Obviously, that figure wasn't particularly tall compared to many vice admirals, yet in their eyes, he was like an ant staring up at a primordial beast.
In just the moment of his arrival, the entire situation had been overturned.
No one could have predicted that Caelan would appear in such a manner, nor that the Five Elders, who had just been so high-spirited, would be cut down so quickly.
The Five Elders, the supposed pinnacle of the world's power, had unleashed an aura comparable to the Navy's top admirals just moments before.
But the instant Caelan appeared, they were cut in half, and not even the three admirals or Sengoku could stop it.
"So terrifying... he's a monster, not even human!"
"How can anyone be like this? How can anyone be this powerful!"
The sailors stared at the figure as though they were seeing a demon.
An admiral was already the strongest in the Navy. The difference between an average soldier and an admiral was like the gap between a firefly and the full moon.
Yet even the Five Elders, the three admirals, and the Fleet Admiral had been utterly overpowered by Caelan.
The pride of executing the Pirate King's son, the glory of killing Whitebeard, and the arrogance that came with intimidating the world—all of it vanished the moment Caelan arrived.
The Navy's so-called "glorious victory" now seemed nothing more than a delusion, shattered in an instant.
How could they possibly defeat such an opponent?
Despair filled the eyes of the elite officers of Marineford. This wasn't an enemy they were meant to face.
The God Slayer would kill even gods standing before him.
How could mere mortals resist?
Across the world, pirates watching the live broadcast were left speechless.
Near the execution platform, the broadcasting Den Den Mushi had long been destroyed with the platform itself.
The footage now came from the recording Den Den Mushi positioned along the perimeter of Marineford.
Though the image was heavily distorted by interference, with static streaks and white noise, it still tried to transmit the reality of the scene to the entire world.
The five old men, whose strength was comparable to admirals, were cut in half.
The three Navy admirals and Sengoku were also blown away.
Pirates could hardly believe their eyes. The mighty Navy had become the weaker side in an instant.
"The Strongest Man in the World, God Slayer Caelan Alaric!"
There wasn't even time to mourn Whitebeard. The next strongest figure had already claimed the title.
Some even thought Whitebeard should be thankful he hadn't fought Caelan before reaching Marineford.
Otherwise, the title of "Strongest Man in the World" would've been taken long ago, and Whitebeard wouldn't have had such a grand send-off.
"Should we be cheering for the Navy's defeat?"
A pirate murmured.
Of course, pirates should rejoice when the Navy suffers a devastating loss.
But the one who had delivered the worst blow was Caelan, the pirate-slaying enemy who founded the Neo Navy.
"What the hell are you cheering for?! We're in deep trouble!"
A pirate cursed in despair.
Compared to the World Government, Caelan was a far more extreme enemy of pirates.
The World Government had created the Seven Warlords system to manage and tolerate pirates. In the Four Blues, they often turned a blind eye to pirate activity.
Some smarter pirates understood that they were tools used by the World Government to exploit member nations. That was why they were left alone.
The Neo Navy, however, offered nothing but prison or death. Though Caelan had recruited a few pirates, he mercilessly executed most of them.
Pirates in the Four Blues could still live freely, but under the rule of the Neo Navy, death was the only outcome.
A strong World Government would end the Great Pirate Era, but pirates could still exist on the sea.
A strong Neo Navy would make the pirate profession itself vanish.
At that moment, many pirates fell into complete despair.
Onboard the Red Force, the Red Hair Pirates were shaken by the devastation of Marineford.
"Haha... The most domineering man in the world, huh? What a joke."
Shanks laughed at himself.
He had brought his entire crew to bow to the Five Elders just to retrieve two bodies.
Meanwhile, Caelan had descended on a dragon, split the Five Elders apart, and thrown the Navy into complete panic the moment he arrived.
"Shanks, don't say that," Beckman shook his head calmly. "If you didn't care about us, you would've fought."
"That's right, Boss! You're no coward!" Lucky Roux and Yasopp quickly tried to comfort him.
"I'm not that fragile," Shanks said with a sigh. "I'm just feeling emotional. Honestly, I should thank him for venting my anger."
What angered him most was being called Saint Shanks by the Five Elders.
But for the sake of his crew, he couldn't act rashly.
Now that Caelan had split the Five Elders in half, he felt some sense of release.
Shanks looked in Caelan's direction and said with emotion, "Even two Captain Rogers wouldn't match that strength."
One man had sliced the Five Elders in half. The three admirals and Sengoku had been blown away.
Who in this world could be his match?
"I really wonder if he's even human... That power is too much," Lucky Roux agreed. "He killed five old Celestial Dragons in one strike. It's insane."
Yasopp narrowed his eyes and said seriously, "Wait, those five old men aren't dead yet."
He had extremely strong Observation Haki. In this aspect, even Shanks couldn't compare.
He sensed something strange about the bodies of the Five Elders, which had been scattered into pieces.
"Huh!?"
The Red Hair Pirates immediately turned to look at the battlefield.
The Five Elders had first been sliced into ten pieces by Caelan, then scattered by the Azure Dragon's assault. Their remains should have been strewn across the ruins.
But now, the bodies of the five phantom beasts they had transformed into were slowly being drawn together.
Beneath them, a mysterious magic circle was glowing with a dark purple-black light.
Black mist seeped from the torn flesh of the bisected phantom beasts, fusing them back together.
The Five Elders, who had seemed utterly destroyed, now looked completely unscathed.
The five enormous phantom beasts of various forms hovered together once again, like demons emerging from hell.
Everyone watching the live broadcast, as well as the Marines on site, were stunned by the resurrection of the Five Elders.
With such an eerie ability to return from death, would they launch another attack against Caelan?
However, the Five Elders did not immediately retaliate as everyone had expected.
Instead, they looked at Caelan with deep fear, like one might look at a monster.
They had all been cut in half by a single blow. If not for the life-saving technique granted to them by Lord Imu, they would have been dead.
And this was only the beginning.
Most of their trump cards had already been revealed, while Caelan remained an utter mystery.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)