At Mary Geoise…
The new Pangaea Castle had been fully rebuilt, possibly using a Devil Fruit power.
Inside the Room of Authority, the Five Elders sat like gods, each one on their own seat, giving off a cold and commanding presence. Their eyes were sharp like blades as they stared at Akainu, who was standing in front of them.
At that moment, the Five Elders seemed to have regained their feeling of superiority over all things.
Just look—wasn't the mighty Marine Fleet Admiral standing there like a lowly servant, quietly waiting for their orders?
"Sakazuki, explain to me—why did you pull all our forces out of the New World?" Saint Warcury's gaze was like a hawk's, locked tightly onto Akainu. His voice was low and forceful, with a kind of pressure that dared anyone to disobey. As he spoke, he even used a little bit of Conqueror's Haki.
But to Akainu, that weak Haki was like a breeze brushing past—it had no effect. In fact, it only made the anger in his heart burn hotter.
He had already decided to bring down the World Government.
Now, when he looked at the Five Elders, they were nothing but rotten wood in his eyes. Just the sight of them made him sick—especially Saint Warcury's arrogant attitude. It made him grit his teeth with hatred, and he nearly struck out then and there!
But… remembering their strange ability to regenerate, Akainu forcefully held back his killing intent. The Five Elders noticed the flash of rage from him, but they didn't care.
After all, he was still the Marine Fleet Admiral. If he couldn't even put up with this level of humiliation, he wouldn't be able to hold on to that title—even with their support.
"I've already sent those forces to the Four Seas!"
"The World Government has lost all credibility. They keep getting humiliated again and again, and now even the people in the Four Seas are starting to stir. I had no choice but to send strong forces to keep things under control!"
"Otherwise, won't we just be handing over the Four Seas to the Revolutionary Army because of the government's stupidity?"
Akainu's response was sharp and cold, like a sword stabbing right into the heart of the Five Elders.
"Watch your tone!"
Saint Mars suddenly roared like thunder. "Sakazuki, don't forget — you only became Fleet Admiral because of our support!"
The other four Elders were just as furious, their faces dark and heavy like a storm.
Akainu had just exposed their weakness so openly right in front of them. It was a clear challenge to their authority.
"Hmph!"
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. I've got ambitious people to deal with."
With that, Akainu threw his justice cloak behind him and strode out of the Room of Authority without looking back.
The Five Elders were furious. They never expected Akainu to become this rebellious.
"It seems we picked the wrong person," Saint Garling said coldly, his words slicing through the air like a blade.
"No, we didn't choose the wrong man," Saint Peter said quietly. "It's the state of the seas that changed Sakazuki's attitude. He's still the Fleet Admiral, after all. He's bound to have a bit of pride."
"Sakazuki and Sengoku — they're different from Kong. That man has fully sided with us Celestial Dragons now, so there's no need to worry about him," Saint Nusjuro suddenly brought up Commander-in-Chief Kong.
"It's all because of that cursed Rocks and Roger. Those damn people from the D Clan... they're the reason the seas are in chaos. If not for them, the Marines wouldn't be like this now!"
Saint Peter was clearly angry as he spoke.
The other Elders looked just as grim.
"There are still a little over twenty days left. When the Uranus shows itself, it'll shut everyone up!"
Saint Warcury's deep voice rumbled like it came from the depths of hell.
After that, the Room of Authority fell silent.
Outside Pangaea Castle, Akainu slowly unclenched his tightly gripped fist. He'd done what he had to during that confrontation. The Elders definitely wouldn't get suspicious.
"Just a little over twenty days…"
Akainu grinned darkly and muttered to himself.
Back at Marine Headquarters.
Akainu told Sengoku and the others everything that had happened at Mary Geoise. Right now, the Marines were in a very delicate situation.
After a short silence, Vice Admiral Tsuru carefully spoke up:
"The more dangerous things get, the more careful we have to be. We can't let the Five Elders catch on. When giving orders to other Marines, just say it's to maintain peace in the Four Seas. Don't mention anything else."
"What's the situation on Egghead Island?"
Akainu looked at Vice Admiral Tsuru.
"Vegapunk and his team are working full speed on the island's upgrades. Once it's ready, we'll trap the Five Elder inside, and they won't be able to escape no matter what!"
Tsuru's voice was firm and full of confidence.
They had planned everything carefully. Before the final battle, they needed to weaken the power of the Celestial Dragons as much as possible.
Right now, the Celestial Dragons were desperate to get Uranus.
That gave them the perfect chance. They had to use the Celestial Dragons' own desires against them — and take down another Elder on Egghead Island!
At this moment, Vegapunk and his five satellites were completely focused on modifying the island.
Once the shield was activated, they were confident they could trap the Elder for good.
"I'm still worried. What if the Five Elders don't show up? They might send one of us, or CP0, to retrieve Uranus instead," Fujitora said, voicing his concern.
"That's not impossible, but it's very unlikely. The Five Elders would never let the Marines learn the secrets of Uranus."
Sengoku shared his thoughts on Fujitora's concern.
After all, the Five Elders had already shown how far they'd go to keep the truth hidden — like when they moved warships without even informing Marine HQ.
Fujitora didn't say anything more.
He had been using his Observation Haki to try and locate the ancient weapon Uranus in the hands of the Celestial Dragons. But he had searched the skies above Mary Geoise and the nearby airspace — and found nothing.
And now there wasn't enough time to check each sea one by one.
"We should also keep an eye on the Red-Haired Pirates. Their movements have been strange — first Elbaf, then Wano, and now they're heading to Whole Cake Island," Aokiji said with a frown. He could sense something was off with them.
"There's also been no news from Wano. Did the Dream Exploration Team stop Morgans from reporting it?"
Akainu was puzzled too.
They and the World Government knew the rough details of what happened in Wano, but not the full story. Even Luffy's special form hadn't been exposed yet.
"They… still seem very mysterious to me…"
Vice Admiral Tsuru thought back on the Dream Exploration Team's behavior. It really wasn't normal. Luckily, they were still allies for now, and hadn't shown any desire to take over.
Otherwise, the final battle would be even harder to predict.
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