New World, Nansha Island Waters.
"No, that's… a meteorite!"
Across the World Government coalition, countless sailors and soldiers stared at the burning stones streaking through the sky, trailing flames like falling suns, and panic detonated through the ranks.
For the past day or two, they had already been battered without rest, bombed by the air fleet, raided by fishmen at night. Now the nightmare escalated again.
Meteorites.
The moment the first one slammed down, towering waves erupted, crushing warships as if they were toys. White pigeons from coalition headquarters flapped frantically between decks, carrying orders that demanded the fleet spread out even farther, trying to reduce losses.
But Antonio had anticipated that, too.
Under his arrangements, the four fallen angels, led by Abefu, unleashed the Chiropteran Air Force. Bat wings cut through the skies, hunting the white pigeons one after another, tearing down the coalition's only remaining line of communication and turning command into a stuttering mess.
At the same time, Morgans's News Coo seized the chaos and flooded the sea with paper.
The King's Recall Order.
The death of the Five Elders.
The fall of the Navy's top leaders.
Headlines screamed across the battlefield, each one a blade meant to split the kingdom forces from the World Government and crack their will.
Vice Admiral Tsuru sensed the poison immediately.
She ordered the World Economic News Agency's seagulls shot down, ordered newspapers burned, notes destroyed, rumors erased.
But even she knew the truth.
She was already losing the contest against Antonio.
Hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers could no longer contact headquarters. They began fighting on their own, and some even withdrew outright.
The so called Warlords, dragged into this war like chained dogs, collapsed even faster.
Captain John, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, saw Wang Zhi and the others and ran for his life, fleeing like a rat from a burning ship.
Naguri had never intended to die for the World Government. He stirred trouble with Gaban, clashed for a brief moment, then vanished into the chaos. His whereabouts became unknown.
Only Dorado, the rebellious Warlord, held the line. He led his former marines and fought desperately against the Hell Pirates, teeth clenched, refusing to yield.
It did not save him.
Shakky, the vampire, and Stussy, the siren, struck together. His blood was drained dry, and Dorado died on the battlefield.
Then the true monsters stepped onto the board.
Shakky.
Chinjao.
Hades.
Osiris.
Kanna.
One after another, Conqueror's Haki awakened users charged into the coalition's front, unleashing their will without restraint. Waves of pressure rolled through the sea like invisible tides, crushing morale and turning disciplined soldiers into trembling figures who could barely keep their weapons steady.
Even Katakuri, Linlin's adopted son, had awakened Conqueror's Haki.
Dragon's clone, Ryuichi, had awakened it as well.
One had the special Paramecia Mochi Mochi Fruit. The other wielded an artificial Azure Dragon Fruit. Their strength had already climbed to the level of elite vice admirals.
And then the giants arrived.
More than a dozen ancient giants, each over sixty meters tall, stormed into the battlefield like walking fortresses. Hundreds of ice giants, over forty meters tall, followed. Seven or eight hundred Elbaf giants, each above twenty meters, charged behind them, their steps shaking the sea.
The World Government coalition fell into panic.
These were monsters that could fight a hundred men, even a thousand, with a single swing.
And among them, the coalition spotted something even worse.
An eighty meter long giant fishman, San Juan, capsized warships like driftwood and dragged them under in the span of breaths.
"That's the giant battleship, San Juan Wolf!"
The vanguard marines cried out in terror.
A super giant, nearly one hundred eighty meters long, smashed into the densest part of the coalition fleet. San Juan Wolf wore alloy armor over vital points and wielded a sword hundreds of meters long.
One sweep.
More than a dozen warships shattered.
The destructive power was obscene.
"Ahahaha! Big Brother, I'm coming too!"
Byrnndi World, roared with laughter, gripping a Vegapunk submachine gun. Under the hundredfold amplification of the More More Fruit, the bullets became solid one meter long slugs.
A dense barrage screamed through the air, tearing ships apart like paper.
Warships became rubble.
Tsuru's spine went cold.
Worls's brother, Byojack, turned into an octopus siren. At his call, a Kraken siren more than three hundred meters long surged from the deep, coiling around hulls and dragging ships down into the seabed.
The coalition retreated while firing back in frantic bursts. Fear made them empty their cannons without thought. They had never experienced a battlefield like this.
The Five Elders, the Fleet Admiral, and the admirals had all gone to face the monsters at the top of the Hell Pirates. That left only Tsuru and a handful of staff type vice admirals to command the million strong force.
