Gengar's ghostlike coming and going left the Revolutionary Army at a loss as to what to do.
"Levely lasts seven days in total, let's verify it a bit more."
"Yeah. It even marked out suitable locations for blowing up. If this is real… that's way too strange."
Staring at the markings on the sand table, Lindbergh even began recalculating certain things.
Of course, for an operation this important, they couldn't possibly trust something that had popped out of nowhere. Instead, they began revising their plans.
Everyone who had come here from the Revolutionary Army was already prepared to die, but that didn't mean they intended to throw their lives away. Even if they were to die here, it had to be for something meaningful.
When the Revolutionary Army rechecked the intelligence, they discovered that the information Gengar provided was astonishingly accurate, far more comprehensive than what they had gathered on short notice. Even minor paths between buildings and gaps within the woods had been marked out.
This sudden assistance also gave the Revolutionary Army more confidence, as if fate were on their side, as though aided by the gods themselves.
As time passed, Levely officially began, and the Five Elders arrived before the throne.
"The light that should have vanished from history has not been rekindled. At the very least, we have found no trace of it."
"However, a new force is rising. That clan's presence has appeared once more. Though their numbers are few, they seem to have found something quite special."
"May I ask, have you decided? Who shall remain, and who shall disappear?"
"If you have decided, please speak that person's name."
"We will carry out your command."
The Five Elders, representing the highest decision-makers of the World Government, knelt before the throne, awaiting their master's order.
At this moment, Imu held several photographs—not bounty posters, but far more detailed personal files.
Kaido, Yamato, Arceus, Shayna, King, Queen, and the other officers of the Beasts Pirates, as well as great pirates like Charlotte Linlin and Red Hair. After a moment's thought, Imu set these photos aside for the time being.
Uta and Dragon—their photos also appeared in Imu's hands. But in the end, it was the photographs of Shirahoshi and Vivi.
"Joy Boy… Lily."
Imu seemed to sink into memories. Only after a long while did an answer come.
"I have made my decision."
The Five Elders did not respond, merely lowering their heads even further.
"The Marines have their own ideas. The ancient weapons are beginning to awaken. Rebels are attempting to challenge the eternal throne of kingship.
Wait a little longer, until all the rebels surface.
I will wield that new power and bring all of this to a complete end."
"Your will is beyond question."
Once Imu had made the decision, the Five Elders rose again, while Imu's figure had already vanished from the throne.
In the round-table conference hall, the kings' meeting continued. All present were kings of affiliated nations, theoretically equal in status, so the chairman rotated every four years.
This year, it happened to be Ham Burger.
Sometimes, even when the outcome is already known, the formalities must still be observed. With Cobra and King Riku taking the lead, the abolition of the Shichibukai system was passed.
Neptune's proposal—to abolish slavery and to treat the Fish-Men and Merfolk equally—did not go as smoothly. While the call for equality was acknowledged, the proposal to abolish slavery met with opposition.
In the end, they paid lip service to equality but failed to implement any effective measures in their decisions. This left Neptune deeply disappointed, though each person's speaking time was limited.
If everyone were allowed to speak freely, let alone seven days, even seventy days wouldn't be enough to conclude the conference. Before long, the topic shifted to the Revolutionary Army.
"Dragon is a very dangerous man. His Revolutionary Army is operating in the Lulusia Kingdom, he wants to overthrow royal authority!"
"I said it eight years ago, Dragon is extremely dangerous. Back then you didn't listen. Have you finally realized the danger now?"
"What about the Marines? Are they not doing anything?"
"Is this your first time being a king? Marine operations cost money too…"
If they truly encountered pirates, or if there was solid evidence pinpointing a criminal's location, the Marines' deployment would of course be free of charge.
But the seas today are extremely dangerous. Most affiliated nations hope the Marines will remain stationed near their own countries to maintain stability in the surrounding waters.
They don't want the Marines stationed inside their borders, yet they want them on standby 24 hours a day, ready to respond at a moment's notice.
To deal with this situation, the Marines charge fees for certain missions proactively requested by affiliated nations, especially those involving the Revolutionary Army, which operates covertly underground.
Boom!!
At that moment, the sound of explosion suddenly erupted from the direction of the Domain of the Gods. Even from far away, the explosion could be heard clearly inside the conference hall.
Several kings stood up and looked in that direction, then quickly sat back down, because a tall figure had appeared at the entrance.
"Everyone, please rest assured, it was just an accidental explosion in the kitchen. Please continue. Even if something goes wrong, I will ensure your safety."
Borsalino stood at the doorway, calming the kings. His status as a Marine Admiral gave them a strong sense of security.
