Chapter 273: The Five Elders

Akainu instinctively raised his hand to straighten his hat.

Choosing the lesser of two evils was a principle engraved in his bones.

Between the over one million Marines of the Headquarters and branches, and the tens of thousands of civilians in Water Seven, he knew how to choose.

According to Akainu's past conduct, faced with this question, he would not have hesitated for even a split second.

But now.

Aokiji, who had disputed with him for many years, had bowed his head to him for the sake of the people of Water Seven.

T-Bone had even wagered his own life for the civilians of Water Seven; knowing he would surely die, he departed without return, his life and death unknown.

Even Akainu's will, hard as steel, was now somewhat shaken.

For a long while.

Akainu lifted his head again, gazing at the extremely chaotic Water Seven in the distance, then looked at Gao Wen and Shiki, who were still fiercely killing each other; the hesitation in his eyes vanished in an instant.

Swish—!

Akainu suddenly raised his hand, preparing to activate the Buster Call to burn everything before his eyes to ashes.

"Wait—!"

White-Face CP0 suddenly spoke, interrupting Akainu's action.

Buru Buru—!

The crisp ringing of the Den Den Mushi echoed across the deck.

The hearts of the crowd, hanging in suspense, dropped suddenly like a roller coaster, only to be lifted again immediately.

"Moshi moshi~"

A deep voice came from the receiver.

White-Face CP0's waist suddenly straightened rigidly; even though the caller could not see his expression through the phone, his face was still filled with obedience and awe.

Compared to the arrogant, high-and-mighty posture he had displayed when facing Akainu, at this moment he was like a family dog wagging its tail and begging for pity.

This was solely because this Den Den Mushi was connected to one of the five Celestial Dragons standing behind the World Government, the true controllers of this world.

"Saint Saturn!"

"It is I."

The person on the other end of the line responded lightly, then commanded:

"Suspend the Buster Call for now."

"The situation inside Water Seven is currently too complex; it is no longer simply a matter of some meaningless blueprint of the Ancient Weapon Pluton."

"Shiki, who disappeared for twenty years, Charlotte Linlin, and even Wang Zhi, these pirates who should be active in the New World, have all appeared."

"Launching a Buster Call at this time might even cause the battle situation to head in an unpredictable direction; facing the Navy's encirclement and suppression, they might possibly join forces."

"Once things escalate to that extent, the God Valley Incident from back then might be reenacted."

"Wait until the internal melee in Water Seven produces a result, then you can step in to clean up the aftermath."

"Yes!"

As soon as the voice landed, Saturn hung up the Den Den Mushi.

White-Face CP0 slowly put away the Den Den Mushi, once again resuming his earlier high-and-mighty posture, and turned to look at Akainu.

No words were needed.

Akainu, who had overheard everything, nodded and lowered his hand.

It was only at this moment that he realized his palms had been soaked with sweat at some point.

The surrounding Marines also breathed a sigh of relief at this moment.

They could convince themselves with the excuse of justice, but when it truly came to taking action, at the very moment of becoming slaughterers, their hearts could not help but struggle somewhat.

Fortunately, everything would only be revealed after the battle in Water Seven decided the final outcome.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The battle in the sky above Water Seven became increasingly fierce at this moment.

The billowing clouds and restless air currents stirred up layer after layer of giant waves on the sea surface, striking the warship beneath Akainu's feet, yet failing to shake it even half a bit.

At the same time.

Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle.

In a conference room, five figures sat on a sofa, quietly watching the live footage transmitted by the projection Den Den Mushi, strange expressions flashing continuously in their eyes.

These were images transmitted back by the CP0 members present at the scene in Water Seven for the several of them.

And these five people were precisely the Five Elders standing at the pinnacle of power in this world.

They were the controllers of the World Government, while both the Navy and the CP organization were merely subordinate agencies under the World Government.

At this moment.

The attention of all five was focused on the young figure in the footage who was fighting Shiki.

"If I remember correctly, when a vacancy appeared among the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Sengoku recommended the Knight Gao Wen."

"Come to think of it, the reason Sengoku recommended him back then was that Knight Gao Wen's conduct was relatively stable, different from other pirates."

"Yet not long after that incident, he did the thing of capturing the former Navy Admiral Zephyr and forcibly joining the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

"In the end, he is just a pirate; how could he possibly possess awe for authority and gods?"

Saint Mars raised his hand to stroke his beard, unable to help but let out a sigh of amazement:

"However, to think he already possesses the strength to contend with Shiki?"

"Hmph—!"

