Chapter 246: The Demon-Slaying Decree

Several days later.

Caravela Shipyard.

The outskirts.

Countless refugees gathered here, staring numbly at everything around them.

For them, the experience of this past month and more was like a nightmare.

Peaceful life was shattered by pirate cannon fire, followed immediately by relentless attacks, attacks, attacks...

To this day, almost no complete building can be found in Water Seven.

Even the Caravela Shipyard, built by Mayor Bingshan himself and now serving as their refugee camp, is covered in blackened scorch marks on its walls.

Members of the Franky Family and Caravela Shipyard craftsmen walked through the crowd, handing out loaves of bread and fresh water to the refugees.

"Mr. Mayor, do we... do we really still have hope...?"

A young girl looked at the bread in her hand; her stomach growled, yet she did not start eating immediately.

Instead, she forced back the tears in her eyes, stood up, and looked toward Bingshan in the distance.

"We have held on for over a month, but the Navy's support still hasn't arrived. I... I'm very afraid!"

Her voice fell silent.

Everyone looked up, gazing at Bingshan, who was wrapped head to toe in bandages, their eyes filled with distinct hope.

Buggy.

Seeing the look in everyone's eyes, Bingshan's throat choked up slightly, and he spoke with firm determination:

"There will be."

"I have already sent a request for aid to the Navy. If we just wait a few more days, they will arrive, and then everything will be fine."

"The pirates will leave, our homes will be rebuilt, and we can live new lives."

"Hold on! If we hold on, we have hope!"

"Good!"

The young girl nodded heavily; the tears in her eyes slowly fell at that moment. She took the bread in her hand and, mixing it with her tears, ate in huge mouthfuls.

"Hold on!"

"If we hold on, there is hope!"

The girl murmured these words softly; the bread, which had no flavor before, now seemed to have a hint of saltiness.

Seeing the girl's reaction, the surrounding crowd's eyes were no longer as numb as before; they all forced themselves to perk up, and even a few sounds of laughter emerged from the crowd.

"Hahaha~"

"I'm still alive; that's truly wonderful!"

"My lord the Mayor is right. To live on, to live on is to have hope."

This laughter grew louder as time passed, moving and stirring, carrying the hope of everyone.

Yet Bingshan, standing in the distance, could not bring himself to laugh.

"President, have some water."

Roubo Luqi placed a bottle of fresh water in Bingshan's hand, then turned to look at the refugees in the distance, murmuring:

"They are just ordinary people who simply want to live... That man would probably say something like that."

"You would actually say such a thing?"

Bingshan looked at Roubo Luqi in surprise, then nodded and said:

"However, although I don't know who you are talking about, anyone capable of saying such a thing cannot be a bad person."

A smile curled at the corner of Roubo Luqi's lips:

"Ah, the man I respect most."

"Do you also have such a presence in your heart?!"

Bingshan smiled and shook his head, but his breath halted in the next instant due to Roubo Luqi's question.

"President, do we really have reinforcements?!"

Bingshan could only remain silent.

In fact, the request for aid sent to the Navy had been dispatched more than half a month ago.

Yet up to now, no response had been received.

This could only mean that Water Seven had likely been abandoned by the World Government.

No matter how unwilling he was, he had to accept this result.

This was destined to be a futile persistence, but apart from persisting and waiting, Bingshan could find no other way.

Seeing this, Roubo Luqi immediately understood and asked tentatively:

"That rumor..."

"It's false!"

Bingshan shook his head in denial.

Hand over the Pluton blueprints?

He had not failed to consider this possibility, even though he had entrusted that object to Franky's care several years ago.

Moreover, based on his understanding, even if his master Tom were still alive, between the lives of an entire city's civilians and a lifeless object, Tom would undoubtedly choose the former.

But having dealt with the World Government for many years, he knew their methods inside out.

The World Government would not tolerate any potential threat.

Once it was confirmed that the Pluton blueprints were truly in his possession, to prevent the information regarding the Pluton blueprints from leaking, they would likely move directly to erase all traces of Water Seven's existence.

Ohara is the best warning of what lies ahead!

Thus, what now faces Water Seven is a problem where every choice leads to death!

After the Sea Train was built, Bingshan had managed Water Seven to its current scale over these years, even cooperating extensively with the World Government.

