The Four Elders simply could not withstand the sheer volume of attacks. That dense, outrageous barrage could have erased Mary Geoise twice over.
"Imu! I know you're not dead, come out!" Brook laughed wildly. "No matter how badly you're hurt, I need to see you with my own eyes. If you keep hiding, then Mary Geoise is going with you!"
If Mary Geoise fell, the World Government's authority would drop to absolute zero. The so called Kingdom of God would be gone. What would the member states think then?
Boom!
Enormous destructive light waves, blazing with blinding white radiance, burst forth at terrifying speed. Together with the Four Elders, they blasted apart every incoming strike from the Hell Pirates.
The explosion cracked the sky itself, space shuddering as it collapsed. Even so, countless luxurious Celestial Dragon mansions were crushed and reduced to rubble.
Brook and the others sobered instantly.
How could Imu still unleash this kind of power?
Had he recovered that quickly, or had the blow from the God of Hell been some kind of illusion?
"Brook, you're still as slippery as ever!" Imu finally stepped forward, unable to watch his nest, built over eight hundred years, be pulverized in front of him. "You won't even climb up to Mary Geoise!"
The moment they met, Brook opened fire, yet he still refused to set foot inside and finish off a "gravely injured" enemy. Cautious to the point of being infuriating.
"Yohoho! Imu, you old immortal… you actually recovered?" Brook's grin looked like it hurt his teeth. "What, were you planning to sneak attack me?"
With the power Imu had just displayed, without the New World's suppression, he felt even more terrifying than before.
How were they supposed to fight this?
Open the Gate of Hell again?
Bet on whether the God of Hell was still watching?
Then let it pick some unfortunate soul at random and drag them down?
Brook stared at the five Hell Kings around him. Imu's eyes narrowed.
He understood immediately. Even now, he could not kill Brook. Not with those monsters at Brook's side.
And he also feared Brook opening the Gate of Hell again.
If it came down to probability, that hateful God of Hell was more likely to target him.
Imu refused to gamble his life on an entity that might respond with something even worse the next time.
"Brook," Imu said, voice low, "you wouldn't dare bet your life on that Hell thing."
"Yohoho! Imu, you want to bet?" Brook raised an eyebrow, forcing confidence into his tone.
Truthfully, he did not dare.
That presence beyond the Gate had made his soul tense like a drawn blade. What if it had already struck Imu once, and if Brook opened the Gate again, it decided the next punishment should fall on Brook?
No one could guess what that monster was thinking.
But in a negotiation with Imu, Brook could not afford to blink first.
Imu's jaw tightened. He wanted Brook dead more than ever, but the shadow of that Underworld terror pressed on him.
Perhaps, given enough time, the God of Hell would stop paying attention to the Gate.
A god would not sit around watching Brook forever.
But for now…
"Fine," Imu said coldly. "What do you want?"
Brook's gaze sharpened. He had already tested enough. Imu was not forcing himself to stand. He truly had recovered.
No hidden technique, no delayed collapse after everyone left.
In the end, Brook could only step down and take what leverage he could.
"Then we do what I said before," Brook declared. "The Red Line is the border. We split the world into two equal halves!"
He would erode the World Government piece by piece. A war over the right to rule the entire world could not be decided by one clash.
Did Imu think Brook was some hot blooded protagonist like Luffy?
Brook did not even understand how that young fool was supposed to overthrow the World Government in the original timeline.
Imu's expression darkened. "Your appetite is ridiculous. At most, you get the New World and the West Blue."
His eyes turned sharp as blades.
"Unless you hand over the Pluton blueprints, provide one thousand seastone warships, and deliver one hundred tons of seastone every year."
Brook's face twisted. The underground mafia, the Self Defense Forces, and the West Blue member states led by the Flower Kingdom were already under Brook's control. Even if Imu refused, it would be hard for the World Government to conquer them now.
And without Uranus, Imu could only rely on Pluton replicas.
He lacked Uranus's blueprints, and he no longer had the master craftsmen of eight hundred years ago to rebuild that level of technology.