Saint Natsuro snorted, looking at the familiar long blade in Gao Wen's hand, and felt a surge of irritation in his heart:

"He is merely propping himself up with the Devil Fruit ability; defeat is only a matter of time."

Saint Mats shook his head but did not refute Saint Natsuro's words.

After all, in the current situation, Jin Shizi already held absolute dominance, and Gao Wen was being suppressed throughout the entire fight.

Human strength always has its limits; the moment any one of the three—physical stamina, willpower, or spirit—fails to hold, is the moment Gao Wen will be defeated.

Not only him, but the other few present also held this view.

Saint Pit leaned against the sofa, holding a wine glass in one hand, watching the projection screen indifferently, and said:

"Regardless of the final outcome, Water Seven will have only one winner in the end, and that will be us."

"If handled properly, we can even eliminate these several unstable factors in one stroke."

"Speaking of which..."

He stopped halfway.

Saint Pit took a sip of the red wine in his cup, seemed to sense the taste was off, frowned, put it down, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, and then said:

"The user of the Bone-Bone Fruit of this generation is said to be on Knight Gao Wen's ship as well."

Saint Vochuli glanced at him, sneered:

"The legend of Flesh, Blood, Bone, Heart, and Soul?"

"Such things hold no meaning for us."

"Even if we find these Devil Fruits and truly realize that legend of Britannias, what then?"

"Is that monster, who lives longer than us, even still alive?"

"It does not think, has no self, possesses only a bloodthirsty instinct; it is merely a mass of writhing flesh."

He looked at the projection screen in the distance, gazing at that excessively young figure, and continued:

"The potential Knight Gao Wen has displayed can no longer be underestimated."

"Pity that Jin Shizi is, after all, a being who once fought Roger; after this battle, it will already be a miracle if Knight Gao Wen can keep his life."

"But what is he? A pirate playing the role of a vigilante?"

Saint Satan leaned on his cane, his eyes filled with an indescribable coldness:

"Pity... we do not need obedient justice; then we can only let him die here."

"Also, Kuzan actually defied our orders and appeared in Water Seven?!"

"I told them justice is not for them to think about what justice truly is, but that the will of the Celestial Dragons is justice!"

"The Navy has been getting more and more restless lately; they need a stronger dose."

"Heh..."

After a light chuckle.

The conference room returned to silence once more.

This great battle occurring in Water Seven was, for the Five Elders, merely a boring pastime in the long passage of time.

The strongest will pass away, legends will slowly fade into history, but only these five standing at the peak of the world have always existed.

Water Seven.

Gao Wen and Jin Shizi fought in the high sky, turning day into night, frequently unleashing waves of extremely powerful impacts; the center of the battlefield was already a mess.

He was suppressed head-on by Jin Shizi, yet he also displayed a resilience that made the latter's heart tremble.

If he had not fought Gao Wen before and was not familiar with Gao Wen's fighting style, he would almost have thought he had encountered a Lunarian who looked exactly like Gao Wen.

This ability to withstand blows was simply too outrageous!

But Jin Shizi still had confidence that the person who would win in the end was inevitably himself.

He slashed with his blade once more, pushing Gao Wen hundreds of meters away, smashing him heavily into the glacier that almost completely covered more than half of Water Seven.

Crack-crack-crack—!

Cracks spread to the feet of Aokiji, making his heart race with fear.

An attack of this magnitude would have left him dead or half-crippled if struck head-on, yet Gao Wen had endured such attacks and fought Jin Shizi to this point.

This ability to withstand blows made even Aokiji, who had witnessed the Age of Legends and fought countless strong ones, feel ashamed.

Perverted, truly perverted.

But even a perverted ability to withstand blows must have a limit, right?

"Are you alright?!"

Aokiji was in great panic in his heart.

If Gao Wen fell here, he would have to face Big Mom and Jin Shizi's combined forces alone, which was no different from seeking death.

Yet at this moment, the Thunder Blade in Big Mom's hand, with majestic momentum, slashed toward Aokiji.

Lightning Lei Guang filled the blade's edge, and Lei She even crawled across the ice surface, melting it with ease.

The extremely violent lightning made every hair on Aokiji's head stand on end; the sense of crisis in his heart reached its peak, yet it was already too late to retreat; his pupils even shrank to the size of needle tips in that instant:

"This is bad!"

At the very last critical moment, a silver light tore through the ice layer and clashed hard against Big Mom's incoming Thunder Sword!

Boom—!