He had once believed he was safe, but reality gave him a harsh slap in the face.

"Roubo Luqi, I am not a qualified mayor, nor a qualified teacher. I failed to protect this city, Kaku, Blueno... not a single one of them."

Bingshan raised a hand to cover his eyes; his palm became wet in an instant.

"After all, the opponent is the Big Mom Pirates. Kaku and Blueno will not blame you. Moreover, they are merely captured, which does not mean they are in mortal danger."

Roubo Luqi raised a hand to pat Bingshan's shoulder, speaking words of comfort to the latter, yet even he did not believe these words.

But what choice was there?!

After all, the opponent is one of the Four Emperors!

The Four Emperors who rule the New World, against whom even the World Government and the Marines dare not act lightly!

In this era where the Pirate King Roger has long perished and a new king has yet to be decided, the title of Four Emperor represents the pinnacle of this age.

Do you expect the World Government to recklessly go to war with a Four Emperor for a tool that can be discarded at any moment?

If it were before, Roubo Luqi might have believed such a possibility existed, but after experiencing all that on Gao Wen's ship, he finally understood that someone like him meant nothing to the World Government.

Moreover, by the time Roubo Luqi returned to Water Seven, the enemy had already vanished. With the vast ocean before him, where could he go to search for the pirate ship of Whole Cake Island?!

The New World?!

Even if Roubo Luqi was unwilling, he could only set aside the matter of Kaku and Blueno for now and focus his attention on the blueprints of Pluton.

For a moment.

Both fell silent, gazing at the distant sunset until the last ray of afterglow faded.

"Broo Broo—!"

The Den Den Mushi in Bingshan's arms suddenly rang.

After answering it.

The information transmitted through the Den Den Mushi receiver made Bingshan tremble; his originally despairing eyes now shone with brilliant light.

"Reinforcements!"

"The Marines' reinforcements are arriving!"

Bingshan, acting as if mad, rushed into the crowd in the distance.

Facing the hopeful gazes of everyone, he spoke with a sense of relief:

"We have news of our request for aid. Half a month—just hold on for half a month, and the Marine fleet will arrive at Water Seven!"

"By then, all the pirates will retreat!"

The words fell.

Silence reigned around them for a moment, followed not by cheers of joy from the crowd, but by wails that rose from low to high.

"Waaaaah..."

"The World Government and the Marines have not abandoned us!"

"Great! It's truly great!"

A few breaths later.

The crowd erupted; the faces of everyone were etched with the surprise of survival, as if the time of their resurgence was right before their eyes.

Compared to persisting without any hope, for the crowd who now saw hope, half a month no longer seemed long.

Just then, the young girl tightly gripped the half-eaten bread in her hand, her eyes bright, reflecting the light of the sunset.

Roubo Luqi stood aside, watching the scene before him, yet felt a strange sense of unease in his heart.

Having executed missions for over ten years within the CP organization, he had encountered situations similar to Water Seven several times.

But never once had the World Government been willing to extend a helping hand like this.

"I hope I am overthinking it."

As night deepened.

Near the Galley-La Company shipyard, a piercing shriek rang out; flying cannon fire exploded in a series of flames around the refugee camp...

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Crimson flowers bloomed beneath the night sky.

After letting out a strange cry of "Super!", Franky, who was on night watch, organized the members of the Franky Family to go and fight the attacking pirates.

In the basement.

Roubo Luqi slowly opened his eyes; before he could move, the Den Den Mushi beside him emitted a series of urgent rings.

Just as he answered.

Spandam's hurried voice squeezed out from the receiver.

"Roubo Luqi!"

"The mission in Water Seven must be accelerated."

"The Buster Call has been activated. The fleet led by Admiral Akainu of the Marine Headquarters will wipe out everything in Water Seven in half a month."

"Before then, you must complete the mission, or even I cannot protect you!"

Roubo Luqi's pupils contracted; the image of Bingshan cheering in joy upon learning of his rescue floated before his eyes, making his heart feel heavy and stifled.

"I... understand!"

……

……

……

At the same time.

Marine Headquarters.

A group of high-ranking Marines sat around the conference table.

Aside from Kuzan and Zephyr, who were still en route, essentially every officer at the rank of Vice Admiral or above within Headquarters had gathered here.

