In the deepest part of Mary Geoise, there was a mysterious residence known as the Room of Flowers.
This was where the Empty Throne was kept, and it was also the residence of Imu, the true sovereign revered by the Five Elders.
At this moment, the Five Elders knelt neatly on the ground, praying for Imu's arrival.
Before long, a phantom-like figure flickered once and silently appeared before the Empty Throne.
Judging by the silhouette alone, it was impossible to see any physical features. Whether this person was male or female could not be distinguished at all.
After looking at the Five Elders for a few moments, Imu sat down on the Empty Throne as if it were only natural.
"What is it?"
Just that single indifferent sentence made the Five Elders kneeling below tremble.
The bald Elder gathered his courage and recounted the recent events to Imu.
"Heh. Is this how you governed the World Government while I was away?"
With one sentence from Imu, the Five Elders were so frightened that they pressed their heads against the cold floor and did not dare speak.
Only after a long while did Imu speak again in a calm voice.
"Marine Fleet Admiral Raleigh is not the lamp from the prophecy. Joy Boy's reincarnation would not have such a personality."
"There is no need to pay attention to him. I will soon fully grasp my power. When that time comes, the world will be cleansed once again."
After hearing Imu's words, the Five Elders finally calmed down inwardly.
Although the Marines' strength was now terrifyingly great, they firmly believed in their hearts that before Imu, the Marines would never be able to stir up any waves.
Since the Marines were not that lamp, it meant their current strength was only temporary.
"As for that so-called Revolutionary Army, although it is not the lamp, its existence is an important candle on the lamp's path of growth. Find it. Extinguish it."
After leaving those words behind, Imu's body suddenly vanished from the Empty Throne.
Only half an hour later did the Five Elders slowly raise their heads.
"Lord Imu has already given an order. Then we will leave the Marines aside for now. No force can possibly succeed before Uranus. What we need to deal with is the Revolutionary Army."
The Five Elders' hearts were filled with determination.
Dealing with the Marines would not be easy with the World Government's current strength.
If they truly fought, the Marines and World Government might only exhaust each other, and no one could guarantee complete victory.
If the Revolutionary Army or that lamp managed to seize the opportunity while they were fighting the Marines, Lord Imu would certainly bring divine punishment down upon the Five Elders.
The Revolutionary Army, however, was different.
After Dragon and the other high-ranking Revolutionary Army officers disappeared, the Revolutionary Army's forces in the Four Blues had been swept clean.
Although the kings of those member nations and the wealth within their countries had also disappeared, the Five Elders did not care about such minor details.
In any case, once Imu succeeded, those kings of the member nations would also have to be purged.
Because this world could only have one king.
"Activate all intelligence personnel. Have the God's Knights prepare. The moment there is news of the Revolutionary Army, immediately dispatch the God's Knights to hunt them down with full force."
At this moment, the Revolutionary Army being watched by both the World Government and the Marines had already nearly reached the end of the Calm Belt.
They were now gathered on an uninhabited island, making their final preparations.
...
On the island, Dragon sat alone on the mountaintop, staring at the distant sea in deep thought.
Sabo, having finished handling everything, also came to Dragon's side.
"Leader, everything has been arranged." Sabo spoke.
Hearing Sabo's voice, Dragon slowly raised his head and looked back at him.
Then he said, "Sabo, come sit beside me."
Sabo sat down beside Dragon with an innocent expression.
"Leader, why can't we charge straight out of the Calm Belt in one breath, attack Mary Geoise directly, and liberate the whole world?"
Dragon burst into loud laughter.
His bold laughter carried far into the distance.
Sitting on the ground, Dragon pointed toward the Revolutionary Army soldiers on the beach who were moving supplies.
"This is the final stretch of the Calm Belt. We only need two hours to cross it."
Then Dragon changed the direction of his words.
"Inside the Calm Belt, what we face are only Sea Kings and various creatures. But before the technology of our new ships, Sea Kings will not become an obstacle to us."
"However, once we rush out of the Calm Belt, the situation will be completely different."
"Countless people hope for our deaths. The World Government, the kings of the member nations, all kinds of nobles, and the government's dogs. We must break through all of their defensive lines before we can climb to the summit of Mary Geoise."
"And the prerequisite for accomplishing this seemingly impossible task is that our soldiers must be able to grip the weapons in their hands."