"You're the one being greedy!" Brook cursed. "If you won't give it, forget it. Don't I know how to take it myself?"
He shot a glance at Shiki and the Kirin Lion.
The Pluton replica battleship turned and accelerated, retreating without hesitation.
Imu's fingers twitched. He wanted to fire a destructive beam after the fleeing ship.
Was Brook truly leaving?
Or was this a trick to lure him into the New World for another decisive battle?
Suddenly, Saturn's eyes widened.
"Oh no, Lord Imu!" he blurted. "That bastard Brook might turn around and strike Kong, Sengoku, and the rest!"
Imu's veins bulged. His fists clenched so hard they cracked.
"I knew it. That traitor wouldn't retreat so cleanly," Imu snarled. "Move. Bring back Kong and the Marines!"
He immediately led the Four Elders back toward the New World, intent on covering the navy's evacuation.
…
On the Pluton replica battleship, Kaido's face was stormy.
"Brother Brook, are we really leaving like this?" he growled. "We came with all that momentum, and we couldn't even destroy Mary Geoise, let alone kill that immortal!"
Brook exhaled, bitter.
"There's nothing else we can do," he said. "We still can't beat that old monster. Not like this. Right now, the best move is to turn back and capture Kong, Sengoku, and the rest of the navy."
He had gambled that the World Government could not heal Imu so fast.
He had lost.
They truly had a healing ability on the level of Crocus's Healing Fruit.
What kind of power was it?
The Ope Ope no Mi?
That fruit was infamous across the world. Even the cheapest rumor peddlers knew about the immortality surgery. Enormous bounties were offered for it again and again, and many member states knew the secret.
"Then we cut off the navy first," Shiki said, voice heavy.
He understood how terrifying their bombardment had been, and yet Imu had erased it all.
Imu's strength was beyond reason.
Shiki glanced at Brook's back, then at the other Hell Kings, and felt a cold gap open in his chest.
He had thought he could surpass admirals and stand against the Five Elders.
But the strongest in the world were still on another level entirely.
And that distance was not small.
--------------
A top of the line Navy warship tore across the sea at full speed.
Inside the temporary war room, Kong's face was grim. He had no idea whether Imu and the Five Elders could stop Brook's assault on Mary Geoise. If he had known it would come to this, he never would have separated from them.
The Hell Pirates' flying fleet was too mobile. It had thrown the Navy's entire rhythm into chaos.
"Fleet Admiral Kong," Sengoku said heavily, "Mary Geoise is in danger, but so are we. If Brook turns back to intercept us, we don't have the strength left to resist."
His words made even Zephyr pause. They had been focused on rushing to the Holy Land, yet they might have been walking straight into a blade.
Garp sat in silence, his expression dark. Tsuru's capture still gnawed at him. He could not save his companion, and his anger was so thick it drowned out everything else.
"Then we fight to the death," Kong said, voice like iron. "If that's the price, we pay it for justice."
He knew what Sengoku meant. The moment the new navy of the Universal Government appeared, it had already stirred the hearts of countless Marines. Plenty of them had hated the Celestial Dragons for years.
If the Navy's top brass were captured, the chain would snap. Some Marines might truly defect to the Universal Government.
Zephyr narrowed his eyes. "Brook is an ambitious pirate. He should be aiming for the injured Imu. Mary Geoise is the bigger prize, not us."
"No matter what Brook chooses, it's bad news," Sengoku replied. His jaw tightened. "All we can do is hope Imu has recovered, stops the Hell Pirates, then joins us to crush Brook."
It was the best outcome he could imagine, and he knew how unlikely it was.
If Mary Geoise fell and Imu died, what would become of the Navy?
Join the Universal Government?
Kneel to Brook as the new king of the world?
…
"Stop worrying about the wrong thing," Garp suddenly snapped.
He stood up, shoved past the others, and marched onto the deck. His eyes locked on the distant sky.
"They're here. I can already feel that bastard Roger."