Even Tsuru, famed for unmatched wisdom, felt the weight of the sea pressing down on her.
These New World pirates were terrifying.
Each one carried an unstoppable Devil Fruit.
A normal vice admiral could not handle them, and could be killed in a single exchange.
"Staff Officer Tsuru!" A bird type Devil Fruit user dropped from the sky, half beast form maintained, face pale. "The eastern branch is collapsing under the giants' assault. Hundreds of warships are turning to flee!"
He had seen too many sailors and soldiers smashed into pieces, swallowed by the cold sea, buried beneath the New World.
"Report!"
An insect type Devil Fruit user darted down next, voice frantic.
"The two hundred thousand coalition force from the southern kingdom is retreating! Conqueror's Haki users on the Hell Pirates' side are suppressing them. And there's a Mimic Fruit user who's taken the King's appearance and is driving them back!"
"How is that possible!" a vice admiral bellowed, eyes bloodshot. "Those are kingdom elites! How can they break so fast from Conqueror's Haki alone!"
He had believed the numbers would crush the pirates. A million against a few hundred thousand. It should have been overwhelming.
But after only a few days, the coalition already showed signs of a disastrous defeat.
"Damn it," Tsuru said, her voice low and heavy. "Their mid to upper level fighters are too strong. Even if the Elders and the Fleet Admiral can restrain the top leaders, the Hell Pirates still have too many Conqueror's Haki masters. That is our absolute disadvantage."
She did not say everything aloud.
This coalition was stitched together from the entire world. They lacked unity and coordination. Den Den Mushi communication had been severed, and even the white pigeons were being hunted from the sky.
The kingdom troops had already endured days of bombing and fishman raids. Many came from peaceful seas, with little experience in true slaughter. Their fighting spirit was cracking.
If she still had Den Den Mushi, she could have used the advantage of numbers, surrounding and erasing pirate forces piece by piece. But now the coalition had become chaos.
The situation was rotten.
Above the battlefield, Prince Osiris fired energy rays wildly, carving through warships from the air. Rear admirals leapt up with Moon Step to intercept him, but the red dragon swatted them away in a few exchanges, smashing them into the sea.
"Hahaha!" Osiris laughed, drunk on battle. "A million strong coalition, and they're all paper tigers. One hit, and they crumble!"
He had been following Brook's warning, staying cautious.
Now, the enemy looked weaker than Brook had claimed.
"Osiris. Anubis."
Hades clenched his fists, eyes sharp.
"Uranus will arrive soon. Prepare Plan One. We deal with Uranus."
The million strong army was not their true target.
That ancient weapon was.
Hades turned, smiling at the gravity swordsman beside him, and at the seven or eight Seraphim standing behind, brown skinned and white haired, each one carrying the terrifying power of superhuman Green Blood.
------------
Brook had to devote everything to holding back Imu. He could not spare even a sliver of focus to deal with Uranus. Before the clash began, he had handed that responsibility to Hades and the other members of the second generation of Hell with rare solemnity.
"Mr. Issho," Hades said, voice tight, eyes burning. "It's on you to limit Uranus's speed. You must seize the timing. We'll do everything we can to create openings!"
This was the first time Brook had entrusted them with a mission of this weight. It made them excited, nervous, and terrified of failing.
For Hades, it went even deeper.
If destroying Uranus required his life, then he would still do it. He would shatter that ancient weapon and finish what his father had started.
"I will do my best, Prince Hades."
Issho answered calmly, with that steady, mature air that made him seem older than he was. He was only thirty, barely five years older than Hades and his siblings, yet he carried himself like a seasoned uncle who had seen too much and decided to keep his voice gentle anyway.
In truth, Issho did not want an island destroying weapon to exist in the world at all, hanging over civilians like a blade that never dulled. Brook's promise, that the Univers Government would not continue researching and reviving Uranus after they shot it down, aligned perfectly with Issho's own sense of justice.
Even so, he could not help wondering whether Brook's promise would still hold once blood and victory arrived.
Meanwhile, the great pirates of the New World showed no fear. Facing a million elite troops, twice their numbers, they still dared to press the attack day after day.
Some kingdom fleets from the North Blue and West Blue even received Den Den Mushi transmissions and battle instructions delivered through the News Coo.
A few ambitious commanders did not follow the World Government's command to immediately crush every suspected Den Den Mushi or shoot down every News Coo. Instead, they followed the manual, contacted their kings first, and listened for new decisions.
Other commanders did the opposite.