Before this, the Calm Belt was a place that frightened everyone who heard of it.
Aside from the Fish-Men and the snake women of Amazon Lily, most races could not sail through the Calm Belt.
Because of that, this place could be considered the safest location.
Only a place like this could allow a force like the Revolutionary Army to rest and reorganize for a few days.
"The soldiers have already rested for three days. Everyone hopes we can set out as soon as possible."
Sabo speak.
Dragon frown.
That was true. They had already rested for three days.
The world had already waited for them for too long.
Dragon suddenly stood and faced the sea.
"Sabo, tell the soldiers we set out at noon!"
"This world needs a voice, a voice from the Revolutionary Army!"
Sabo said happily, "Yes, Leader. I will notify everyone right away."
After Sabo left, Dragon faced the sea and muttered silently.
"Raleigh, I will not lose to you. I will prove that my path is the correct one."
...
Mary Geoise.
After leaving the Room of Flowers, the Five Elders immediately arranged for intelligence personnel to set out across the world and search for traces of the Revolutionary Army.
At the same time, the curly-haired Elder arranged for Cipher Pol members to bring the map of the Grand Line into the mansion for review.
When the CP members brought the map, already marked with the distribution of forces, into the mansion, the Five Elders finally gained a clear understanding of the four major powers.
Originally, on this map, the Four Blues should have been occupied by the Revolutionary Army, the Marines should have occupied the Grand Line, the pirates should have occupied the New World, and the World Government's member nations should have been distributed everywhere.
But the current situation was different from what they had always understood.
A large number of member nations had been destroyed by the Revolutionary Army, while the Revolutionary Army had then been suppressed by the Marines.
On top of that, in the New World, Charlotte Linlin and Kaido of the Beasts had died at the hands of the Marines, and their territories had been taken over by the Marines as well.
As a result, the map was now covered everywhere with symbols representing Marine power.
They had originally thought the Marines were merely a force without the ability to sustain themselves.
But the current distribution map clearly told the Five Elders that the Marines absolutely possessed the ability to be self-sufficient.
Now, most of the entire New World had already been occupied by the Marines, while Red-Hair's territory was also surrounded layer by layer by Marine forces.
Even if Red-Hair gathered the remaining pirates, it would be useless.
Because among the pirates, the only top-tier powerhouse left was Red-Hair himself.
"Red-Hair will not last much longer."
That was the first thought to appear in the Five Elders' minds.
It was like a chessboard being played across the entire world.
And the Marines and the World Government were the chess players.
The World Government had sincerely hoped to use the pirates to drag down the Marines' supplies, causing this enormous force to collapse without battle.
That was why they had cut off the Marines' supplies, then sent people to deliver the New World sea charts and the Marines' defensive deployment maps to Red-Haired Shanks.
But now things were different.
The Marines' goal had already been achieved, while the Five Elders' goal could no longer see even a trace of hope.
The Revolutionary Army's appearance had prevented the World Government from freeing its hands to deal with the Marines, and the Revolutionary Army's declaration of war against the World Government had ignited global public opinion, successfully causing the Five Elders to overlook the Marines' movements.
Now, Red-Haired Shanks was like a fish already lying on a chopping board, only waiting for the Marines to swing down the butcher's knife and turn him into a delicious meal.
"It is over."
That was the first conclusion in the Five Elders' minds.
The reason they had indulged the Marines was, first, because they had been confident they could completely control them, and second, because of the World Government's hatred toward the Revolutionary Army.
It was precisely because of this that Raleigh, who raised the banner of striking down the Revolutionary Army, had successfully forced Sengoku to step down.
Yet all of this had clearly happened under their guidance.
After all, if the Five Elders had not nodded, Raleigh's position as Fleet Admiral would never have had proper legitimacy.
But reality had turned out exactly like this.
The tiger they had fed with their own hands had begun to devour its master.
When the Revolutionary Army left its bases in the Four Blues, the Marines moved swiftly, taking over a large number of kingdoms captured by the Revolutionary Army before the World Government could react.
The nobles in these kingdoms had already been slaughtered by the Revolutionary Army.
Those left behind were mostly obedient farmers.
They did not care who became their master.
They only needed the master above them to be a little kinder and allow them to eat their fill.
"These kingdoms in the Four Blues have probably already become the Marines' production bases."
