At this time, the revolutionary headquarters was shrouded in a heavy haze.
Thousands of revolutionary soldiers had died tragically. Morley, in particular, had not only lost both hands but was ultimately beheaded.
And Belo Betty had been captured by Elior and his forces — her fate now uncertain.
When Dragon and the others looked upon the corpses of thousands of fallen comrades, including Morley, which had been smuggled back, their grief was immeasurable.
"Morley…"
Even Dragon, who had already wept after Sabo's death, couldn't hold back his tears.
The revolutionary soldiers were the same. Pain and despair engulfed them.
"Damn you, Elior!"
"He killed Sabo, and now Morley and the others… my brothers and sisters in the Revolutionary Army!"
"I'll kill him with my own hands!"
Countless soldiers were consumed by rage, regarding Elior as nothing less than the murderer of their family.
Dragon clenched his fists so hard that veins bulged across them, his fury palpable.
Suppressing his grief, Dragon swore: "I'll make him pay the price!"
"Dragon, what about Betty?"
Knowing her comrade Belo Betty had been taken, with her life and death still unknown, Koala's heart grew heavy with dread.
Betty had fallen into the hands of a devil, and Koala could hardly imagine the torment awaiting her.
"I'll rescue her myself! Even if I have to storm that island alone and throw away my life, I will save Betty!"
To Dragon, Betty wasn't just a commander — she was the light of the Revolutionary Army. Irreplaceable.
Even if Dragon himself fell, new leaders could rise.
But the light that Betty embodied was something no one else could carry.
The Revolutionary Army could not afford to lose her.
And yet, Betty was in Elior's hands. Dragon couldn't even bring himself to imagine the horrors she might be enduring.
After discussions with his commanders, Dragon decided to hold a funeral for Morley and the fallen before preparing to set out for Baldigo's rescue mission.
Still, Dragon secretly resolved to go alone. He knew better than anyone the terror and overwhelming might of Elior, and he couldn't bring himself to risk the lives of his soldiers.
Betty had to be saved.
Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters—
News had just arrived that shook the entire base:
The Elior Pirates had set sail with their entire fleet!
The shock was so great that Fleet Admiral Akainu convened an emergency meeting overnight. If word spread through the New World that Elior's entire force was on the move, the seas would be thrown into turmoil.
Marine Headquarters kept constant surveillance over the movements of Paradise and the New World.
And so, they were the first to learn of the Elior Pirates' departure.
"I want to know exactly what's happening" Akainu demanded in the war room.
Gathered there were several Vice Admirals, alongside Kizaru, Gion, Sengoku, and Tsuru.
"There's no doubt about it—they're planning something major" Tsuru said, her brow furrowed.
Akainu growled, "If they're mobilizing their entire fleet, could it be an attack on Marineford itself?"
Kizaru shook his head lazily. "That would be reckless even for him. He's not that arrogant."
Gion remained silent. She remembered Elior's words about targeting the Red-Haired Pirates, yet their current heading didn't align with that at all.
And it certainly wasn't Marineford he was after.
For Elior, Marine Headquarters was tied directly to the World Government — a battlefield that would only matter when the final war broke out.
The Marine's seat of power rested at the foot of the Red Line, with Mary Geoise and the Holy Land of the Celestial Dragons looming above.
Gion's instincts told her Elior was instead marching against the Revolutionary Army — or perhaps the scattered remnants of Whitebeard's fleet.
Even so, tension gripped the Headquarters.
After all, Elior had gone to war once more.
And this time, seven massive warships were dispatched — more than he'd taken to Whole Cake Island. The scale of the operation was terrifying.
Marines across the base whispered: could Elior truly be preparing to strike Marineford while much of its strongest fighting force was absent?
But Akainu and the others were overly cautious.
On Elior's flagship—
Inside the grand captain's cabin, Belo Betty's body trembled as reality crushed her spirit. She had revealed the location of Baldigo, the Revolutionary Army's hidden headquarters.
It was unthinkable—more terrifying than anything she had suffered under Elior's control.
The unprepared Revolutionary Army would soon face annihilation.
Elior — the demon himself — was marching with his entire fleet upon them.
Betty could scarcely believe it. A commander of the Revolutionary Army, known as the light of the cause, had betrayed her comrades.
Even under the torture of the World Government, countless soldiers had chosen death over betrayal. Not once in decades had the location of their headquarters been exposed.
And yet she had spilled it — broken by Elior's unrelenting will.
For days, her mind had hovered on the brink of collapse.
She was drowning in despair.
"Dragon and the others… they don't even realize the danger they're in, do they?"
Elior's voice came from behind her, soft and warm, like a spring breeze. His smile looked disarmingly gentle, almost human.
But to Betty, it was the smile of a devil.
Her entire body shivered.
"Please… spare the Revolutionary Army… I beg you…"
Elior leaned closer, his smile never faltering.
"But you already betrayed them. You revealed their sanctuary yourself. Imagine what they'll think when they learn the truth."
"Stop it! Please, stop!" Betty screamed, shaking her head violently, trying to shut out his words.
But Elior's voice only deepened her despair.
A nightmare was coming. A nightmare born of her weakness.
And she, Belo Betty—the light of the Revolutionary Army—was the very cause of it.
Back at Baldigo, the funeral for Morley and the fallen was about to begin.
Unaware that the Elior Pirates were already upon them.