The instant Nagasawa made his move, an intense sense of danger surged through Akainu. His Observation Haki frantically warned him that if he failed to dodge the next attack, he was finished.
Akainu tried to evade. He unleashed all of his strength, moving at the fastest speed he had ever achieved, hoping to avoid Nagasawa's fatal slash.
Whether it was because Ryujin Jakka's Bankai had raised the surrounding temperature too high, or because the psychological pressure on Akainu at that moment was simply too great, the Magma Human who had eaten the Mag-Mag Fruit had his forehead covered in beads of sweat, with even his hair soaked and clumped together.
Akainu gritted his teeth, desperately squeezing every last bit of stamina from his body. He felt that, at this moment, he had surpassed the greatest speed he had ever reached before.
'That should let me dodge it... right?'
The thought flashed through Akainu's mind.
But in the very next instant, he discovered that the world had suddenly flipped upside down. He widened his eyes, trying to understand what had happened.
Then, in the next moment, everything disappeared.
Even Kizaru had no confidence in dodging Nagasawa's blade. How could Akainu possibly evade it? The moment he attempted to dodge, Ryujin Jakka in its Bankai state had already cut through his waist, bisecting him.
From everyone else's perspective, Nagasawa charged forward, Akainu managed only a single step before being cut cleanly in half, and then the immense heat of Ryujin Jakka instantly reduced his body to ashes.
"Fleet Admiral Sakazuki!"
Seeing their Fleet Admiral be cut down with a single slash until not even a trace of his body remained, the Marines were overcome with grief.
Although Akainu had originally been less popular than Aokiji during the Fleet Admiral selection, he had already served as Fleet Admiral for more than a year and had done a competent job. Naturally, the Marines had developed some attachment to him.
"What an unimaginably terrifying sword. It doesn't even leave a corpse behind."
Watching from the sky, Kizaru couldn't help but sigh as he saw Akainu reduced to nothing but ashes by a single slash from Nagasawa.
Fortunately, he hadn't actually gone to replace Akainu and hold Nagasawa back earlier. Otherwise, the one who would have vanished without leaving even ashes behind would probably have been him.
"Sakazuki..."
Seeing Akainu killed by Nagasawa, Sengoku let out a sigh.
Back then, he and Commander-in-Chief Kong had recommended Aokiji for the position of Fleet Admiral. Although Akainu ultimately became Fleet Admiral, Sengoku had accepted the outcome calmly. After all, Akainu was also a qualified Marine, and his achievements were no less than Aokiji's.
Now, seeing Akainu killed before his very eyes, Sengoku's emotions were extremely complicated.
As Akainu's former rival, Aokiji should have been happy about Akainu's death. After all, Akainu had even taken one of his legs.
In reality, Aokiji wasn't particularly happy.
He didn't like Akainu. He disliked Akainu's Absolute Justice and his hot-tempered personality.
But that didn't mean Akainu's death brought him great joy. Their differences had always been ideological.
Although Akainu's fundamental objective had not been protecting civilians but maintaining the World Government's rule, he had nevertheless objectively done things that benefited the people, such as fighting pirates and maintaining stability throughout the world.
If Akainu had been a great pirate as evil as Kaido, then Aokiji would have been delighted by his death.
But if you asked whether Aokiji felt sad, the answer was also no.
The reason was simple. He didn't like Akainu, nor did he think Akainu was a good person. Naturally, he wouldn't mourn his death.
To Aokiji, Akainu's death felt like hearing that someone he wasn't close to—and didn't get along with particularly well—had suddenly died. There was no triumphant laughter from finally avenging a great grudge. At most, he would simply say, "Oh, he's dead. That's fine."
Aokiji's attention wasn't on Akainu, but on the battlefield as a whole. Akainu's death completely destroyed what little will to resist remained among the already disadvantaged Marines.
The battle between the Revolutionary Army and Marine Headquarters had been won by the Revolutionary Army.
After dealing with Akainu, Nagasawa pointed Ryujin Jakka at Kizaru and said with a smile,
"Admiral Kizaru, I'll give you three choices. Join the Revolutionary Army, or put on Seastone handcuffs and go to a labor camp."
"Aren't there three choices? What's the last one?" Kizaru asked.
Holding Ryujin Jakka, Nagasawa casually waved it with a smile.
"The third choice is to take one slash from me."
"I see. Join the Revolutionary Army, be imprisoned, or die outright."
Kizaru put on a troubled expression.
To be honest, he didn't want to choose any of them.
If he joined the Revolutionary Army, he'd have to fight the World Government. At the moment, it was still uncertain which side would ultimately win. If the Revolutionary Army lost, there would definitely be a reckoning afterward.