An invisible pressure weighed upon everyone's shoulders, yet no one dared to speak out.

Until...

"Is the trash in Mary Geoise really filled with pig brains?"

Garp slammed his fist onto the conference table, the fury in his eyes nearly condensing into something tangible, simply because the news reaching his ears was too absurd.

"They actually intend to deploy a Buster Call on Water Seven? Just how many more innocent people must die because of their willfulness?"

"Are they truly that afraid of the Ancient Weapon Pluton?"

As his voice landed,

everyone's breath seemed to halt in that instant, yet many displayed anger identical to Garp's.

This was solely because such an act, akin to massacre, ran counter to the Justice the Marines had always upheld.

"I fear it is not so."

Sengoku rubbed his brow with his hand; rarely did he fail to correct Garp's attitude, but now he took a deep breath and continued:

"The goal of those few is not the Pluton blueprints, but to end this potential war with the utmost speed."

"What do you mean?!"

Garp plopped down into his seat, crossed his arms over his chest, and spoke in a cold, stiff tone.

Sengoku glanced at him, then continued:

"It means that even if those pirates obtained the Pluton blueprints, current technology makes constructing Pluton impossible."

"Whether it is the materials required for construction or the energy source needed to drive Pluton, both are problems this era cannot solve."

"However, if the war revolving around the Pluton blueprints causes the collapse of the existing world order and triggers a new round of hegemonic struggle, that is what would truly threaten the World Government."

"And to end this war with the utmost speed, there is no better method than launching a Buster Call to destroy Water Seven."

"Sengoku!"

Garp abruptly stood up, looking at Sengoku as if seeing the man for the first time:

"Do you know what you are saying?!"

"Water Seven has a permanent population exceeding three hundred thousand; they too have families and children!"

"Those are human lives!"

"I know they are human lives... but regarding this matter, I cannot stop it."

Sengoku lowered his gaze; he pressed one hand onto the conference table, his palm nearly embedding itself into the surface, while his face had flushed red like a pig's liver.

He considered himself absolutely no cold-blooded creature, nor could he bring himself to directly ignore the lives of hundreds of thousands in Water Seven and launch a Buster Call.

The current situation had already exceeded his control.

"This is an order from those Five Elders; they even bypassed me to issue commands directly to Sakazuki. Do you understand what that means?!"

"Zephyr's previous several outbursts have already caused those few to harbor suspicions toward the Marines; if this continues, we will all become mere figureheads."

"If they truly gain complete control over the Marines, do you know the consequences?!"

Garp fell silent for a moment, slowly sat down, and no longer possessed the explosive emotion from earlier.

Seeing this, Sengoku directly skipped past the previous topic and continued making deployments:

"Our mission is, during this period, to contain those monsters in the New World who are eager to make a move, until the Buster Call is completed."

"Regarding the New World, Whitebeard and Shanks have shown no unusual movements for the time being; as for Kaido, I have already ordered Borsalino to depart in advance."

"With his power, it is difficult to crush Kaido in a direct confrontation, but dragging him out for a short time poses no problem."

"What truly gives one a headache right now, conversely, is the situation regarding Totto Land; we know absolutely nothing..."

……

Half an hour later.

The meeting concluded.

Sengoku sat slumped in his chair, flanked by Tsuru and Garp, who were equally silent; the three spoke not a word, sinking into a stifling silence.

Sengoku turned his head to look out the window.

There, a Marine flag fluttered against the sea breeze at the highest point of Marineford.

In a daze,

the scenes of his numerous past disputes with Zephyr appeared before Sengoku's eyes once again.

Although every dispute had ultimately ended inconclusively, reviewing them at this very moment gave Sengoku a different feeling.

"You say we must construct a stable order; then should there exist power unchecked by any supervision or restriction? Should there be people standing above everything?!"

Tsuru paused for a moment, then her pupils constricted:

"Sengoku, what do you intend to do?"

Sengoku did not answer, merely continuing to speak to himself:

"In the past, I always felt that the Marines' power needed to converge together, requiring no two voices."

"But now I suddenly feel that the Marines perhaps truly need two voices, at least two voices on the surface."

"Let Zephyr return soon; I think this time, he and I should have much to discuss."

"Since he has ideas, then I'll give him this chance!"

(End of Chapter)