Chapter 466: Battle for Survival, A Fight to the Death!

Blackbeard's expression shifted, the hatred in his eyes barely concealable.

Yet the moment he sensed the seal on his chest, he knew he could only endure, though this was merely a desperate wait.

After all, Im possessed a nearly infinite lifespan; he would neither die nor age!

But Blackbeard knew even better that he had no other choice.

Im took in Blackbeard's expression entirely, yet paid it no heed.

The Dual Devil Fruits were indeed special, but in the end, they were merely puppets in his palm, incapable of stirring up even the slightest wave.

The true problem at hand remained Britannias.

And yet.

Gazing at the projection screen filled with vast clouds and mist, Im felt somewhat perplexed as to why Gao Wen would act this way:

"A kingdom built upon the existence of ability users will inevitably decline alongside their deaths."

No matter how powerful Knight Gao Wen might become, no matter what glory Britannias might forge in the coming decades, it could ultimately not withstand time.

When the final limit arrives, the moment of destruction will follow!

Just then, Garling, who had been silent beside them, voiced the doubt in his heart:

"It's just that..."

"If Knight Gao Wen merely seeks a foothold after the world is submerged by the sea, why choose this specific timing?!"

"He displayed his overwhelming strength at the World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament and launched an Ancient Strike to annihilate countless pirates, demonstrating Britannias' formidable military power."

"But even so, as the submersion of land accelerates further, those pirate scum terrified by the approaching death will inevitably choose to fight to the death."

"With Knight Gao Wen's intellect, he would absolutely not fail to calculate this point."

"Then..."

"Why exactly, why would that monster choose Britannias?"

"Is it simply because that location is most suitable for the Crimson Dragon's abilities to manifest, or..."

"Is there another reason?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's gaze instantly converged upon Garling.

Although he had already accepted Im's blessing and obtained an immortal body,

two years had passed, and his face, already covered in wrinkles, had become even more withered, yet his eyes at this moment shone with a terrifying brilliance!

"For instance... immortality?!"

Im's gaze hardened; after a brief moment of thought, he gently shook his head:

"That is impossible."

"Back then, that ritual was not yet completed when Big Mom, one of the five essential elements, fled."

"Relying solely on the remaining few abilities, the ritual cannot be completed."

Garling nodded in agreement with this, yet at this moment, he voiced an even more shocking possibility:

"My lord Im, you are correct."

"But thinking from another angle, if they could find a substitute for the Mother Flame, the energy core of Pluton, then how could it be impossible to find a substitute for the Soru Soru no Mi?!"

"Perhaps achieving immortality in Britannias, and then utilizing the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi to lift this nation into the sky to evade the world-ending flood, was part of Gao Wen's plan all along!"

"That fellow has been aiming for this goal from the very beginning!"

Garling's voice was high-pitched, falling upon everyone's ears like a clap of thunder.

Everyone present changed color; some instinctively opened their mouths to refute, yet could find no reason to do so.

More importantly...

the more one thought about it in detail, the more one felt that Garling's speculation was extremely likely to be true!

No!

Perhaps this is the very truth!

After all, even for something like the Ancient Weapons, warships completely out of sync with this era, Knight Gao Wen found a way to manufacture them, so isn't finding a substitute for a Devil Fruit ability perfectly normal?!

If that monster in Britannias attains eternal life, coupled with the Crimson Dragon's formidable abilities and his own nearly invincible power...

would he not become an eternal, undying monarch?!

Upon thinking of this point, the Five Elders felt their scalps go numb.

Originally, in their judgment,

in the upcoming battle, even if they could not defeat Knight Gao Wen, at worst the Celestial Dragons could bring their families and board the moon.

In a hundred or so years, the Lionheart King would still meet the fate of being buried in the sea.

But now...

but now that this possibility has emerged, all of this has been overturned!

"That monster..."

Saturn gaped his mouth wide.

Countless pieces of information surged in his mind, quickly connecting everything together!

His body began to tremble uncontrollably; a tremendous fear emanating from his soul nearly swallowed him whole.

"From the very beginning, his objective has been this world!"

"He knew from the start that the world would sink, which is why he carried out this series of actions!"

"Holding the Martial Arts Tournament in the East Blue to make a name for himself, attracting our attention, thereby gaining the opportunity to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea to avoid interference from the Marines and the World Government."

"Afterward, he entered the second phase of his plan."

"Jin Shizi reappearing in the seas after twenty years was precisely due to his battle with Knight Gao Wen."

"In other words, Knight Gao Wen's appearance in Water 7 was not truly for Pluton, but for Jin Shizi's Fuwa Fuwa no Mi; Pluton was merely an accidental byproduct."

"Even without the Underworld King, Britannias could still have reached this step!"

Accompanying Saturn's shocked exclamation, the surrounding crowd could not help but begin to trace back along this line of thought to the history of Gao Wen's rise.

Only then did they suddenly realize that everything had left traces to follow.

This man had calculated all of this from the very beginning!

The Four Emperors of the Navy, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and even the World Government itself were merely chess pieces he could manipulate at will.

Im's expression gradually became Solemn; clearly, he too was startled by such speculation.

"If this is truly the case, this fellow..."

"He is likely my greatest opponent after Joy Boy—no, even counting Joy Boy, he is my greatest opponent!"

"Joy Boy may have possessed equally powerful strength, but he lacked this kind of flawless calculation, using the great sea as a chessboard and all living beings as chess pieces!"

"How could such a monster exist?!"

The cigarette butt on Shiryu's lips fell to the ground; subconsciously gripping the long blade at his waist, he inexplicably felt a chill in his heart.

What he could not determine was whether he himself, back in Impel Down, had also become one of Gao Wen's chess pieces.

"Teach..."

Shiryu turned to look at Blackbeard, yet he saw only Solemnity on this man's face:

"You guessed correctly; I... am also that monster's chess piece!"

Blackbeard let out a sigh; in his eyes there was frustration, there was unwillingness, but more than anything, there was terror—indescribable terror!

"I have always found it strange: whether at Navy Headquarters or on the battlefield of the Summit War, given his combat power, if he had wanted to kill me, neither the Navy nor the World Government could have stopped him."

"Why did he hold back at that time?!"

Blackbeard murmured:

"Now I understand."

"Wasn't I, who invaded Impel Down just like him, precisely the most suitable scapegoat?!"

Shiryu froze, understanding Blackbeard's meaning, yet still feeling somewhat puzzled:

"But as long as you told the Navy the truth, wouldn't his plan have collapsed on its own?!"

"Heh."

Blackbeard sneered coldly:

"Guess who was the person that stopped me from speaking the truth at the very last moment?! It was Sengoku!"

"At that time, having just undergone a great battle and suffered heavy losses, the Navy, eager to stabilize the unrest spreading everywhere, simply had no spare strength to deal with a new strongest person in the world."

"Therefore, the Navy—no, under such circumstances, even the World Government would choose to help him conceal it."

"Even now, he has not lost his position as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea because of this; isn't that the best proof?!"

"Am I not right?!!"

"Five Elders!"

Saturn and the others remained expressionless, responding with silence.