Chapter 295: The Chaos of Mary Geoise
High in the sky, the Five Elders looked down at the prisoners swarming Mary Geoise, a cold sweat breaking out on their backs.
"Damn it, what is this?!"
At the tip of the giant arrow, Shamrock's eyes hardened, his grip tightening on his rapier. "Spatial transfer... that damned—"
In this world, only two people could silently move such a vast number of prisoners. One was the rookie pirate who had just emerged in Paradise, the Castle-Castle Fruit user, Capone Bege. The other was the World Government's mortal enemy, the last remnant of the Lunarians—Archangel Louis.
Combined with the fact that Impel Down itself had just fallen from the sky, this had to be a joint operation between him and the Golden Lion Shiki. Their known relationship only confirmed it.
Realizing this, Shamrock didn't hesitate. He leaped from the arrow, falling toward the Holy Land. At the same time, he mentally relayed his guess to the furious Imu.
"Lord Imu, this is most likely the work of that Lunarian remnant and the Golden Lion Shiki."
"The Lunarian remnant..." In the Flower Room, Imu's Observation Haki flared out, sweeping Mary Geoise and the surrounding Red Line, searching.
But... nothing.
After a moment, a new set of orders was issued to the Five Elders and Junko: "Three of you will deal with the Impel Down debris. One will join Shamrock in cleansing the ants from the Holy Land. One will search for the enemy with Junko."
"You have 30 minutes to resolve this."
The connection cut. The Elders instantly split into three groups.
Itsumade (Marcus Mars) took to the skies, circling Mary Geoise with Junko, scanning for any suspicious signs.
Bakotsu (V. Nusjuro), being the fastest, descended with Shamrock to eliminate the escaped prisoners.
On the ground, Commander-in-Chief Kong stood on a high perch, phone in hand, directing the Marine soldiers and CP agents to kill the prisoners on sight. The sound of explosions from above made him sweat, his heart pounding.
Even shattered, the falling debris from Impel Down was more than enough to obliterate the center of world power. To make matters worse, the prisoners who had appeared from nowhere were already causing chaos, spreading out and rampaging. Many of the most dangerous, from Levels 5 and 6, had been deposited directly into the Celestial Dragons' residential area, and the death toll was already climbing.
The Holy Land was in chaos. And Marine Headquarters, their primary military force, was already under attack, unable to send meaningful reinforcements.
"Contact Marineford!" Kong barked at a communications officer. "Tell Tsuru to send every available Rear Admiral, Commodore, and Captain here to support us!"
"Sir!"
As the officer ran off, Kong turned to a CP agent. "Gernica, order the agents at the Marineford entrance to let the Marines through!"
"Understood. CP0 will cooperate fully."
Just then, a panicked agent ran up. "Commander-in-Chief Kong! It's bad!"
Kong's heart sank. He braced himself.
"Redfield... 'Red' has appeared near Pangea Castle! He's broken through the guards and is heading for the exit!"
"Redfield..." Kong knew the name well. The "Red Count," one of the few pirates said to be an equal to Roger and Whitebeard. Kong didn't believe he was that strong, but he was undeniably a monster.
"Ignore him! Let him leave!" Kong ordered.
No sooner had he spoken than another terrified shout came. "Sir! Douglas Bullet is at the Donquixote Family estate!"
"..."
Kong's face grew darker, but he repeated the order. He didn't want to waste resources on monsters who were just trying to escape.
But then... BOOOOOOM!
A massive, hemispherical explosion erupted from behind him. The shockwave shattered glass across the entire Holy Land.
Kong turned stiffly. "That direction... is the Rosward Family's estate..."
This level of destruction... besides Redfield and Bullet, there's only one other person in Impel Down capable of this...
"World Destroyer..." Kong snarled the name.
The nightmare wasn't over.
"Blackbeard Teach, Crocodile, Catarina Devon, Vasco Shot, and Avalo Pizarro have all been sighted!"
"..."
One after another, the names of the most brutal and infamous criminals rang out. Kong felt a crushing headache.