They did not know that at this very moment, the other two Admirals had already rushed toward the Domain of the Gods.
To separate themselves from ordinary people, the Celestial Dragons had deliberately built the Domain of the Gods. Towering walls isolated the area where the Celestial Dragons lived from everyone else.
This separation became an advantage at this time. It kept the Revolutionary Army's destruction from spreading outward, allowing the kings to continue their meeting in peace.
But for the Celestial Dragons, it was a different story. They were facing something even more terrifying than Tiger's attack.
"There's an intruder in the Domain of the Gods!!"
"The food storage has exploded. Put out the fire! Hurry, someone put out the fire!"
"The enemy is here, it's the army commanders of the Revolutionary Army! I repeat, the Revolutionary Army!! They burst out of the ground all of a sudden!"
Guards rushed toward the scene, while the Celestial Dragons fled in all directions.
Before long, those guards were drawn to Sabo, who stood atop the Hoof of the Flying Dragon statue at the center of the Domain of the Gods. Even some of the Celestial Dragons turned back to look at him.
"That filthy commoner dares to stand on our symbol!"
"Execute him, he must be executed! Soldiers! Kill him now!"
But Sabo showed them through action that this was only the beginning. Extending one arm forward, a black vortex swallowed all incoming attacks. Then he lowered his body and struck the statue, forming the other arm into a Dragon Claw and shattering the statue completely.
"The revolution has begun!"
"Damn it! They destroyed the symbol of us World Nobles!"
"And those exquisite delicacies, meant only for our enjoyment! What is going on here? Is this the jealousy of the poor? Once they're caught, they must all be executed!"
"And these guards too, they must be executed as well! Allowing something like this to happen to us. If they die, they deserve it!"
Before even reaching a safe place, the Celestial Dragons had already sentenced the guards around them to death, leaving those guards utterly at a loss as to what they should do.
Amid the chaos, the Revolutionary Army continued its operations. A Celestial Dragon was whipping his slave, forcing them to crawl faster so they could carry him away to safety, but before the whip could land, he was kicked away by someone.
"Run east, to the streets over there. It's safe. Someone will help you remove the collar later."
"Th-thank you…"
Before the slaves could even grasp what was happening, they staggered off in the direction Karasu indicated. The flock of crows released by Karasu rushed down, blocking the gun barrels of the CP agents and the guards.
"Obeli-Soots!"
The soot shattered and condensed into countless sharp blades, cutting down all the guards and agents who tried to attack. Looking at the Celestial Dragon lying on the ground, Karasu's eyes brimmed with killing intent, yet he restrained himself.
That was Dragon's instruction—do not kill the Celestial Dragons yet. Otherwise, the God's Knights would intervene directly, which would be detrimental to them and could even cause the mission to fail.
The statue had been destroyed. The objective of declaring war had been achieved.
The food storehouse had been blown up, and the objective of destruction had also been achieved. The next targets were rescuing the slaves and Kuma.
No one had expected them to emerge directly from underground, but Fujitora and Ryokugyu soon arrived at the scene as well.
Seeing the Revolutionary Army wreaking havoc everywhere, Ryokugyu was the first to act. His body transformed into a gigantic tree-man, and the extending branches coiled toward Morley.
"Hey, hey! You pe*verted man, don't touch me!"
Morley's trident churned the ground, sending it rolling toward Ryokugyu like a tidal wave. However, the attack was blocked by a thicket of sprouting branches, and the tendrils that followed swiftly entangled Morley's trident.
"Where are you touching, you pe*vert!"
Several branches were torn apart by Morley, nearly smashing into a few Celestial Dragons.
Being called a pe*vert by another pervert left Ryokugyu uncharacteristically furious, but before he could even act, he received a heavy blow from his own "teammates."
"Ryokugyu! You b*stard, if you dare injure even a single hair on us, I'll sentence you to death!!"
A Celestial Dragon stood not far behind Ryokugyu, pointing at him and hurling abuse. Ryokugyu froze mid-action. In a place filled with Celestial Dragons, he was like someone bound hand and foot, unable to fight freely at all.
Even though he was the most embarrassing Admiral in terms of performance, his actual strength still surpassed that of the Revolutionary Army's army commanders. If not for these Celestial Dragons, he would have long since used far more powerful techniques. Yet as Ryokugyu hesitated, he noticed something even more fatal.
The teammates stabbing him in the back weren't just these Celestial Dragons.
"Fujitora, what are you doing?!"
"I'm summoning a meteor to help you."
"You idiot, stop it right now!!!"
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