The moment news of Kraken's King defeat spread across the battlefield, the morale of the Kraken Kingdom's army collapsed. Moments earlier they had carried themselves with regal pride. Now their spirits plunged into confusion and dread.
Once the initial shock passed, several high-ranking officers exchanged charged looks. With the Jones, and Levinsky royal family wiped out, the suffocating control that kept them in check had vanished. They commanded soldiers, they commanded weapons, and to them, that meant they commanded the nation. Who could challenge them?
Their only real threats were the other officers whose ambitions matched their own.
For generations, the Kraken Kingdom's philosophy had been simple. Control the army and you controlled the world. Everything else was secondary.
Then chaos thundered through their ranks.
Under the eyes of thousands, former comrades suddenly turned their weapons on one another. Screams tore through the rain. Officers toppled to the ground before they could even understand what was happening.
One after another, commanders fell. Anyone loyal to the Kraken Kingdom's original leadership or anyone who posed even the slightest future threat to the Tirisfal Kingdom was quietly eliminated.
These were the hidden agents the Tirisfal Kingdom had embedded inside the Kraken Kingdom's military. Some had waited years for this moment. Others were shadow operatives acting the instant Teach brought down King Jones.
The entire army froze as the slaughter unfolded. Commanders cut down other commanders. Masked assassins in black appeared from the shadows, slipping through the ranks to finish targets with silent precision. The soldiers quickly understood. This was a coordinated purge, and the Tirisfal Kingdom had orchestrated it.
Even so, none of the soldiers dared to intervene. Their minds were muddled, their confidence shaken, and without leaders to rally behind, there was not a spark of fighting spirit left. With their officers murdering each other and assassins prowling openly, their war strategy was disintegrating before their eyes.
A leaderless army could not win a war, especially not against a nation as powerful as the Tirisfal Kingdom. Defeat was guaranteed.
Among the grand seating area, a nobleman in military dress trembled violently. Corpses dropped around him like falling timber, blood pooling on the earth. The few who tried resisting only died faster. In moments, most of the high-ranking officers lay dead, while the survivors stood in quiet alliance with the masked assassins.
Shelley, a young junior officer, crouched low among the shadows. He had slipped under notice so far, likely because his position was minor. This spared him, but also filled him with dread.
Why was this happening now? He had dreamed of this moment for years. With the ability he had acquired and the influence of his noble family, he believed he was destined to rise. Today was supposed to be the beginning of his ascent. He would stand out in war, earn praise, accumulate achievements, and become a rising star.
But the war had barely started, and now everything was spiraling apart.
Lower-ranking officers began shouting, attempting to stand for their fallen patrons. They were cut down instantly, their bodies falling across mud and stone. Even those hiding were rooted out by Tirisfal agents who had long gathered intelligence on the Kraken Kingdom's officer corps.
Shelley recognized some of the victims. They were supporters of the very commanders he relied on. War fanatics loyal to the Kraken Kingdom and enemies of Tirisfal. Their influence had once shielded him.
Shelley himself was the first member of his noble house to infiltrate the military. He had acquired his Devil Fruit ability at the king's personal cost, meant to elevate his family's power. He was their trump card.
But under the threat of death, ambition dried up with terrifying speed. He dared not move. Even if those dying were his allies, even if they were men who had paved the road for him, he could not risk standing. Exposing himself now meant certain death.
He clung to one hope. His identity was hidden. Very few knew he had the Passion Passion Fruit. As long as he stayed silent in the shadow of the massacre, he might survive.
A thin whistle cut the air.
A blade of wind sliced straight through his chest.
His mind blanked. Blood spilled from his throat as he staggered. His eyes widened in disbelief.
"Ho… how…"
"Do you really not understand?" a voice murmured casually beside him. Shelley spun, desperate to spot the speaker, but the soldiers around him recoiled in horror, scattering away as if he were cursed. The voice was close, yet invisible.
He recognized it instantly. The sensation of suffocating cold crawling down his spine confirmed it.
His heartbeat thundered.
"No…" he whispered.
"Too late. You will not be turning the tide today," the voice replied, calm and final.
Shelley tried to speak, tried to beg, tried anything, but a crushing grip seized his throat. He wheezed soundlessly, unable to draw breath. A second invisible air blade pierced his heart cleanly. He collapsed with a dull thud, eyes still locked open in disbelief.
Mainz stood unseen above the crowd, having arrived directly from the royal city. After watching the live broadcast, he used Redyat's ability to track down the elusive Passion Passion Fruit user. The Tirisfal intelligence network confirmed the details. Only now, when the identification was guaranteed, did Mainz eliminate him.
A Devil Fruit user could shift the tide of war with a few words or movements. Even with the Kraken Kingdom's leadership wiped out, leaving Shelley alive was too great a risk. One speech, one morale boost, one flicker of hope could spark a suicidal charge that would bleed the Tirisfal army dry and ruin years of planning.
Now that Shelley was dead, the Tirisfal Kingdom's senior leadership finally allowed themselves to relax. Their plan to reclaim the Kraken Kingdom was complete. Nothing could interfere. Even the World Government would be unable to intervene in time. Too much was already set in stone.
The Tirisfal Kingdom had even cut off all signals leaving Kanosfa Island. Any information transmitted earlier by reporters had been limited. Once the war began, nothing left the island. The journalists understood this and focused on recording everything, waiting for the blockade to lift so they could publish the most explosive report of the year.
The entire world would soon hear the story. The Nightfall Pirates had invaded a kingdom and toppled its royal family. Teach's battle with King Jones had showcased his terrifying power. Reporters speculated wildly, imagining the Nightfall Pirates rising through the New World.
Teach lifted a hand. Darkness swirled around Jones's limp body, pulling it into the abyss within his power. Then he spread his arms wide and called out with infectious joy.
"Brothers, the war is over. Time to claim our spoils!"
The Nightfall Pirates erupted in cheers.
"Woo!" "Yeah!"
A kingdom's royal palace, with centuries of wealth, lay ripe for plunder. The thought alone made their eyes gleam like gleaming coins.
Teach grinned at Nelson. "Take them to the treasury."
Nelson gave an exaggerated sigh but smiled anyway. "Fine, fine. But I am not leaving a single Berry behind. We empty everything."
The moment he said it, the crew grew even louder, some nearly jumping in place.
"Boss Nelson, hurry!"
"We are finally going to be rich!"
"Let's sweep the entire palace!"
Nelson waved them forward, leading the charge toward the surviving palace structures. After Teach demolished most of the complex, only a handful of buildings remained intact, including the treasury. Teach could feel treasure radiating from several of them.
And that was only the visible portion. Many more treasures had been swallowed when Teach used his darkness to consume the palace. All of it was buried beneath the ruins.
Far from the palace, at the Kraken Kingdom's front-line camp, the earth began to tremble. Pebbles jumped with each shudder.
"Earthquake?" someone muttered.
A veteran's face drained of color. His instincts screamed danger. He shot to his feet.
"No. A massive army is approaching. It is the Tirisfal Kingdom."
Panic swept the camp. Exhausted soldiers looked toward their remaining officers for hope. Those officers, however, wore cold expressions tinged with anticipation. They knew the truth. The Kraken Kingdom was finished. The royal palace had fallen, the king was dead, and their army had been gutted from the inside.
What resistance could possibly remain?
In the distance, dust rose like a storm cloud. Thousands marched with unstoppable force. A suffocating aura washed over the battlefield, pressing down on every survivor.
As the soldiers stared in fear, someone pointed upward with a shaking hand.
Floating in the sky, watching them with a calm, chilling gaze, was Mainz.