The Gorosei fell into a heavy silence.
They understood—there was no more time to deliberate. A decision had to be made.
The original strategy had been flawless on paper. Strike first at the Big Mom Pirates. Cripple one corner of the Three Emperors Alliance. Then, methodically, turn their attention to the Beasts Pirates and the Phoenix Pirates.
It had been the logical choice. Of the three Emperors, the Big Mom Pirates commanded the largest forces—yet Big Mom herself was the weakest among them.
And still… they had failed.
Now hesitation was a luxury they could no longer afford.
The situation had spiraled into disaster.
Sakazuki had fallen in battle.
Kizaru—Borsalino—had been captured alive by the Phoenix Pirates.
If it had only been Borsalino, it might have been dismissed as carelessness. A moment of oversight. An unfortunate miscalculation.
But Sakazuki dead… and Borsalino captured?
Both at Marco's hands.
One slain. One taken alive.
That alone was proof enough.
Marco's current strength had likely surpassed even Whitebeard in his prime. Otherwise, such a feat would have been impossible.
Worse still, Marineford no longer possessed the power to confront the Three Emperors Alliance head-on.
The Gorosei exchanged glances.
No words were needed.
As the highest authorities of the World Government, they did not descend lightly into the affairs of the lower world. Even if they chose to act personally, they would first need to seek permission from Lord Imu.
What was meant to be a decisive victory had turned into humiliation.
For centuries, everything had unfolded exactly as they willed. The world moved according to their design.
And now—
Something had slipped beyond their grasp.
After a brief hesitation, one of them spoke with finality.
"Aramaki. Order all Marines to hold their positions… and await reinforcements."
"Reinforcements?" Admiral Aramaki froze. "Hold our ground?"
From where?
Kong? Chief of Staff Tsuru?
The Marines had already deployed every elite unit for this campaign. There should have been no reserves left.
Then realization dawned.
The Marines might be exhausted.
But the World Government… was not.
Eight hundred years of hidden strength.
No one truly knew how deep that reservoir ran.
"…Understood."
The transponder snail clicked off.
Aramaki exhaled slowly.
Around him, Marines who had overheard fragments of the call rushed forward, faces pale.
"Admiral Aramaki… what you said just now—was it true? Fleet Admiral Sakazuki… he…"
Aramaki's expression darkened.
This operation had begun with absolute confidence. Their goal was simple: subjugate the Big Mom Pirates and shatter the Three Emperors Alliance in one sweeping blow.
At first, everything had gone perfectly.
They infiltrated Cake Island.
They cornered Big Mom.
They even pushed her to the brink of despair.
Though she had fused with countless Homies to forcefully amplify her strength, Aramaki knew such power came at a cost. It had limits. Side effects. Time was on their side.
Victory had been inevitable.
And then—The Phoenix Pirates arrived.
Marco arrived.
That single variable overturned everything.
The appearance of the Phoenix Pirates had been unexpected, yes—but manageable.
Marco's strength, however… was not.
The moment his flames pierced through Sakazuki's body—
That image would haunt him forever.
Neither he nor Sakazuki had imagined that Marco possessed such terrifying power.
The surrounding Marines looked at him, eyes filled with dread and desperate hope.
Aramaki clenched his jaw.
If they learned the truth—if word spread that even the Fleet Admiral had fallen—their morale would collapse instantly.
He couldn't allow it.
"Silence!" he barked, his voice like thunder.
"No one is to mention this. No one is to discuss it. Do you hear me?!"
The soldiers stiffened.
"You heard the Gorosei's order," Aramaki continued coldly. "Hold your positions. Await reinforcements."
Behind his stern expression, however, a single thought echoed—
'Please let those reinforcements be enough.'
These Marine officers were not fools.
They understood immediately: news of the Fleet Admiral's death must never spread.
"Yes, sir!" they answered in unison, faces rigid.
Aramaki drew in a steady breath. As an Admiral, this was his burden now.
"Spread the order," he commanded firmly. "All Marines are to hold their positions. Reinforcements from the World Government are on the way."
His voice hardened.
"The Marines will not fall. Justice will prevail."
But even as he spoke, fate seemed determined to mock those words.
From the depths of the shattered forest, two figures emerged.
Marco and Big Mom.
Big Mom strode forward with grotesque pride, Sakazuki's lifeless body dangling from her massive hand like a trophy. His coat fluttered weakly in the wind, stained dark with blood.
"Mama Mama Mama Mama!" she cackled, her voice echoing across the battlefield. "Marine dogs! Open your eyes and see who this is!"
The clash of steel faltered.
Marines and pirates alike turned their heads.
Then—
Silence.
"This… this can't be…"
"That's Fleet Admiral Sakazuki!"
"No… impossible…"
The words spread like wildfire.
"Fleet Admiral Sakazuki is dead?!"
The sight shattered something invisible yet vital within the Marines.
Sakazuki was not merely their superior.
He was their pillar. Their symbol of absolute justice. Their iron wall.
And now—
That wall lay lifeless in a pirate's hand.
Fear rippled through the ranks.
Despair followed close behind.
"That's right!" Big Mom roared triumphantly.
"Mama crushed him!" The Big Mom Pirates erupted in cheers, wrongly assuming their captain had delivered the killing blow.
"As expected of Mama!"
"She defeated the Fleet Admiral!"
Their morale exploded sky-high.
Meanwhile, the Marines' spirits plummeted into the abyss.
"Marine brats!" Big Mom declared, grinning viciously. "None of you are leaving this island alive!"
