"Right!"
With that, Momonga closed his eyes. He knew he had lost.
Meanwhile, at the Red Port in the first half of the Grand Line, the battle had concluded.
Issho stood panting, looking at the Ryokugyu before him. The two had settled their fight.
"Bastard!"
Ryokugyu struggled, still trying to get up.
But a tremendous gravitational force pressed down on him, rendering his body immobile.
"You should stop struggling. This war must end. The world's order must change. It's no longer something you or I can control."
Issho was breathing heavily, one arm broken. The tip of his sword rested on Ryokugyu's neck, gravity pinning him down.
Ryokugyu wasn't in good shape either; both his legs were shattered, a bloody mess. Their fight could only be described as a desperate, all-out struggle where only one could win.
Ryokugyu represented the will of the old. He stood firmly with Akainu, believing the Marines represented absolute justice and must uphold the Celestial Dragons' rule.
Issho, on the other hand, was a traitor to the Marines. Unable to find his own sense of justice within it, he chose to join the Revolutionary Army and fight against the Celestial Dragons.
"Traitor! You traitor, Issho! You are a disgrace, a disgrace to the Marines, a disgrace to the world! I will keep fighting! I will kill you!!!" Ryokugyu used all his strength to twist his head.
"Hmph!"
Issho applied more pressure, increasing the gravity. The ground shook as Ryokugyu's head slammed into the red soil of the Red Line, blood staining it.
"If this is the path you insist on, then I have no choice but to kill you. The world needs change. The Celestial Dragons have enslaved the world. You grew up among the nobility; you have no idea how dark the world truly is," Issho said.
"You are blind! Of course, everything you see is darkness! If not for the Celestial Dragons' rule, the world would be even darker! Pirates would run rampant! If not for the Celestial Dragons, if not for the Marines, the world would have fallen into chaos long ago! The world needs the righteous Marines!"
Even pinned down, Ryokugyu struggled to lift his head and roar his defiance.
"You are incomparably stubborn. The world will not fall into chaos. A new order will be established. As long as people can eat their fill, who would choose a life of piracy?
"But under the Celestial Dragons' rule, more people starve, plunging the world into endless disorder. The existing order has reached a point where change is necessary and inevitable."
"The tide of history cannot be stopped. Though I am blind and see only darkness, I can hear the hearts of people. And I know what must be done." Issho spoke calmly.
"Ridiculous! What can a blind man change? What can the Revolutionary Army change? You have no idea of the Celestial Dragons' power! Do you know why I was imprisoned back then? It was because there were too many among the Celestial Dragons stronger than me! And they were just subordinates!"
"You have no clue how powerful those people truly are, Issho! If you admit your mistake now, you can still live. Once the people from Mary Geoise stand before you, you will lose all chance," Ryokugyu said.
"So what if they come? I will kill them all the same," Issho replied.
"Let's see how long you can last! I will never..." Ryokugyu laughed.
"In that case, I understand. Although it has been a long time since I last killed, it won't stop me from killing you now. On the road of revolution, there is no path without blood."
With that, Ryokugyu felt the gravity lighten. By the time he reacted, a sharp pain shot through his neck.
It was over in a flash. His eyes saw Issho, his head spun, and his consciousness began to fade.
"I..."
Ryokugyu opened his mouth but found he could no longer speak.
The other Marine soldiers witnessing this scene were filled with disbelief. Blood soaked the ground.
Issho slowly sheathed his sword turned, and walked towards the bubble lift.
"If there are more above… then I'll kill my way up." Issho jumped onto the bubble lift.
No bubble was needed. With his gravity ability, the lift ascended rapidly.
He was heading to Mary Geoise to end this war.
"Even if it costs me my life… even if I burn out the last of my strength, I'll drag the Celestial Dragons down from the Red Line."
"The world doesn't need rulers. It doesn't need Celestial Dragons. It doesn't need kings. Only the will of the people"
Rising rapidly, Issho had already accepted his death. Like he said, there is no revolution without sacrifice.
He killed Ryokugyu because Ryokugyu was stubbornly unyielding. His life was dedicated to the Celestial Dragons. If he didn't kill him, Ryokugyu would spend his entire life fighting for them.
It was better to kill him now and prevent future complications.
He soon reached Mary Geoise, but an overwhelming smell of blood assaulted his nostrils, making him sense something was wrong.
"Such a strong smell of blood... What happened here?" Full of doubt, Issho maneuvered the bubble lift forward. Soon, he detected signs of life.
"A ship? Have the Five Elders returned?"
"No, it's a bubble lift... Can it fly?"
"There's someone on it."
Two people were fleeing. They were Marine soldiers hiding here, trying to escape downwards.
The bubble lift blocked their path, preventing their escape.
"Who are you?"
The two Marine soldiers were scared out of their wits. When they saw the person, they froze.
"Admiral?!"
"Mr. Issho!!"
Hearing their address, Issho frowned. "You are Marines?"
"Yes, Mr. Issho! We are communication corps soldiers from the Marine branch stationed at Mary Geoise," the two stood at attention before Fujitora.
"What happened at Mary Geoise? Why are you fleeing in such a hurry?" Issho asked.
"The Celestial Dragons went mad! A Celestial Dragon named Imu appeared. She was actually one of the twenty founding kings from nine hundred years ago! She ordered the royal guards to slaughter all the Celestial Dragons! All the Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise have been killed! A river of blood!"
"That's right. They're all dead. There's no one left in Mary Geoise."
Issho froze. He had never expected such a thing. The Celestial Dragons… wiped out from within.
Even more shocking, one of the original Founders still lived after nine centuries.
"Where is this Imu now?" Issho asked.
"We don't know. They seemed to have disappeared," one soldier shook his head.
"I know! I think I heard them say they were going to Lodestar," the other soldier said.
"Lodestar?!!" Issho hesitated.
"That's the last island in the second half of the Grand Line. There are reports that the Red Hair Pirates and the Straw Hat Pirates will have their final battle on the island. Most likely, Imu took her people there to kill the Red Hair Pirates and the Straw Hat Pirates," the soldier explained.
"Luffy…" Issho muttered, concern flickering in his face.
But he pressed on. He had to reach the New World. Another war was waiting.
...
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