The Navy and CP ships surfaced, marking the end of the first test of this battle.
News of Ren's crushing victory over the Navy and CP spread instantly across the world.
This battle was called the Deep Sea Lightning Strike, and through it, Ren announced to the world that he had the power to challenge the World Government.
As news of Ren's victory reached the seas, the pirates' celebrations began.
Most pirate crews held feasts, their chaotic revelry making the seas even wilder.
On the Beast Pirates' ship,
"Ugh… the Navy is useless. It ended before I even got there," Kaido lamented.
The Three Disasters and the Tobiroppo let out a sigh of relief.
From the news, that Ren was clearly a monster. They didn't want to provoke him, and the Navy had deployed all its forces—heaven forbid they get involved.
"This battle won't end so quickly. That Sengoku guy won't just give up," Kaido quickly regained his confidence and sailed toward the New World, leaving his subordinates feeling helpless.
Whitebeard followed the war closely but had no intention of intervening.
Big Mom, however, wasn't as reckless as Kaido. Fighting the World Government had slim chances of success, and she still had to build her territory.
On Fish-Man Island, the fish-men were filled with joy, throwing their own feasts, while Ren remained deep in thought.
This war wouldn't end so easily, he knew that clearly.
He couldn't stay hidden forever, and one of the Three Ancient Weapons, Poseidon, had yet to appear.
His goal was to shake the world and spark a revolution, and so far, the effects weren't strong enough.
He needed to drop even bigger news.
"Ren, how much do you know about history?" Robin asked, approaching him as she noticed him idle.
"Not much," Ren replied.
He didn't care whether the news he released was entirely accurate. Even if it was only partly true, the World Government wouldn't publicly call it false.
"Hmph." Robin turned away. Before she even asked, she had already guessed how the situation would unfold.
Otohime came up to Ren.
"This is fine, right? The whole world might get dragged into this war," she said.
Other emotional mermaids also looked toward Ren.
They weren't afraid of death, but they didn't want to endanger others.
"It definitely will," Ren nodded.
Of course, he knew that, but achieving his goal required it.
The seas were far from calm.
Pirates in the New World were fighting for kingship, pirates in the four seas roamed freely, and only the first half of the Grand Line's pirates kept their heads down.
Though Ren had won, the Navy was not something they could provoke.
To suppress the pirates, the three Admirals of the Navy did not rest. They immediately set off along the seven routes of the Grand Line, clearing pirates wherever they went.
The first half of the Grand Line was gradually brought back under control.
Pirates in the four seas, facing both the Revolutionary Army and the local Navy, didn't dare make any waves.
In the past two days, another piece of news began spreading across the world. The public turned their eyes toward the World Government, waiting for a response.
Sabaody Archipelago, Mariejois.
The Five Elders looked grim. If they allowed Ren to continue spreading rumors, they would probably have to launch another cleanup across the world.
"Heh, people with the Donquixote name really don't know how to be grateful," the Warrior God of Science and Defense snorted.
"Fish-Man Island no longer needs to exist," the Warrior God of Agriculture said, drawing an X on the map. Directly opposite it were the Sabaody Archipelago islands above Fish-Man Island.
The Sabaody Archipelago had lost its meaning. Everyone had evacuated the islands.
During the war, a tsunami over ten meters high had submerged the archipelago. People would not return until the war ended.
In a room full of vegetation, butterflies fluttered everywhere. On the ground lay a wanted poster, marked with an X and pinned down with a knife.
He had ruled for eight hundred years. He could not fail now. Joy Boy? Whoever Ren was, the plan was to crush him in the cradle.
If the war could not achieve its goal, the island where the enemy stood would simply be erased from the map.
Suddenly, dark clouds gathered above the Sabaody Archipelago, crackling with lightning. Nearby Navy headquarters witnessed the scene.
"What is that?" the Navy asked, staring at the spreading clouds.
"Rumor has it that the world has three Ancient Weapons. Pluto and Poseidon are missing, and Uranus is controlled by the World Government," Tsuru said with concern.
If the World Government acted like this, it meant total annihilation. The seas might be reshuffled once again.
"Are they planning to wipe out Fish-Man Island?" Sengoku's face darkened.
"What is this?" Aokiji's expression was equally grim, reminding him of Ohara in the past.
Akainu remained expressionless but fully agreed with the World Government's actions. If evil could be completely destroyed, what was one island?
This scene shook the Navy deeply. Hawks favored it, believing pirates should be eliminated this way, while doves began to doubt the justice they had upheld.
Reporters went wild. This news would undoubtedly explode worldwide, and they didn't care whether Ren could survive this disaster.
At that moment, Uranus activated.
Countless attacks rained down on the giant trees of the Sabaody Archipelago. In a short time, the trees were destroyed at incredible speed.
The assault soon reached the ground, starting to cleanse the entire archipelago.
The scene looked like the end of the world, shocking the distant reporters.
It was as if fate itself had sensed something, and several attacks began sweeping the reporters at the scene.
Before they could even send the photos back, they were blasted to pieces.
Only the photos taken from much farther away were safe, but the sense of impact could no longer be conveyed.
The islands were quickly destroyed, and the attacks turned toward the open sea, showing no sign of stopping until their goal was achieved.
The islands in the Sabaody area couldn't withstand such attacks for even an hour.
Naturally, this island-destroying assault disturbed the creatures of the sea.
The information quickly reached Fish-Man Island, as the attacks were heading straight above them and would soon reach the island through the ocean.
Ren immediately positioned himself directly above Fish-Man Island.
From a distance, the dense attacks looked like a massive pillar of light.
Wherever it touched, nothing could survive—not even the sea itself.
Even the Sea Kings lost half of their bodies.
"Ha~" Ren adjusted his breathing.
He hadn't truly gone all out since several fusions ago.
Veins bulging in his arms, he gripped Muramasa tightly.
Ren swung again and again, each strike faster than the last.
The flying slashes streaked toward the pillar of light, quickly becoming dense enough to appear like a continuous wave.
The warriors on Fish-Man Island below stared wide-eyed.
Ren's power exceeded all their expectations.
Could a human really strike with such frequency?
The slashes collided with the light pillar, causing explosions directly in the water.
Ren's attacks forced the sea itself to retreat, creating a space between him and the pillar.
These explosions stirred the underwater currents violently.
Tsunamis hundreds of meters high surged, devouring everything around them.
At this moment, Ren couldn't think about anything else.
He needed to swing faster, and with increasing strength, or the attacks could not be stopped.
**********
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