The first ships appeared beyond the western mangrove line.
Their sails rose above the horizon one after another, carrying the horned skull of the Beasts Pirates.
Even at a distance, the formation was too large to mistake for a scouting force. Government-cleared routes had allowed the fleet to reach Sabaody faster than Marine projections considered possible.
The evacuation loudspeakers changed their message.
**"Beasts Pirates confirmed. All civilians move east immediately. Marine personnel establish defensive corridors. Do not remain in the western groves."**
The avenue erupted into motion.
Merchants abandoned carts.
Pirates forgot the pride that had kept them kneeling and ran with everyone else.
Marine squads opened side routes between the mangrove roots, pulling civilians away from the auction district while Charlos's guards struggled to decide whether protecting their master required standing against an Emperor.
Saint Charlos finally found his voice.
"Take me to Mary Geoise!" he screamed. "Now! I order every Marine here to escort me!"
Garp looked toward the western sails.
"Gion, Yamakaji, get the civilians moving. Jinbe, take Camie to the eastern canal and meet Law's ROOM."
Jinbe's eyes shifted toward Charlos.
Garp understood.
"Go. We have the World Noble."
That reassurance sounded less comforting than Garp probably intended.
Jinbe carefully lifted Camie without disturbing the collar. Blood continued running from the bullet wound in his shoulder, but he ignored it.
"Zaraki," he said.
Zaraki looked at him.
Jinbe's expression held gratitude, humiliation, and restrained anger in equal measure.
"I will remember this."
"Remember it after the collar is off."
Jinbe gave one firm nod and carried Camie toward the eastern route, protected by Gion and a squad of Marines.
Yamakaji seized Spandam by the back of his coat.
"You are coming with me."
Spandam kicked helplessly.
"I am the chief of CP9! Put me down! Saint Charlos, order them to release me!"
Charlos pointed at Yamakaji.
"Put him down!"
Yamakaji did.
Spandam struck the stones face-first.
"That is not what I meant!"
Dorry and Brogy's voices boomed from the command Den Den Mushi.
"DO NOT LET HIM ESCAPE!"
Yamakaji lifted Spandam again.
"I wasn't planning to."
Jabra remained near the bent lamp post, caught between protecting his superior, obeying Charlos, and avoiding the fist Garp had used on Spandam.
His eyes moved toward the approaching fleet.
"This mission is becoming unreasonable."
Zaraki gave him an amused look.
"That took you long enough to notice."
Another transmission came from Grove 1.
Law's voice sounded over the receiver.
"I have the mermaid inside ROOM. Do not move her more than necessary."
A blue sphere rose over the eastern rooftops.
Camie and Jinbe vanished from Gion's side, exchanged with an empty stretcher near the Polar Tang.
Several seconds later, the explosive collar reappeared alone above the canal and fell into the water before detonating beneath the surface.
The blast sent up a short column of spray.
Camie remained aboard the submarine, alive.
Jinbe exhaled for what felt like the first time since entering the avenue.
At Grove 1, Dorry and Brogy heard the explosion through the relay and mistook it for the beginning of Kaido's attack.
"Is the Emperor here?" Brogy demanded.
"His fleet is entering the western channels," Law replied. "And before either of you asks, no, you are not abandoning the outer berth until the civilians clear the nearby groves."
Dorry's laugh rolled through the snail.
"Gegyagyagyagya! You speak boldly for a little doctor."
"I am the little doctor keeping your candidates, Marines, CP0 agents, and a mermaid alive. You can insult me after the emergency."
Brogy considered that.
"Fair."
At the auction avenue, the last civilians moved past the eastern barricade.
Only Marines, Charlos's escort, Zaraki, Garp, Yamakaji, Spandam, and Jabra remained.
Saint Charlos still sat upon the back of his enslaved bearer.
Garp walked toward him.
"Get down."
Charlos clutched the slave's hair.
"I do not walk on the same ground as commoners!"
"The man carrying you is injured."
"He belongs to me."