The cursed-blade Elder pushed up his glasses as he spoke.
All their plans had officially failed.
No one knew what kind of might the Marines, no longer burdened by logistical pressure, would unleash.
They definitely could not count on the pirates. No matter how much the Five Elders helped Red-Haired Shanks, this remained a dead end.
In the coming period, the World Government would probably have to face attacks from both the Revolutionary Army and the Marines.
The Five Elders were not worried about the Revolutionary Army.
A few thousand elites, even if they suddenly appeared at Marineford, would not frighten them at all.
But the Marines were different.
The Marines had far too many top-tier fighters.
Christian Raleigh, Sakazuki, Borsalino, Enel, Bullett, Momonga, and others.
And that was only a portion of them.
Including the elite Vice Admirals currently being cultivated by the Marines and the powerful fighters recruited through the worldwide draft, the Marines had at least more than ten Admiral-level and elite Vice Admiral-level fighters.
Beyond that, the Five Elders still did not know what Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, and the others were thinking.
If they were counted as well, then the only force in the open that could still wrestle with the Marines was the World Government.
"We cannot keep waiting."
"The Marines must be made to move."
"Contact the hidden pieces inside the Marines. At the same time, do everything possible to turn those powerful fighters, including Sengoku, Garp, and the two newly recruited Admirals. Let them name any conditions they want, even if it is the position of Fleet Admiral."
The Five Elders also felt great pain.
After all, many of their hidden pieces within the Marines had already been removed from the center of power.
As for the hidden pieces who could still remain near the center of power, every single one was an absolute secret.
Even the Five Elders could not individually view their information. The files could only be opened when all five were gathered.
Originally, the Five Elders had planned to drag the Marines down and then support one of their own people to take the position of Fleet Admiral.
But now, it seemed there was no time at all.
It was not only the pirates who could not wait. The World Government could not wait either.
"The level of those people is very high. If we activate all of them, we must obtain Lord Imu's approval."
The curly-haired Elder sighed.
"There is no other way. We can only begin from here!"
"Otherwise, there will be no time!"
"If not for that damned Raleigh, the world would not be like this!"
The Five Elders had even considered directly requesting Imu to act and use Uranus to bombard New Marineford.
But the price of doing so was far too great.
So great that even the World Government was unwilling to pay it.
After all, what they hoped for was only to kill Raleigh and his trusted followers, then reclaim the Marines' power.
...
At the edge of the Calm Belt, a large number of Revolutionary Army warships had gathered here.
After three months, the Revolutionary Army was finally about to appear before the world once again.
Dragon had already simulated the situation many times in his mind.
There were only two routes to attack Mary Geoise.
One was to pass through the Calm Belt between the East Blue and South Blue, enter Paradise in the first half of the Grand Line, then attack the Red Line from Sabaody Archipelago.
The other was to pass through the Calm Belt between the West Blue and North Blue, enter the New World, then land at Vecchio Port near New Marineford and attack Mary Geoise from there.
But that was certainly impossible.
Even if the Revolutionary Army caught everyone by surprise, they could not possibly attack Mary Geoise from around Marine Headquarters.
Therefore, the Revolutionary Army had chosen the route through the East Blue and South Blue.
At this moment, on the central flagship, Dragon sat alone inside his office.
As the great battle approached, his thoughts were not focused on what he should do.
Instead, he thought back to the process of his journey and the founding of the Revolutionary Army.
Only, throughout this stage, he had lost too much.
Of the comrades who had first founded the Revolutionary Army with him, fewer than half were still alive today.
Even the elite troops he had brought out from the North Blue, mainly formed from two groups of miners, now numbered fewer than ten thousand.
Most Revolutionary Army soldiers had died on the road to liberating kingdoms.
Having reached this point, Dragon could be said to have made an extremely dangerous move.
If he succeeded, he would accomplish his goal of liberating the entire world.
If he failed, then the Revolutionary Army would completely disappear from people's eyes, without even leaving behind an inheritance.
Because Sabo was here as well.
Both generations of successors of the Revolutionary Army would participate in this war.
"There was still too little time." Dragon sighed.
Although the Revolutionary Army had developed extremely quickly, its foundation was still far inferior to the Marines.
If they wanted victory, the Revolutionary Army had no other choice.
They could only stake their lives on the one remaining path.