At Marineford, the battlefield had already turned into utter ruin after several rounds of clashes.
The frozen ice covering the bay was littered with pirate ships of every shape and size, each flying a different flag.
On the sheets of ice Aokiji had created, the corpses of Marines and pirates lay scattered everywhere, while blood stained the area red.
Cracks spread across the fortress walls, and even the iron-like defensive structures had begun to fall apart in places.
But no one was paying attention to any of that now.
Because everyone's thoughts had been seized by just two words:
Leader.
Marines, pirates, and even the World Government's experts all turned those two words over in their minds.
And more importantly—
they all wondered who that title referred to.
"Did you hear what Doflamingo just said? Leader?"
"That has to be a title for someone, right? For even a Warlord to call someone that… just how terrifying must that person be?"
"That's not the key point. The real point is that these Warlords would rather abandon the World Government and follow that so-called leader, even if it means standing against the whole world!"
"When you put it that way… that person has to be insanely powerful."
"Could it be that the force behind these Warlords is even more terrifying than the World Government itself?"
"That's ridiculous…"
The crowd broke into wild discussion.
On the Beasts Pirates' side, the three Calamities had all fallen into deep thought.
"A leader? Why have we never heard him mention anyone like that before?"
King's handsome face was hidden beneath his dark mask and goggles, but his shock was obvious in his voice.
The Beasts Pirates had worked with Doflamingo many times before.
He had secretly supplied them with artificial Devil Fruits behind the Navy's back.
And all this time, they had thought Doflamingo was the kind of man who walked alone and bowed to no one.
Given how arrogant he was, it seemed impossible for him to serve under anyone.
Yet now—
he had openly acknowledged a leader.
And from the way he said it, he clearly held that person in the highest regard.
"He hid it well."
"We underestimated him."
Queen's yellow mustache twitched as he spoke in a low voice.
Jack, who had been silent for a moment, suddenly asked,
"Who do you think this leader could be?"
At those words, King and Queen both turned toward Jack.
Then, as if struck by the same thought at the exact same moment, their eyes lit up and they looked toward the figure standing beside Kaido—
Rōmu.
Jack followed their gaze and seemed to understand their thoughts instantly.
"Could this so-called leader… actually be Rōmu?"
King rested a hand against his chin and spoke slowly.
The only person in the world who could make their Governor revere him like this—
and whose power far exceeded common sense—
was likely one and the same.
After all, every known top-tier powerhouse in the world was already famous.
Only Rōmu had stayed hidden all these years despite possessing monstrous strength, only to suddenly reappear now.
If it wasn't him—
then who else could it be?
"I think it's very possible," Queen said, nodding his nearly nonexistent neck.
King narrowed his eyes at Doflamingo.
"No wonder that bastard kept selling us SMILE fruits at absurdly low prices."
"So it was all Rōmu's arrangement from the shadows."
In all their dealings with Doflamingo, the artificial Zoan fruits had often been sold to them far below market value.
At first, they thought Doflamingo had simply been impressed by Kaido's charisma.
But now it seemed obvious—
that had been Rōmu's will all along.
The same realization was striking countless others at the same time.
Especially the old monsters who had survived the God Valley Incident.
The instant Doflamingo said the word leader, their hearts all skipped a beat.
A terrible possibility rose in their minds.
That leader…
was almost certainly Rōmu.
Sengoku, Kong, Garp, Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru all lifted their heads and stared at Rōmu, who stood upon the grotesque crimson flower.
Their expressions were dark to the extreme.
Rōmu noticed the countless eyes on him and merely smiled faintly.
His gaze swept over the nearly two hundred thousand people below the giant wall, then calmly withdrew.
He turned toward the four Warlords and slowly raised his right hand.
Then, with a light crook of one finger—
Dracule Mihawk's aura erupted.
He bent one knee, stamped down, and shot upward into the sky.
In only a few breaths, Mihawk arrived atop the massive wall and stood in front of Rōmu.
At the same time, Doflamingo and Bartholomew Kuma also flashed forward and appeared behind him.
As for Boa Hancock—
she had long since been unable to restrain herself.
From the moment Rōmu appeared, she had wanted nothing more than to rush to his side.
But without his permission, she had not dared move.
Now that he had signaled—
Hancock's long, flawless legs kicked off the ground.
Her perfect figure leapt through the air like a graceful female leopard.
Yet unlike the others, she did not choose to stand behind Rōmu.
Instead, she landed directly on the giant crimson flower and took her place beside him.
After finally getting the chance to stand so close to her beloved leader, how could she possibly content herself with standing elsewhere?
Everyone who saw this was stunned once again.
No explanation was needed.
The actions of the four Warlords had already made the truth perfectly clear.
Rōmu was the leader.
At that moment, all hearts trembled.
Some were shocked.
Some felt that it all suddenly made sense.
And others simply felt the blood drain from their faces.
"So the leader… really is Rōmu!"
"My God… has he been arranging all this from the shadows for decades?"
"The Seven Warlords were his people all along…"
"We should've guessed. Who else could have commanded them?"
"If even the Warlords call him leader, then doesn't that mean he has even more subordinates?"
"Exactly! You don't call someone leader if there are only four or five people under him!"
"I really want to know now—how much power does Rōmu actually control?"
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