On the nearly shattered island, Garp and Dragon faced each other from afar.
Neither of them looked relaxed. Both were panting, both had wounds.
It seemed this had been an evenly matched battle.
"Dragon, you can't even beat an old man like me who's already got half his body in the grave. How are you going to overthrow the World Government in the future?! Stop dreaming!" Garp boomed, continuing to try and persuade his son.
To be honest, Garp hadn't been in a good mood lately. Forget Creed—the one who had sparked this all-out war between pirates and the World Government—and forget Dragon standing right in front of him.
Just the bounty he saw on Luffy some time ago had given him such a headache he almost blew his top.
Ace had already slipped away to become a pirate, and now Luffy had followed the same path—forming a crew and making a name for himself.
Every single child and grandchild turning out like this… as a father and a grandfather, he was truly helpless.
Of course, he also knew he couldn't talk Dragon out of it today. Still, deep down, he couldn't help clinging to a sliver of hope.
He, the "Hero of the Marines," knew better than anyone just how terrifying the World Government's foundations were. Revolutionary Army or pirates—no matter how many there were—none of them could topple it!
He didn't want to reach the end of his life with not a single child or grandchild there to see him off.
"Father, you're wrong," Dragon replied loudly, his voice overflowing with conviction. "The one who can overthrow the World Government isn't me! It's Creed!"
The moment he heard Creed's name, Garp's face darkened.
He had to admit it—Creed was the greatest pride of his entire life, but…
And the most ironic part was this: today, he was here on behalf of the Marines—to bring Creed down…
Boom!
Suddenly, an explosive shock rang out from the southwest. Garp and Dragon both looked up.
Crimson-black flames dyed half the sky, and rolling magma boiled and spread across the heavens. The two of them went silent in shock.
"Sakazuki!"
Right after that, a sharp sword hum erupted.
In an instant, the sky lost all color. The crimson-black flames and the magma everywhere vanished without a trace.
Only a single sword-light remained—blindingly bright—its sword intent tearing through all directions without restraint!
"Creed!"
The two spoke at the same time.
"…When you get the chance, come back to Windmill Village," Garp said after a long pause, sounding tired. "I'm tired too."
Dragon nodded. He understood what those words meant.
His father's journey as a Marine… was truly about to come to an end.
"But before that," Garp added, staring at the signal flares fired from the warships in the distance, "I'm going to drag that little brat Luffy back home first."
With that, Garp waved goodbye to Dragon and launched away using Geppo (Moon Walk).
Dragon watched his back, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.
"Captain, should we chase them?" Big Mom asked, hovering beside Creed atop the thundercloud Zeus, murderous intent rolling off her.
Her battle with Sengoku had been exhilarating—pure satisfaction. But the other side insisted on retreating, and their own condition wasn't great either, so she'd stopped pursuit and returned to ask Creed first.
"Forget it. Pass the order—treat the wounded with everything we've got," Creed said, waving toward the distant figures.
Garp and Zephyr were returning, along with the three admirals. Add Kong and Sengoku on top of that, and the Marines still had enough strength to face Creed's side head-on.
Of course, if Creed insisted on pursuing and slaughtering, he still had the advantage—but what it would cost was another matter.
As the Marines pulled out, cheers finally began to rise on Creed's side. Before long, tens of thousands of voices merged into a sky-shaking roar:
"Creed! Creed! Creed!"
Every shout came from the heart—pure admiration and reverence.
This battle… Creed had been utterly invincible!
Calling it a god descending to the mortal world wouldn't be an exaggeration. With nearly his own strength alone, he had turned the tide—crushing the World Government coalition army.
After confirming that Falkor and Ain were safe, Creed immediately handed off the battlefield cleanup and the mountain of follow-up matters to Dragon and Shiki, then left ahead of everyone else.
But as he departed, he suddenly clutched at some part of his body. His figure faltered, as if discomfort had surged up.
Shiki and the others couldn't help but feel deeply worried, while also sighing in their hearts:
In the end, their captain was still human—not a god. After killing so many top-tier monsters in succession, he had taken no small amount of damage himself.
Creed left the center of the battlefield and returned to his residence on Whole Cake Island. About half an hour later, he pushed open his bedroom door, stepped onto the balcony, and stared toward a distant point on the horizon with a frown.
Back on the battlefield, he'd sensed a familiar presence. He'd immediately come up with a plan—pretending his injuries were severe to lure that person into making a move.
But the other party seemed to see through his trick and didn't take the bait.
"Kaido… Kaido," Creed muttered darkly after sensing that familiar aura withdraw. "The whole world's been fooled by the way you act like a brainless madman. Hardly anyone realizes you're actually as shrewd as a monkey."
That's right.
The one hiding in the shadows, watching greedily, had been that damned Yonko—Kaido.
Creed didn't know which side Kaido would've chosen in this war, but if he suddenly showed up to watch from the shore, it was probably nothing good.
If Creed's side had fallen into a disadvantage, that bastard might've rushed in to stomp them while they were down.
After all, the Marines had captured Kaido countless times and still never killed him. Between him and the Marines in the dark, there had to be something fishy going on—Creed didn't think it was that simple.
Honestly, if he could capture Kaido, killing him wouldn't be hard at all. For Devil Fruit users, there were at least two feasible methods:
First—soak him in seawater, weakening both his Devil Fruit ability and his body, then have an admiral-level powerhouse personally finish him off.
Second—force him to eat a second Devil Fruit and make him self-destruct.
Either method was operationally possible—especially if you used both together…
Which made it obvious: the Marines had been "letting him off" for a reason.
Creed thought for a moment, then decided that after some time, he would make Kaido the next target.
Since you dared to lurk and covet today, you'll have to bear the consequences.
Besides, Kaido held a Road Poneglyph—something Creed needed. Perfect. He could settle it all in one sweep.
—
The news that the World Government coalition army had been defeated by Creed's alliance—fleeing in disgrace—was published across the world at top speed by the World Economy News Paper, splashed across the front page.
The entire world was thrown into another uproar.
While watching the live broadcast, countless civilians had already clearly seen that the World Government coalition was completely on the back foot.
Now the World Economy News Paper poured fuel on the fire with extra detail and embellishment—causing inexplicable panic in many places, and even outbreaks of unrest.
For hundreds—nearly a thousand—years, in the hearts of the world's people, the World Government had always been the strongest existence… the ultimate pillar of faith for most.
Now that this "faith" showed signs of cracking, revolutionary embers that had long been extinguished began to reignite in certain regions.
The world's turbulence had already begun!
A violent storm—one that could sweep everyone up in it—was now brewing somewhere in the New World…
(End of Chapter)
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