Wow~~~
One ripple stirred a thousand waves.
When the identity of the mysterious assassin was finally revealed, it sent shockwaves across the world.
News spread like wildfire — the Five Elders, the highest authority beneath the World Government itself, had descended onto the battlefield.
Everywhere — inside and outside the chaos of the war — people erupted in disbelief.
"Wha— What did you just say?!"
"Did you hear that? That man… the one who tried to assassinate Emperor Sugisawa Yuuto earlier—"
"He's one of the Five Elders! The highest ruling power in the world!"
"Five Elder Zambalong V. Nasushiro Langsheng — I've heard of him before! They call him the Landlord Zero!"
The revelation only deepened the uproar.
"Not just one—! For this war, the World Government actually sent two of the Five Elders!"
"It's insane—this is beyond precedent! Where in the world will this war lead now?!"
At Sabaody's live broadcast plaza, tens of thousands of spectators — reporters, pirates, and bystanders alike — boiled over in collective shock.
"The Knights of God, the Seraphim, and now two Five Elders… looks like the World Government really pulled out every last card this time," muttered Capone Bege, captain of the Flame Tank Pirates, shaking his head in disbelief.
Sky Island's strange monk Urouge laughed with a heavy sigh.
"They've certainly gone all in — but I'd say they're fetching water with a bamboo basket. In the end, all that effort will be for nothing."
"The Shichibukai's clone weapons, the Seraphim, already fell into Fairy Tail's hands," Killer Kira noted coldly. "Guess it's the Five Elders' turn to fall next."
"Ahaha—two of the Five Elders, the highest powers in the world, crushed in the same war? That's headline material for the century!" cackled the sea rogue Haiming Skulachmanap.
"Don't underestimate the World Government," warned former Marine Rear Admiral X. Drake with a grim tone. "Five Elder Pith is a Zoan-type Mythical Beast user. The second one, Nasushiro, won't be ordinary either. If he's got a Devil Fruit, it's probably another god-tier beast ability."
Captain Eustass Kid smirked.
"Doesn't matter what ability he's got. In front of that man's overwhelming power, everything else is meaningless."
Hawkins adjusted his tarot cards calmly.
"My divination gives the two Five Elders a zero percent chance of victory against Emperor Sugisawa Yuuto."
At the Naval Headquarters — Above the Battlefield
"The Five Elders!"
"Nasushiro Sage!"
"That's the highest power in the entire world—the Five Elders themselves!"
"Not only Lord Pith, but Lord Nasushiro too!"
"So it was the Five Elders—the World Government's supreme authority—who tried to assassinate Emperor Sugisawa Yuuto earlier!"
All across the battlefield, Marine officers, government elites, and pirates alike were thrown into uproar.
"Cut the crap—highest power in the world? What a joke!"
"More like rats hiding in the sewers!"
"Yeah, scared half to death by Sugisawa Yuuto—too terrified to even show their faces!"
"And now they try a sneak attack from behind?"
"Hah! Conspiracies are useless in the face of absolute power!"
The Whitebeard Pirates and their forty-three allied crews seized the moment to jeer mercilessly, mocking the government ranks until faces turned red and blue. The Marines and Cipher Pol leaders wanted to shout back—but couldn't. Because every word was true.
"Jie hahahaha!" A rolling, mocking laugh echoed through the sky. "Now this is a show worth watching! Two of the Five Elders—men who never leave their sacred mountain—descending together! What's the matter? One wasn't enough to face our Guildmaster Sugisawa Yuuto, so you brought a matching set?"
Hovering high above, Golden Lion Shiki laughed again and again, broadcasting the chaos to every corner of the world.
"Shut your mouth, Shiki!" snarled Kong, Commander-in-Chief of the World Government's armed forces. "Your tongue will be the death of you. Keep running your mouth, and you'll pay the price!"
"Jie ha ha ha! I'll be waiting!" the Golden Lion shot back, utterly unbothered. "But before you get to me, looks like you might be the first to fall!"
"Ku la la la la…" A low, thunderous laugh echoed next — Whitebeard's.
"I've no quarrel with the World Government," the old man said, his trident splitting the ground beneath his feet. "But if this is the wish of President Sugisawa Yuuto… then come! Let's give the world a fight worth remembering!"
The air shivered with killing intent.
"The blood of the Five Elders, the so-called rulers of the world…" growled Rocks D. Xebec, his eyes flashing crimson with bloodlust. "I wonder… what does it smell like?"
Even while holding down Charlotte Linlin, he turned his greedy, murderous gaze toward the two descending Elders — ready to strike, ready to hunt, whenever the chance appeared.