"Ooooooh!"
"He's alive! He's alive!"
"Thank the heavens—the Five Elder still lives!"
"I knew it! How could Lord Five Elder fall so easily?"
"Even if Sugisawa Yuuto is called the strongest man in the world, it's impossible for him to kill Lord Five Elder with a single punch!"
"Don't forget, Lord Pieter is also a Mythical Zoan user!"
Across the shattered battlefield of Naval Headquarters, Marines and World Government officials cheered wildly. Their morale, once broken, flared back to life as the colossal bull-headed giant emerged once more.
However—
At that same moment, the expression on the Minotaur Elder's face twisted with fury and humiliation.
Because his escape plan—his one desperate gamble—had failed before it even began.
Just as Drake and the others had suspected, his earlier silence hadn't meant death.
As a Mythical Zoan user, his body possessed monstrous endurance and regenerative power. Even losing to Sugisawa Yuuto wouldn't mean instant death.
No—he had been pretending.
Feigning defeat.
Lying low, waiting for the chaos of battle to let him slip away unnoticed.
That was his true plan.
Yes—exactly that.
The mighty bull-headed Five Elder, Pieter, had been deliberately playing dead to escape Yuuto's wrath.
Because deep down, he had no desire to continue fighting that monster.
He regretted it.
He regretted ever stepping foot on this battlefield.
Back in Mariejois, he had made bold declarations before the other Elders—swearing he would personally lead the Divine Knights into the war atop Marineford and reverse the world's balance of power.
He had trusted in his forces, the Seraphim and the Knights of God, and in himself.
After all, as the wielder of the Mythical Zoan—Human-Human Fruit, Minotaur Form, he believed his strength rivaled that of an Admiral.
He had been so confident.
So sure that even against the legendary Whitebeard or the terrifying Sugisawa Yuuto, he could fight evenly.
But the moment they clashed—
He understood how wrong he was.
That single exchange had shattered his delusion.
The monstrous power he had been so proud of hadn't even made Yuuto take a single step back.
In return, one casual blow from Sugisawa Yuuto had shattered his arms and crushed his ribs.
That was the true weight behind the title "World's Strongest."
It was a strength far beyond his comprehension.
Stronger than any Admiral.
Beyond the Four Emperors.
Sugisawa Yuuto stood alone at the pinnacle of the sea.
Pieter knew it.
Even if two of the Five Elders fought together, the outcome would not change.
As one of the world's highest authorities, the Minotaur Elder had no intention of dying here.
He wanted to live—to continue enjoying the intoxicating comfort of supreme power.
And so, he had chosen the most disgraceful option.
To pretend to be dead—hoping Yuuto would move on.
But Sugisawa Yuuto didn't give him that chance.
He had stomped once, split the ground apart, and dragged Pieter back into the light.
"Jiehahahahaha!" laughed Golden Lion Shiki, hovering above the battlefield. "What's wrong, Mr. Five Elder? You look pale! Don't tell me—you were pretending to be dead underground, weren't you?"
"Wh-what?!"
"Don't talk nonsense!"
"How could the highest authority in the world stoop to pretending to be dead?!"
"The true might of Lord Five Elder has yet to be revealed!"
Marines and government elites shouted in protest, their faces red with anger and denial.
"Gurararara… what a coward," Whitebeard rumbled with a deep, mocking laugh. "So that's the power of your so-called world government? Hiding before the fight even begins?"
"If you're that afraid of dying," sneered Rocks, the Sea Overlord, "you should've stayed locked up in your holy city instead of coming here to face the real world!"
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!!!" roared the Minotaur Elder, his voice shaking the air.
"If you're so eager to die—then I'll grant your wish!!!"
MooOOOOOO!!!
The world seemed to quake as the bull demon's roar exploded once more, a sound so powerful it made the heavens tremble.
The wind howled.
Dust and debris surged into the air, blotting out the sun.
And within that swirling haze—
A cold, murderous gleam flashed.
A blade of light—sharp, silent—darted forward, aimed straight for Sugisawa Yuuto's back.
Clang!
A clear metallic note rang out.
Something—or someone—had just deflected the strike.
The real battle had only just begun.