As for the second option, the future was equally bleak. At least with the first choice, if the Revolutionary Army succeeded, he might be able to return to a relaxed life of clocking in and slacking off at work. But the second option was simply miserable. If the Revolutionary Army won, he'd spend the rest of his life in prison. If the Revolutionary Army lost, they might even drag him down with them before they fell.
As for the third option, Kizaru rejected it without even thinking.
He thought the world was still a wonderful place, and he hadn't lived long enough yet. He certainly didn't want to end up like Akainu, reduced to ashes and leaving the world forever.
"What can I do? Looks like I'll have to join the Revolutionary Army."
Kizaru shrugged before slowly descending to the ground.
Nagasawa nodded in satisfaction.
From the beginning, he had never expected Akainu to surrender. That was simply Akainu's personality.
Trying to persuade Akainu had merely been a casual attempt. If it had succeeded, the effect would have been even greater than killing Akainu. If it failed, it didn't matter. Killing Akainu would also achieve an excellent result.
Akainu belonged to the faction within the Marines that firmly upheld the World Government. He was someone the Revolutionary Army absolutely had to defeat.
Kizaru, however, was different.
Nagasawa believed there was still a considerable chance of winning Kizaru over, especially now that the Revolutionary Army had demonstrated such overwhelming strength.
If they had merely been a disorderly pirate crew, Kizaru naturally would never have joined them.
But they were the Revolutionary Army.
In Kizaru's eyes, they were another World Government.
"Borsalino!"
Seeing Kizaru defect without even putting up a fight, Sengoku glared fiercely at him.
At this point, Sengoku even suspected that Kizaru had been an undercover agent all along. No wonder he always disliked working, constantly slacked off, and hadn't seemed to accomplish much in the battle either.
Kizaru shrugged helplessly.
"Mr. Sengoku, you can't blame me. The Revolutionary Army forced me into it. If I refused to join, things would end very badly for me."
Seeing that even the last remaining Admiral had defected, the Marines had become almost numb.
None of them were particularly shocked or saddened anymore.
Perhaps they had simply suffered too many shocks already.
Or perhaps the Revolutionary Army simply had too many Admirals now, so adding one more Kizaru didn't seem particularly strange.
"Sengoku, join us as well. Together, let's establish a Revolutionary Army Navy and uphold justice across the seas."
Zephyr invited Sengoku.
Sengoku thought for a moment before ultimately shaking his head and declining his old friend's invitation.
"If I were twenty years younger, perhaps I'd choose to accomplish something great alongside all of you. But now I've already retired. Just let me peacefully enjoy the final years of my life."
Sengoku no longer possessed the same ambition he once had.
Had Kong not persuaded him to stay, he would have left Marine Headquarters long ago and retired at home.
Now that Marine Headquarters had already been defeated, there might only be the Revolutionary Army Navy in the future. Naturally, Sengoku had no reason to remain.
If Nagasawa would grant him this favor, he would honestly return home, enjoy his retirement, and never interfere in these affairs again.
Sengoku's refusal disappointed Zephyr somewhat.
He then looked toward Garp.
Garp grinned.
"Are you expecting me to work under my own son? I don't want to serve beneath that brat."
"But when you go beat up those Celestial Dragons, be sure to call me along. I've wanted to do that for a long time—I just never had the chance."
Garp burst into laughter.
Dragon belonged to the Revolutionary Army while Garp belonged to the Marines. Although they were father and son, they had spent most of their lives standing on opposite sides.
However, Garp had never disliked his son.
On the contrary, he was proud of him because Dragon truly was remarkable.
Just like Luffy.
Although Luffy hadn't followed Garp's plan of becoming a Marine and had instead become a pirate, whenever he saw his grandson making headlines around the world, Garp would still laugh loudly and say, "That's my grandson!" despite Sengoku's face turning as black as the bottom of a pot.
Dragon had not grown according to Garp's expectations.
Instead, he had achieved even greater accomplishments.
He founded the Revolutionary Army, liberated oppressed people throughout the world, and even the seemingly untouchable Five Elders feared this revolutionary force.
So even though Garp would never join the Revolutionary Army, he was still willing to lend them a hand.
Besides, Garp wasn't making excuses. Beating up the Celestial Dragons really was something he had wanted to do for a long time.
Zephyr nodded.
He understood both Garp's and Sengoku's way of thinking, so he said nothing further and instead went to persuade the remaining Marines to surrender.
Among the Marine high-ranking fighters, the only one still resisting was Ryokugyu.
Although Ryokugyu currently held the rank of Vice Admiral, he possessed Admiral-level strength because Nagasawa had taken the Admiral position that would otherwise have been his.
However, despite Ryokugyu's strength, he was temporarily unable to deal with the combined assault of the Revolutionary Army's Five Army Commanders.
Nagasawa didn't even need to intervene.
