The massive gates of the royal capital remained shut.
The energy barrier surrounding the city was operating at full power.
Yet inside, there was only silence.
It felt like a ghost city.
That unnatural calm made even the Allied leadership uneasy.
Standing at the front of the Allied lines, Ritter narrowed his crimson eyes as he studied the silent metropolis in the distance.
The girl in his arms seemed to sense something as well.
Her brows furrowed slightly.
"Too easy."
Ritter muttered under his breath, suspicion heavy in his voice.
Turning his head, he watched as the nearby shadows twisted.
A moment later, Im emerged soundlessly.
"You feel it too, don't you?"
It wasn't a question.
It was a statement.
Im nodded.
"Yes."
Ritter smirked.
"Your little partners should be showing up soon."
His Observation Haki swept across the rear of the Allied fleet, his tone dripping with mockery.
Ritter had noticed it long ago.
Ever since they had approached Pilurka's capital, a separate fleet had been trailing behind them from afar.
The intention couldn't have been more obvious.
They had come to collect the rewards after everyone else did the hard work.
"They'll come out on their own to claim military glory."
"They don't need me to call them."
Im's voice echoed directly into Ritter's mind.
Ritter blinked.
That method of communication felt exactly like the first time he'd met Im.
Noticing his reaction, Im calmly explained,
"A new application of my ability."
"Speaking this way removes emotional fluctuations from my voice."
He paused.
"They're nothing more than vultures drawn to the scent of a carcass."
Then his mask shifted slightly toward another direction.
"That said..."
"There are a few individuals fighting on other battlefields who are actually worthwhile."
Ritter chuckled.
"So Lord Im is already ranking people before the war is even over?"
"You would be first-tier."
Ritter stared at him.
"You still haven't given up, huh?"
"Of course not."
Im shook his head.
"With you at my side, my rule would be exceptionally stable."
"And unlike me, you have no desire to rule the world."
Ritter grinned.
"What if I suddenly decide I do?"
Im answered without hesitation.
"Then I'd let you try for a few days."
"If you can endure it for a month, I'd be genuinely impressed."
Then he added,
"Though it would be pointless."
"Even so, I should mention it again."
"Wealth."
"Power."
"Beautiful women."
"All of it would be yours in endless quantities."
When wealth and power were mentioned, the girl didn't react at all.
But the instant Im brought up beautiful women...
She stopped eating.
Then slowly turned her head and glared at him.
Im paused.
"...Looks like that approach won't work."
Almost the moment those words left his mouth, changes appeared on the horizon behind the Allied fleet.
Bzzzzzz...
A low mechanical hum rolled across the sea.
In the distance, steel-covered warships emerged.
Ritter immediately burst out laughing.
"Little Im, your family fortune still looks pretty thin."
"Look at those guys."
"Damn."
"They've got entire steel fleets."
"If I had that kind of foundation, I wouldn't be risking my neck on the front lines."
"The winner takes everything."
On the horizon, enormous vessels appeared one after another.
Some were so massive they resembled moving islands.
Their figureheads were fierce and majestic.
Other rulers arrived mounted atop gigantic flying beasts.
The display was extravagant beyond words.
Though some fleets were surprisingly modest.
Even among kings, there were levels.
One powerful aura after another spread across the battlefield without restraint.
These presences were completely different from the Marines and royal guard units.
The Twenty Kings.
Or at least the vast majority of them.
At last, they had officially arrived.
Whatever the Celestial Dragons of later generations might become...
Decadent.
Arrogant.
Pathetic.
These rulers belonged to a different era.
They were kings who had survived an age of chaos.
How could they possibly be weak?
After all, these were the very rulers who had united to defeat Joy Boy.
Still not convincing?
Think of it another way.
The world of One Piece is a world where powerful individuals dominate battlefields.
Schemes and tricks mean very little before overwhelming strength.
Even at Marineford, the Whitebeard Pirates only truly collapsed after Whitebeard himself fell.
If even one of the Twenty Kings had been absurdly weak...
There wouldn't have been an alliance of twenty kings.
There would have been an alliance of nineteen.
None of them mingled with ordinary soldiers.
Each occupied their own section of the battlefield.
Like lions surveying their territory.
Their gazes swept over the assembled armies below and the silent royal capital beyond.
Their eyes carried judgment.
Greed.
And the calm confidence of people already anticipating victory.
"See?"
Im's emotionless voice echoed in Ritter's mind.
"Hyenas always gather when it's time to divide the prey."
Ritter grinned broadly.
Rather than feeling nervous, he looked even more excited.
"Quite the gathering."
"Good."
"The more people there are, the more fun it'll be when it's time to steal things."
In Ritter's eyes, every one of them was a walking source of life energy.
He possessed large-scale abilities capable of keeping people alive even on the brink of death.
But he would never use them here.
This was the past.
If fewer people died, he'd lose out on precious vitality.
And if some unforeseen temporal butterfly effect created another Joy Boy...
Or a Little Joy Boy...
He'd be finished.
Literally.
Anyone who played with time eventually got played by time in return.
As the true core forces of the Twenty Kings entered the battlefield, the atmosphere of the Allied army changed instantly.
The soldiers who had been anxious moments earlier suddenly felt invigorated.
Seeing the symbols of the world's greatest powers standing before them boosted morale tremendously.
Meanwhile, those previously arrogant noble representatives immediately became obedient.
Each hurried forward to greet their respective kings with utmost respect.
The army had arrived at the gates.
The final offensive seemed imminent.
Under the pressure of countless powerful presences converging from every direction, even Pilurka's silent energy barrier appeared to ripple slightly.
Yet both Ritter and Im knew the truth.
For all their grandstanding...
For all their swagger...
These people were fragile.
Every single one of them possessed enough schemes and hidden agendas to fill a library.
Im was already planning the future civil war.
Ritter was simply waiting for chaos to create opportunity.
The solution itself was simple.
Im would become the king above all kings.
As for everything after that...
Well...
That was another story.
The silence of Pilurka's capital felt less like confidence and more like a giant whirlpool waiting to swallow everyone who approached.
The storm was coming.
Then, just as the magnificent fleets of the Twenty Kings settled into position and their overwhelming pressure washed toward Pilurka's capital like a tidal wave...
The city finally responded.
Bzzzzzz...
The enormous metallic gates slowly opened.
Not fully.
Just enough to reveal four relatively narrow passageways.
The next moment, four terrifying auras erupted skyward like unsheathed blades.
They surged from behind the gates and collided head-on with the overwhelming presence of the Allied army.
Neither side gave way.
Four figures emerged from the city.
Unhurried.
Calm.
Step by step, they walked through the opened passages and came to stand before the Allied Forces.
The defenders of Pilurka had finally appeared.
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