The people of the World Government began to retreat.
There was no helping it not only could they not win, but after that explosion, even the commanders—the Five Elders—had vanished along with it.
And it was not just the four aboard Uranus even Saint Marcus Mars, who was flying in the air, was summoned back by a pentagram array the instant the explosion occurred.
The truth was that Imu had pulled them back to block another "Little Girl" that exploded at almost the exact same time. However, in the eyes of others, it looked as if the Five Elders had seen the situation turn sour and deserted the battlefield.
Under such a perception, even the most fiercely loyal CP agents would not be foolish enough to foolishly stay behind, not to mention they had a reasonable excuse—they needed to protect the members of the Gods Knights and safely evacuate them.
As for Uranus, which had a huge hole blown into it yet still floated in the air...
They did not know how to control it either. In fact, forget controlling it, they were not even allowed to step onto it, so they could only express their helplessness.
It was hard to say for the CP agents and the members of the Gods Knights, but as for the Marines present, eight or nine out of ten had other thoughts on their minds.
After all, even their ultimate weapon was about to fall into the enemy hands. Continuing to hang around with this World Government, which already had a mountain of problems to begin with, was clearly not a wise choice.
The only possible turnabout point, that mysterious ruler named Imu, treated their Marines like discarded shoes as well. These Marines had not been brainwashed since childhood like those CP agents, so naturally, it was impossible for them to entertain ideas of dying for loyalty.
Dragon had no intention of pursuing the fleeing crowd. Besides the fact that many among them were his former comrades-in-arms, another consideration was that after the World Government was overthrown, these Marines were members who could be won over to ensure the world would not fall into total chaos.
Sherwin agreed with this as well. In fact, he was the one who first proposed this idea to Dragon. Therefore, whenever conditions permitted, they would capture the Marines as much as possible rather than kill them.
As for the Gods Knights and CP agents, there would be no mercy shown to them.
However, at the moment, they similarly did not pursue those fleeing Celestial Dragons and their lapdogs.
Because...
"Mamamama! 'Uranus is mine!"
Riding on a thundercloud, Charlotte Linlin suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Beside her were numerous members of the BIG MOM Pirates wearing Germa-style raid suits, along with a large group of Germa clone soldiers. Judge and his three sons and one daughter were naturally all present as well.
"As expected, she came after all..."
Standing at the bow of the Dodo Advance, Sherwin sighed.
Before their clash with the World Government, Reiju had called to warn him that BIG MOM side might make a move.
That was why Sherwin and the others hadn't pursued the fleeing World Government forces they were remaining vigilant against the likely appearance of BIG MOM and the Beast Pirates.
Only...
Where was Kaido?
Was he hiding just in case, or did BIG MOM plan to claim 'Uranu for herself?
Sherwin didn't think Charlotte Linlin was stupid enough to head-on clash with them like this, even if the Revolutionary Army hadn't brought many people this time, and the Red-Haired and Whitebeard Pirates weren't here either.
Just as he was wondering, BIG MOM children and the crowd of clone soldiers charged forward together, forming a human wall in front of Sherwin and the others. Meanwhile, Charlotte Linlin rapidly rushed toward 'Uranu, which floated quietly in the air, tore off a piece of her soul, and threw it at 'Uranu.
Clearly, she wanted to turn 'Uranu directly into a Homie to gain control over it.
Moreover, likely to ensure she could control this monolith, the portion of the soul Charlotte Linlin tore off was by no means small, as Sherwin could visibly see her grow noticeably thinner and much older.
"Not good!"
Sherwin and Dragon shouted at the same time.
Although they knew BIG MOM would come to compete for "Uranus", they didn't care too much at first, because "Uranus" was completely unfamiliar to them, and successfully controlling it would certainly not be that easy.
Therefore, after "Little Girl" exploded, they were in no hurry to go back and contend for "Uranus", intending instead to resolve the members of the World Government first. And "Uranus" massive size also made Sherwin and the others subconsciously overlook the possibility of turning it into a Homies.
This led to them currently being quite far from "Uranus", and it was already too late to stop Charlotte Linlin, not to mention that the Big Mom Pirates and Germa 66 were blocking the way in between...
No wonder BIG MOM didn't bring Kaido along that wouldn't be a helper, but a competitor.
Sherwin watched as that orb of light merged into "Uranus", feeling a wave of emotion in his heart.
One really can't underestimate the people of the world.
He still admired Charlotte Linlin plan, but he wasn't overly worried...
It was merely changing the original "Destroy Imu Uranus Plan" to the "Destroy BIG MOM Uranus Plan" he didn't feel that the Big Mom Pirates plus Germa 66 would be harder to deal with than the World Government Allied Forces.
And Dragon obviously thought the same way. After his initial shock, he quickly calmed down, wasting no time talking trash with the Big Mom Pirates, and led the members of the Revolutionary Army to engage them in battle.
"Aaaaaahhhhhh—!!!!!!"
Just as the battle between the two sides was about to break out, Charlotte Linlin atop the thundercloud suddenly clutched her head and screamed miserably.
Visible soundwaves wrapped in her Conqueror Haki exploded in all directions, and the Big Mom Pirates and Germa 66, who were closer to her, took the brunt of the hit first instead.
"Linlin! Are you all right?!"
"Mama! What happened to you?!"
Judge, who "deeply loved" Charlotte Linlin, along with Katakuri and a few other of her stronger sons, rushed toward her, but they were blocked outside by wave after wave of soundwaves that possessed effects somewhat reminiscent of Whitebeard ability.
Right!
Only then did Sherwin recall that Uranus seemed to be remotely controlled by Imu. Although he didn't know the exact details of how it was done, it clearly wasn't achieved through scientific means.
Furthermore, if Imu Devil Fruit was truly, as Sherwin conjectured, the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Demon, then BIG MOM situation was easy to understand...
In myths and legends, demons were also adept at manipulating souls. Charlotte Linlin had most likely run into a "peer", and by the looks of it, she hadn't prevailed.
Sherwin wasn't sure which fruit had the stronger specific abilities, but Uranus was, after all, a "treasure" that Imu had nurtured for eight hundred years. Charlotte Linlin attempt to snatch it away was obviously not going to be that easy.
And while Dragon imagination wasn't as wild as Sherwin, he was no fool. Right now, Charlotte Linlin plan had clearly failed, and she had triggered the "anti-theft device" left on Uranus by Imu. Therefore, he decisively led the Revolutionary Army members back, choosing to wait and see just like Sherwin.
"AAAAAHHHH-AAAAAOOOOWWW-!!!"
Charlotte Linlin continued to scream and wail, and then, from within her body, black mist—a sight extremely familiar to Sherwin and the others—slowly began to seep out.
Her body, which had already grown significantly thinner, began to shrink further, quickly turning into a skin-and-bones appearance...
Sherwin and the others were no strangers to this scene either. It was a similar sight when the Five Elders were forcibly recalled by Imu Saint Saturn skeletal remains were still sitting in Haibara Meow laboratory!
It was just that compared to them, the speed of Charlotte Linlin "consumption" was much slower. That was understandable—after all, she hadn't signed a contract with Imu.
"Aooowwww-uughhh..."
As Charlotte Linlin body grew thinner and thinner, her wails gradually faded away, allowing Judge and the others to finally reach her side.
However, no matter what methods they used—whether it was Germa 66 nutritional fluids or the gourmet food prepared by the BIG MOM Pirates—they couldn't make Charlotte Linlin gain weight again.
They could only watch helplessly as she continued to waste away until, just like Saint Saturn back then, she turned into a skeleton.