Once Aokiji and Fujitora freed themselves up, they quickly defeated Ryokugyu.
After their victory, the former Marines, including Nagasawa, all began persuading the remaining Marines who had yet to surrender.
In the end, the vast majority of the Marines joined the Revolutionary Army, becoming Revolutionary Army soldiers.
The Revolutionary Army's overall strength increased dramatically in an instant.
With so many Marines joining the Revolutionary Army, the outcome exceeded Dragon's expectations.
It was practically as though Marine Headquarters itself had merged into the Revolutionary Army.
Thinking about it carefully, however, it was only natural.
The three current Admirals—Nagasawa, Fujitora, and Kizaru—all joined the Revolutionary Army.
The highly respected former Admiral Aokiji joined the Revolutionary Army.
Zephyr, who could be considered the Marines' greatest instructor, also joined the Revolutionary Army.
Further down were outstanding Marines such as Gion, Smoker, and Tashigi.
With all of them joining the Revolutionary Army, it no longer seemed strange that the other Marines would do the same.
Dragon was delighted.
The Revolutionary Army's strength had risen to another level.
The World Government, however, was anything but pleased.
When the intelligence report reached the Five Elders, they initially suspected it was fake.
How had Marine Headquarters suddenly been completely crushed in such a short amount of time?
Weren't they supposed to be gathering their forces to wipe out the Revolutionary Army?
How had Marine Headquarters, the main force, somehow been destroyed first?
When they looked over the list of Revolutionary Army powerhouses, one of the Five Elders immediately questioned the intelligence officer.
"What is this? Why are all three Marine Admirals listed here?"
"They're all members of the Revolutionary Army now," the intelligence officer answered truthfully.
The Five Elders: ???
We sent you to attack the Revolutionary Army, and you all defected instead?
"Where's Sakazuki? How did he let things turn out like this?" one of the Five Elders asked with a frown.
"Fleet Admiral Sakazuki has fallen in battle," the intelligence officer replied.
The Five Elders exchanged glances before falling silent.
Akainu had been a very useful tool.
How had such an excellent tool simply disappeared?
The Five Elders couldn't help but feel a little regret.
"Admiral Hakuba and Admiral Fujitora were undercover agents of the Revolutionary Army. They secretly brought the Revolutionary Army's top fighters into Marine Headquarters and launched a surprise attack. Marine Headquarters was defeated, and a large number of Marines surrendered and joined the Revolutionary Army."
After thinking for a moment, the intelligence officer summarized the situation.
One of the Five Elders widened his eyes and angrily rebuked them.
"Weren't these Marines always boasting that they were heroes of justice? Then why did they surrender after being defeated instead of choosing death over surrender?"
He was furious.
It was one thing for those useless Marines to fail their mission.
But after failing, they had actually become members of the Revolutionary Army and turned against them.
If they failed, they should have died!
The intelligence officer lowered his head and remained silent.
"This news must be completely suppressed. It absolutely cannot be allowed to spread, or the whole world will descend into chaos," another of the Five Elders said with a grave expression.
It wasn't because he feared pirates would take advantage of the situation to plunder civilians.
As far as he was concerned, civilians could suffer a little—it didn't matter.
If one batch died, another would soon replace them.
What truly worried him was that, once the news spread, member nations dissatisfied with the World Government might seize the opportunity to withdraw, shaking the World Government's rule.
"The Revolutionary Army is actively spreading the news. It's impossible to suppress it," the intelligence officer reported.
After achieving such an overwhelming victory, there was no way the Revolutionary Army would let the opportunity pass.
They were naturally going to publicize it as much as possible, delivering several heavy slaps straight to the World Government's face.
The entire world soon learned that the World Government's Marine Headquarters had ceased to exist.
In its place, the New World now possessed an unprecedentedly powerful Revolutionary Army base.
The news sent shockwaves throughout the entire world.
Even people at the level of the Five Elders instinctively refused to believe it when they first heard it, let alone everyone else.
At first, many people dismissed the report.
The Marines had only recently broadcast their victory over Charlotte Linlin, one of the Four Emperors.
How could they possibly be defeated by the Revolutionary Army so soon afterward?
However, as more and more reports emerged, and after some fearless individuals actually traveled near Marine Headquarters to witness the aftermath for themselves, everyone finally realized that this unbelievable news was completely true.
Once the news was confirmed, the entire world was shaken.
Large and small forces across the globe all began paying even greater attention to the Revolutionary Army.
This time, the Revolutionary Army had truly astonished the entire world.
They had thought they were already placing the Revolutionary Army on an extremely high pedestal by comparing them to the Marines.
Instead, the Revolutionary Army turned around and crushed Marine Headquarters itself, delivering everyone a resounding slap in the face.