Her words struck like a final judgment.
The pirates charged with renewed ferocity, blades flashing, cannon fire roaring. They fought not just for victory—but vengeance.
On the other side of the battlefield, Aramaki's face darkened instantly.
"That damned old hag…"
To parade Sakazuki's corpse like this—this was psychological warfare at its cruelest.
Though Fujitora could not see the gruesome display, his Observation Haki painted the entire scene in painful clarity. The suffocating despair. The collapsing morale.
His expression grew heavy.
"I never imagined Fleet Admiral Sakazuki would meet such an end," he murmured. "This… is deeply troubling."
Across from him, Zack burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! Looks like the winds of victory are blowing our way, Fujitora."
Fujitora offered no reply.
At that moment, a Marine soldier rushed toward him.
"Admiral Fujitora! New orders from the Gorosei! We are to hold our ground and await reinforcements! The World Government's forces will arrive soon!"
"World Government reinforcements…" Fujitora repeated quietly.
So they were finally moving.
Before he could say more, Aramaki's voice thundered across the battlefield.
"Issho! Retrieve Fleet Admiral Sakazuki's body immediately!"
His fists clenched.
"We cannot—under any circumstances—allow his body to remain in pirate hands!"
Zack's lips curled into a mocking sneer.
"Hold out until reinforcements arrive?" he scoffed.
The air around him crackled with killing intent.
"That assumes… you can survive that long."
"And even if you can endure…" Zack said coldly, pointing toward the ordinary Marine soldiers below commissioned rank, "can they?"
Below, countless Marines stood frozen.
The moment they saw Sakazuki's corpse, something inside them shattered. If even the Fleet Admiral—Justice incarnate—had fallen, what hope did they have of surviving until reinforcements arrived?
And yet…
The Marines were not rabble.
Their discipline ran deep.
Even with morale in tatters, even with fear clawing at their hearts, they did not break formation. They obeyed. They followed orders. They fought.
Fujitora's expression darkened. His grip tightened around his cane sword.
"Do not underestimate the justice of the Marines."
With that, he ignored Zack entirely and shot forward, gravity lifting him into the air as he flew toward Big Mom.
He had joined the Marines only recently and had not known Sakazuki long. But that did not matter.
Sakazuki had been the Fleet Admiral.
His superior.
The symbol of Marine authority.
How could he allow pirates to desecrate that body so brazenly?
This was not merely an insult to Sakazuki.
It was an insult to the Marines.
To justice itself.
Seeing Fujitora bypass him so directly, Zack's eyes narrowed with irritation.
"Oh no you don't."
They had been locked in combat—how dare he simply turn his back?
"If you want to stall for reinforcements," Zack sneered, flames gathering in his mouth, "then try surviving first."
"Heat Breath!"
A blazing beam erupted forward, tearing through the battlefield toward a cluster of Marines.
But just before it struck, a crushing force of gravity descended.
The beam bent violently off course, slamming into the ground and exploding prematurely with a thunderous roar.
Fujitora's voice turned cold.
"Sir… do not overstep."
Zack's lips curled into a sinister grin.
Since joining the Beasts Pirates and training under Kaido himself, he had mastered the power of the dragon fruit at astonishing speed. The raw, destructive force now at his command was leagues beyond what it had been when he first consumed it.
Even King, one of the All-Stars, was no longer his match.
Among those beneath the Three Emperors, Zack believed himself to stand at the very peak.
Even within the Phoenix Pirates, he ranked among the strongest.
"We haven't decided a winner yet," he said arrogantly. "You think I'll let you run?"
Meanwhile—
Big Mom watched the exchange with amusement, her laughter booming across the battlefield.
"Mama Mama Mama Mama! Looks like that Admiral's busy!"
She grinned wickedly.
"Now's not the time to fight him… but retrieving this body won't be so simple either."
With a casual flick of her wrist, she tossed Sakazuki's corpse toward Katakuri.
"Katakuri. Preserve Akainu's body carefully. It may prove… useful later."
Katakuri's eyes sharpened instantly.
Using his Devil Fruit ability, he wrapped the body securely.
"Understood, Mama."
Across the battlefield, anger and despair churned among the Marines.
"How dare they humiliate the Fleet Admiral like that…"
"But if even he fell… can we really defeat the Big Mom Pirates and the Phoenix Pirates?"
"Don't lose your heads! The Gorosei ordered us to hold out! Reinforcements are coming!"
But the truth was cruel.
Most of the Marine soldiers were already at their limits.
The grueling battle against the Big Mom Pirates had drained them dry. The arrival of the Phoenix Pirates only doubled the pressure. Their bodies ached. Their ammunition ran thin. Their nerves were fraying.
And now—
Their Fleet Admiral was dead.
Many had families waiting for them.
Wives.
Children.
Parents.
They did not want to die here.
If not for the officers barking orders and forcing discipline, more than a few would have thrown down their rifles and fled.
As for the Shichibukai stationed on the island, they were even less reliable.
Ever since the Phoenix Pirates arrived, they had conveniently distanced themselves from the heart of the battlefield.
After all, they had accepted the title of Shichibukai to gain legal status—not to sacrifice their lives for Marine justice.
When Sakazuki had been alive, his iron will had kept them wary.
But now?
Even the Fleet Admiral had been killed by a Yonko.
Why would they risk offending the Emperors any further?
Fear of the Four Emperors now outweighed any obligation they felt toward the Marines.
And that fear…
Was spreading.
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