He had sensed them before the lookout, before Kong, before Sengoku and Zephyr. His Observation Haki reached farther than all of theirs.
Zephyr's face hardened. "So they didn't go to Mary Geoise, or they were driven back by Imu."
Without Den Den Mushi contact, they were blind. They had no idea what was happening in the Holy Land.
"They're coming for us," Kong barked. "All hands, prepare for battle!"
In that moment, his fear of Mary Geoise vanished. Survival came first.
Sengoku's eyes sharpened. "They came back too quickly. That means Imu probably repelled them."
He refused to believe Brook could have killed Imu and razed Mary Geoise in such a short time. Even injured, Imu should still be able to fight.
"Then we hold," Kong shouted to the trembling Marines. "We endure their assault and wait for Imu's support. If we last long enough, we can trap Brook between two fronts."
He believed in Imu. He had to.
Sengoku's mouth tightened. He did not want to crush morale, but a head on clash like this would likely end before any support arrived.
"Maybe we should lie low for a while," he muttered.
"We can't run," Garp growled, staring at the shadow growing larger in the sky. "Our ships can't outrun a flying Pluton, not with those Devil Fruit users boosting it."
His fists clenched.
He was furious about Tsuru, and right now he wanted something to hit, even if it meant getting smashed into the sea afterward.
"Then we fight," Kong roared. "For justice!"
Swords came free. Rifles lifted. Cannons swung toward the looming ship above. Even if they could not hit it, they would fire anyway. A war without a first shot was a war already lost.
Above them, Brook stood at the bow, cloak snapping in the wind.
"Yohoho! Sink their boat."
No speeches. No back and forth.
Hiruba had already reported it. Imu and the Five Elders were moving to support the Navy. If those two forces linked up, it would become a grinding nightmare.
So Brook struck first, exploiting every gap they had carelessly exposed.
"Hahaha! Since we can't crush Mary Geoise, we'll crush the Navy!" Shiki roared.
Twin slashing waves ripped downward, and his Float Float power surged. He intended to lift Kong's flagship itself, then smash the whole fleet like toys.
Kaido transformed into a vast blue dragon and dove. His mouth opened, heat swelling in his throat.
Kozuki Oden dropped from the sky like a blade, aiming straight for his target.
"Fast," Brook ordered, cold and sharp. "No duels. No wasting time. I'm not letting you play around."
Even Roger and Rayleigh were kicked out of their comfort zone and thrown into the fight. Brook's gaze from above made slacking impossible.
Only Satan remained near Brook, along with the Quetzalcoatl form of the Seven Star Demon Sword, and Hiruba watching the wider battlefield.
"Satan," Brook said, "combine with the Seven Star Demon Sword. Cover the sea. Give them a storm."
"Yes, Father!" Satan answered, practically glowing with excitement.
Out of all his siblings, he was the one fighting beside their parents today. When he got back, he could brag to Hades and Kanna for a year.
He was playing in the big leagues.
Dark clouds rolled in like a lid slamming shut. The sea sank into gloom. Thunder cracked, lightning clawed at the horizon, and the air grew heavy, suffocating, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
Below, the Navy Headquarters forces simply could not match the Hell Pirates. The battle formed instantly into unfair pairs, two against one, the pirates aiming to capture the Fleet Admiral and admirals as quickly as possible.
Shiki took Kong head on.
Then Redfield flashed in, joining the assault, trying to seize the supreme commander before the Navy could stabilize.
Kaido and Oden locked onto Sengoku, working together without a word against the mythical Buddha.
Roger and Rayleigh, forced into obedience, faced Garp again. Neither wanted to fight two on one, but Brook was watching.
And Roger still remembered that panda eye.
As for Linlin, she did not bother teaming up with Newgate against the weaker Zephyr.
She rampaged across the escort fleets alone, overturning warships like bowls, stealing souls and lifespans wherever fear bloomed.
The sea became a storm drowned slaughterhouse, and the Navy's flagship suddenly felt a lot smaller than it used to.
.....
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