The suited man spoke gravely, "Due to the crimes committed by Golden Lion Shiki and Grimm against the World Government, Shiki will not be executed. He is to be re-imprisoned in Impel Down Level 6, never to be released. Criminal Grimm is suspected of killing Saint Mjusgard and another Celestial Dragon, and for damaging Mary Geoise. The Navy is hereby ordered to immediately apprehend him!"
A deathly silence fell over the Marines. After a long moment, Kong finally exploded in anger. "Are you kidding me?! Do you know the immense crimes this man has committed? And now you say he should live?!"
Shiki, after a few seconds of stunned silence, burst into a fit of laughter. He laughed wildly, until his throat ached. "Gyahaha… Gyahahahaha… Gyahahahahahahaha…"
After his laughter subsided, a look of profound scorn and contempt settled on his face. He turned to Kong and the suited agents. "That kid did all that? Killed a Celestial Dragon and wrecked Mary Geoise? Impressive… very impressive…"
After his praises, Shiki continued, "Do you think killing me here would be too easy? Fine then. Make sure to send me a newspaper every day once I'm in prison. That way I won't get bored. Gyahahahaha!"
And with that, Shiki erupted into another fit of laughter.
"Shut up, Shiki!" Kong roared, then turned to the suited agent. "Did the Five Elders agree to this?"
The suited man's face remained impassive, as if to say, Don't look at me, I'm just the messenger. "The Five Elders are still in deliberation, but this order was jointly issued by two Celestial Dragon families… so… it's highly likely to pass."
"Damn it!"
Kong cursed, but as Fleet Admiral, he had to consider the Navy's future. After a few seconds, he managed to calm himself. He barked, "Bind all of Shiki's limbs with Seastone! And add another chain around his neck!"
"No need for all that trouble, Kong. What I set out to do this time is enough. I have no intention of escaping… growing old in Level 6 sounds quite nice, doesn't it? Oh, and try to put me with Red. I miss him."
Growing old…
Kong: My mind is shattering!
Soon, Shiki, bound tightly in Seastone, was led away. The suited agent, having delivered his message, departed.
Minutes later, under the morning sun, Kong surveyed the heavily damaged Marineford. He threw his head back and bellowed, "Treat the wounded! The war… is over!"
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Even though it was a war that brought little joy, its end sparked immense jubilation among countless people.
The war is over. I'm alive!
Isn't that something to be happy about?
---
Holy Land Mary Geoise, on the balcony of Saint Garbatia's palace.
As the sunlight streamed down, Grimm raised his glass of red wine to Garbatia. "To complete this so quickly, it's all thanks to your help!"
"Ah, no, no, it was nothing! That scoundrel Shiki, daring to attack us, I wanted to deal with him myself! It would be too kind to let him die so easily. It was only right, only right!" Garbatia sniffled and nodded.
The order sent to the Navy earlier had been issued by these two together.
"It's too early for you to die, Shiki. I still need your head. Besides, Kel'Thuzad is very interested in your corpse. If you were turned into a Death Knight, would you regain your former strength?"
Grimm muttered to himself, a low chuckle escaping his lips.
---
Two days later!
Massive headlines plastered the newspapers.
[NAVY SUSPECTS PLANK POSSESSES SUPER LONG-RANGE BOMBING CAPABILITIES!]
[KAIDO AND HIS TWO TOP COMMANDERS POSSESS ADMIRAL-LEVEL COMBAT POWER!]
[SCARLET CRUSADE COMMANDER SALLY WHITEMANE GRANTED INDEPENDENT NAVY SPECIAL OPERATIONS UNIT STATUS, NO LONGER UNDER FLEET ADMIRAL'S COMMAND!]
And more!
[GOLDEN LION SHIKI DEFEATED BY FLEET ADMIRAL KONG AGAIN, RE-IMPRISONED IN IMPEL DOWN LEVEL 6!]
[GRIMM'S FIRST COMMANDER, KEL'THUZAD, INSTANTLY KILLS TWO ADMIRAL-LEVEL FIGHTERS!]
[GRIMM AND KEL'THUZAD'S INVASION OF THE RED LINE FAILS, WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN!]
These headlines swept across the world. Since these were Navy-issued papers, the wording was biased towards them. Other newspapers, however, were far more sensational.
For example:
[KEL'THUZAD IS THE STRONGEST IN THE WORLD, DEBATE ME!]
[KEL'THUZAD IS INVINCIBLE, THE SCOURGE IS UNSTOPPABLE!]
[BELIEVE IN THE HOLY LIGHT FOR ETERNAL LIFE, ABANDON THE HOLY LIGHT AND KEL'THUZAD WILL COME FOR YOU!]
[GOLDEN LION SHIKI IS THE STRONGEST IN HISTORY, EVEN WITHOUT LEGS, HE FOUGHT THE NAVY'S TOP FORCES FOR HOURS!]
["WIND BLADE" YASUO, THE WORLD'S GREATEST SWORDSMAN, RECEIVES TITLE OF "WIND SWORDSMAN," DEFEATING FIVE VICE ADMIRALS WITH A SINGLE "HASAGI!" HIS TITLE IS WELL-DESERVED!]
And so on…
---
West Blue, a certain town!
In an open-air cafe by an arch bridge, countless people held newspapers, discussing the contents with expressions of shock or awe.
"Golden Lion Shiki, the great pirate on par with Pirate King Roger, has been imprisoned in Impel Down a second time! I wonder if he'll escape again!"
"Idiot! Didn't you see the Seastone chains around his neck in the paper? The Navy isn't stupid. He's definitely not getting out this time! Is he going to chop off his own head?!"
"Even more terrifying are Grimm and Kel'Thuzad. After defeating two of the World Government's top fighters on the Red Line, they actually escaped!"
"Monsters! Pure monsters! That Kel'Thuzad… he practically killed them instantly…"
"Forget about them for a second," a man gritted his teeth. "Shiki's last words have stirred up the pirates again! And all this talk about Holy Light, Hell, the Scourge, the undead… what is this world turning into?!"
Suddenly, a pirate on the street shouted, "I heard Nico Robin is in this town! Has anyone seen her?!"
"Nico Robin?!"
"The little girl from West Blue, with the highest bounty of over 200 million Berries at barely ten years old?!"
"Quick! Find her! We'll be rich!"
Meanwhile, in a dark alley, a little girl in a brown dress whispered, "Father… will I really find my own companions? Can I really overthrow the evil World Government? Father… I will definitely survive and wait for that day!"
If Grimm had heard that, he would have been thoroughly confused. Hey, who are you calling Father?!
---
Three days later!
New bounties were released.
[KAIDO OF THE BEASTS: Bounty 2,600,000,000 Berries!]
[JACK THE DROUGHT: Bounty 800,000,000 Berries!]
[KING THE WILDFIRE: Bounty 990,000,000 Berries!]
The captain and top commanders of the Beast Pirates now had bounties directly rivalling Whitebeard's 3,200,000,000 Berries!
[WIND SWORDSMAN YASUO: Bounty 1,300,000,000 Berries!]
[PLANK THE SEA SCOURGE: Bounty 900,000,000 Berries!]
[ETERNAL ARCHBISHOP TIRION D. GRIMM: Bounty 3,000,000,000 Berries!]
And then, one other.
[ARCHLICH KEL'THUZAD: Bounty 2,100,000,000 Berries!!!!!!!]
He became the first person in history to receive such an astronomical bounty on his very first appearance!
__________________
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