"Whitebeard? Are you certain? Has anyone actually seen him?"
"No confirmed sighting. The warships were sunk from extreme range before they could get close. But judging from the traces left behind, it was definitely the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit."
"Hey, this is bad! G-7 Base has been swallowed by a tsunami!"
All of a sudden, another Marine rushed in to report.
This conference room, originally established for the Buster Call, was now being hit by one major incident after another.
"For unknown reasons, an unprecedented tsunami has appeared in the New World. G-7 Base was caught within its range, and we currently can't contact anyone there.
"Also, before communications were lost, Vice Admiral Leipu reported that he seemed to have seen Whitebeard's figure.
"But the truth of that information hasn't been confirmed, and no warships of the Whitebeard Pirates were seen either."
"Map!"
Tsuru immediately stood up. With her intelligence, she quickly confirmed the situation.
The news that Whitebeard had arrived beneath the Red Line below Mary Geoise was true!
Rather, there was a high probability that he had deliberately allowed himself to be discovered.
"Is he trying to force us to abandon this Buster Call?"
Tsuru instantly made a judgment, and at the same time, one name immediately came to mind.
Demon Ren!
According to known records, Demon Ren possessed ultra-long-distance mobility, as well as a flying battleship.
There were not that many coincidences in this world. Given Ren's connection with Whitebeard, the reason Whitebeard had appeared there could only be him!
"That man really is the most unstable factor!"
Tsuru slammed her fist down hard on the table.
And after the news was confirmed, Marine Headquarters instantly exploded into chaos.
No one had expected that after this Buster Call targeting the Whitebeard Pirates was launched, Whitebeard, the core target himself, would appear in the sea beneath Mary Geoise.
Rather, how had he even gotten there?
The Whitebeard Pirates were under heavy surveillance. From Whitebeard's core territory to his current location, he would have had to cross several thousand nautical miles, pass through the lines of sight of hundreds of Marine surveillance ships, and evade the observation methods of multiple Marine bases.
In theory, it should have been impossible for him to silently cross the sea.
Compared to the panic of the others, Tsuru calmly issued an order.
"Notify the Five Elders of this news!"
The moment she said that, all the Marines present froze.
"D-do we not need reinforcements?"
A Marine officer asked uncertainly.
"If Whitebeard's target is this place, then Marineford will truly sink into the sea, because there is no one here who can withstand him."
Tsuru rubbed her brow with a headache.
"But there's no need to be overly nervous either. Mary Geoise is not an empty city.
"Report this information upward. Also notify Sengoku.
"No matter what, it will be very difficult for this Buster Call to continue."
For Whitebeard to appear below the Red Line beneath Mary Geoise at this moment, there was only one possibility.
He was putting his life on the line to force the Buster Call force to disband.
Because a peak-level powerhouse who no longer feared death could not be defeated without a powerhouse of the same level leading the charge.
As for numbers, the current Marine Headquarters was no longer the Marine Headquarters of the past.
What the Marineford War had cost them was not merely justice, but the overall strength of the Marines as well!
And there was no time!
No time.
There really was no time.
By the time the Marines barely managed to react, Whitebeard had already arrived at the position he wanted.
He stood atop the sea tide and raised his head. What entered his sight was the endless, cloud-piercing rock wall of the Red Line.
Its hardness was not especially high, but its absolute volume made it something no one could shake.
However, the man about to launch an attack from here was Whitebeard—Edward Newgate, who stood at his peak, was prepared to risk his life, and possessed the destructive power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!
A white halo enveloped Whitebeard at this moment, then spread outward in every direction.
Paramecia Awakening: Assimilation!
It continued to build.
It continued to expand.
It continued to influence everything around it.
The white light representing the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit spread wildly.
But… this was not the end!
"That should be about enough."
Whitebeard said this, and in the next instant, Ren's figure appeared.
With only a light pat against the white light, the power of the More-More Fruit activated at once, amplifying this attack a hundredfold!
The already vast white light swelled explosively once again, spreading madly across the Red Line beyond the limits of vision.
That terrifying power, increased by a hundred times, was so overwhelming that even Whitebeard's face twisted from the excessive burden.
"Let the gods atop this mountain taste the suffering of the mortal world too."
Ren withdrew his hand, and his figure transformed into light to evade.
At this moment, Edward Newgate stared at the towering rock wall that rose straight into the clouds and grinned ferociously as he released all restraints, completely erupting with this destructive power!
Let the Red Line tremble.
Let the heavenly chasm that mortals could never cross be shaken.
Let the gods atop the mountain—feel fear!
Crack—!
White light stretched for countless miles, wandering wildly like a mirror on the verge of shattering as it covered the visible Red Line and the unseen rock walls beyond.
Then came the tremors.
Seemingly endless tremors!
At the instant of eruption, it tore apart more than a hundred kilometers of rock wall. Yet this was only the beginning of the quake's destruction!
Spiderweb-like cracks rapidly appeared, each one several kilometers wide. The moment they emerged, they spread upward at shocking speed.
Destruction.
Utter destruction.
