"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!"
Light bullets and shockwaves collided violently in midair, erupting into a rolling barrage of deafening explosions!
Before the smoke from the blasts could even disperse, Ivankov's massive figure surged in again. A pink glow of hormones gathered at his fingertips as he stabbed toward Kizaru's back—
"Face Growth Hormone!"
Kizaru's body dissolved into a streak of light to evade, and he countered with a casual finger point over his shoulder.
"Laser."
Ivankov didn't dodge. His chest suddenly swelled as he hardened up with Armament Haki, taking the shot head-on.
And Kuma's attack arrived right after—an enormous palm wrapped in compressed air, blasting in from another angle!
Relying on the Glint-Glint Fruit's extreme speed, Kizaru kept flashing away under the two-man pincer, tossing out techniques as easily as breathing.
But Kuma and Ivankov's coordination was flawless. They simply refused to give Kizaru even the slightest chance to disengage.
Kizaru tried several times to force a breakthrough with speed, aiming to dash to other sections of the Sabaody Archipelago. Every single attempt was stopped at the perimeter by Dragon, and the moment Kizaru was checked, Kuma and Ivankov immediately piled on, driving him right back into the fight.
"What a pain…!" Kizaru slipped past another heavy strike from Kuma, breathing a little harder now. His speed was unrivaled, but a prolonged battle still drained stamina and focus—and worse, he couldn't read their objective at all.
Were they really just trying to pin him here? But what did the Revolutionary Army gain from tying down a single Admiral? Unless something was happening—something they didn't want the Marines… or more specifically, him, Kizaru… to interfere with?
He didn't get time to think.
"Pressure Cannon!"
"Galaxy Wink!"
Kuma and Ivankov attacked again!
A sharp glint flashed in Kizaru's eyes. He stopped relying on evasion alone. In an instant, the Ama no Murakumo Sword formed in his hand, and he surged forward to meet them head-on!
"Looks like… if I don't get serious, I'm not leaving here so easily today."
Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle
Celestial Dragons in lavish attire held a mind-numbingly dull tea party under the escort of their servants, basking in privileges they believed were theirs by birth.
CP0 agents stood silently at key positions, scanning the surroundings with cold, indifferent eyes.
Then, a tiny change appeared.
The sunlight in the sky… dimmed, just slightly.
A slave fanning a Celestial Dragon looked up without thinking—then the fan slipped from his hand with a dull clatter as his mouth fell open.
His reaction drew attention. More and more heads lifted toward the sky.
The cloudless heavens had, at some point, been swallowed by an enormous shadow. And that shadow was growing bigger by the second, visibly pressing down toward Mary Geoise!
Panic swept the entire holy land in an instant.
"An… island?! There's… an island in the sky!!"
"It's… it's falling!!"
"RUN—!!"
Screams and wailing replaced the earlier stillness immediately. Whether lofty Celestial Dragons, dust-low slaves, or disciplined guards—at this moment, all of them were ruled by fear from the floating island blotting out the sun.
"It's too big…!"
The Celestial Dragons had long since lost their usual arrogance. Supported by frantic servants, they tried to flee the shadow-covered zone.
The CP0 agents maintained their stance, but under their masks, none of their faces looked remotely calm. The squad leader instantly sent an alert into the miniature Den Den Mushi under his collar:
"Pangaea Castle emergency! Repeat, Pangaea Castle emergency! Unknown gigantic floating island has appeared overhead! Descending! Suspected target: central area of Mary Geoise! Request highest instructions! Repeat…"
Deep within Pangaea Castle, the Gorosei's council chamber
Even through the walls, the chaos outside seeped in faintly.
Nusjuro, arms wrapped around the First Generation Kitetsu, frowned—about to bark at the commotion—when the light outside the window suddenly dimmed.
"What is this?!" Topman barked, striding to the window.
The moment he saw the sky, his pupils shrank sharply. Shock flashed across his face—then fury.
"A floating island… the Float-Float Fruit." Saturn-sei's voice was vicious, the words forced out like they were being ground between his teeth.
"It's Lulusia!" Topman clenched his fist, his face dark enough to terrify. "How dare they?! How dare they float an island over Mary Geoise?! They're looking for death!"
Saturn-sei looked just as ugly, eyes locked onto the massive shadow in the sky.
