Chapter 144: World in Chaos (2)

In awe, the citizens of Wano stared.

Having watched something unbelieved, Hiyori and Denjiro were left bewildered.

Smoker, whose back was facing them, had his form illuminated via the golden light shining from the rising sun.

And he was just the start.

"Rahahaha... what a night it was!"

"Hina better get the rest that Hina deserves."

Revealing themselves from the back were those who participated in the war against the Beast Pirates.

Aramaki, Hina, Bastille, Rosinante, Maynard, Senor Pink, Robin, X Drake, Doll and her marines.

Facing away from the sun, their figures seemed to glow in front of the eyes of others.

On top of that,

"H-Hey! Isn't he—"

One person remarked as the yakuzas revealed themselves.

"Hyogoro of the Flower!"

"...Hm?"

Standing with dizziness that rendered his vision hazy, Hyogoro raised an eyebrow.

"And so-dara,"

Bastille, walking up to Smoker, asked.

"what now, Smoker?"

Smoker, taking in a deep breath, let his mind and body rest for a brief moment. Watching as the bright sun rise, he felt the sense of accomplishment wash over him.

He surely has come far. Kaidou was one of those whom he aspired to top in the long past when he was yet weak.

Smoker rolled his sore shoulders. The fatigue rendered him dizzy slightly, but ignoring it, he turned and stated.

"Onigashima."

__________

[Whole Cake Island, Totto Land]

The houses and buildings made out of biscuits and candies have long been crumbled down into dusts. On top of them lied the dead bodies of pirates and soldiers—who were affiliated with either the Big Mom pirates or the Pirate Alliance.

Likewise, the castle that used to stand at the center of the Whole Cake island's Sweet City, the Whole Cake Chateau, was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, there was a strange phenomenon, in which the vast area of the ground was covered by what appeared to be pure darkness. Everything within the range was being 'pulled' into such darkness, before they were ground into dusts.

"Even Whitebeard failed to win against me."

And in the middle of this domain of darkness, there stood Marshall D. Teach, the Blackbeard who had 'Big Mom' Charlotte Linlin on her knees.

"What made you believe that you'll be able to achieve what Whitebeard failed?"

It was an utter loss. From the start to the end, Linlin was dominated without a chance to retaliate.

"How..."

And Linlin couldn't help but cry.

"How is it that you are able to use two fruits at once?!!"

"Ah, so that's what you're curious of?"

Blackbeard curled up his hands into his fists. On his right fist, the spherical, transparent energy of tremor manifested. On his left fist, the dense shroud of darkness came into view.

Then, releasing his power, Blackbeard grinned.

"Zehahaha... isn't it simple?"

If one person can have one Devil Fruit... three should be capable of taking three! As simple as that!

Linlin's eyes widened, and Blackbeard's grin intensified.

"Three, Linlin. That's what I said, not two."

The pool of darkness beneath them was long gone. Around them stood the rest of the Pirate Alliance, those ranging from Ochoku to Caesar.

Holding onto a huge black cloth, they threw it around Blackbeard and Linlin.

__________

"...Shanks."

'Red Hair' Shanks. Reading down the newspaper in his hands, his expression was filled with concern.

"This... are we too late, Beckman?"

*'Big Mom' Charlotte Linlin meets her end at the hands of Pirate Alliance!*

"First Whitebeard, then Big Mom. The Pirate Alliance that we see now, it's as if they are..."

'...The reincarnation of the Rocks Pirates.'

Thought Shanks as he swallowed his words.

"Rocks D. Zachs. The Poneglyphs that were distributed by the combined efforts of Joy Boy, Nefertari D. Vivi, and Kozuki family of Wano, were secretly touched by the man following their deaths."

Beckman, who was found behind the table full of papers, noted.

"So far, we discovered that he was the king of the Ancient Kingdom who initiated the production of Devil Fruits by using Human Human fruit, model: Nika as the sample."

"Next, we deduced that among the four hailed gods in today's folklore, the so-called 'earth god' has emerged during the Void Century. This gave rise to the theory... that the Devil Fruit that gave rise to the belief in earth god may be one of those that the Ancient Kingdom created unlike the other three."

Shanks pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm his headache.

"Marshall D. Teach, Blackbeard. Saber of Xebec. Rocks D. Xebec. Rocks D. Zachs. The will of D..."

Shanks grimaced.

"Their D differs from the others. Starting from Rocks D. Zachs, they've been planning for a long time. Though we don't have the full truth, one thing is for sure.

