Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to an unusual figure.
It was a specially made pure-black speedboat, quietly anchored beyond the breakwater.
Its entire body gave off a mysterious, oppressive aura, like a ghost silently rising from the depths of the sea.
At the bow stood three CP0 members dressed in black and wearing white masks. Their posture was straight, yet there was a coldness about them that made the skin crawl.
The inspector at the front slowly raised an exquisite scroll edged with gold. The seal on it was especially eye-catching.
The emblem of the Five Elders shone upon it, and under the morning light, it seemed to glow with an eerie blood-red sheen, foreshadowing the bloodshed and cruelty about to come.
He spoke, his voice processed through a special voice changer until it became hoarse and low, like the grating sound of metal scraping against metal.
"According to Article Thirteen of the World Government Emergency Disposal Act…"
Every word struck the hearts of those present like a heavy hammer.
The moment Jonathan heard that voice, he shoved aside the soldiers in front of him and rushed to the front like an arrow leaving the bowstring.
His eyes widened instantly, his pupils contracting sharply, filled with shock and anger.
At the inspector's feet, dozens of bloodstained Marine badges were piled in a mess. The crimson blood on them had not yet fully dried, giving off a sharp metallic smell.
And on the badge at the very top, the name Caron was clearly engraved.
That name was like a flame, igniting the rage in Jonathan's heart in an instant.
"What did you do to him?!"
Jonathan's voice trembled with a roar that echoed across the entire harbor.
Yet the members of CP0 remained expressionless and gave no reply.
They merely unfolded the final holographic projection from the scroll in silence.
A horrifying image appeared before everyone's eyes.
The once-bustling South Blue 3rd Branch had now been reduced to ruins.
Death hung in the air between the broken walls and shattered structures, while above that wreckage, a brand-new flag of the Eternal Divine Kingdom fluttered in the wind, painfully glaring.
The camera gradually pulled back.
In the distance, Totto Land's enormous fleet appeared on the horizon, patrolling with imposing authority, as if declaring absolute rule over those waters.
"Choose."
The inspector's cold, mechanical voice echoed through the dead-silent harbor, carrying a pressure that allowed no refusal.
"Will you be heroes… or martyrs?"
The moment he finished speaking, the deck beneath his feet suddenly gave off a dull sound before slowly opening, revealing a refrigerated container filled with Devil Fruits.
The fruits gave off strange light. One of them, in particular, flickered with a dark-red glow like magma, containing boundless power and danger.
Jonathan's hand moved to the hilt of his sword without his control, his body trembling slightly from the struggle in his heart.
Behind him, the sound of soldiers swallowing nervously rose one after another, and the tense atmosphere nearly froze the air itself.
At the same time, far away in the East Blue, Branch Commander Blake sat at his desk, slowly moving his pen across a resignation letter.
Outside the window, the sharp, piercing engine noise of a CP0 speedboat suddenly rang out, breaking the brief silence inside the room.
He smiled bitterly and helplessly, then slowly pushed the family photo on his desk into the drawer.
Just then, he unintentionally noticed a note hidden behind the frame.
He took it out and saw Caron's messy yet powerful handwriting on it.
Staying alive is the greatest resistance.
Just as those words were still shaking him, the door was violently slammed open and CP0 members filed inside.
What they saw was the extermination order spread open on the desk, altered beyond recognition.
Every place where it had originally said kill on sight had been carefully changed into protect civilians.
As for Blake, he had already vanished without a trace, leaving behind only the empty room and the engine noise still echoing outside.
...
Sabaody Archipelago.
There was a unique atmosphere here, as if even time had slowed down.
The sunset was like a skilled painter, pouring its brilliant, warm afterglow through the crisscrossing gaps in the factory's slightly worn roof.
The light fell slowly like golden threads, weaving mottled patches of brightness and shadow across the dusty floor.
Every ray seemed to tell an old story, and also hint at the changes about to come.
Rayleigh stood there quietly, gripping a wine bottle tightly in his hand.
The bottle hung in midair within his faintly trembling grasp. The amber liquid inside looked like flowing gemstones, swaying gently against the glass and refracting a captivating yet faintly uneasy glow.
Not long ago, the hurried, frantic flapping of a News Coo's wings still seemed to linger in the air.
The urgent extra carrying shocking news had already drifted onto his cluttered workbench like a falling leaf.
Crash!
A sharp, piercing sound of shattering glass rang out.
The wine bottle smashed against the hard floor without warning.
In an instant, countless jagged shards of glass flew outward like scattered stars, and the clear liquor spilled freely, spreading into an irregular puddle across the floor.
The old shipwrights around him were startled by the sudden noise and turned their heads in surprise.
Their eyes were filled with doubt and confusion.
The usually calm and steady "Old Ray the coating craftsman" now stood frozen in place like a statue that had lost its foundation.
His signature sunglasses slowly slid down his cheek to the tip of his nose, revealing a pair of bloodshot eyes filled with shock.
"Celestial Dragons…"
Rayleigh's voice was low and hoarse, as if squeezed with difficulty through clenched teeth.
His rough, callused hand unconsciously crushed the edge of the newspaper, his knuckles turning white from the force.
The horrifying front-page photo entered his sight.
Saint Saturn of the Five Elders held his cane, his expression cold and imposing, pointing toward the ruins of Marine G-14 Branch, which had been completely flattened.
The accompanying headline struck every heart like a heavy hammer.
Extermination Order Officially Takes Effect: All Four Emperor Forces to Be Killed on Sight
Beside him, Shakky reacted just as quickly.
She pressed the cigarette in her hand down hard, extinguishing it against the counter with a faint hiss.
Her brows furrowed slightly as her sharp gaze swept over an inconspicuous line of small text in the corner of the newspaper.
From this day forward, anyone who shelters those connected to the Four Emperors will be treated as a traitor.
...