On the northern main road leading out of the Mars Kingdom—
King Mars Louis XVII and the CP3 branch captain, along with the elite CP3 agents, stared in despair as the golden airborne warship closed in behind them.
They could not escape.
No matter how they tried to shake it, the ship only drew nearer.
"What do we do?! What do we do?! Captain Chika, think of something!!"
King Louis, panic overwhelming him, grabbed the CP3 captain by the arm, his voice trembling violently.
He could already see the tragic end awaiting him.
If he were caught by the Aralon Crew's infamous criminals—
as the king of a slave nation—
he would absolutely be made into a public offering, a symbol to be destroyed.
After all, Souta Kiryuu, the Dragon of the Wild Plains, once shouted "Liberate the Slaves!" in the Sabaody Archipelago.
And the Mars Kingdom was known throughout the world for its ancient, entrenched slavery.
As the national ruler of a slave empire,
King Louis now felt pure terror.
Before this, he had felt proud of upholding this "ancient tradition," drawing Celestial Dragons and nobles from all over the world to vacation, trade, and purchase slaves.
But now—
"We must scatter and run. Whoever escapes, escapes."
Even Captain Chika, the CP3 branch commander known for being calm and precise, was losing control.
There was no plan.
No escape strategy would work now.
In the face of absolute power—
even running was just wishful thinking.
Under the king's horrified gaze, Captain Chika yanked his arm free and barked an order:
"Scatter! Now!"
The CP3 elites immediately burst apart in all directions.
Leaving King Louis standing there, stunned and alone.
"You dogs— you dare abandon me?! You'll all die horribly!
Lord Moss Saint will destroy your whole bloodlines!!"
King Louis screamed, enraged and hysterical.
He had never once imagined that he, the ruler, would be the one abandoned.
But with the golden warship now overhead—
he could only curse while fleeing in a panic.
Aboard the Ark of the Omen
"They've split up! I'll pursue!"
Lafitte spread his wings and dove downward as soon as Viola relayed the situation.
"We'll go too!"
Perona, along with Baby 5 riding atop Buffalo, leapt off the Ark and shot down toward the fleeing agents.
"Hmph. To think you can run from me?"
The Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock, gave a commanding flick of her hand.
"Bruno. Open a door for your empress."
Bruno activated the Door-Door Fruit, opening a shimmering portal leading directly to the ground.
Hancock, Robin, Monet, and several others descended through it, weapons ready.
Hancock's pace exploded into blinding speed—
her target: the panicked King Louis.
"I already promised Lord Souta that none of you may leave here alive!"
"Fragrant Kick!"
King Louis looked back in terror—
and all he saw was a long, pale leg sweep across his vision.
"AAAH!!"
He was launched like a rag doll, slamming face-first into the dirt.
His face hardened into stone upon impact, cracks forming across his features as he blacked out instantly.
Hancock did not stop.
With Observation Haki, she locked onto the strongest CP3 presence and darted toward Captain Chika.
Seeing the Empress herself chasing him—
Chika's scalp went numb.
Cold sweat poured from his forehead.
It was over.
Their CP3 unit would end up like CP9—
annihilated by the Aralon Crew.
He considered—just for a moment—whether surrender was possible.
But a storm of pink arrows rained down before he even finished the thought.
His body froze—
hardened—
turned into stone.
Lafitte slashed one CP3 agent into dozens of bleeding cuts.
Perona's Negativity Ghosts dropped two others to their knees, sobbing in despair.
Baby 5, Robin, and Monet subdued the rest of the agents in their sectors.
The remaining CP3 were chased down by Ark personnel, one after another, until all had been captured.
The clean-up was swift.
"This is a Mythical Zoan user? So weak."
Sugar pressed the toe of her boot on King Louis's stony skull, unimpressed.
She had never seen a Mythical Zoan user go down in one kick.
"Bring him back. We'll extract the Devil Fruit later."
Robin issued the order efficiently.
They still needed to return to Bari City, the ancient capital of a thousand years—
a place overflowing with nobility and wealth.
A city of decadence second only to Mariejois and the Golden Emperor's casino empire.
The riches hoarded here rivaled 500 billion Berries.
No one intended to leave that untouched.
Not long after—
Souta Kiryuu, in his divine dragon form, returned carrying three important captives.
Bonaba.
King Louis.
And a high-ranking CP0 agent.
They were secured differently—
the Devil Fruit users isolated and heavily bound,
while the remaining CP0 and CP3 agents were restrained under standard slave transport protocols.
Most of these agents were trained in Rokushiki—
they would make excellent blood-feed slaves
to continuously generate Blood Crystal Blossoms.
Meanwhile — In Bari City
Enel had already destroyed the CP3 headquarters in fury.
He had captured numerous nobles and ministers inside the royal palace, interrogating them for the location of the king and CP0.
The capital burned.
Smoke filled the air.
Civilians ran screaming.
When Souta arrived and confirmed the targets had already been secured—
Enel froze.
His expression twisted in embarrassment.
He had… chased the wrong people.
He, a god, had fallen for a decoy.
The shame was unbearable.
Souta, however, didn't mock him.
He simply told him to go reinforce the three major ports: Shinkami, Shinten, and Ryudai Harbor.
Enel vanished in a crack of lightning,
furious and humiliated.
"Begin looting the treasury. Move all spoils to the ship."
Souta ordered, voice steady and cold.
At the Same Time — G-T3 Naval Branch
The massive Marine fortress was in ruins.
Gunfire and smoke filled the air.
Barrett stood surrounded by corpses, crushing a Marine Vice Admiral's skull in his hand.
Vice Admiral Red King—
base commander of G-T3—
had been slaughtered like a child.
"Pathetic. This is called a Vice Admiral? Only Garp is worth fighting."
Barrett tossed the corpse aside like trash.
In the shattered ruins, a terrified communications officer spoke into a transponder snail:
"Fleet Admiral! G-T3 has fallen! The demon heir Barrett has destroyed the base—Vice Admiral Red King is dead—!"
But a massive shadow fell over him.
BANG
Barrett kicked him away and seized the transponder snail.
"Sengoku, huh? I haven't forgotten. The hunt you, Garp, and your Buster Call fleet led years ago… I remember it all."
His grin stretched wide, savage and hungry.
"Wait for me. I'll pay it all back.
And this time— I'll start by killing five Vice Admirals."
A surge of Conqueror's Haki crackled through the air.
The transponder snail's eyes rolled back—
it foamed and passed out.
Communication—
destroyed.