Holy Land Mary Geoise, Hall of Power.
The Gorosei sipped tea, munched on melons and fruits, and watched with great interest the mixed match between Crocodile + Doflamingo VS War God Katakuri playing out on the large screen.
"Tsk tsk, if Doflamingo weren't truly Homing's son, I'd almost think he was a descendant of my family. Just look at these money-making methods—they really open my eyes! Such talent should remain in the Holy Land; it's a waste for him to be a pirate. I'd gladly exchange ten Roswards and Charloss for him," Shepherd Ju Peter remarked admiringly as he sipped his coffee.
Topman Warcury twitched at the corner of his mouth and shot him a sidelong glare.
"Hey now, stop talking nonsense. That brat is no longer one of the Celestial Dragons; he's now the treasured jewel of the Beast God Pirates."
Nusjuro toying with his long sword, chuckled and said, "I heard that Sakazuki is following the Beast God Pirates' example by setting up live broadcasts at Marine Headquarters. Several of the Marine Admirals have even personally stepped in to promote them, hoping people will pay to watch their arena matches."
"Hmph! That bastard is increasingly paying lip service to our orders! I think they're trying to raise military funds to prepare for complete independence in advance!" grumbled Jaygarcia Saturn, squeezing a large piece of bread into a ball and tossing it into his mouth.
When the Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armed Forces, Kong with his cockscomb hairstyle, entered the Hall of Power, he almost thought he had come to the wrong place.
"Huh? When did Mary Geoise open a bar that looks like the Chamber of Authority? Who are you five, daring to impersonate the Gorosei?"
It was no wonder Kong had this misconception.
The current demeanor of the Gorosei was completely different from their usual aloof, arrogant attitude as if everyone owed them money.
Nusjuro and Ju Peter were bare-chested, barefoot propped up on the table, eating roasted chicken legs and drinking whiskey.
Saturn was aggressively attacking a stick-like bread.
Mars was relatively normal, leisurely sipping his tea.
Warcury had one hand digging in his crotch while the other shoved senbei into his mouth.
The Gorosei: "..."
Nusjuro drew his long sword and roared.
"You saw everything?"
Saturn picked up the baguette in front of him, coated it with a layer of black Armament Haki, and stared menacingly at Kong.
"It seems your position as Commander-in-Chief of the Three Forces has come to an end."
Mars waved his hand grandly, and a swirling black hole appeared, swallowing the table, fruits, and whiskey before him.
Then he slowly put on his suit and raised his shoe covered in Armament Haki.
Ju Peter acted like a complete outsider, as if he had nothing to do with any of this.
The most awkward was Warcury - his hand was still in his crotch, neither appropriate to remove it nor continue digging...
Kong gave an embarrassed laugh and turned to leave.
"Ahahaha, I won't disturb you, I'll be going now!"
Warcury promptly withdrew his hand from his crotch and stood up abruptly.
"No, you can't leave!"
Kong's broad back trembled, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
"Here, drink this bowl of chicken soup."
Saturn took off his hat, from which automatically emerged a purple liquid bubbling and boiling.
Kong turned back and saw four pairs of caring eyes and four kind faces...
...
A moment later, Kong scratched his head, organized his thoughts, and slowly said.
"Well, it seems there's been another incident at Impel Down."
"Humph! Magellan just got transferred there by the Marines, and now there's trouble. I always think this is some conspiracy!" Mars went on with his usual conspiracy theories.
Kong completely ignored his nonsense and continued: "It's the remnants of the Roger Pirates. Led by Dark King Rayleigh, they emerged from the sea and launched a surprise attack. They rescued all the people from the Kuja tribe, and incidentally took away all the remaining prisoners from levels 5 and 6. However, they didn't kill a single guard, which shows they don't want to offend the World Government..."
"Don't want to offend my ass!"
Nusjuro slammed his long sword heavily on the ground, even cracking the white jade floor.
"They took away all the prisoners and you're telling me they don't want to offend the World Government? Have you lost your mind too, Kong?"
Kong gave an awkward chuckle: "They only took away one percent of the prisoners. Overall, it's not a big deal."
Thump!
An Armament Haki-coated shoe hit his forehead and got caught in his rooster-comb hairstyle.
Ju Peter trembled with rage as he pointed at him, "Nonsense! It'd be a miracle if the prisoners from the fifth and sixth levels made up a high percentage! Stop playing dumb with us! Notify Sakazuki immediately—since it's the Marines who caused this mess, let them clean it up themselves! We're not going to wipe their asses for them!"
"I'm no longer the superior of the Marines, Ju Peter-sama. You can notify—no, order him yourself."
Kong shrugged his shoulders.
Another Armament Haki-infused leather shoe came flying at him, sending him scrambling backward in alarm.
"Get out! Get out!"
Kong scurried out of the Chamber of Authority in disarray.
Behind him, the furious roars of the Gorosei echoed.
Inside the hall, Nusjuro leisurely set down his teacup and glanced at Ju Peter.
"Your leather shoe... it seems he took it with him."
Ju Peter: "..."
Outside the hall, Kong wore a smug expression as he removed his own worn-out, nearly falling-apart leather shoes and, under the stunned gaze of the CP0 agents, casually tossed them into the corner of the Chamber of Power's wall.
Then, cheerfully, he slipped on Ju Peter's leather shoes and clacked down the white steps.
"Not bad. As expected of the Gorosei's shoes—made from the finest materials, they're really comfortable to wear."
"That old fogey seems to have eighteen concubines, tsk tsk. I should find some time to pay him a visit."
...
In the Flower Room.
Amidst a lush carpet of blooming flowers and green grass, Imu, clad in a sky-blue robe, lay reclined on a rattan chair.
Before them, a projection screen floated in the air, displaying the same scene unfolding in the Power Hall.
On the screen, Katakuri unleashed a Mochi Thrust, shattering Doflamingo's Black Knight clone to pieces.
Then, the ground turned mochi-like, firmly trapping all of Crocodile's sand forms.
Following that, clusters of pitch-black ghost flames spread like wildfire, engulfing all the sand and enveloping the entire square patch of earth suspended mid-air in the arena.
For the sake of fairness, the Sky Mirror Arena had specially prepared ordinary earthen platforms for Awakened ability users, making it convenient for fighters like Katakuri, Doflamingo, and Crocodile to battle.
Thud! Thud!
Two heavy impacts rang out as Doflamingo and Crocodile spat blood simultaneously, their eyes rolling back from the ghost flame burns before they collapsed heavily to the ground, unable to rise again!
The two had once teamed up to slay Golden Axe, but now they lay defeated at Katakuri's hands.
From the battle's progression, their abilities were completely countered by Katakuri.
In terms of Haki and physical skills, they were also suppressed.
Most crucially, Katakuri possessed the ability to foresee the future with his Observation Haki, along with ghost flames capable of scorching souls!
Whereas Doflamingo and Crocodile clearly lacked sufficiently robust bodies and souls.
Imu swung their feet, seeming quite pleased.
And the ground around their feet was littered ... with melon seeds.
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator