With Mary Geoise's protective barrier gone, the members of the Araryū Pirates plunged into full-blown warfare.
Imu and the Five Elders were no longer in Mary Geoise. Which meant this was the perfect time for them to act however they pleased.
"Go, my zombie army!"
Moonlight Moria grinned with his mouth full of pointed teeth, releasing every zombie he had brought with him.
A floating airship crashed into a grand castle, and the zombies aboard scattered like swarming ants across Mary Geoise.
Screams and battle cries rose everywhere as the Celestial Dragons ran in blind panic.
"Pacifistas! Automaton Corps! Demon-Mask Legion! Launch a full assault!"
Lafitte immediately commanded the units to storm Mary Geoise and execute Araryū's battle plan.
These man-made weapons, capable of being mass-produced and cloned, were each equipped with self-destruct explosives. According to the Araryū Pirates' strategy, every one of them could be sacrificed here if needed.
"You all better watch yourselves. If Imu and the Five Elders return, escape immediately. I'm not about to wait around for you."
Lafitte and Capone Bege warned the reckless fighters. They knew this operation was incredibly dangerous.
A single misstep, and Imu or one of the top elites could wipe them out in an instant.
So Lafitte had no intention of stepping onto the battlefield himself. He planned to command from the rear.
"Yeah, yeah!"
Fighting Champion Burgess and soundwave-user Aidera shouted carelessly. But Van Augur and Doc Q—both far sharper—understood the true meaning.
Destroying Mary Geoise was important. But staying alive mattered just as much.
This was, after all, the heart of the World Government.
With the horn of full assault sounded, the pirates of the Araryū crew surged forward in excitement, storming into Mary Geoise.
"Protect me!! Protect me!! Call the Five Elders back!!"
"Holy Knights! Get over here and guard us!"
"You worthless CP agents! Kill these lowborn pirates immediately!"
"Get out of my castle, you pirates!!"
Chaos flooded Mary Geoise. CP agents and Holy Land guards clashed fiercely with the Araryū forces.
Even the newly deployed second wave of Seraphim were battling the newly elevated Holy Knights.
Ugaru and Mori, the two commanders of the Revolutionary Army's Northern and Western forces, used the chaos to free enslaved captives throughout the Holy Land, deepening the disorder. While doing so, they continued searching for Imu's location, aiming to uncover the core secrets of the World Government.
They carried critical objectives:
Declare war on the World Government in the name of the Revolutionary Army.
And locate the mythical national treasure of the Celestial Dragons: Uranus.
If they found that ancient weapon, they would destroy it without hesitation.
This world did not need a weapon that existed to erase all life.
Meanwhile, the Araryū Pirates' invasion forced the forces pursuing Law to scatter. The opening gave Law a chance to strike back.
The Seraphim Kuma alone had already left numerous Paw Marks across Mary Geoise—allowing future long-distance attacks or teleportation to return here instantly.
Unless the Celestial Dragons rebuilt Mary Geoise entirely from scratch, those marks would remain.
He had even left marks on the central landmark—Pangaea Castle.
During the previous Araryū raid, they hadn't been able to reach the core area Imu guarded personally. After reconstruction, those marked zones had been removed—but not everywhere.
As the protective barrier fell, Marine reinforcements who had arrived from Marineford were already ascending the bubble lift rapidly.
The Holy Land guards defending the lift desperately held the line, enabling Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the others to reach Mary Geoise without the lift being destroyed by the Araryū Pirates again.
While Law's group encircled Holy Knight St. Perigord and another newly promoted Holy Knight, St. Montbard and St. Pleizens—veteran Holy Knights—led CP units in pursuit of Ugaru and Mori.
More newly ascended Holy Knights and CP0 agents were fully occupied resisting Moria and the second wave of Seraphim.
The Celestial Dragons, screaming contradictory orders out of fear and panic, threw the command hierarchy into total chaos. CP agents and Holy Land guards found themselves overwhelmed as confusion spread through their forces.
"Wahahaha! I finally get to kill a Celestial Dragon!"
Burgess roared with glee as he charged. Bartolomeo, Aidera, and several other brutes followed behind him.
Countless elite CP agents were forced to guard the terrified Celestial Dragons directly, compressing their numbers even further.
Mary Geoise no longer had the manpower to suppress the invading Araryū Pirates.
On top of that, with the slave uprising ignited by Ugaru and Mori, the Holy Knights and CP0 fully lost control of the Holy Land.
Rob Lucci, transformed into his leopard form, fought a CP0 elite to a standstill.
Bartolomeo clashed arrogantly with a newly-risen Holy Knight.
Even Don Accino and Brook joined forces to corner a CP0 agent.
Twenty Pacifistas, each with the combat power of a pirate worth 300 million berries, fired laser blasts in volleys as they pushed straight toward the core—Pangaea Castle.
Their objective: Destroy Pangaea Castle.
"Imu's teleportation array must be inside that castle. Use the suicide airship to blow it up!"
From the rear, Devil Sheriff Lafitte and Mafia Godfather Capone Bege stared intensely at the towering fortress.
The situation at the G-18 fortress battlefield was worsening. They needed to force Imu back now.
And if necessary, they were prepared to abandon even Moria and the others… and flee.
An airship packed with explosives barreled toward Pangaea Castle.
Celestial Dragons shrieked.
The Holy Knights and CP agents desperately tried to break away from combat to intercept—but they were each held down by their opponents.
Thinking of Imu's wrath and punishment, their fear twisted into despair.
Just as the airship was about to collide—
A golden Buddha radiated into existence.
Great Buddha Shockwave!
A massive shockwave struck the self-destruct airship.
Yet to Sengoku's horror, the explosion still blasted apart part of Pangaea Castle.
The colossal blast shook the entire structure. The great pillars of the Empty Throne Hall trembled as dust rained down.
The nineteen royal swords before the Empty Throne rattled, ready to fall.
Within the Flower Room, a massive teleportation array flickered with black light.
Imu's body was suspended—his upper half already phased into the teleportation array, while his lower half remained in the air above the blossoms.
The blast shockwave disrupted the teleportation circle—the black light flickering violently.