A desperate, all-out shout suddenly burst into the battlefield.
"What?!"
With the Seastone bullet lodged in his shoulder, his body already weakening, Sakazuki's sweat-drenched face turned toward—
that bloodshot-eyed figure on the warship, screaming with everything he had.
CP...
He'd seen this guy before—just some cowardly World Government official. But for him to dare risk his life entering "Black Gun's" battlefield—
this undoubtedly meant something...
"What kind of fucking joke is this?! With so many Marine casualties here, how can we back down now?!"
Sakazuki exploded in rage. The lava that had been dimming now surged scalding hot again, erupting terrifying heat waves.
He forcibly carved out the flesh embedded with the Seastone bullet from his left shoulder.
Under the Marine coat's rank insignia, everything was crimson—
impossible to tell if it was blood or lava.
On the other side,
Aus hovering in the sky wasn't surprised by this scene. After all, he'd seen it a minute ago.
And through his Observation Haki, he could easily sense what Spandine was desperately protecting—
a grim-faced Den Den Mushi.
Facing CP's sudden interference, Sakazuki clearly didn't want to give face, even though Spandine was nominally this operation's commander:
"I'm just executing the Buster Call..."
"How long will you keep acting like a fool, Sakazuki?!"
An angry roar came from Spandine's direction, but that superior tone and authority clearly wasn't his voice.
At this sound, every CP member on the warship immediately dropped to one knee, including Spandine, who raised the Den Den Mushi above his head.
The face that appeared was none other than one of the World Government's highest authorities—
Saint Warcury of the Five Elders!
"So fast..."
"How could..."
Sakazuki's scalding lava slowly calmed. Though his heart burned with rage and humiliation, he couldn't show a trace of it.
But his clenched teeth and the half-face hidden under his cap revealed his inner volcanic eruption.
"In the end, it's just Marine incompetence that caused this. What face do you have declaring this war should continue?!"
At this moment in Mary Geoise,
the Room of Authority,
the solemn atmosphere seemed to materialize and thicken within.
Saint Warcury's eyes were ice-cold, black lines crossing his face as he furiously berated the Marines' brainless actions.
Such recklessness—did they still have any respect for the World Government?!
If Celestial Dragons had appeared on Ohara, would the Marines use the Buster Call as an excuse to eliminate these world rulers too?
Nothing but the World Government's dogs!
Of course,
this wasn't what pissed off the Five Elders most.
If the Marines truly had the strength to successfully kill "Black Gun" Aus on Ohara and complete their "demon slaying,"
the Five Elders wouldn't scold them. They'd even go with the flow, letting Sakazuki and Kuzan become Marine Admirals based on this achievement.
But the key issue was...
The five representing the world's highest authority passed around the battle report just sent by CP intelligence from the Ohara battlefield.
The more they read, the blacker their faces became!
The detailed battle summary boiled down to just a few words:
Crushing defeat, powerlessness, total loss...
With Kuzan severely injured and unconscious, getting shot with no means of retaliation, yet still wanting to fight to the death!
Was that moron Sakazuki trying to destroy the World Government?!
Hearing the Five Elders' fury,
recalling his own death-defying resolve to keep fighting,
Sakazuki's eyes, hidden under his cap's shadow, were now bloodshot to the pupils.
Scanning the masses of sacrificed Marine subordinates, his severely wounded colleague, then the unharmed CP members and the high-and-mighty Five Elders barking orders...
After long silence, reason finally won.
The general who'd wanted to fight to the death stood there wordlessly—
that was answer enough.
...
"We don't need more diplomatic bullshit, do we, Five Elders—Saint Warcury?"
At some point,
a tall figure had appeared on the warship's deck. Facing the kneeling CP members, he stood before them without hesitation.
A pair of crimson-glowing eyes stared directly at the Den Den Mushi.
Smart as he was, how could he not understand the Five Elders' real intention in publicly tearing into Sakazuki?
Nothing more than finding a face-saving way out.
Or rather,
preserving the last fig leaf covering both sides' "friendly relations."
If Aus were the one getting his ass kicked on this battlefield, this phone call wouldn't be about mediating—it'd be about preparing a public execution.
The sea-shaking "King of the Next Generation" captured and publicly executed by the World Government—
that would definitely inject some serious sedative into this rampaging era~
"Aus..."
Seeing the Den Den Mushi's slowly opening crimson eyes, the Five Elders exchanged glances, all showing helpless expressions.
"Why, after staying hidden for so long, do you appear at this moment on Ohara, which the World Government issued a Buster Call against?!"
Helpless or not, when facing the real deal, the Five Elders still knew negotiation tactics. Their words carried a hard edge.
Scolding Sakazuki earlier was giving Aus face, indirectly showing goodwill.
But in actual talks, the Five Elders couldn't show weakness.
"Why, you ask..."
Aus rubbed his chin, glancing up at the sky. "For sightseeing, obviously. After all, once the Buster Call hits, this place won't exist anymore."
Then, as if remembering something, he put on a shocked expression:
"Wait... you don't think I'm researching the Twenty Kingdoms and..."
"AUS!"
A unified roar cut off Aus's potentially earth-shattering words. The Five Elders' faces were now dark with fury and cold sweat.
No need for research—the bastard clearly knew everything!
This terrible little shit!
The CP members present were equally horrified.
They'd almost learned some world-ending secret!
If anyone else knew such classified intel, the Five Elders would've sent a Buster Call to erase them ages ago.
But it just had to be this Aus guy.
What a pain in the ass...
Looked like they'd need to bump that order regarding Aus up several more priority levels.
At minimum,
higher priority than a Buster Call.
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