We can't allow him to reach One Piece."

Beckman sighed.

"Four years, ago, the Pirate Alliance took the maximum advantage out of the chaos among the Marine. While Kaidou was at Marine base G-1, they took a copy of his Road Poneglyph. While Big Mom and Kaidou fought one another, they took a copy of Big Mom's Road Poneglyph. It is very likely that they have a copy of Road Poneglyph which is situated on Fish man island. In that sense... they are missing one only."

"...Zou, you mean."

Shanks fell silent, entering a deep thought.

Eventually, he concluded.

"Then Zou will be our next destination."

Turning around, Shanks asked the spectators,

"I know that it may be hard for you, but... will you help us?"

Those spectators, Marco and Whitey Bay, revealed their rage.

"...You know our answer-yoi."

Marco narrowed his eyes as his face remained stoic.

Whitey Bay looked down and gritted her teeth as she struggled to contain her tears.

"Pops was killed by the hands of the devil whom he believed was his son-yoi. He was betrayed by his family—one that he valued more above all else."

Marco dropped his head. He then said weakly,

"But... it is pops that we're talking about here. Blackbeard... he topped pops-yoi. If so, what must we do to kill him?"

"...Just as how we deal with any other enemies."

Shifting his eyes, Shanks then asked,

"May I ask you to help us? It's the matter that will decide the fate of the world."

"Heh!! You know our answer already!!"

"We don't ignore our friends' call for help!!"

The ones whom Shanks was looking at were none other than the giants; precisely, the members of Giant Warrior pirates.

Yes, that's right. Currently, they are in Elbaf.

"You have my thanks, dear friends."

Shanks turned and gazed at the Den Den Mushi that sat nearby.

"And what about you?"

"..."

The Den Den Mushi remained silent. Shanks nonetheless said,

"...Frankly speaking, there is no way that we alone can defeat Blackbeard. The strength that surpasses that of Catastrophes—I haven't reached that level of strength yet. Without you... we cannot win.

Are you going to sit there and watch, doing nothing at all?"

The Den Den Mushi's eyes narrowed.

___________

Tajine kingdom. It was on this island that the Revolutionary Army's East Army, led by the commander Ginny, operated to free the kingdom from the rule of corrupt royalty.

Then, following the operation, the World Government forces led by God's Knights launched a sudden attack. Ginny was in a dire situation, until Bartholomew Kuma came in to save her.

And that was just the start... of the development of a full-blown war between the Revolutionary Army and the World Government.

"Bwahahaha!"

"What's so funny, Garp?! This is a war that we're talking about here! Focus!"

Before Kuma's battle against Garling resumed, the full force of the rebellion against World Government appeared.

The past marines, including Garp, Sengoku, Tsuru, Kuzan, Zephyr, Momonga, and more, stood in their full glory, for the first time in four years since the Impel Down incident.

Shockingly, they stood together with the world's worst criminals, the Revolutionary Army which included Dragon, Kuma, Ivankov, Ginny, and many other notable individuals.

"Monkey D. Garp...!"

Forgetting the presence of Kuma, Garling instantly growled as he glared at Garp.

"Ah, Garling, what's up?"

Garp, cracking his knuckles, grinned as he stared at the man of similar age in front of him, Figarland Garling.

As Garling gritted his teeth and led himself to be immersed in rage, Garp snickered.

"Perfect timing, really. I've been waiting, yearning for years to beat the shit out of you."

"Monkey D. Garp!!!"

Garling cried as his grip over his sword tightened.

"Today... today will be the day where you'll pay for all the disrespect and vile tendencies that you've thrown toward the almighty Celestial Dragons!!! I, Figarland Garling, the glorious leader of God's Knight and the champion of God Valley, swear on my name... that you will meet a gruesome end!!!"

"Pff—bwahahaha!!! Bwahaa... haa... pff—hahaha!!"

In response to Garling's shout, Garp exploded in a fit of laughter, crying as he did so.

"Gosh, you're as funny as always."

Calming himself down, Garp returned his gaze at Garling whose body trembled in a sheer rage.

"You? To me? I see that you've become even more delusional than in the past. Did Xebec hit you that hard?"

"GARP!!!!"

The two of them then vanished, before Garp's fist broke through Garling's sword and smashed the man's face with an unbelievable strength.

"BWAHAHAHA!! GALAXY IMPACT!!!"

Everyone saw an enormous explosion that arose from Garp's fist following his declaration. Garling, reduced into a pile of bloody mess and barely alive, was now rolling on the ground without a hint of consciousness.

