A full-throated roar of fury suddenly tore across the battlefield.
"Nani?!"
Because of the Seastone bullet lodged in his shoulder, his body was already weakening. Drenched in cold sweat, Sakazuki turned toward the voice with an unpleasant expression—
That figure standing on the warship, eyes bloodshot, shouting with every ounce of strength.
CP, huh…
He had seen this guy before—a cowardly official of the World Government. Yet now, that same man had dared to risk his life to rush into a battlefield involving Black Gun...
There was no mistaking it. This was a signal.
"What kind of sick joke is this?! So many of our Marines have fallen here—how can we back down now?!"
Sakazuki instantly erupted in rage. The magma that had just begun to die down suddenly surged again, unleashing a terrifying wave of heat.
With sheer force of will, he dug out the bullet embedded in his left shoulder—flesh and blood torn apart in the process.
Under the epaulet of his Marine cape—the symbol of his rank—a bright red mess soaked through.
It was impossible to tell whether it was magma or blood.
...
On the other side,
Floating in the sky, Orin watched the scene unfold without the slightest surprise. After all, he had seen it coming a minute ago.
And through his Observation Haki, it was easy to sense what Spandine was clutching in his trembling hand—
A Den Den Mushi with a grim expression.
Faced with CP's sudden interference, Sakazuki clearly had no intention of giving face—even if Spandine was the nominal commander of this operation.
"I'm merely executing the Buster Call..."
"How much longer do you plan to throw this tantrum, Sakazuki!!!"
The voice of fury came not from Spandine himself but from the Den Den Mushi he held. The tone and presence were unmistakably from someone in authority.
The moment the voice sounded, every CP agent on the warship—including Spandine—dropped to one knee.
Spandine raised the Den Den Mushi high above his head.
And from that Den Den Mushi appeared the unmistakable face of one of the World Government's highest authorities—the Elders—
Saint Topman Warcury!!!
"That fast..."
"How can it be..."
The boiling magma across Sakazuki's body slowly settled down. Even with a volcano of fury and humiliation inside him, he couldn't show any of it outwardly.
Yet his clenched jaw and the shadow cast by his cap made it clear he was ready to erupt.
"In the end, this mess was caused by your Marines' incompetence. What right do you have to arrogantly demand that this war continue?!"
At this very moment in Mary Geoise—
At the heart of power—
A solemn atmosphere had thickened to the point of suffocation.
Saint Warcury's eyes were cold, his face streaked with dark lines as he fiercely berated the Marines' senseless behavior.
So reckless—was the World Government even in their eyes anymore?
What if the Celestial Dragons had appeared in Ohara? Would the Marines have used the Buster Call as an excuse to eliminate the so-called rulers of the world too?
Of course—
That wasn't even what had the Elders truly enraged.
If the Marines truly had the strength to defeat Black Gun Orin and complete the "demon purge" atop Ohara,
Not only would the Elders not scold them—they would've gladly promoted Sakazuki and Kuzan to Admirals, using the achievement as their springboard.
But the problem was...
The five men representing the highest power in the world passed among themselves the latest battlefield intel from the CP agents.
And the more they read, the darker their faces became.
The entire situation could be summed up with just a few words:
Crushed. Helpless. Defeated...
With Kuzan severely wounded and unconscious, Sakazuki had also been shot and was completely unable to counterattack. Yet he still wanted to continue the fight to the death!
Was this idiot Sakazuki trying to destroy the World Government?!
Hearing the Elders' scolding,
And thinking back to the suicidal resolve he had just felt—the desire to keep fighting no matter what—
The blood vessels in Sakazuki's eyes, hidden beneath the shadow of his cap, looked ready to burst.
He scanned the battlefield: masses of fallen rank-and-file Marines, gravely injured comrades, and then the completely unharmed CP agents...
And above them all, the Elders—issuing commands from on high.
After a long silence, reason finally prevailed.
The general, who had been prepared to fight to the death, now stood in silence—
That alone was answer enough.
...
"Let's skip the formalities, shall we, Elder—Saint Warcury?"
No one knew when exactly he had appeared,
But a tall figure was now standing on the warship's deck.
Facing the kneeling CP agents, he stood boldly before them,
Scarlet light gleamed from his eyes as he stared directly at the Den Den Mushi.
A man as clever as him could easily see through it—this public scolding of Sakazuki by the Elders was just their way of finding an off-ramp.
Or rather—
Preserving the last bit of diplomatic veneer between the two sides.
If Orin had been the one at a disadvantage here, then the call would not have been about peace—it would've been the announcement of a public execution.
The arrest and public execution of the world-renowned "Next Generation King" by the World Government—
That would surely inject a powerful sedative into this chaotic era, no?
"Orin..."
Seeing the Den Den Mushi's red-glowing eyes slowly open, the Elders glanced at each other with weary expressions.
"Why—after all these years out of sight—have you appeared now? And why in Ohara, just as the Buster Call was launched by the World Government?!"
Exhausted or not, when facing Orin directly, the Elders knew how to negotiate. Their tone was firm and postured.
That earlier scolding of Sakazuki had been to give Orin face—a gesture of goodwill.
But now that they were actually speaking, the Elders had no intention of backing down.
"Why, you ask..."
Orin scratched his chin and glanced up at the sky.
"Of course it was for a bit of sightseeing. After all, once the Buster Call hits, this view will be gone for good."
Then, as if something had suddenly occurred to him, he feigned surprise and said:
"Don't tell me… you all thought I was investigating the Twenty Nations and—"
"ORIN!!!"
The Elders roared in unison, cutting off the earth-shattering words he was about to utter. Their faces were now shadowed and drenched in cold sweat.
He didn't need to investigate anything—he already knew everything.
This wicked bastard!
The CP agents around him were equally terrified.
It felt like they'd almost stumbled upon some ancient secret!
If it had been anyone else learning about such forbidden knowledge, the Elders would've already sent a Buster Call to erase them.
But this was Orin.
He never gave them a moment's peace…
Clearly, it was time to raise the priority level of the kill order on Orin by several tiers.
At the very least—
It had to be higher than the Buster Call.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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