Two Days Later.
For the Mars Kingdom, these two days were filled with cries and mourning.
For the Ark Testament, these two days were filled with wild indulgence.
The proud and breathtaking Pirate Empress—
The obedient maid—
The cold and thrilling snow-woman—
The pink-haired little Perona—
The devoted and elegant Violet—
Even Nico Robin, the calm and composed keeper of information…
None escaped Souta Kiryuu's relentless passion.
"Lord Souta… did it really succeed?"
The Pirate Empress leaned against him, her voice full of anticipation.
Her heart was already overflowing with dreams and imagined futures.
Souta Kiryuu smiled in total satisfaction.
"We trust in fate."
It seemed his Divine Dragon bloodline truly was evolving.
He was becoming more and more like a legendary dragon in every sense.
Feeling that his main forces were returning to the capital, Souta ended the two days of reckless luxury.
As the airborne warships returned, holds full to the brim, Souta gave the order—
A grand feast was held across the capital city.
Everyone's spirits were high—
Except for Enel, who seemed annoyed for reasons no one bothered to ask about.
Even Barrett participated in the feast.
That night, under the cover of darkness, the airborne fleet of the Dragonfang Pirates departed from the Mars Kingdom—
slipping away from the eyes of all spies and informants.
The once ancient kingdom was left in ruins.
Freed slaves seized ships and fled out to sea in great waves.
Revolutionaries and underworld forces descended upon the chaos, seizing resources and wealth left behind—
drinking the broth after the Dragonfang Pirates had eaten the meat.
The Revolutionary Army in particular took advantage of the collapse to recruit many freed slaves who possessed useful strength, swelling their numbers.
The destruction of the Mars Kingdom spread rapidly across the world, amplified by the World Government.
To ordinary people, the Dragonfang Pirates had become a nightmare.
But Morgans, the so-called "Big News" king, reported a very different story—
that the Dragonfang Pirates liberated countless slaves and executed tyrannical nobles.
Barto, Eldrago, Burgess, Doc Q, Van Augur, and many of the newer members all received brand-new bounty posters.
Even many former Impel Down prisoners received updated bounties.
After the Holy Land incident, the Dressrosa incident, and now the Mars Kingdom incident—
the entire Dragonfang Pirates roster had obtained shockingly high bounties.
Especially the legends:
Red Earl, Ledfield
Devil's Heir, Barrett
Tyrant, Kuma
Each now held bounties exceeding 3 billion berries, approaching the level of the Four Emperors.
The combined bounty total of the Dragonfang Pirates now reached hundreds of billions—
surpassing the combined total of all Four Emperor crews.
Souta Kiryuu's personal bounty remained unchanged—
But at 8.8 billion berries, he alone was equal to two Emperors combined.
And with the addition of Red Earl, Barrett, and Kuma—
just those four alone surpassed all Four Emperors.
The Pirate Empress, Shiryu of the Rain, the Thunder God Enel, Moonlight Moria, Crocodile, and the elite ex-Impel Down fighters all possessed bounties now comparable to the Calamities and Sweet Commanders.
Meanwhile, the new blood of the crew—Law, Bonney, Bege, Barto and others—were rising at terrifying speed, on par with Flying Six-level elites and Whitebeard's division commanders.
The airborne fleet did not cease celebrating during travel.
They feasted day after day, as the fleet sailed toward the G-5 Marine Fortress in the front regions of the New World—
Souta's strategy was simple:
Move unpredictably.
Make the World Government unable to follow his intentions.
Meanwhile, the World Government had already mobilized toward the Adams Kingdom, preparing to ambush the Dragonfang Pirates.
The destruction of Mars Kingdom had been a painful blow.
Even Saint Marcus Mars himself felt sick with rage.
Mars Kingdom was the private treasury of the Marcus lineage—
a nation exempt from paying the Celestial Tribute.
Half of their wealth came directly from Mars Kingdom.
And now—
Hundreds of billions of berries had been taken right before tribute season.
"Souta Kiryuu!!! I will kill you with my own hands!!"
Marcus didn't even return to the Holy Land—he rushed straight to Adams Kingdom in hopes of springing the trap.
A fleet led by Aokiji, Green Bull, and Garp was also moving toward Mars and Adams Kingdom.
Mars Kingdom had collapsed into lawless chaos.
The Navy was forced to divide their fleets to suppress the region.
In Mary Geoise, the Four Elder Stars stood ready, prepared to teleport powerful figures like Isaac, Steel Bone Kong, and Black Horse Tenze to Adams Kingdom through Marcus's magic circle.
If the Dragonfang Pirates appeared—
they would crush them completely, even if it cost them everything.
At Marineford, Vice Admiral Tsuru successfully contacted Red-Haired Shanks, seeking alliance against Souta Kiryuu.
The Dragonfang Pirates had grown too powerful—
threatening the balance of the New World.
Shanks traveled to Elbaf, hoping to gain giant support.
But—
Dorry and Brogy, recently returned from their duel journey, along with Kashi and Oimo, refused.
They were friends of the Dragonfang Pirates.
They would not raise weapons against them.
Souta's battles against the World Government aligned with giant warrior pride.
How could they oppose him?
Not even Shanks' face and reputation could move them.
While the entire world debated whether the Dragonfang Pirates would strike Adams Kingdom or Pritzker Kingdom—
A different news shockwave erupted.
"G-5 Marine Base Commander, Vice Admiral Vergo, has been revealed as the top officer of the Donquixote Family's Red Heart Army!"
"Is this Doflamingo's brilliance—or the Navy's incompetence?"
As the morning papers spread worldwide—
Souta Kiryuu authorized a live broadcast of the assault on G-5 Base.
At 10 AM, the broadcast began.
Smoke and fire filled the screens.
The Dragonfang Pirates had already taken the fortress.
Which meant—
Morgans had been informed a full day in advance.
"Gahahaha!! Ladies and gentlemen! Good morning!!"
"Old friends and rivals—were you waiting to see which kingdom the Dragonfang Pirates would strike?"
"Well—you guessed wrong!"
"Souta Kiryuu has returned to the front regions of the New World!
Surprised? Shocked?"
The top ranks of the World Government and Marine Headquarters fell into dead silence.
Souta Kiryuu had bypassed their ambush entirely.
They were now waiting in Adams Kingdom—
For no one.
And the revelation of an elite Marine commander being a pirate spy—
Was a humiliation beyond words.
The Five Elder Stars and Sengoku clenched their fists.
The blow to their authority was unbearable.
...
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