Chapter 451: Freedom Means Tatakai!

However.

What they understood even more clearly was that regardless of whether Straw Hat could survive the bombardment of the Ancient Weapons, their own adventure could not end here.

"Hiss—!"

Redhair took a deep breath, his hand gripping the sword turning faintly white from pressure, yet his eyes remained exceptionally resolute:

"We..."

"... have no time to waste mourning companions who have already died."

"Carrying their will to the journey's end and personally opening the One Piece is the greatest respect we can show them."

"Next, we proceed according to plan toward Sphinx."

The crowd fell silent, the dejection on their faces swept away entirely as they turned back to the cabins, returned to their stations, and drove the Lei De Force forward toward Whitebeard's hometown.

Whoosh—!

The sea wind howled, filling the sails, as the Lei De Force, covered in wounds and nearly falling apart, pressed forward without hesitation.

At the same time.

Mary Geoise.

The Five Elders gathered in the office, sitting facing one another, yet they no longer possessed the confident demeanor of days past.

Everything that had occurred in Britannias a few days prior had completely shattered the common sense within their understanding.

To withstand an Ancient Weapon with a human body...

Even in the era of Imu and Joy Boy, this would have been nearly miraculous!

Knight Gao Wen... is invincible!

"What do we do?"

Saint Saturn spoke unconsciously, the unease on his face almost impossible to suppress.

Such an expression should not appear on the faces of the Five Elders, who stood at the pinnacle of world power, second only to one person and above ten thousand others.

Such words likewise should not have come from their mouths.

But now the other four could not smile, for the expressions on their faces were no different from Saturn's.

The Ancient Weapons were their final trump card, an infallible truth in their hands, yet now that truth had lost its effect.

Naturally, those who believed in this truth fell into immense terror.

"Has any message come back from my lord Imu?!"

"Wait!"

Saint Nusjuro took a deep breath, tightly gripping the long sword in his embrace, the gloomy ruthlessness in his eyes vanished, leaving only panic:

"My lord Imu said to let us wait, wait for his plan to be completed, wait for him to reclaim his original power."

"That person... still has a trump card?!"

Saint Mars spoke in disbelief:

"Even when facing that monster who withstood the Ancient Weapons?!"

Saint Nusjuro shook his head:

"I do not know either, but apart from believing in my lord Imu, we have no choice."

"Recently, while reviewing intelligence from Raven Port and Britannias, I discovered a shocking, or rather, an inevitable fact."

"Knight Gao Wen..."

"... is fundamentally our natural enemy; even more terrifying than his power is his ideology, a thought far more frightening than the D clan, who are currently ignorant and unaware of the meaning of their own existence!"

"Everything about Britannias fundamentally denies the rationality of the Celestial Dragons' existence!"

"This is a mortal enemy!"

"An irreconcilable mortal enemy!"

The group was startled with horror, immediately understanding the meaning behind Saint Nusjuro's words.

But facing a monster that could not be defeated even by sacrificing everything, what... could they possibly do?!

Wait?!

A painful, agonizing wait?!

Until the very moment of final destruction arrives?!

The five fell silent for a time.

After a long while.

Saint Warcury spoke, shifting the topic:

"By the way."

"Is there any news regarding the recovery of the Seraphim?!"

Upon mention of the Seraphim, Saint Saturn's already gloomy complexion became exceedingly ugly:

"No news."

"The controllers our people installed have already been detonated, yet no message has come back."

"They were likely dismantled in advance by someone."

"But what surprises me most is that woman Stussy; she turned out to be Vegapunk's sleeper agent, which means we personally delivered three Seraphim into Knight Gao Wen's hands!"

"The remaining Seraphim cannot be utilized until we rule out Vegapunk's countermeasures!"

Saint Saturn held his head in his hands, nearing a breakdown:

"Damn it!"

"Damn it all!!!"

……

Above Britannias.

Research and Development Department.

Inside a laboratory.

The lights of vacuum tubes flickered incessantly; three nutrient pods filled with transparent fluid stood in the center, and lying within them were precisely three Seraphim.

Stussy stood to one side, gazing at the three figures inside the nutrient pods, unable to restrain herself from speaking:

"Are you really going to do this?! Mr. Vegapunk!"

"Their power is far too great; if they do not choose to stand on our side afterward, they will be a threat to both you and Britannias!"

Vegapunk remained silent, reaching out to gently press a switch.

Hiss—!

The pressure-release valves inside the nutrient pods opened, expelling vast quantities of pure white gas, while the pod doors slowly rose at that very moment.

Swish—!

S-Dragon abruptly rose from the nutrient fluid.

The injuries sustained in the previous battle had already healed; even the arm and wings severed by Gao Wen had grown back as new limbs.

Yet the most conspicuous feature was an 'X'-shaped scar located over his heart.

"I... am free?!"

S-Dragon lowered his head, looking at the wound on his chest.

That was originally the location where the World Government had installed the controller, connected directly to the heart.

Once any anomaly occurred, the controller needed only to be activated by the operator to directly destroy his heart.

This was the reason why even someone as rebellious and self-willed as S-Dragon had no choice but to execute the World Government's orders.

But now, he could no longer sense the existence of the controller.

"You are free."

Vegapunk nodded, his gaze sweeping over S-Dragon before shifting to S-Shark and S-Bear, who had likewise risen from the nutrient pods behind him, an unmistakable guilt welling up in his eyes:

"Creating life is the greatest taboo I have ever touched in my life, aside from producing the Mother Flame."

"I am deeply sorry."

"I brought you into this world, endowed you with flesh and soul, yet kept you forever bound in chains; now, I return freedom to you."

"You may do whatever you wish, go wherever you desire, and even pursue your own dreams!"

The three Seraphim remained silent.

S-Bear and S-Shark wore bewildered expressions, at a loss for what to do; merely repeating former actions out of instinct, they silently moved behind Stussy, awaiting commands from their dominator.

Only S-Dragon lowered his head, his brows knitted tightly together.

As the strongest and most special among the Seraphim, S-Dragon possessed a complete self-will; this was the source of his rebellion, which distinguished him from the other Seraphim.

Yet at this moment, feeling that the heart beating within his chest belonged entirely to himself, what he felt was still confusion.