Hearing this, both of them thought Kaido had finally gone insane. He threw his head back and laughed savagely. "A long time ago, I swore I'd drag you high-and-mighty Celestial Dragons down into hell and start a world-class war. Only war can bring true equality."
"Now that dream's come true. You self-proclaimed gods have been dragged into this war by me. My only regret is that I couldn't pull every last Celestial Dragon into it. What a damn shame."
"If I can't break through in a desperate battle like this, I'd rather die by your hands." Madness burned in Kaido's eyes as his tone suddenly hardened. "Come on, then! God's Knights, Gorosei, all of you—come at me! Come and kill me!"
Saint Figarland Garling listened and commented icily, "Simply incomprehensible."
Saint Warcury snorted. "Hmph. In the end, he's just a pirate. Even if they call him 'the strongest creature on land, sea, and air,' he's nothing more than a single-celled organism."
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Big Mom was faring far worse. Against Saint Peter, she was completely overwhelmed, forced into a purely defensive stance. More than once, the thought of pulling back flashed through her mind.
But cold logic told her that even if she retreated, where could she go? Whole Cake Island had already been marked by the Gorosei. Once Kaido and Marco fell, the Big Mom Pirates would have no way out.
With that in mind, Big Mom could only grit her teeth and hold the line, bellowing for Brulee to keep transferring more troops from Whole Cake Island.
The same orders were being given across the alliance. The Beasts Pirates and the Phoenix Pirates were also continuously funneling reinforcements. This war would decide everything. If they won, the Three Emperors Alliance could push even further and drive the Marines completely out of the New World.
If they lost, the Three Emperors Alliance would vanish.
At the same time, Katakuri was facing off against Figarland Gorum Saint. Their clash had reached a stalemate when Gorum laughed in exaggerated admiration. "As expected of the Big Mom Pirates' second-in-command—your strength really is impressive!"
Katakuri stayed silent. The Observation Haki of the man before him had also stepped into the realm of seeing the future. His foresight wasn't as deep as Katakuri's, but it was enough to exert real pressure—especially that Immortality ability, which left Katakuri with no clear way to deal with him.
Inside the lab beneath the dome—
"Doctor…" A heavily scarred Sentomaru staggered in and found Vegapunk.
"Sentomaru! That's great—it's really great that you're okay," Vegapunk exclaimed, visibly relieved as Sentomaru approached.
But Sentomaru lowered his head, guilt written all over his face. "I'm sorry, Doctor. More than half of the fifty Pacifistas have been destroyed."
"It's okay. As long as you're alive," Vegapunk replied, unconcerned about the lost Pacifista. At this stage of the war, even two Seraphim had already been destroyed—losing Pacifista was hardly surprising.
Still, Sentomaru couldn't shake his guilt. "Doctor, why did you suddenly call me back? Do you have something you need to tell me?"
"Mm." Vegapunk nodded, his expression turning grave. "Right now, World King Imu, the Gorosei, and the God's Knights have all arrived. Egghead Island might not be defensible anymore. And just now, through the surveillance system, I discovered that Saint Shamrock has entered the dome. If we give them time, they'll definitely find us."
Sentomaru immediately asked, "Then what should we do, Doctor?"
"There's no other way—we retreat," Vegapunk said calmly.
"The situation has already gone beyond my expectations, and probably Marco's as well. The World Government is determined to erase this old man. Even with the Three Emperors Alliance, they likely can't protect me."
"As for the Three Emperors Alliance, I can only wish them good luck."
Hearing this, both Stussy and Sentomaru nodded. Even so, Stussy couldn't help but worry. "But if we do this, it might anger Marco and the others. After all, they came to this war to protect you, Doctor."
"Of course I know that," Vegapunk replied at once. "But right now, they no longer have the ability to protect me, do they? Staying here is just waiting to die. I believe Marco and the others will understand."
He continued, his tone serious, "Although I'm not afraid of death, the Poneglyphs haven't been fully deciphered, and I still haven't uncovered the truth of this world. I cannot die yet."
"If Marco and the others can break through the encirclement of the Gorosei and the God's Knights, they'll definitely still need my scientific power. And if they lose in the end, it will at least greatly weaken the World Government. In that case, they won't have spare strength to hunt me down in the short term, and I'll be able to safely decipher the remaining historical secrets."
Sentomaru and Stussy nodded again. Stussy then asked, "What about the research on the island?"
Vegapunk let out a weary sigh, sadness in his voice. "There's no helping it… we can only give up. I really don't want to, but there's nothing I can do now."
"Alright, next I'll use the power of the Brain-Brain Fruit to transfer some key data from Punk Records into my own brain. Of course, it's impossible to pull everything out in such a short time, but I'll copy as much as I can! My head will swell up again. Once Shaka brings S-Bear back, we'll retreat immediately."
"Understood," Sentomaru and Stussy replied.
At that moment, Shaka rushed over to Vista, Jinbe, and Jozu. The three of them, together with five Seraphim, were locked in a fierce battle against Saturn Saint.
To be honest, the five Seraphim were monstrously strong—but without Haki, they had no way to deal with Saturn's so-called immortality. Even the bubble gun wasn't working.
The bubble gun was one of Vegapunk's inventions. The bubbles it fired had a Sea Stone-like effect, suppressing Devil Fruit users.
But the Gorosei and their kind felt no fear of seawater or Sea Stone—naturally, the bubble gun did nothing to them either.
"This bastard really is immortal!" Vista growled through clenched teeth. "Without Conqueror's Haki, there's absolutely no way to take him down."
Jinbe's expression was grim. "Indeed. Even if we destroy his body, he regenerates immediately. And his strength now far surpasses what it was back on Cake Island."
Just then, the sound of approaching footsteps cut through the chaos. Jinbe and the others turned to see one of Vegapunk's satellites—Shaka—striding toward them.
"Shaka…" Jinbe murmured.
Jozu shouted, "Hey! What are you doing here? It's too dangerous!"
Saturn Saint also glanced at Shaka, puzzled. Shaka spoke calmly. "Jinbe, S-Bear—come here a moment. I have something to tell you."
At his words, S-Bear obeyed at once and moved toward him. Still confused, Jinbe also hurried over.
Once they were a safe distance from Saturn Saint, Shaka's tone turned grave. "The God's Knights have already infiltrated the lab. For the doctor's safety, we need to retreat—for now."
"You're retreating?" Jinbe's eyes widened in shock.
Shaka nodded firmly. "If we stay here, we'll be wiped out. A temporary withdrawal is the only logical choice. Also, the Doctor asked me to give this to Marco."
He produced a black, five-pointed device, a small button set in its center.
"This is…?" Jinbe stared at the strange machine in his hand.
Shaka explained, "This is the highest authority over the Pacifista and Seraphim. From now on, every Pacifista and Seraphim on this island will be under your command. If you manage to defeat the God's Knights and the Gorosei, the Doctor will naturally return to Egghead Island. If you can't defeat them, retreat as quickly as possible. We'll contact you via transponder mail then."
Without waiting for Jinbe's reply, Shaka turned and ordered, "S-Bear, follow me."
-------------------------
AN : There are limited time discounts running on my Patreon page. Check it out and enjoy the story further!! - CODE - EBE6A!!
There is also an Early bird offer for first 5 buyers of the whole story!!!
------------------
AN: Check out my P@treon For +70 Chapters!!!
Thank You For your Support!!
[email protected]/noviceauthor777
-----------------------
To keep the chapters coming - Support with POWER STONES.
For Every 100 power stones - 1 BONUS chapter.