"...?"

Another member of God's Knights, Manmayer Lavender, stood in confusion, unable to believe what just happened.

"What even—"

Before she could even finish her words,

"Impact Wave!!"

a golden shockwave reached her in an instant before she could react to it. Receiving the full brunt of it, her body exploded as she was crushed down to the earth.

Standing with a serious expression on his face was Sengoku, whose outstretched hand was revealing a golden glow.

Then, he proceeded to shift his eyes to the side and gaze at the spectating swordsman.

"...Dracule Mihawk."

With sharp eyes, Sengoku asked.

"Are you here to fight?"

"What if I am?"

Without losing his confidence, Mihawk smiled excitedly.

"Uh... are you sure that this will work?"

And unknown to Mihawk, there were two men who were whispering among themselves: Shu and Akehende.

"Supposedly, I can use my Devil Fruit power to corrode that black sword thingy of Mihawk?"

"I mean, what can a swordsman do without a sword?"

Akehende whispered into Shu's ears.

"Do it, dude! And become a hero!"

"Hmm..."

Shu rubbed his chin as he tried to resist a smile from making its way onto his face.

Then, they found their heads slammed by Zephyr.

"Idiots, what have I told you about the 'overflow' of Haki?!"

Shaking his head, Zephyr said as he gazed at Mihawk's black sword, Yoru, intuitively.

"Devil Fruits can be resisted through Haki, and black sword... it is the ultimate level of a weapon where it attains the 'will' of its own!"

Looking at Shu who was groaning while rubbing his head, Zephyr sighed,

"Unless you can top such a will, forget about corroding that thing!"

"...And so,"

While Zephyr was busy with Shu and Akehende for the moment, the Revolutionary Army and past marines together overwhelmed the World Government forces.

Dragon, looking up to the sky, noted,

"Here they come."

What they faced just now was a mere fraction of the World Government's full power. And according to what Smoker and others told Dragon in the past, the World Government has a user of Warp Warp fruit.

Along with a flash, there appeared the countless number of World Government troops atop the sky.

The remaining members of God's Knights, Cipher Pols, Royal Guards, and named warriors. They made the sky darker just from their sheer number.

However, the number wasn't the biggest concern.

On the ground, in front of Garp who was about to land a finishing blow to Figarland Garling, there now stood five elderly individuals.

"Five Elders... it's been a while."

Garp, whose expression grew serious, remarked.

"...Monkey D. Garp."

The elder who stood at the center, Topman Warcury, stated grimly,

"In the name of justice, the traitors who brought chaos unto the world shall fall today."

__________

"I refuse."

At the harbour of Marineford, there lied numerous warships, ready to head out. However, their departure was stopped by the presence of one man, one whom no one expected would do this.

"...Borsalino,"

Sakazuki muttered with a hint of disbelief in him.

"Why?"

"I simply realized... the reason why I resorted to the ideology of ambiguity."

Borsalino's eyes, hidden behind the sunglasses that he wore, stared at the marines who looked at him in shock.

Tensei, Tokikake, Bayard, Doberman, many more... and finally, Sakazuki. One by one, he looked at them before taking in a deep breath.

"Our justice is corrupt. No, from the start when it was established by the World Government, it was bound to be this way."

"Have you gone crazy, Borsalino?!!"

Doberman shouted, but Sakazuki's face turned stoic, finding his heart wavering from Borsalino's words.

"Acting as if nothing but money matters, acting as the mindless goon of World Government for the sake of my safety..."

Within Borsalino's shrouded eyes lied a deep regret.

'If only I realized this sooner...'

"I'm done, Sakazuki."

His body glowed brilliantly, indicating that he was preparing for a battle.

"To reach the Tajine kingdom, you'll have to go through me."

"..."

Sakazuki's eyes were shadowed by the cap that he wore. He looked down while gritting his teeth, before lifting his head back up and looking at Borsalino with bloodshot eyes.

"Stand back. None of you can beat Borsalino."

Sakazuki's surroundings began to heat up as he stepped out of the ship. His right arm morphed into magma and bubbled.

"Tensei!"

As Tensei looked at Sakazuki, Sakazuki ordered.

"I'll hand over the authority to you for this temporary moment! As I face the traitor, head over to the Tajine kingdom and purge the evil!"

"...Yes."

Tensei nodded, and Sakazuki blasted himself toward Borsalino.

The destructive magma clashed against the brilliant light.