Wearing his signature frog-like glasses, Coby waved his arms frantically and shouted at the top of his lungs, "All Marines, speak your minds with me and end this war! There's no need for us to keep fighting!"
His cries were filled with emotion, tears and snot running down his face.
He truly believed himself to be the savior of the Navy, convinced that his words would allow the wounded Marines to survive.
Not only would they be safe, but he also thought he had helped save countless injured comrades.
When Coby's shout echoed across Marineford, the entire Navy fell silent, unable to believe what they'd just heard.
Then, a massive uproar broke out. The more than 60,000 surviving Marines were in an uproar.
"Vice Admiral Garp's disciple just stepped up to surrender!?"
"He didn't go out to fight, he went to surrender?!"
"Did I hear that right!?"
The sailors all stared at Coby standing at the center of the battlefield in disbelief.
They had thought Coby rushed forward to declare war on Caelan on behalf of the Navy, to be the one to lead the charge.
Even if the World Government was corrupt, that was something to address after the war ended.
But the disciple of a hero like Garp was now publicly calling for surrender... to Caelan, who had infiltrated Marine Headquarters!
Since when did he represent the entire Navy? No one else had agreed to surrender!
"Bullshit! Don't speak for me! I'd rather die here—die eight hundred times over—than surrender like a coward!"
"Who do you think you are, speaking on behalf of the Navy?! We have no room for cowards like you!"
"Don't speak for us! We are not deserters!"
Tens of thousands of Marines erupted in fury.
An injured Marine even lifted his trembling arm and punched Coby, ignoring the blood pouring from his wound.
They resisted Coby's claim with their own blood, expressing their defiance.
The Navy's sense of justice had already been humiliated by Caelan, and now even their last source of pride—their courage—was being trampled. That was something they would never tolerate.
Without justice or bravery, what were they?
Cowards. Deserters. The most shameless kind of people.
"Why are you all doing this?! Aren't you afraid of dying? Don't you have families and children?!"
Coby was stunned by the wave of outrage from his fellow Marines.
This wasn't what he imagined. He thought that once he stepped forward, others would follow.
He believed that life was precious, so why didn't they understand that?
"Deserter, shut your mouth."
Onigumo stared coldly at Coby, his killing intent radiating like a blade.
To disrupt morale right before a major battle was no different from treason. Even death a hundred times over wouldn't be enough to atone.
But because he was Vice Admiral Garp's disciple, they couldn't just kill him here. Someone of higher status would need to pass judgment.
"Y-yes, Vice Admiral..."
Coby cowered beneath the murderous aura, his body trembling uncontrollably.
He felt wronged. He had only wanted to save everyone. Why had things turned out like this?
...
"It seems your men are starting to recognize my power." Caelan looked at the Five Elders and laughed. "Looking to surrender? He just said I could give you a cell to live in!"
With the Whitebeard Pirates annihilated and Shanks losing the will to fight, Caelan hadn't expected the infamous scene to play out.
But surprisingly, Coby had performed just as expected, putting on a spectacular show in front of him.
Whether or not the wounded Marines were saved was unclear, but Caelan's own prestige had undeniably risen.
"You disgraceful coward!" Saturn, in his bull demon form, roared with fury. "The Navy doesn't need someone like you!"
His rage toward Coby at that moment was no less than what he felt for Caelan.
Without hesitation, he fired a venomous energy ball at Coby.
"Ah!"
Coby screamed in terror as the venom ball hurtled toward him at blinding speed.
Before he even had time to lose control of his bowels, the venom consumed him completely.
In an instant, the pink-haired Marine who had just cried out "surrender" was vaporized into nothing.
Garp stood by, unmoving, silently closing his eyes in anguish.
Disrupting morale before battle deserved death.
Seeing Coby die, he didn't even feel angry. There was simply no reason to be.
"Sengoku! This is the Marine you trained! He's disgraced both the Navy and the World Government!" Saint Nusjuro shouted furiously at Sengoku.
The live broadcast from Marineford was still being transmitted to the entire world.
Now, the Marine who surrendered before the final battle had made his grand appearance for the world to see.
They had just been labeled evil by Caelan. Now they were being shown as cowards.
The prestige that the Navy and World Government had gained from defeating Whitebeard and intimidating Shanks vanished instantly.
"Yes, Saint Nusjuro."
Sengoku bowed his head and accepted the scolding, unable to say a word in his own defense.
He was filled with frustration and confusion. Why would Coby do this?
If he was afraid, he could've run. Why humiliate the Navy in front of the world?
He could already imagine what people across the world would say: that the Navy was evil, cowardly, only good at bullying the weak and fearing the strong.
The Navy's image had been completely destroyed.
Akainu, watching Sengoku get berated, felt both anger and despair.
He was furious that Sengoku had produced such a disgraceful deserter.
And he was distressed because now, the burden of cleaning up this unprecedented mess would fall on him, and he too might end up as another puppet of the Five Elders, just like Sengoku.
As the Navy fell into internal turmoil, Caelan finally spoke again.
"Thanks for the little performance, but I don't have time to watch you sort out this mess."
"Let's continue. The World Government's defeat today won't just be one of reputation."
As he spoke, Caelan slowly raised his golden divine spear, firing a beam of golden-red light straight at the Five Elders.
The beam scorched the air, crackling with immense power.
In the blink of an eye, it crossed hundreds of meters and slammed into Saturn, who had taken the form of the bull demon.
Boom!
The beam struck the massive body of the demon, blasting open a two-meter-deep crater.
"Roar!"
The bull demon howled in pain. A black aura surged over the wound, rapidly healing the damage.
Saturn was shocked by the power behind Caelan's attack. That casual strike carried the force of his own full strength.
Fortunately, the black energy regenerated his body, granting him invincibility.
"Caelan, you can't kill me!"
"Everyone, go! Kill this menace right here!"
The five mythical beast demons unleashed their terrifying powers in a coordinated assault aimed at killing Caelan on the spot.
Akainu, Aokiji, Kizaru, and Sengoku joined in simultaneously, supporting the Five Elders' offensive.
Caelan wielded both sword and spear, the silhouette of a majestic, ferocious blue dragon rising behind him.
Marineford was about to witness an epic battle like never before.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ 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.)