Dragon, who had been rapidly retreating with the power of the Wind, Wind Fruit, suddenly came to an abrupt halt. He spun around and glared at Admiral Aramaki, his eyes filled with fury.
"What did you just say?!"
Aramaki had not expected such a violent reaction. Seeing Dragon stop in his tracks, he froze for a brief moment before a mocking grin spread across his face.
"I said your Revolutionary Army is finished! Our Navy already wiped them out in the East Blue, your precious hometown. Didn't you notice they never showed up? Hahaha!"
Dragon felt as though he had been struck by lightning.
The violent airflow surrounding him faltered for an instant.
How could this be?
He had believed the Revolutionary Army was simply following the cautious principles he had taught them. When allies were in danger, remain as steady as a mountain, never rush into battle, and always think carefully before acting.
He had even been pleased by that thought.
In his eyes, even Joy Boy would need time to gather enough strength before challenging the World Government. Charging into the current battlefield with only a handful of people and Zunesha would have been nothing more than reckless suicide.
But Aramaki's words shattered that belief.
The Revolutionary Army had not stayed away.
They had been completely destroyed.
Dragon could not accept it.
The Revolutionary Army was the culmination of his life's work.
His father, Garp, could wait.
But he had to know the truth.
Clenching both fists until his knuckles turned white, Dragon's emotions caused the surrounding winds to grow increasingly violent.
His voice trembled with suppressed rage.
"You're saying Lindbergh... Kildeo... they're all dead?"
Seeing Dragon hesitate, Aramaki no longer felt any urgency to continue the chase.
He casually turned around and pointed his thumb toward the large Justice coat draped across his back.
"Open your dog eyes and look carefully. As long as I wear these two words, I don't need to lie to someone like you."
Aramaki was not merely boasting.
Whether in the original timeline or this one, every Marine Admiral possessed flaws and distinct personalities.
Yet each of them sincerely believed in the justice they upheld.
They all possessed a fundamental sense of integrity.
Ordinary Marines might lie.
But the Justice carried by an Admiral represented their honor.
It was their reputation.
Dragon despised Aramaki with every fiber of his being.
Even so...
He believed him.
Precisely because he believed him, the news struck even harder.
Dragon threw back his head and let out a furious roar.
Several hurricanes, each towering thousands of meters into the sky, erupted around him.
Dark clouds instantly swallowed the heavens.
Thick bolts of lightning descended one after another with deafening explosions, illuminating Dragon's twisted expression with blinding flashes.
He looked almost demonic.
Aramaki, another Logia user, remained completely composed.
Standing atop a giant dandelion, he casually waved one hand.
An endless sea of vines surged upward behind him, shielding him from the storm.
No matter how violently the winds howled, the dandelion beneath his feet remained perfectly steady.
Dragon's reason was rapidly slipping away.
He roared again and again as the power of the Wind, Wind Fruit burst forth without restraint.
The surrounding winds became increasingly violent.
Soon, even Mary Geoise atop the distant Red Line was affected.
At that very moment, transparent ripples suddenly spread outward from the Flower Room within Mary Geoise.
The invisible waves instantly enveloped the entire Holy Land.
The moment Dragon's violent winds reached the city, they immediately lost all their ferocity, becoming as gentle as a summer breeze.
Saint Nusjuro and the other three members of the Five Elders immediately sensed the disturbance.
Their expressions changed dramatically.
Without hesitation, they all knelt toward the Flower Room.
"Imu-sama!"
Most of the Celestial Dragons had never heard that name before.
However, seeing the Five Elders kneel so reverently, they instinctively followed suit.
Only Saint Garling merely lowered his head respectfully instead of kneeling.
Far beyond the Red Line, both Joy Boy and Lloyd sensed the overwhelming aura that had appeared.
Joy Boy frowned deeply.
"That presence... it's familiar."
"One of the Twenty Kings from eight hundred years ago?"
"Who could it be?"
Lloyd narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Aren't you going to make your move yet, Imu?"
While both of them pondered the appearance of that overwhelming presence, Dragon completely lost control.
He became the center of an enormous storm.
Every sea within his field of vision was consumed by hurricanes powerful enough to overturn warships with ease.
The power of the Wind, Wind Fruit erupted completely.
Its Awakening had begun.
Lightning throughout the heavens was drawn into the colossal hurricanes, forming gigantic pillars of lightning that connected sea and sky, each radiating destructive force capable of annihilating everything in its path.
Standing within the eye of the storm, Dragon spread both arms wide.
"Divine Storm, Takemikazuchi!"
The instant those words left his mouth, every accumulated bolt of lightning descended simultaneously.
Aramaki, who had quietly remained within his endless forest, finally responded.
Brilliant emerald light burst from his body.
Countless spores appeared throughout the battlefield.
Faced with the overwhelming destructive force of Dragon's storm, Aramaki also released the Awakening of his Woods, Woods Fruit.
The power that embodied the endless vitality of nature itself.
"Forest World Open, Ironwood Cyathea!"
The countless spores exploded simultaneously.
From every burst of spores, enormous vines shot outward before rapidly growing into colossal trees.
Every tree shimmered with a metallic green sheen.
They towered into the sky, large enough to blot out the sun itself.
Each trunk possessed astonishing durability.
Even without Armament Haki, they withstood Dragon's lightning while continuing to expand relentlessly.
The surrounding trunks intertwined, gradually forming an enormous green bull.
The colossal beast charged straight through the endless forest toward Dragon, who stood within the eye of the storm.
The clash between two awakened Logia users resembled the end of the world.
Hurricanes roared without end.
The endless forest surged like a living ocean.
Broken branches, shattered leaves, violent winds, and raging lightning filled the battlefield in complete chaos.
Aramaki's true body had completely merged into the forest itself.
Dragon, meanwhile, remained clearly visible within the eye of the storm.
There, he continuously unleashed the full might of the Wind, Wind Fruit like a man possessed.
Only when the gigantic green bull tore through his wind barrier did his frenzy subside slightly.
Looking toward Aramaki, who stood proudly atop the beast's head, Dragon spoke through clenched teeth.
"Aramaki... you also participated in the operation that wiped out the Revolutionary Army, didn't you?"
Aramaki tilted back his head and laughed.
"Not exactly."
"I was in the East Blue at the time."
"But Saint Lloyd moved far too quickly."
"By the time I arrived, the Revolutionary Army was already dead."
"Looking back on it now..."
"What a shame."
Dragon bit through his own lip.
Thin wisps of white steam escaped from the corners of his mouth.
His entire body trembled uncontrollably.
He opened his mouth several times, yet not a single word came out.
Seeing that his taunts had completely shaken Dragon's composure, Aramaki immediately increased the output of his powers.
The gigantic green bull beneath him expanded several times over.
Countless razor sharp thorns erupted from its body.
With unstoppable momentum, it charged directly toward Dragon.
In the next instant, the eye of the storm collapsed.
Consumed by grief and rage, Dragon only then remembered to reinforce himself with Armament Haki and mobilize his Devil Fruit for defense.
It was already too late.
The colossal green bull slammed into him with devastating force.
Dragon was blasted away like a falling meteor.
As he tumbled through the sky, countless white particles of light drifted away from his body.
Within moments, nearly half of his body had broken apart into scattered light and dissipated into the air.
~~~
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