Everything was torn apart, crushed, and collapsed within the tremors!
The earthquake triggered by the great vibration spread rapidly. The transmitted quake force resonated and amplified, continuously expanding the area it affected.
Until it formed an earthquake that shook this section of the Red Line.
The Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
Inside a magnificent palace.
"Damn those Marines! If they can't safely bring my daughter back, I'll make them pay!"
Saint Rosward vented his rage, firing shot after shot into the beautiful woman before him, who was already riddled with bullet holes.
She was an unparalleled beauty he had only just purchased. In the outside world, she would have been considered a treasure.
Yet before a Celestial Dragon, she was nothing more than a toy to vent anger on.
Once his fury had slightly subsided, he cursed under his breath.
"Couldn't Lord Saturn bring my Saint Shalria back first?
"We are noble World Nobles. Everything should prioritize us… Damn it, how dare those commoners lay hands on us?
"If I find those bastards, I'll make them beg for death!"
He casually tossed the flintlock pistol aside. Feeling irritated and restless, Saint Rosward walked toward the outside of the palace, preparing to find some amusement to calm himself down.
Yet in the next instant, he fell directly to the ground.
"Bastard! Who cleaned today's—"
Before he could finish his furious curse, Saint Rosward froze, because a violent tremor had abruptly appeared.
The entire palace—
No, the entirety of Mary Geoise was shaking!
An earthquake they had never experienced before attacked this nation of gods at this moment.
The earth shook as if an earth dragon were turning over beneath it. The ground rose, sank, and tore open countless dense cracks.
Those magnificent buildings toppled like toy blocks. The streets were filled with panicked and dazed Celestial Dragons. Chaos instantly descended upon this place.
The World Nobles, revered by the world as gods, behaved no differently from ordinary people at this moment.
The CP agents, on the other hand, reacted swiftly, protecting the Celestial Dragons in time.
But the earthquake did not quickly stop. Instead, wave after wave continued to strike.
"The Tremor-Tremor Fruit. Whitebeard… What a reckless pirate."
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro was the first to react.
"We had not even gone to trouble him yet, and he has already come to attack Mary Geoise first?"
"It seems the Marines need to be reorganized."
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter's face was dark and sinister as he looked toward Saint Marcus Mars at the side.
"You go first. We must stop him from continuing his attack. If Lord Imu is awakened, all of us will be sinners!"
"Understood."
Saint Marcus Mars stepped forward and walked out of the palace. Then his entire body instantly began to transform.
First came a bird head resembling a parrot. Then came a pair of enormous black-and-red wings, sharp and thick bird talons like blades, and a long serpent body for his lower half.
A black smoke-cloud ribbon coiled around his wings, proof of an awakened Zoan-Type Devil Fruit user.
This enormous and ferocious bird rose into the air in the next moment, flying straight toward the location the Marines had just reported.
The other Five Elders did not grow impatient, because as long as one of them arrived, it was equivalent to all five of them arriving.
Even as Saint Mars continuously pulled farther away from them, it still did not affect their mental communication.
"What a pity. We failed to collect the Calm-Calm Fruit, which can restrain the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. Otherwise, we could have brought it out to counter that audacious Whitebeard."
Saint Ju Peter frowned.
"I said long ago that valuable Devil Fruits should be collected.
"When they drift outside, all sorts of accidents happen. If they form a Devil Fruit user army like that kingdom did, it will become another source of trouble.
"Even now, Uranus still has not found a suitable energy source to activate it. We can no longer make the sea rise.
"And we have no way to recreate what we did back then, completely burying that kingdom beneath the sea."
"The reincarnation mechanism of Devil Fruits has still not been cracked, and the fruits themselves possess wills of their own.
"Just like that Rubber Fruit. For eight hundred years, we have never truly obtained it.
"The closest we came was also ruined because of Red Hair's interference…"
Saint Topman Warcury shook his head, then continued, "If we had known he would stand on the side of outsiders, we should have pursued the matter to the end and purged him back then.
"That incomparably sinful fruit really would be safest sealed inside Pangaea Castle."
"There is no meaning in arguing now. First, resolve Whitebeard."
Saint Nusjuro interrupted them. At the same time, he tightened his grip around the sword at his waist—Shodai Kitetsu.
Through their shared thoughts—
Saturn and Red Hair were still locked in fierce battle.
Sengoku was entangled with Beckman.
The Marine officers were facing off against Ace and the others.
They had not gained any advantage on that front.
Saint Mars rapidly approached Whitebeard's location. During this time, the earthquake grew more and more violent. They could sense that Mary Geoise seemed to be showing faint signs of sinking.
It was extremely subtle. Without sufficiently powerful Observation Haki, it would be impossible to detect.
But the appearance of this sign represented one thing.
The monster beneath the Red Line truly had caused geological influence on that incomparably massive continent!
"This is the most important place in our plan. We cannot allow Whitebeard to continue!"
Shodai Kitetsu was drawn from its sheath. Saint Nusjuro's narrowed eyes were filled with killing intent.
(End of Chapter)