One thing was easy to predict.
If Slender Island—the hometown of the Fleet Admiral himself—was ripped from the sea, lifted into the sky, and formally absorbed into the Eternal Divine Kingdom, the entire world would be shaken once again.
The humiliation alone would be enormous.
For the Marines, already reeling from one disaster after another, having Sengoku's own homeland stolen would be another brutal blow to their prestige. It would pour fuel directly onto a confrontation that was already on the verge of exploding into something far larger.
And while Golden Lion and Redfield raced toward the South Blue, far away in the Eternal Divine Kingdom, another matter had reached its conclusion.
...
Inside the Central Temple, the atmosphere was quiet and solemn as Kaido and Bullet strode into the great hall.
Both still carried traces of Marineford with them.
The smell of smoke and battle lingered faintly around their bodies, along with the injuries they had taken before finally withdrawing.
Kaido had returned to his human form. Bruises and wounds from his clashes with Sengoku and Garp remained visible across his massive frame, though he wore them more like trophies than injuries.
There was some fatigue in his eyes, but his fighting spirit had hardly diminished.
Bullet looked even more satisfied.
A savage grin still lingered on his face, and the excitement in his eyes made it obvious that he was replaying the battle in his head. Rampaging through Marine Headquarters had given him exactly the release he had wanted, and if anything, he looked ready to do it all over again.
"Ron!"
Kaido's booming voice echoed throughout the vast temple.
"We did what you asked."
A broad grin spread across his face.
"Bullet and I gave Marine Headquarters one hell of a beating."
He laughed.
"We smashed through the harbor, tore up the plaza, and even wrecked their prison while we were at it."
"Those old bastards Sengoku and Garp had to fight together just to drive us off."
Bullet crossed his arms and added more calmly,
"We made enough noise."
His tone carried obvious contempt for Marineford's defenses.
"And we stayed long enough."
"We practically turned the entire place upside down."
Explosions, collapsed buildings, shattered defenses, and screaming Marines had filled Marineford from one end to the other.
Yet throughout all of it—
"Not a single member of the God's Knights appeared."
Bullet's eyes narrowed.
"Not one."
That was the part Ron truly cared about.
High on the throne, Ron listened without interruption.
His expression remained calm.
There was no surprise on his face when Bullet confirmed that the God's Knights had never appeared at Marine Headquarters.
Instead, a faint look of understanding passed through his eyes.
Exactly as he had suspected.
Ron gave a small nod.
"You've worked hard."
His voice was even and composed.
"I understand the situation now."
Then he casually waved one hand.
"Go rest."
"This probe has achieved its purpose."
There was no grand praise.
No elaborate reward.
No additional instructions.
It was almost as though sending Kaido and Bullet to tear through Marine Headquarters had been nothing more than a simple test designed to confirm one specific piece of information.
Neither of them found that surprising.
They had both dealt with Ron long enough to understand that this was simply how he operated.
His plans rarely ended with what was visible on the surface.
Whatever he asked someone to do usually served a larger purpose, and the meaning behind it often only became clear afterward.
Kaido gave a low grunt.
Bullet grinned faintly.
Neither bothered asking further questions.
They turned and left the temple.
Their heavy footsteps echoed across the floor until the enormous doors closed behind them.
Silence returned.
Ron remained alone on the throne.
His fingers tapped lightly against the armrest in a slow, measured rhythm as his gaze seemed to travel far beyond the walls of the Divine Kingdom.
Toward the distant Holy Land of Mary Geoise.
That was where the real answer lay.
"Just as I thought…"
Ron murmured softly.
"The core strength of the God's Knights is still rooted in Mary Geoise."
His eyes narrowed.
"They're staying there to protect the Celestial Dragons…"
A brief pause.
"…and the 'national treasure.'"
The final words came more slowly.
A colder light entered his eyes.
Then Ron raised his head.
A faint, chilling smile appeared on his face.
...
"Marine Headquarters was attacked, and they still didn't move."
Ron's eyes narrowed slightly.
"That means one of two things. Either they were confident the Marines could handle the crisis on their own…"
His gaze drifted toward the distant direction of Mary Geoise.
"…or there's something there even more important than Marine Headquarters—something they simply cannot afford to leave unguarded."
The conclusion settled firmly in his mind.
Kaido and Bullet had taken an enormous risk during the probe. Their assault had placed them directly in the center of Marineford, surrounded by some of the strongest surviving Marines in the world, and one mistake could easily have trapped them there.
But the information they had brought back was worth the danger.
Ron had finally confirmed something he had wanted to understand for some time.
The God's Knights did not share the Marines' priorities.
Their first responsibility was clearly somewhere else.
That distinction carried enormous strategic significance.
It meant the Marines, despite being one of the World Government's most important military institutions, could still be treated as expendable if the situation demanded it.
Ron now understood the board much more clearly.
And once a weakness became visible, it could be used.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"If your 'spear' refuses to leave its nest…"
His expression cooled.
"…then I suppose I'll have to build the next stage myself."
A new plan had already begun taking shape.
If the God's Knights would not willingly step away from Mary Geoise, then Ron would create circumstances that forced the hidden powers protecting the Holy Land to reveal themselves.
And the perfect opportunity was already approaching.
The public execution.
One month passed quickly.
What had originally been intended as a public execution of Sabo and the captured Revolutionary Army commanders was becoming something far larger.
To Ron, it was no longer merely an execution.
It was bait.
A chance to drag the forces hiding beneath the surface into the open.
During that month, preparations quietly accelerated throughout the Eternal Divine Kingdom.
Allies were contacted.
Intelligence was gathered and cross-checked.
Possible responses from the Marines, World Government, God's Knights, and every other major power were analyzed.
Contingency plans were prepared for different scenarios.
Every detail was examined repeatedly.
When the execution day arrived, Ron intended to be ready for whatever emerged.
The world meanwhile grew increasingly tense.
Every major faction knew something was coming.
And Ron simply waited.
...
The enormous doors of the Central Temple closed behind Kaido and Bullet with a deep rumble.
The instant they stepped outside, Bullet's massive frame began trembling slightly with excitement.
He was still replaying the battle at Marineford.
His fists moved unconsciously through the air as he reconstructed every exchange in his head.
"Tch!"
Bullet clicked his tongue.
"That punch back there…"
He swung one fist sharply.
"If I'd changed the angle just a little more and put another ten percent behind it, I might've smashed straight through Sengoku's damn Buddha palm!"
He frowned.
"That old bastard's way too careful, though. Getting a clean hit on him is a pain in the ass."
Bullet threw another imaginary punch as he walked.
"And Garp!"
His expression twisted with irritation.
"That old bastard dodges way too fast!"
He kicked through the air.
"If that last kick had been half an inch farther to the left, I would've taken his damn head off!"
Bullet shook his head repeatedly.
"Damn shame."
His face shifted constantly between annoyance and excitement, making it obvious that he was nowhere near satisfied.
If someone offered him another three hundred rounds right now, he would probably accept without hesitation.
"And if His Majesty Ron hadn't ordered us not to fight them to the bitter end…"
Bullet's grin widened.
"I still had at least another twenty percent left."
He paused.
"No."
His chest swelled.
"Thirty percent!"
Bullet thrust out an arm dramatically.
"I would've erased Marineford from the damn map!"
Kaido walked beside him with heavy, measured steps, listening to Bullet brag about the fight as though he had personally dominated every second of it.
His expression gradually became stranger.
Bullet continued talking.
Kaido kept listening.
And the more he heard—the harder it became not to react.
...