A layer of light waves spread outward from the point of collision, instantly evaporating a huge pit in the ice surface, with dense cracks spreading all the way to the end of the line of sight.

"You..."

Aokiji looked up at the excessively young figure before him, his eyes filled with indescribable shock.

How much time has passed since leaving Alabasta?

This guy has gotten stronger again!

Just as Aokiji was stunned, Gao Wen's faint voice came to his ear:

"You now owe me a life!"

By the time he came to his senses, Gao Wen beside him had already shot forth like a bullet from a barrel, rushing toward the Jin Shizi standing proudly high in the sky.

That was tonight's main course!

"Truly... an excessively confident fellow!"

Aokiji shook his head, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled; along with this process, his hands were covered in jet-black Haki.

"This is... Garp's..."

"Ah!"

"The old man's Iron Fist, I know that too!"

Crack crack crack crack—!

Aokiji tightened his five fingers one by one into a fist, finally punching out; the erupting shockwave instantly sent Big Mom retreating.

"Fist Bone - Impact!"

Boom!

Dust and smoke billowed, glaciers on the ground exploded and shattered, and two figures once again engaged in fierce combat.

Freezing, lightning, slashes, and churning sand and clouds threw the entire Water Seven into chaos.

Even the Mayor's Building was caught in the crossfire and collapsed completely; the basement, which had served as a temporary refuge for refugees, was now entirely buried under rubble.

Xiang Keluo, Ah Jin, and others were also held back by Wang Zhi; even though they had already obtained intelligence regarding the Teleport-Teleport Fruit, they were still fighting extremely raggedly.

The nearly unreasonable displacement ability of the Teleport-Teleport Fruit was difficult for even Xiang Keluo to handle; it was only by relying on Kamaitachi's speed and the ability to manipulate air currents that Ah Jin could forcibly endure quite a bit of damage from Wang Zhi, barely maintaining an undefeated stance.

The rest of the people, facing the omnipresent IQ Beasts, were also beaten into a steadily retreating situation for a time.

All around, IQ Beasts continuously invaded, devouring survivor after survivor; the situation before everyone's eyes seemed to be one of certain death.

Amid such a restless battlefield, the surviving civilians became increasingly uneasy, unsure of where their future lay.

But just at this moment.

Someone with sharp eyes spotted a warship quietly anchored on the sea surface.

"Is that... reinforcements? It's Navy reinforcements!"

"We're saved!"

"As long as we reach over there and get the Navy's protection, we can be saved!"

"They fly the flag of Justice; they will surely fight for this city!"

With a boom, the crowd erupted into chaos; disregarding everything, they surged toward the distant sea.

Even though people continuously fell during this process, and continuously others were devoured by IQ Beasts attacking from the sky, it was because the hope they had been waiting for was right before their eyes.

Right there on the sea!

Amid successive colossal changes, the civilians, who had long reached their limits, now acted as if possessed by madness.

Hiss!

T-Bone swung his sword, slicing a small IQ Beast in two, covering the retreat of the crowd toward the vicinity of the beach.

The wounds on his body had long burst open, oozing crimson blood, accompanied by tearing agony, but T-Bone could no longer attend to these.

Exert a little more strength, swing the blade a few more times, and a few more people can be saved!

As long as we wait for the Navy reinforcements to arrive, everything will be fine!

At this moment, the warship anchored on the sea had also become T-Bone's final hope.

Now that the Pluton blueprints have spread, even that guy Sakazuki wouldn't carry out a meaningless massacre, right?!

Thinking thus, T-Bone's body, which had already become somewhat exhausted, somehow squeezed out a bit more remaining strength, causing him to grip the longsword in his hand even tighter.

"What I hate most is winding and twisting swordsmanship; straight and direct is the Dao that a knight ought to pursue!"

"Right-Angle Flying Bird!"

Silvery-white sword qi left his hand, transforming into a large bird that shot through the air without a single twist or turn, straight as T-Bone's spine!

Hiss—!

Blood sprayed, splashing all over T-Bone, making his already hideous face look even more like a evil demon.

But at this moment, as the civilians looked at this former knight who was now a marine, their eyes held nothing but unspeakable respect.

"Mr. Peng En, thank you!"

A boy protected by Peng En looked at T-Bone, his eyes filled with nothing but admiration.

T-Bone raised his hand, wanting to pat the boy's head, but seeing the blood on his hand, he slowly withdrew the motion, gripping that blood-stained knight's sword even tighter.

"Go quickly."

"Head to the seaside, find the Navy, and there will be hope!"

(End of Chapter)