"After Golden Lion died and the Float-Float Fruit fell into their hands, we should've seen this coming. I just didn't expect them to be this insane… to actually dare attack Mary Geoise proactively!"
At that moment, the council chamber doors were shoved open.
Kong, the Commander-in-Chief, stepped in with a grim expression.
"You've all seen it?" Kong's voice was heavy. "The Navy only just finished assembling forces against Lulusia. They haven't even departed—yet they've already beaten us to it, right above our heads!"
He stared at the floating island drawing closer and closer, fury in his tone.
"Using the very power we once feared—Golden Lion's power—to attack Mary Geoise. Bold. Calculated."
It was a blatant slap in the face.
The World Government was preparing to crush Lulusia with overwhelming force, and the enemy responded by hanging an entire island over the World Government's heart—over Mary Geoise itself.
This wasn't mere provocation anymore.
This was war. A direct strike at the foundation of the World Government's rule.
"We have to stop it!" the blond Gorosei growled. "Order the Navy, the Science Unit—every expert we can mobilize! We must, before it falls—"
"Too late." Kong cut him off, face tense as he pointed out the window. "At that descent speed, by the time our people arrive…"
He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
This was aimed at Mary Geoise from the start.
"Imu-sama…" Saturn-sei suddenly said under his breath.
The other four fell silent at once, their faces turning even worse. If this disturbance reached the supreme existence hidden deep within the Flowers Room, the consequences were beyond imagining.
Just then, the island hovering high above… stopped.
It simply hung there, perfectly still.
It didn't crash down immediately—but no one could know when it might suddenly slam into the holy land.
"They… want to negotiate?" Topman narrowed his eyes.
"Or they're just showing off power—warning us." Kong's voice stayed low. "Telling us they have the ability to strike Mary Geoise directly."
In their eyes, that young King of Lulusia was completely unhinged—he'd executed nineteen Celestial Dragons not long ago, and now he'd come straight to Mary Geoise as if the World Government was nothing.
The Gorosei and Kong stood at the window, looking up at the deathly shadow overhead. Their expressions were so dark they looked ready to drip.
In eight hundred years, no one had ever dared challenge the World Government's authority like this—no one had ever placed so direct a threat above Mary Geoise itself.
"The World Government will not be threatened by anyone," Nusjuro declared. "Kong, immediately organize guards to evacuate the Celestial Dragons within the island's shadow to a safe zone. Also order the Admirals to arrive as soon as possible. The five of us will go to the island and see what's going on!"
The other four agreed instantly. Without lingering in the chamber, the Gorosei strode out, looked up at the floating island, and kicked off the ground—shooting straight into the sky.
In moments, five black-suited figures streaked upward and landed on the island.
The Gorosei.
Their arrival didn't surprise Ronan in the slightest. He'd predicted it. With no Admiral stationed at Mary Geoise right now, if the World Government wanted absolute certainty, only they would personally show themselves.
The Gorosei's gaze snapped onto Ronan at once.
And when their eyes swept over Teresa, Beth, Alicia—and especially when they felt the bizarre, unsettling aura radiating from Neferpitou—the five highest authorities of the world wore true gravity on their faces.
These women… and that cat-eared girl…
The energy waves rolling off them far exceeded what intelligence reports had estimated.
"Ronan."
Nusjuro spoke slowly, his voice heavy with judgment.
"Do you understand that what you're doing is a challenge to the dignity of the entire World Government?"
Ronan answered with a cold laugh.
Seeing that reaction, Nusjuro understood immediately: there would be no negotiation. Every guess they'd made was wrong. Ronan had come here for one simple reason—revenge for what had happened in the Lulusia Kingdom.
Nusjuro stopped wasting words.
He yanked the First Generation Kitetsu free in a sharp motion. A sinister purple-black blade light flared.
At the same time, his body twisted into something grotesque.
His lower half became the skeletal frame of a massive horse, wrapped in ghostly hellfire—while his upper half remained humanoid, holding the cursed blade and exuding crushing pressure.
A centaur form.
"Demonic Blade: Netherworld Trample Break!"
Nusjuro surged forward with unstoppable momentum—targeting Teresa directly!
He'd sensed it: the blond woman was the most unfathomable presence in Ronan's camp.
She had to go first.
Facing that terrifying strike, a glimmer of amused interest flickered across Teresa's face.
"An interesting form."
(End of Chapter)
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