"Gurararara~~~"
"Didn't expect I'd be the last one standing. Seems I really have gotten old!"
At that moment, as Garp, Shiki, Kuzan, Bullet, Senju Hashirama, and Uchiha Madara all glared darkly at the wildly laughing Flare—
—a booming, hearty laugh suddenly rang out, instantly drowning out her voice.
Everyone present instinctively turned toward the source.
They saw Newgate striding through the camp gates toward them.
But immediately, their attention shifted to the little girl perched on his shoulder.
She wore a short Gothic dress of black and red, paired with black stockings and red high heels.
Her figure was slender, her features delicate and cute.
Yet those large crimson eyes brimmed with sorrow—
—and the melancholy clinging to her made it obvious her mood was sunk in deep despair.
"Isn't that—"
From not far away, Lieutenant Colonel Bradley instantly recognized her.
It was the very same 'demigod,' Rory Mercury, who had earlier come to the camp to negotiate on behalf of the Main God.
"Whitebeard, who is she?"
Suppressing the worries in his heart about the 'Gate,' Garp asked curiously.
"Gurararara~ She's the daughter I've taken in within this world—Rory Mercury. If you run into her outside, look after her!"
Newgate laughed heartily, his face brimming with joy.
He did not dwell further on Rory's situation.
After all, for someone who had just been betrayed and abandoned by 'family,' speaking more of it would be no different from salting a wound.
"From this moment on, I am no longer the apostle of some god—only the daughter of Pops. I am Rory Mercury, pleased to make your acquaintance."
Rory leapt down from Newgate's shoulder, gently lifting the hem of her skirt with both hands.
She solemnly performed a formal bow to the gathered crowd.
"Tch, who cares about that kind of thing!"
At this moment, Bullet waved his hand impatiently.
He had no interest in Whitebeard taking in a daughter—he only wanted the problem of the 'Gate' resolved.
"Whitebeard, you should have already beaten Emroy, right?"
"That Sage of Six Paths—hurry and let her soul out! Ask her if she can open the Gate for us!"
"Yes, yes, that's right, Newgate. Here's the situation—"
Garp quickly explained everything to him.
"No. If Emroy is released, she may immediately strip away Rory's divinity—and that would endanger her life!"
Edward Newgate rejected the idea outright, his tone firm and unyielding.
He then pointed at Flare: "Besides, if even she refused, how could Emroy, that 'Gatekeeper,' possibly agree?"
"This—"
Kuzan, Uchiha Madara, and Senju Hashirama exchanged uncertain looks.
Now, everyone's gaze fell upon Flare.
"Hehehehehe… you want me to open the Gate?"
"Then beg me~~"
Clutched tightly in Shiki's hand, Flare's eyes glittered with mocking amusement.
"Madara."
At that moment, Senju Hashirama spoke, and Uchiha Madara, instantly understanding, stepped forward.
"Hmph. Let me try—maybe I can control her."
Kuzan, Bullet, and the others, seeing that he might have a way, turned expectant eyes toward him.
Madara showed not the slightest hesitation.
Genjutsu: Sharingan!
He immediately unleashed the Uchiha clan's most basic eye technique.
But however basic, with the vast power of his ocular force behind it, its effect was nothing to dismiss.
A surge of Yin Release chakra poured forth, an invisible torrent rushing across the gap into Flare's mind, seeking to seize her spirit and consciousness.
"—Tch!"
Suddenly, Madara let out a low, muffled grunt.
He abruptly tore his gaze away.
But tears were already streaming in twin trails down his face, as though his eyes had been struck by some violent force.
"Madara, what happened?" Hashirama quickly supported him.
"In her mind—suddenly a burst of golden light erupted and forced out my ocular power!"
Madara, clutching his eyes, spoke with a grim face.
"Hehehehe~~"
At that moment, Flare looked at Uchiha Madara and sneered.
"To think you could control the consciousness of a god—what a laughably arrogant fool!"
"You don't even know what divinity is, and yet you—aaahhh!!"
Her words cut off as Shiki's grip tightened, crushing her with such force that she shrieked in agony, her voice a piercing, grating wail.
"Open the Gate!"
"Didn't you hear me? Open it, or I'll keep torturing you like this!"
Seeing that Uchiha Madara had failed, Shiki snarled viciously into Flare's face.
