Watching the violent clash of Emperor-class titans unfold, the hidden observer, Marcus Mars Saint, kept his beastlike eyes fixed on the battlefield, a predatory gleam flickering within them.
This might be the perfect chance to wipe out all four Emperors.
These filthy pirates were tearing each other apart like rabid dogs. Once they were injured or exhausted, the time would come for the Five Elders to emerge and harvest the battlefield. Even if Souta Kiryuu didn't appear today, they could still take down the Four Emperors. After cleaning up their pirate crews, they could deal with Kiryuu's group and the Revolutionary Army at their leisure.
Mars Saint's plans grew sharper with every thought. Through his Devil Fruit ability, he swiftly connected with the other Elders back in the Holy Land of Mariejois.
"Latest intel confirms that Souta Kiryuu has been sighted at Naval Fortress G14. Zephyr's fleet and the fortress garrison are likely to be annihilated by him. That means Kiryuu won't be showing up at the G18 front. As long as we strike quickly while the Four Emperors slaughter each other, even if Kiryuu tries to use his Paw-Paw Fruit to fly in and help, we can kill him on the way."
The Elder known as Wokyuri spoke coldly, completely indifferent to the death of Zephyr or any of the navy men. In fact, he considered it an advantage that Kiryuu had been drawn toward Zephyr and G14—it gave the World Government a golden opportunity to wipe out the Four Emperors once and for all.
Had the Emperors not turned on each other, the Five Elders would never risk their priceless skins by stepping onto the same battlefield as these wretched pirates. But now that the Emperors were locked in mutual slaughter, all the Elders had to do was wait to clean up the survivors.
Besides, they still had the navy to throw at the enemy first.
"In that case," Nasujuro Saint said, his voice low and venomous, "our primary target will be the Four Emperors. I've wanted to erase Fire Fist Ace—the son of Roger—myself."
Nasujuro's eyes gleamed with bloodlust. Fire Fist Ace wasn't just the Pirate King's son; he carried the D-name as well—a hereditary curse the Government could not allow to flourish. Now that Whitebeard intended to make Ace his successor, eliminating him became even more urgent.
Ace was only twenty years old and already powerful enough to defeat one of the Seven Warlords. Give him a few more years, and he could truly become an Emperor-level monster. The World Government couldn't let that happen.
"I also want Kaido brought back alive," Saturn Saint snarled. "That Azure Dragon Fruit of his belongs to the Celestial Dragons. It's time it was returned to its rightful owners."
Saturn, the Elder in charge of scientific defense, still brooded over the Ghost Tribe bloodline and the Azure Dragon Fruit's theft at God Valley all those years ago—a personal humiliation he'd never forgotten.
"If we could capture Whitebeard and Big Mom alive," added Peter Saint, grinning savagely, "the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, the Soul-Soul Fruit, and that ridiculous steel-balloon body of hers would all be fine prizes."
It had been years since the Five Elders had personally moved against pirate powers. Normally, they left such filthy work to their lapdogs in the navy.
"This age has grown too noisy," Mars Saint said, narrowing his eyes. "Let's extinguish the flames ourselves and purify the chaos of this era."
The five of them sealed their plan—to let the Emperors destroy each other and then step in to finish off whoever was left.
Meanwhile, near Naval Fortress G14.
Aboard the Arclight, the flagship of the Kiryuu Pirates, the crew received urgent distress calls from their allies—the so-called Evil Kings—along with reports of the rapidly worsening situation.
Nico Robin's expression darkened as she read the updates.
Barrett and Enel hadn't withdrawn. They were still fighting the navy.
Worse, Barrett was locked in combat with Aokiji, unable to break free.
Whitebeard's and Big Mom's crews had both joined the battle, and now the Four Emperors were tearing into each other. The Kiryuu Pirates were suffering heavy losses, barely faring better than the navy or Kaido's and Shanks's forces.
Robin glanced toward Souta Kiryuu, who was locked in fierce combat with Black Arm Zephyr, unable to spare a moment for strategy updates. Kuma, Boa Hancock, and Moria had each taken airships to chase down retreating navy vessels.
After a moment of quiet thought, Robin turned to the Seraphim aboard the Arclight, her eyes calm but resolute.
"With Kiryuu occupied, I'll make the call myself. S-Bear—send him to the Evil Kings' marked airship."
"S-Transport, keep the coordinates locked. Maintain den-den mushi contact at all times. Await further orders."
In the heat of crisis, Robin's voice was sharp and commanding. Under her direction, the usually cool-headed tactician exuded the regal dominance of a queen.
"Yes, ma'am!"
The two Seraphim left behind to guard the women immediately obeyed. After setting the coordinates, S-Bear clapped his hands together and sent S-Transport flying toward the Evil Kings' ship.
"I hope Souta approves of this decision," Robin murmured, exhaling deeply. From the bow of the Arclight, she watched her captain clash furiously with Zephyr. Kiryuu seemed almost exhilarated—the fight was clearly to his taste.
Zephyr's seastone arm and bullets forced Kiryuu to take things seriously, drawing on a portion of his true strength to match the former admiral.
"The situation here must already be under surveillance by both the World Government and the Navy Headquarters," Violet said, scanning the surrounding sea with her Gaze-Gaze Fruit. "I wonder how the Five Elders and Sengoku will respond to both wars breaking out at once."
Compared to the chaos at Fortress G18, she was more concerned about their own safety—especially since Robin had just sent one of their emergency Seraphim away.
At that same moment, Souta Kiryuu, locked in combat with Zephyr, still had no idea that Barrett and Enel were refusing to retreat—and that Big Mom's forces had joined the fray. If he knew, he'd end the fight faster or even abandon it altogether to rush to G18 and contain the escalating disaster.
"Those idiots never listen," Perona huffed as she floated in the air, pouting. But before she could complain further, the medium-sized broadcast den-den mushi on the deck suddenly sprang to life, projecting a flickering image across the screen.
"What the—"
"Morgans! That lunatic actually started a live broadcast of the G18 battle!"
The women on the Arclight froze, staring in disbelief at the brutal images flickering before them. The sheer scale and carnage left them momentarily speechless.
"Gahahaha! Ladies and gentlemen!" Morgans' shrill, manic voice echoed through the feed. "The Four Emperors, the navy, and even the Kiryuu Pirates—everyone's here! This is no less than the War of Gods and Demons itself! Are you trembling yet? Because this battle will change the balance of the entire New World!"