The thick clouds filling the sky completely blocked out the sun, shrouding the entirety of Marine Headquarters in darkness.
The sudden appearance of the massive cloud cover caused the Revolutionary Army members at Marine Headquarters to temporarily stop what they were doing and look up at the sky.
Although the weather in the New World was notoriously unpredictable, such an enormous blanket of clouds covering the heavens was still a rare sight.
Not to mention that rumbling thunder echoed continuously within the clouds, making the scene look especially terrifying.
"Why did such a huge mass of clouds suddenly appear? Does this happen often at Marine Headquarters?" one Revolutionary Army soldier asked a Marine who had only recently joined them.
The former Marine shook his head.
"No. We always carefully surveyed our bases before choosing them. Whether it was after this became Marine Headquarters or back when it was G-1 Branch, nothing like this has ever happened."
"Then that's strange..."
"Look! There seems to be something inside!" A sharp-eyed Revolutionary Army soldier noticed what appeared to be a gigantic shadow hidden within the dense clouds.
"There really is something!"
Another Revolutionary Army soldier took out a pair of binoculars and confirmed that there truly was a massive shadow concealed within the clouds.
"Could the clouds have been created by whatever's hiding inside?"
"Could it be the World Government's secret weapon? We need to notify Chief Advisor Nagasawa and the others immediately!"
The strange phenomenon that had suddenly appeared caused a small commotion throughout Marine Headquarters.
However, there was no need for anyone to notify Nagasawa and the others.
Nagasawa had already noticed it from the very beginning.
"Nagasawa, Commander Zephyr, Commander Fujitora, do any of you know what's going on?"
Dragon clearly didn't believe the enormous cloud formation was merely a natural phenomenon, so he first asked the three former Admirals.
All three of them shook their heads.
None of them knew.
"Although I don't know exactly what this is, it's most likely a method employed by the World Government," Nagasawa said.
When he had transmigrated, One Piece hadn't ended yet, so he wasn't surprised that the World Government possessed methods he had never seen before.
Nagasawa had already sensed the aura coming from the enormous shadow above.
It was powerful.
The strongest aura he had ever sensed in the One Piece world.
However, although it was powerful, it still hadn't reached Six Paths level.
So Nagasawa remained completely calm.
"Could it be... that..."
Zephyr seemed to recall something, and his expression immediately became extremely grave.
Dragon looked toward Zephyr.
"Commander Zephyr, have you remembered something related to this?"
Zephyr nodded.
"This happened a very long time ago. Back then, there were no Four Emperors yet. The most famous and strongest pirate crew was the Rocks Pirates."
"The Rocks Pirates..."
Several pieces of information flashed through Dragon's mind.
The lineup of the Rocks Pirates had been unbelievably luxurious.
Three of the future Four Emperors had once belonged to the crew.
Aside from Red-Haired Shanks, every other Emperor had once been a member.
Besides Kaido, Big Mom, and Whitebeard, there had also been many other famous great pirates, such as Golden Lion Shiki.
"Rocks' ambitions were too great. He didn't merely want to become the greatest pirate. He wanted to overthrow the entire world, replace the World Government, and become the King of the World..."
Zephyr slowly revealed some of the hidden truths surrounding the God Valley Incident.
Even many Marine Vice Admirals didn't know about these events.
Only veteran Marines like Zephyr still retained some memories of them.
"Afterward, God Valley simply disappeared. The entire island vanished into thin air. It disappeared from every map, as though it had never existed."
After saying this, Zephyr stopped.
Because that was all he knew.
And after hearing that much, Dragon should already understand.
An island had been completely erased from the map.
All related records had been eliminated.
The method was far too familiar.
There was no way the Revolutionary Army couldn't guess who was responsible.
"In other words..."
Dragon frowned slightly.
"The clouds above us are very likely the same method the World Government once used to erase an island."
Zephyr nodded.
Dragon immediately ordered everyone to begin evacuating.
Although they possessed many top-tier fighters and should theoretically be safe, Dragon still chose the cautious approach.
"How frightening. A secret weapon capable of erasing an island."
Kizaru looked at the sky, now completely covered by dark clouds, clicking his tongue in amazement without showing any sign of panic.
As long as he wasn't facing one of Nagasawa's slashes, Kizaru felt perfectly secure.
"They possess a weapon like this, yet instead of using it to eliminate pirates and protect civilians, they're using it against the Revolutionary Army."
Fujitora tightly gripped his cane sword, prepared to act at any moment.
After a moment's thought, Dragon rode the wind into the sky, intending to summon a powerful hurricane to blow away the clouds.
The enormous shadow hidden within the clouds seemed to notice Dragon's intentions.
In an instant, tens of thousands of purple lightning bolts descended toward Dragon, turning the entire sky into a world of violet lightning.
Sensing the danger, Dragon immediately waved his hand, generating a powerful hurricane to intercept the incoming lightning before rapidly descending back to the ground.
Those below also launched their own attacks to assist him.
Aokiji created a gigantic ice shield to block the lightning.
Fujitora used a gravity-infused slash to deflect it.
"Lightning on this scale... It truly is the World Government's secret weapon."
Dragon's expression became solemn.
Just moments ago, he had sensed tremendous danger.
Had he insisted on flying higher to disperse the clouds, something terrifying would have happened.
Even the extreme weather of the New World could never produce so much lightning that could also accurately target people.
Just then, a brilliant light suddenly erupted from the location of the enormous shadow within the clouds.
Marine Headquarters, which had been darkened beneath the cloud cover, instantly became as bright as noon once more.
Everything was illuminated.
The radiant sphere, resembling a miniature sun, drew everyone's attention.
Aokiji, Fujitora, Zephyr, and Dragon all stared at the glowing mass as though facing a formidable enemy.
They all sensed the threat emanating from it.
Fujitora immediately used gravity to pull down a gigantic meteor and hurl it toward the light.
It was instantly shattered by lightning.
Kizaru crossed his hands, dazzling golden light erupting from his fingertips.
He unleashed Yasakani no Magatama, sending countless brilliant light projectiles surging toward the clouds.
Yet the radiant sphere remained completely unaffected, growing ever brighter.
"Even the Admirals' attacks aren't working?"
There hadn't been enough time to evacuate everyone.
Seeing the scene, some Revolutionary Army soldiers couldn't help feeling discouraged.
Dragon instinctively turned toward Nagasawa.
If none of their attacks worked, then only Nagasawa had any hope of stopping it.
"Your attacks weren't useless."
As he spoke, Nagasawa entered his Breathing Style and released his Zanpakuto's Bankai.
"If not for your attacks, the strike powerful enough to erase an island would already have descended."
"Leave the rest to me."
The radiant sphere in the sky seemed to reach its peak.
An overwhelming pressure descended upon the world, enough to suffocate everyone present.
Sixteen enormous blue beams of light shot vertically downward from within the clouds.
They resembled divine judgment bestowed by the gods upon sinners.
At that same moment—
In the Holy Land of Mary Geoise...
Imu drew an X over the location of Marine Headquarters.