"You know quite a few secrets, it seems."
Im watched Souta Kiryuu coldly, the shadow spears around him reforming one by one, his gaze filled with lethal intent. He hadn't expected that this upstart who had only risen in the past two or three years would actually know the hidden prophecy of the Sun God Nika and the Sea King Poseidon. Those records were supposed to have been scrubbed clean by the World Government.
Could it be that Gol D. Roger really did leave something behind on Laugh Tale?
And the blueprint he commanded the Five Elders to track down for so many years… the fabled weapon Pluton… so it really fell into this brat's hands.
He always knew that the incident in the Sorbet Kingdom involving the Pluton blueprints wasn't baseless rumor. The total wipeout of the CP9 team in Water 7—there was no way it had been as simple as the reports said.
All of this… it had to be Souta Kiryuu's planning.
But would Vegapunk, with that soft-hearted personality of his, really help Souta Kiryuu create a world-ending weapon like Pluton?
And even assuming Souta's crew had the resources… could they really build a new Pluton-class battleship within one or two years?
Then again, considering Vegapunk's mind… and Souta's strategic talent… a lower-grade imitation Pluton might not be impossible.
The Kiryuu Pirates and the Revolutionary Army… perhaps they truly had something prepared, a hidden blade aimed at Mary Geoise.
Which meant… Im really could not simply leave the Holy Land to descend directly onto this battlefield.
The Heavenly King Uranus was far more important than the lives of a pack of rebels.
···
Meanwhile, near G1 Headquarters, the Kiryuu Fleet moved.
Under the command of Gecko Moria, the zombie army swarmed, joined by Pacifistas and lunar automata. Nearly half of their airborne ships had been separated out, loaded with gigantic rail cannons, high-yield bombs, and chemical payloads.
They were preparing a suicidal assault on Mary Geoise—creating chaos so that Im would be forced to remain on the defensive.
"Heheheh! Law! PX-Bruno! You better do this right! Use your Devil Fruit abilities to send S-Kuma inside the Mary Geoise barrier!"
"S-Kuma! You leave as many Paw-Paw markers inside Mary Geoise as possible! I want to see if the Celestial Dragons want to rebuild that city again!"
Once the Kiryuu Pirates' main combatants had departed for G18 Fortress, Gecko Moria, as temporary field commander, was executing Souta's contingency orders.
"..."
Trafalgar Law only gave Moria a flat look. If Souta didn't worry that Moria would run to G18 and mindlessly try to get revenge on Kaido, Souta would never have let him command anything.
The actual command authority still rested with Law, Lafitte, and the other strategic minds. They held direct directive control over S-Kuma, PX-Crocodile, several Seraphim models, and even the Pacifistas and lunar robots.
···
On the frozen glacier of G18 Fortress—
Souta noticed that Im had stopped descending completely, and quietly let out the breath he'd been holding.
If the King of the World descended here personally… countless pirate elites and Kiryuu crew members would fall today.
But he, Kaido, Big Mom, the Red Earl—all those capable of sustained aerial combat—had a high probability of escaping.
Among the Five Elders, only one of them had long-duration aerial power.
If Im dared to chase them over open sea and sky… Souta could immediately regroup with Kaido, Big Mom, and the Red Earl and launch a full-scale aerial siege.
Im, this ancient undying monster, was strong. But not truly invincible.
Many top-tier monsters in history had died being overwhelmed.
···
"Arrogant."
Im was still contemplating Souta's words when he caught sight of a hulking dark figure—Blackbeard Teach—drowning Saturn in spreading darkness.
Without hesitation, Im unleashed a storm of shadow spears and arrows, all aimed at Teach and Souta.
That loyal servant who had followed him for centuries… would not die at the hands of insects.
"SATURN!!"
From above, Saint Mars finally had a chance to break away and try to save the dying Saturn.
"Heh-hahaha… The old bastard took my eye once. I said he'd die today. So he dies today!"
Souta laughed, transforming into his Thunderfire Half-Dragon Form, flames roaring skyward as he moved to shield Teach, facing down Im's second assault and the flanking strike of Izunaten.
"Lord Souta!"
Boa Hancock erupted forward, her Conqueror's Haki crackling like a storm as she shattered the Armament Haki-guarded forearms of a CP0 agent with a single kick.
The agent stared in horror—no Devil Fruit user should be able to break pure Armament with brute force.
But Hancock didn't even look back at him. She was already rushing toward Souta's side.
"If you could travel anywhere… where would you go?"
A gentle voice sounded behind the CP0 agent before he could scream. A massive paw-shaped hand descended.
"Pop."
The air rippled. The agent vanished. Only a whisper of displaced wind remained.
Bartholomew Kuma disappeared next, heading toward the fallen Shiki the Golden Lion, who was bleeding out.
He had to bring Shiki back to the skyship. They needed his Devil Fruit—he couldn't be allowed to die here.
When Kuma arrived in the crater of ice, he froze. Shiki's chest had been completely run through.
"His life force is fading. That energy… something unnatural."
"Damn… he might not survive."
Kuma quickly used the Paw-Paw Fruit to expel Shiki's pain and part of the damage—but the wound was catastrophic. Even with that, Shiki was likely going to die. Only Law's Ope Ope no Mi had a chance of saving him. But Law hadn't arrived. He was on another mission.
This was bad.
"I can only stabilize him for now."
Kuma shoved Blood Crystal Dandelions into Shiki's mouth while expelling more damage, trying to keep him alive long enough —either for Teach to reclaim the Float-Float Fruit, —or for Law to teleport here.
But the next instant—Kuma jerked and vanished with Shiki in tow, cold sweat pouring down his face.
A rain of shadow arrows obliterated the entire crater where they had just been.
"Float-Float users. Paw-Paw users. Magma users. Eliminate them all."
Even while assaulting Souta, Im was also targeting every elite Devil Fruit user near the teleportation array.
Shadow spears and arrows rained down toward Shiki, Kuma, and even Akainu, the traitor admiral.
If he could not save Saturn from Souta's hands—then the rebels here would pay with their lives.
And weakening Souta's army further was an added necessity.
···