Garp's face became dangerously calm.
Zaraki stepped beside him.
The enslaved man beneath Charlos trembled from exhaustion.
Iron had rubbed the skin raw around his neck and wrists, and one knee was swollen badly enough that every step threatened to collapse it.
Zaraki cut the chains.
Nozarashi never left its sheath.
He drew only enough of the rough edge to sever the iron links without touching flesh, then returned it before the pieces struck the ground.
The man stared at his freed hands.
Charlos slid from his back and landed heavily on the road.
His bubble helmet struck the stones with a hollow thump.
"How dare you damage my property!"
Zaraki looked down at him.
"Walk."
Charlos's face turned purple.
"You attacked a World Noble! I'll have every Admiral—"
"There are three active Admirals," Garp said. "None will reach Sabaody before Kaido does, and none will appreciate being summoned because you refused an evacuation order."
"That does not matter! I am a descendant of the creators!"
Garp leaned down until his face was level with the bubble.
"Then create yourself a faster pair of legs."
Yamakaji choked on a laugh and disguised it as a cough.
A Marine runner arrived from the western barricade.
"Vice Admiral Garp! Main enemy formation has split. Most ships are entering the western channels, but one enormous vessel is moving directly toward Grove 1. Long-range observers report Kaido himself aboard!"
Zaraki's golden eyes sharpened.
"Finally."
Garp straightened.
"Do not start smiling yet. We still have to move this idiot."
Charlos pointed at the freed slave.
"He will carry me!"
"No," Zaraki said.
The former slave looked at him, uncertain whether he had heard correctly.
Zaraki nodded toward the eastern route.
"Run."
The man stumbled once, then fled.
Charlos screamed after him until Garp grabbed the back of his white suit and lifted him from the ground like an unruly sack.
The World Noble kicked helplessly.
"Put me down! I will have you executed!"
"You can file the complaint after we stop the Emperor your Government invited."
Spandam went still in Yamakaji's grip.
"Invited?"
Garp looked at him.
"You didn't know?"
"Know what?"
"The Five Elders cleared Kaido's route to reach Zaraki."
Spandam's face became pale enough to match his mask.
"They sent an Emperor here while Saint Charlos was still shopping?"
Yamakaji gave him a humorless smile.
"Now you understand how everyone else feels when Cipher Pol calls collateral damage acceptable."
The western sky darkened.
Clouds gathered above the approaching fleet, twisting around a vast shape moving behind them.
The pressure reaching Sabaody was still distant, but every experienced fighter on the avenue recognized it.
Kaido was close.
Zaraki turned toward Grove 1.
Garp still held Charlos under one arm.
"You go ahead," the older Marine said. "I'll deliver this one to the eastern evacuation ship, then join you."
Zaraki glanced at the World Noble.
"You sure you don't want me to carry him?"
"No. You'd throw him."
"He'd arrive faster."
"That is why the answer is no."
Yamakaji pulled Spandam toward the eastern route, while Jabra followed after being ordered to assist with the evacuation under Marine supervision.
Gion's voice came through the command receiver, confirming that Camie's collar had been removed and the eastern canal was clear.
Zaraki started back toward Grove 1.
The command Den Den Mushi at his side took on Dorry's enormous features.
"We heard Kaido is coming."
"He is."
Brogy crowded into view.
"Does defeating an Emperor count toward the assessment?"
"The combat portion already ended," Zaraki said.
"That was not an answer."
Zaraki's grin widened.
"It'll count for something."
Behind him, the Celestial Dragon continued screaming from beneath Garp's arm.
Ahead, the horns of the Beasts Pirates rolled across Sabaody, while Marine warships and the rebuilt giant longship prepared to meet the fleet beyond the western mangroves.
The Warlord appointment remained unsettled.
Spandam was alive to answer for the lie at Enies Lobby.
Camie had been freed.
And less than an hour after the Government's assessment collapsed, the Emperor Saint Nusjuro had pointed toward Zaraki finally arrived to finish the battle the storm had interrupted.