"Kill who you can," he finally said, his voice weary. "If you can't, just drive them out!"
He turned to Gernica, who was still nearby. "Have your men tell those three monsters to leave. If they leave now, the World Government has no time to deal with them. I'll take responsibility."
"..." Gernica said nothing, merely turning to kill another pirate. He wasn't about to get involved in a matter that could cost him his life later. Kong, realizing the CP agent wouldn't obey, dismissed him and prepared to go himself.
In the Celestial Dragon residential area, Shamrock was a blur of motion, his sword flashing as he cut down prisoner after prisoner. His Conqueror's Haki flared, knocking out the weaker ones in droves. He was unstoppable.
The Level 6 pirates who had been looting the estates saw him and immediately abandoned their plans.
"Let's get out of here. We'll spare the Celestial Dragons today."
"Heh... that face. He looks just like Red-Hair Shanks. I think we just stumbled onto a big secret..."
In the sky, the Sandwyrm (Ju Peter), the giant boar (Warcury), and the Gyuki (Saturn) were intercepting the largest pieces of debris. The Sandwyrm swallowed chunks whole. The boar's Conqueror's-infused roar shattered massive fragments into fist-sized "rain." The Gyuki's corrosive webs sliced through others. But Impel Down was too big; there were too many pieces. They could only focus on the ones aimed at the most critical locations.
Near Pangea Castle, Bakotsu (V. Nusjuro), in his half-man, half-skeletal-horse form, galloped through the chaos. His sword, the Shodai Kitetsu, flashed, its icy aura freezing the very air, killing every prisoner in the main passage and sealing it shut with ice. His Conqueror's Haki flared, knocking out everyone else.
He spotted Redfield walking calmly toward the exit and stopped.
"Red Count."
Bakotsu, wreathed in a cold, deathly aura, raised his blade, its edge crackling with Haki.
"..."
Redfield stopped, turning to face the skeletal figure.
"An ice ability... an Awakened Mythical Zoan... and..." His eyes fixed on the cursed sword. "The Shodai Kitetsu."
He smiled, unfazed. "It seems you are one of the Five Elders. The rumors were true. You are even stronger than the God's Knights."
Bakotsu was in no mood to talk. "Either run with your tail between your legs, or die here."
Lord Imu had given them 30 minutes. He didn't know if that meant capture or kill, but Redfield was moving too slowly. He wouldn't be out of the Holy Land in 30 minutes at this rate.
"A wrong choice," Bakotsu sneered, sensing Redfield's weakened body and laughably faint Haki. 28 minutes left. More than enough. He charged.
In the Celestial Dragon area, Shamrock spotted an old man firing a gun. The bullets would suddenly expand to the size of cannonballs, obliterating the manors.
"That's enough!" Shamrock roared, unleashing a Haki-infused slash. The old man turned and fired, meeting the attack.
As they fought, figures in the shadows (Revolutionary Army) darted through the manors, freeing thousands of dazed, numb slaves.
After a minute, the rain of debris finally stopped. The giant beasts in the sky vanished. The remaining powerful pirates, sensing the tide had turned, began to flee in earnest.
In another area, Teach, the Giant-Ship, and the others from Level 6 stopped. Three figures in black suits stood before them: Saturn, Ju Peter, and Warcury, all back in their human forms.
"The Five Elders!!"
"They finished off the debris that fast?!"
"No... most of it hit... they only stopped the important pieces..."
The Elders didn't speak. They instantly transformed back into their monstrous beast forms.
"Finish this quickly," the Gyuki (Saturn) ordered, his voice cold. "We must hunt down the Lunarian remnant and the Golden Lion."
Elsewhere, Kong, sensing the shift, looked at the man he was fighting—Douglas Bullet—with new eyes. "The tide has turned. Stay here forever, Bullet."
Bullet looked at the old man, who was well over 90, and sneered, wanting to laugh. "You're ancient, and you still want to fight? You think you're immortal, too?"
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