"ROOOAR—!" The roar of the Gyuki created a shockwave of sound. Saturn's tail stinger shot toward Rhett's throat from a strange angle.
Rhett turned his head and dodged. The venom brushed past the blood mist with a sizzling, corrosive sound. "You old bastard, you're pretty poisonous, aren't you?" He grinned. The blood mist suddenly condensed into chains that wrapped around the Gyuki's forelegs. The Black Tide Greatsword slashed horizontally, forcing Saturn to retreat dozens of meters, crashing through a wall.
From within the smoke and dust, the Finance God of Knowledge's roar came through. "Stop them!" But the blood mist had already sealed off the exits. Rhett's voice echoed through the mist. "If any of you moves so much as a step, I'll hold a mass funeral for the Celestial Dragons tonight! Go get Imu and see if I can kill them all."
The blood mist had already engulfed all of Mary Geoise.
"Blood?" Rhett sneered. "I'm the ancestor of playing with blood!" The blood mist suddenly contracted into a giant palm and slammed the other Elders, who had been about to make a move, into the ground.
The entire Power Chamber fell into dead silence.
Shanks stood at the edge of the battle. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, but he hadn't drawn it yet. He was waiting for a signal.
"Big Brother Rhett," he suddenly spoke, his voice cutting through the noise of the fight. "Don't forget. They still have hostages."
Rhett's movement faltered slightly. The churning of the blood mist slowed a little.
Saturn seized the opportunity. He swung his scepter, forcing Rhett back several steps, and sneered. "Finally remembered, have you?"
"You old bastard..." Rhett licked the blood from the corner of his mouth. His grin was ferocious. "You think that's enough to threaten me?"
"It's not a threat. It's a negotiation." The Environment God of Knowledge finally interjected. He raised his hand to signal servants to wheel in a projection Den Den Mushi. The image showed several figures restrained by Sea Prism Stone chains. They were unmistakably old members of the Roger Pirates.
"Let Shanks agree to reclaim his Celestial Dragon status. We won't announce it publicly. That's our biggest concession. There's no downside for you. And we promise not to touch anyone else."
Shanks's pupils contracted sharply.
But Rhett burst out laughing. "Interesting! Have you forgotten —"
His blood mist suddenly exploded, turning into a giant tidal wave that crashed toward the Five Elders. "I hate being threatened more than anything! I'll go apologize at their graves, but I'll bring the heads of countless Celestial Dragons with me."
The blood mist engulfed all of Mary Geoise. The shouts and curses of the Celestial Dragons came from every direction. At first, they were arrogant and loud. Soon, they turned into miserable wails.
"You filthy commoner! Do you know who I am? I order you to stop immediately — ah!! My skin!!" A woman's shrill voice cut off abruptly, replaced by the sizzle of flesh being corroded.
"Guards! Where are the guards?! Get this damn mist away!" A male Celestial Dragon screamed hysterically. But the only response was the chorus of screams from within the mist. "No — my hand! My face! Save me... Father! Save — ugh, ah!!"
"Damn Rhett! The World Government will never forgive you! I'll tear you limb from limb — cough, cough, cough!!" The curses were soon interrupted by violent coughing. The sound of blood mist being inhaled into throats was clear.
"I don't want to die! I am a descendant of the creators! I... I can give you money! Berries! Devil Fruits! Anything! Just please — AHHHH!!" The pleas turned into screams of despair, then fell completely silent.
Rhett's expression was no longer as ferocious as before. The Five Elders remained very calm, as if they had expected this. They called for servants to bring a new table. One of them personally poured Rhett a cup of tea. "I heard you like this."
He gestured for Rhett to drink.
Rhett sat down casually and took a sip. It was as if the earlier fighting had never happened. If you ignored the rubble around them and the screaming Celestial Dragons outside.
"Even among Celestial Dragons, there are Celestial Dragons," Rhett said, taking another sip. The tea was good. He took another sip.
"Are you feeling better now, Mr. Rhett?"
"So-so."
The shouting outside gradually died down. They must have all gone home to sleep.
The reason Rhett said that was because his mist had covered all of Mary Geoise. But among the Celestial Dragons, most of them were idiots. The ones with any strength — the ones he had sensed on his first day — their presences had almost all disappeared.
Rhett guessed they had been isolated by some kind of fruit ability, like the Door-Door Fruit or the Barrier-Barrier Fruit. As for the rest... and Rhett was certain that word of him killing Celestial Dragons today would never get out. If it didn't get out, then Rhett hadn't done it.
Too bad they weren't among the "Celestial Dragons among Celestial Dragons."
"Using a few useless ones to clear up the real misunderstandings between us — I believe that's quite appropriate."
"I thought Celestial Dragons were very noble."
"Don't be ridiculous, Mr. Rhett. Celestial Dragons are the one thing we don't lack. The ones with real talent — those, we pay close attention to."
"Everything before was just a misunderstanding. We arrested those crew members shortly after Roger died. At that time, you were still on the rise. We never used them to threaten you, did we? We arrested Roger's crew, and you killed some of our people in front of us. The misunderstanding should be cleared up now, shouldn't it?"
Rhett picked up his teacup but didn't drink immediately. He swirled the tea gently. His blood-red eyes stared at the Legal God of Knowledge through the rising steam. "Or was it because the profit wasn't there yet? Eh, aren't we good friends? When did you five old men become so easy to talk to?"
The Legal God of Knowledge forced a smile. "Times are changing. We have to go with the flow. Your strength has already proven your worth. Rather than destroying each other, it's better to take what we each need."
Rhett let out a scornful laugh. "Sounds good. But aren't you forgetting something?" He set down his cup. His gaze suddenly turned sharp. "Where are my people?"
The Environment God of Knowledge gestured for servants to adjust the projection. The chains were unlocked. The old members of the Roger Pirates were led to a spacious room. They looked tired, but unharmed. Ganryu looked up at the lens. A familiar smile appeared on his face. "Rhett, these old bastards are up to no good! Don't worry about us! Bring good sake to my grave when I'm gone!"
"It's fine. No one's dying. I'll come get you for a drink later."
Rhett looked at these people. The Five Elders had arrested some of Roger's crew not long after Roger died. This might not have happened in the original story. Or maybe it just wasn't shown because of the story's limitations. This made sense to Rhett. Why else would Shanks be so willing to go back to being a Celestial Dragon? This was the kid he had raised.
As for why they had arrested these people now — whether it was to restrain Rhett or to prepare for Shanks's return, Rhett didn't know. Initially, the Five Elders had planned to use them to threaten Shanks and Rhett.