They carried out orders with fanatic obedience, killing every Den Den Mushi they saw and shooting every News Coo they could spot. Nervous gunners even mistakenly killed some of the coalition's own white pigeons in the confusion.
With no Den Den Mushi and no reliable pigeon network, the coalition sank deeper into chaos. Fleets fought blindly, groups splintered, soldiers clung to whoever shouted the loudest.
Then the sky split.
A terrifying laser like energy wave carved down from above, and seven or eight New World pirate ships turned to dust in an instant. They vanished before their crews even understood what was happening.
"The Uranus is here!"
Cheers erupted among the marines.
"These pirates will die under the Uranus judgment!"
Many naval officers looked up with shining eyes. Shiki, who could lift fleets into the sky, was not on this battlefield. His air armada and Brook's presence were elsewhere. No one here could interfere with Uranus.
So on this front, Uranus was invincible.
Even Tsuru felt her heart loosen.
For the first time in days, she saw something that resembled hope.
This was Uranus, the ancient weapon that could erase islands.
But in the next moment, another shadow blotted out the light, and even Tsuru froze.
"That's… Zesha," she said, voice stiff. "The legendary giant elephant. Don't tell me it's under the Hell Pirates' control too."
The coalition command staff stared in disbelief.
That elephant lord was even larger than the biggest Sea King. Its trunk alone stretched nearly ten thousand meters, whipping through the air toward Uranus like a continent sized lash.
Uranus dodged easily.
Even without Imu's direct control, the Uranus speed and combat instincts remained terrifying.
The trunk missed Uranus, but it did not miss everything.
It slammed down across the sea and pulverized dozens of naval warships, crushing steel hulls like rotten wood. Fleets scattered in panic, fleeing in every direction.
And then the sky filled with wings.
Seven or eight white haired warriors, black wings spread wide, flames burning on their bodies, shot upward and chased after Uranus.
More than a dozen small spacecraft, unbelievably fast, rushed toward the Uranus in suicide runs.
Hades and the other second generation fighters with flight abilities rose into the air one after another, joining the hunt.
"Those are Lunarians… and the second generation of Hell!"
Tsuru's shock deepened. She had expected the four fallen angels. She had not expected so many Lunarian warriors.
Brook had found them, and he had hidden them well.
High above the sea, Hades transformed into a horned demon. His wings beat the air, and he commanded the Seraphim and the spacecraft with sharp, decisive gestures. Their mission was simple and brutal.
Crash into Uranus.
Consume its energy.
Bleed its shield dry.
The staff below saw scenes that would haunt them for life.
"Staff Officer Tsuru! That Lunarian, he looks like Newgate when he was young. Is he Newgate's descendant?"
"No, look, he's using the Tremor Tremor Fruit. He shattered space!"
"And that one who resembles Linlin, she's using the Soul Soul Fruit. What is going on!"
Tsuru's mind reeled.
Ryuichi's Azure Dragon form had once felt like an exception, an odd coincidence.
Now it looked like a preview.
The Hell Pirates did not only possess the method to create artificial Zoan Devil Fruits.
They could replicate Paramecia powers as well.
"These Lunarians… they're using Paramecia abilities," Tsuru said, voice low, almost disbelieving. "The Hell Pirates' technology is far ahead of ours."
Small spacecraft, packed to the brim with DYNA stone bombs, rushed Uranus in tight waves. The moment Uranus halted and its invincible shield flared, they detonated, each explosion consuming another chunk of its stored energy.
Then one staff officer screamed.
"Staff Officer Tsuru! That Lunarian who looks like Kozuki Oden… those pink light waves from his fingers, they're controlling the Uranus!"
Tsuru's face tightened.
"Oh no. Slow light," she muttered. "The Slow Slow Fruit."
Brook had found this ability specifically to deal with Uranus's speed.
He had been hiding it.
Hiding everything.
And the nightmare grew worse.
"And it's not just one!" a vice admiral shouted in panic. "There are two Slow Slow users!"
The pink waves alternated, taking turns locking Uranus down, forcing its movement into brief, fatal pauses.
On the other side of the battlefield, Imu continued pounding Brook, but the warning signals from Uranus rang again and again, the defensive energy plunging steadily.
Imu forced himself to glance over, and the moment his attention shifted, Brook struck back hard, refusing to give him even a breath.
Still, Imu saw it.
Two Slow Slow users.
Two Gravity Fruit users.
Perfect coordination, dragging Uranus's speed down, pinning an island destroying weapon in place like a beast caught in chains.
For the first time, even Imu's eyes darkened.
.....
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