"Ahhhh—no! No! Never! Not in your dreams!"
"If you've got the guts, then kill me! Kill me now!"
Flare screamed madly, thrashing in desperation.
"Ughhh! You'll never make it back! Ahhhhhh!!"
Meanwhile, Newgate lowered his gaze to his newly taken-in daughter. "Do you have a way? There are still many brothers and sisters back on Starfish."
"I'm sorry…" Rory shook her head in shame. "Only those three innate gods can open the Gate."
Newgate smiled. "It's fine. I believe Lord Imu will make his move."
"Lord Imu?" Rory raised her head in confusion.
"Mhm. You could think of him as… the god of our Starfish."
At the same time—
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, hidden in the void, had already received Imu's confirmation that if the Gate were closed, he would have the means to open another. Thus, he now fixed his gaze on the specially inscribed kunai lying not far from Whitebeard and the others.
As Hagoromo wondered when Imu would open the Gate—
[Woom——————]
A radiant blue light burst forth, bright enough to form a pillar visible even in broad daylight.
It suddenly shot skyward from somewhere on Alnus Hill.
Those nearest—Garp, Kuzan, Newgate, Bullet, and the others—
—saw the blue light swiftly expand, gradually forming into a faintly translucent, pale-blue square plane.
The sight left not only the soldiers of the Auxiliary Corps dumbstruck—
—even Duncan, Flare, and Rory Mercury, these native gods and mortals, were stunned.
Soon, the blue-glowing Gate stabilized.
"Sakazuki—Crocodile!!"
At that moment, Kuzan and Bullet spoke in unison, their tones filled with shock.
On the far side of the Gate stood Sakazuki and Crocodile, shoulder to shoulder.
Behind the two men stretched a line of army officers clad in black coats of Justice, murderous intent radiating from their bodies.
"What are you doing here?"
Kuzan looked at Sakazuki, who was the first to step forward through the Gate.
"Hmph. The High Command thought something had happened to you. So they ordered us to charge into this world the moment the Gate opened and provide aid."
Sakazuki's expression was as stern as ever.
His voice carried a weight of Pressure that made others feel uneasy.
Duncan and Flare felt the aura on his body—
—and at once realized this was yet another mighty being of main-god level!
And the man beside him, whose very presence alone set their nerves on edge—
—without a doubt, he too was one.
At this moment, the foundation of the World Government left Duncan trembling with dread.
For Flare, it brought complete despair. Her heart broke, her face turned ashen.
She knew—she was finished!
"That's right. I'm here to save you, you dumb shark. How about a 'thank you'?"
Crocodile, pulling out a cigar, sneered at Bullet.
"Hmph, not a bad joke!" Bullet curled his lip and shot back.
"Then perhaps General Golden Lion could hand over the 'God of Sun and Light'?"
At that moment, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo appeared from the void, fixing his gaze on Shiki as he asked in a deep voice.
"Tch, fine, fine. I've no patience to wait for Budo any longer!"
Shiki thought for a moment, then impatiently tossed Flare—like discarding trash—straight to Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.
The recent ordeal, when the Gate vanished and he nearly faced a lifetime trapped in the world of Falmart, had left his mood foul and restless.
"No!!"
Flare cried out in despair, but no one present cared about her feelings.
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo knew Shiki's actions were not aimed at him, so he paid no mind to his attitude.
He simply and calmly sealed Flare into the "Sealing Urn."
Then his gaze shifted to Duncan.
The Dwarf God of Flames and Smithing felt his heart tighten and quickly turned toward Garp at his side.
He did not know what it meant to be sealed inside that urn, but he absolutely did not wish to find out.
"Sage of Six Paths, Duncan will be following me from here on," Garp said with a broad grin.
"If Lord Imu approves his joining the World Government, I'll personally escort him to Starfish."
"In that case, my task is complete. Until we meet again."
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo said no more and vanished once again without a trace.
At the same time—
—in the Ginza void of the Nuclear-Armed World on the other side of the Gate—
Imu, within his extradimensional space, stared out at the "Dimensional Gate" he had created.
This was the first Gate he had ever opened relying entirely on his own ability.
Even the kunai that Inoichi had previously carried, secretly safeguarded by shinobi who had joined CP0, bore spell-script arrays inscribed by Imu himself—improved versions of the originals.
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