To be honest, the World Government really hadn't acted honorably.
They merely issued orders, repeatedly demanding a swift strike to capture Naruto.
But they didn't even inform the Marines below of the true threat level Naruto posed.
Of course, one could say they were constrained by their own pride.
"The Great Criminal fought one against five, leaving God's Knights and Saint Warcury, one of the Five Elders, helpless, and even destroyed most of the Holy Land."
They would even need to elaborate on this news, listing out each and every technique Naruto used one by one.
The World Government's top brass simply couldn't do such a thing.
Anyway, in their view, if the Marines succeeded, all was well. Even if they failed, they themselves would have shown their stance.
This was directed not only at the World Government itself but also at everyone on the sea watching this event.
If someone could attack the Holy Land without paying any price, everyone would follow his example in the future.
Although not everyone could be as absurdly strong as Naruto, where there's one, there will be two...
It wouldn't do to let such riffraff disturb their Imu-sama again.
Regarding a madman like Rocks, just one is already more than enough.
Any future troublemakers would have to weigh their actions carefully, considering whether they could withstand the pursuit of a Marine Admiral.
Of course, this also thoroughly screwed over Garp and the others.
Tsuru watched Garp, trailing black smoke as he fell, her expression extremely grave.
Fortunately, Garp seemed to have only suffered some superficial wounds. After falling a certain distance, his eyes snapped open, and he readjusted his posture, using Geppo to return to mid-air.
However, the old veteran looked rather disheveled at the moment.
The Marine's Justice Cloak that seemed permanently attached to his back was gone. The upper half of his clothes was blown to tatters, and even his chest hair was singed and curled from the heat.
On the back of his right hand, which had made contact with the Conqueror's Bomb, blood continuously seeped out.
Even with his Haki as deep as the abyss, facing Naruto's unreasonable techniques was inevitably somewhat taxing.
But at least there was no one here who needed Garp to take a blade for them alone, and he wouldn't be run through the chest by certain individuals.
So far, the worst injury on Garp's body was the split on his right hand.
He casually tore off his tie and wrapped it around his right hand, then the bleeding stopped immediately.
"Wahahaha, you're getting more and more terrifying, kid."
Even though he had nearly lost consciousness moments ago, the readjusted Garp showed no sign of despair on his face.
"Tch… I knew it wouldn't be that easy."
Naruto complained in a voice only he could hear, then another small, jade-black sphere materialized in his hand.
It was clear that creating a Conqueror's Bomb of this scale caused him virtually no drain.
His Chakra consumption was slower than its regeneration rate.
"Old man, that's enough, don't you think? You can give an explanation to the World Government now."
Naruto casually tossed the Conqueror's Bomb in his hand. This creation of highly compressed Chakra and Haki was remarkably stable in his grasp.
It hardly seemed like something capable of such a terrifying explosion.
Over the past few days, Naruto had been familiarizing himself with this new Ninjutsu he created.
By now, his proficiency with this move could be considered 'highly skilled'.
"Ha! What nonsense are you talking?!"
Garp laughed loudly, raising his fist to charge at Naruto.
But the next moment, everyone present fell into silence.
Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!...
Large clouds of smoke spread across the high altitude. When the smoke cleared, the sky was densely packed with Narutos floating like a swarm of bees.
Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
Garp finally remembered what he had forgotten… Naruto still had this move.
Even Naruto's title [One-Man Army] originated from this.
What is more despairing than the hundreds, thousands of Naruto's clones was the fact that each clone now held a familiar black sphere in its hand.
The clones aimed their palms at the Marines below, even including some pirates in their sights.
"I said, let's call it a day today."
"Who agrees? Who opposes?"
At this moment, no one, including Big Mom and Hancock, could utter a word.
The countless black spheres in the sky seemed like a true natural disaster in their eyes.
No one wanted to experience the consequences of those spheres exploding.
Everyone's attention was focused on Naruto.
During this interval, two figures coincidentally began moving stealthily on the battlefield.
One was the Donquixote Family's executive, Diamante.
He used his cloak to bundle up his petrified, unconscious comrades and his young master, escaping along the shattered cliff face with minimal movement.
He wasn't the only one fleeing, so no one had the attention to spare for him now.
The Donquixote Family's choice to side with the Marines had torn up all pretenses with the Big Mom Pirates.
With their strongest member, Doflamingo, defeated and unconscious, his only option was to escape as quickly as possible.
The other figure moving silently had a more special identity… it was actually Big Mom's fiancé and soon-to-be husband, Orochimaru!
At this moment, he was silently carrying away several unconscious pirates and Marines.
Compared to Diamante, his actions were even more covert, as if this sneaky behavior was etched into his very instincts.
'Excellent... these guys are perfect experimental subjects.'
The soul of the mad scientist had once again taken over. Orochimaru had already chosen his targets… all of them were so-called [Devil Fruit Users].
Orochimaru couldn't wait to conduct research on them.
In a way, one could say Orochimaru's plan had succeeded.
Although his 'main body' in the Ninja World gained nothing, this creation carrying his genes had successfully begun researching the special powers of the One Piece World.
This is a cause for celebration.
It's just unknown whether, if they ever meet one day, this new Orochimaru would docilely choose to remain a dispensable clone.
"Damn brat, when did you become so underhanded?"
Seeing Naruto use his colleagues as threats, Garp also dropped his combat stance.
This indirectly announced the end of this battle.
"This isn't underhanded... it's just avoiding unnecessary sacrifice."
"Their lives are better used for more valuable things."
Naruto's main body arrived in front of Garp. The Conqueror's Bomb in his hand had disappeared at some point.
"Well then, maintaining order on the seas is up to you~ old man."
As he spoke, he even clasped his hands together and raised them mockingly, pissing Garp off so much he snorted, couldn't even be bothered to say goodbye, and simply fell downward.
Then, after he and Tsuru exchanged words in voices only they could hear, the Marines made a decision.
Retreat.
What else could they do? Really sacrifice all their lives here?
On Big Mom's side, watching the Marines withdraw, the residents of Totto Land showed expressions of relief.
In wars like this, the strong could enjoy the slaughter, while they could only passively endure the disaster.
This outcome was already the best possible for them.
BIG MOM herself looked at Naruto with a wary glance, then unwillingly watched as Kizaru transformed into a stream of light and returned to the Marine ranks.
Others might not know, but Big Mom understood.
Naruto's words about 'calling it a day' were also directed at her.
Know when to stop… don't push it endlessly.
Otherwise, the next bombing target might become her Totto Land.
This is also the first time that Big Mom felt the powerlessness of being threatened.
Naruto made everyone stand down through indiscriminate force threat.
This was far more convincing than any 'face'.
And The Great Uzumaki Naruto, standing in the sky, currently had a somewhat strange expression on his face.