The Revolutionary Army's sudden offensive was swift and struck at the vitals.
..
Ten thousand meters above the sea near Wano in the New World, a ship as large as an island flew through the sky. Its shape resembled an upside-down straw hat.
The Five Elders sat around a circular table, their faces grim before them lay a virtual, globe-like map.
White dots represented uninhabited islands, blue dots indicated World Government affiliate nations, and red dots showed fallen territories, occupied by the Revolutionary Army.
This ship was originally created by the people of the moon. They had arrived from the moon with an advanced technological civilization in ancient times, ruling over this planet's civilizations.
This map had been constantly changing over the years, continuously collecting information about the world.
Their current location was marked. Looking at the red dots on the spherical map, half of the World Government nations had fallen. Of the five major nations, aside from Alabasta, the rest were either occupied or embroiled in internal strife.
"The East Blue has completely fallen," Kong sighed.
"The South Blue and West Blue are almost gone, too. The North Blue is holding up a bit better. Hmph, those foolish people. Even if the Revolutionary Army spreads war across the world, as long as Imu-sama remains, order will eventually be restored," Saint Petermarc said.
"Ignore those for now. We have received word. The Straw Hat Pirates have set sail from Elbaf, heading for Lodestar Island. We must extinguish that spark. The hope of Joy Boy absolutely cannot be allowed to continue," Saint Nusjuro said.
"Aren't we going to deal with those countries?" Kong asked.
"We have no time to deal with such trivial matters now. Those people can die for all we care. They are just insects of the Revolutionary Army. If necessary, we can eliminate them all, make them disappear. An elephant never cares how many ants it crushes underfoot," Saint Figarland Garling said indifferently.
In their eyes, humans were like ants. They could be easily killed, flooded out of their holes, burned alive with fire, or even poured with molten iron for amusement.
Killing them was as simple.
So, two groups of ants fighting meant nothing to them. Lost territory didn't matter; they could reclaim it with a mere gesture.
"Kong, you are no longer the Fleet Admiral, nor the Commander-in-Chief. You are one of the Five Elders. You still have much to learn, a long road of learning ahead. Remember, your status is different. You are to live eternally, like us," Saint Warcury said.
Facing the other four Elders, Kong felt they were losing their humanity, shedding human qualities. What were they becoming?
Gods?
Wrong.
Devils.
They were turning into devils. In Kong's perspective, monstrous shadows loomed behind each of the other four, clawing and snarling like demons, a terrifying sight.
The Celestial Dragons called themselves gods, born to enslave humans. But these were not gods; they were devils, enslaving humanity.
Kong's heart was deeply conflicted. He never imagined he would one day become like them. It was horrifying.
People were born with different natures. Kong was grateful that in his youth, he chose to descend to the lower world and receive Marine training.
He was human. He had a human heart. The scene before him was not what he wanted to see. The world shouldn't be like this.
"We still have one day before we reach Lodestar Island," Saint Nusjuro said.
"After dealing with the Straw Hat Pirates, we'll proceed to Wano and cleanse the Whitebeard Pirates," Saint Garling said.
"That guy Roy has the ability to kill us," Saint Nusjuro said.
"Are you afraid, Nusjuro?" Saint Garling retorted.
"Afraid? How could I be afraid? I just think there's no need to rush. The Whitebeard Pirates might already be escaping using the sky islands created by Pluton. They can't be found on this map," Saint Nusjuro said, reaching his hand through the holographic map.
The map clearly only showed the ground. Sky islands weren't on it.
Because the sky islands were once inhabited by the moon people, the former "gods."
The Kingdom of Gods was first on the moon, then on the sky islands, and finally at the location of Mary Geoise.
The former Kingdom of Gods left many ruins. God Valley, a place rich in minerals, was once a mining site for them.
It was a place where the sky people enslaved ordinary humans. And the Celestial Dragons, who became dragon-slayers, turned it into a place to oppress other humans.
"Pluton was created to counter Uranus. The sky islands are beyond Uranus's control. But they forgot, Uranus is a spacecraft, capable of leaving this world for another planet," Saint Garling said.
"If they are on a sky island, they are still above this world. As long as they are in this world, no matter where they flee, we can kill them," Saint Petermarc said.
"Don't concern yourselves with the lives of ants. Joy Boy's incarnation must be eradicated; he absolutely cannot let Straw Hat activate. What happened nine hundred years ago must never repeat. We must erase all of this before dawn," Saint Warcury said.
"The Drums of Liberation was originally sounded by Imu-sama over a thousand years ago. Now..." Kong murmured.
"So what?! It was Imu-sama who saved this world, creating the world we have now. Without Imu-sama, the world would still be under their control. Imu-sama is the true god of this world. As for those who were sacrificed... they deserved to die. Their deaths brought peace and stability to the world," Saint Warcury said.
"But..."
"No 'buts,' Kong. Remember your status. Don't forget who you are," Saint Garling said, placing a hand on his sword hilt and glancing sideways at Kong.
The other three did the same, awakened black flames flickering around them, creating a scene as if they were ready to kill Kong right there.
Seeing this, Kong took a deep breath. He knew this matter ended here. He was powerless to change it.
Beep! Beep! Beep!!!
Suddenly, alarm sirens blared across the ship. The crew began checking the situation.
"What's happening?" The Five Elders looked up.
"Reporting to the Elders! Detecting life signs approaching!" a soldier manning the instruments said.
"Life signs? We are high in the sky. Could it be birds?"
"Unknown what they are at present, but there are many of them," the soldier replied.
"Whatever they are, fire the laser cannons," Saint Warcury ordered.
"Ah?" The soldier hesitated for a moment.
Bang!
The soldier had only hesitated briefly. Saint Warcury held a smoking gun, and the soldier lay dead on the floor.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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