Chapter 155: You Wretched, Weaklings

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

Akainu wished he could punch straight through Red Nose's heart, but his threats had no effect on Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen; the man still ordered his men to slaughter the Celestial Dragons.

This was a relentless slap across the Marine's face, in front of fifty thousand soldiers.

After slapping the left cheek, he slapped the right, then finally stomped on the Marine's face while mocking them wildly.

But the Marines had no way to respond.

Whether they admitted it or not, the truth was: the Celestial Dragons were the Marines' greatest weakness.

Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen used the Celestial Dragons as leverage, and alone, he crushed the entire Marine force.

Akainu understood that if this continued, the Marines would become a complete joke, stripped of all dignity.

"Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen, you coward!"

"Coward?" Saint Saint Saiwen sneered. "If I'm a coward, then what are you?"

"The Marine Fleet Admiral. The Three Marine Admirals."

"Hundreds of officers. Fifty thousand Marines."

"Yet you can only stare helplessly as I slaughter your masters."

"Red Dog, shout it loud for me—"

"Who～is the real coward!!"

"You pathetic, weaklings—if you can't bear to watch your masters die, then give me—"

"Lower～your～heads."

The shorter the phrase, the greater its strike—especially when Saint Saint Saiwen precisely portrayed the Celestial Dragons as the Marines' masters; the Marine soldiers silently bowed their heads.

Lies don't hurt; truth is the sharp blade.

Even if they refused to admit it, before the Celestial Dragons, the Marines were nothing but dogs bred by them.

Any dog that dares ignore its master's life will, after the fact, be served up on the World Government's table.

Even senior officers wept as they pleaded.

"Fleet Admiral, give the order."

Better to die on the battlefield than be humiliated—that was the will of the vast majority of officers.

But Sakazuki seemed soulless: fifteen Celestial Dragons were already dead; no more could die.

If this continued, who would bear the responsibility?

After Yuzhi Xiliu, the intern, and Bartholomew Kuma successfully awakened Conqueror's Haki, Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen, standing atop the corpses of the Celestial Dragons and trampling the Marines' dignity, showed the world what it meant to possess the qualities of a king.

Even if we won this battle, what does it matter? The Marines and the World Government have already lost utterly.

The world is about to erupt in rebellion.

A more violent era than the Great Pirate Era ignited by Luo Jie will begin in Marineford.

Akainu's teeth bit through his lips, blood trickling out; his magma arm glowed red-hot, bubbling with rage as he swung his magma iron fist with all his strength, punching straight through Buggy's heart.

Then he leapt down from the platform and raised his arm in a roar.

"No sacrifice is too great to accept."

"All Marines, listen: attack."

"Aye, sir!!!"

Under the leadership of hundreds of Marine officers, fifty thousand Marines entered a frenzy.

Deafening battle cries surged toward the heavens as they charged toward the location of the Morning Star Pirates.

No one expected Akainu to bypass Fleet Admiral Sakazuki and Saint Nasujo directly and order the attack.

"Sakazuki! What are you doing?"

The roaring morale drowned out Sakazuki's shout.

The Marines no longer wished to endure humiliation—they preferred death over further torment.

And atop the platform, Buggy's corpse had inexplicably transformed into a woman with a long nose; the two vice admirals overseeing the execution felt their scalps crawl.

Admiral Sakazuki… was deceived.

Then what was the point of this war? For a fake Buggy?!

The execution vice admiral wanted to scream and tell every Marine that this Buggy was fake—but the words stuck in his throat.

Suddenly, a transformation erupted.

From Saint Saint Saiwen as the center, crimson-black Conqueror's Haki exploded violently; lightning as thick as dragon-serpents shot skyward, splitting the heavens in two.

Beneath the split sky.

Crimson-black Haki spread like a celestial net, instantly and precisely covering all of Marineford, dragging it into an inescapable domain of domination.

Within this domain, all beings knelt in submission.

Leaving aside combat power, Conqueror's Haki ranks among the most terrifying in all anime and live-action media.

Nearly equivalent to the Donghai Dihuang Engine.

Ziiii~ ziiii~ ziiii~

Marine soldiers collapsed like toppled tarot cards, eyes rolling back, unconscious.

In a single glance, Marineford—moments ago roaring with morale—fell into eerie silence.

Only the Conqueror's Haki hissed.

Even the twenty-five vice admirals the Marines had pinned their hopes on collapsed after less than two seconds, swaying, faces twisted in helpless defiance.

At this point, the only ones still standing in Marineford were Saint Saint Saiwen's companions and Lei Li.

And ahead: Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, Hero Karp, the Three Admirals Akainu, Aokiji, Kizaru, and Zephyr, gasping and wheezing as he clutched his chest.

Saint Nasujo and Saint Garin.

Ten against eight; at least in numbers, the Morning Star Pirates have gained a temporary advantage.

Witnessing this, Sengoku trembled with fear: Borsalino was right; the Navy's assessment of Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen's strength always lags several steps behind.

Even a Fleet Admiral cannot withstand it?

Is it truly so defying of heaven?!

Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen had no intention of negotiating; that tangible cage of lightning was clearly aimed at annihilating every Marine in Marineford.

Sengoku felt a long-forgotten fear after all these years: Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen was a madman.

He intended to make an example of the Navy and the World Government.

"Send a few meteors for some entertainment."

"As you wish, Captain."

Nearly all the Marines at Navy Headquarters lost consciousness, and those three meteors falling from the sky were about to smash open the gates to hell.

Everyone must die.

Sengoku's eyes turned blood-red as he transformed into a golden Buddha, while Kaido's body was wreathed in lightning as he raised his iron fist.

The three Admirals also held nothing back, unleashing their full firepower.

……

Holy Land Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle.

Leading the Five Elders, Saint Saturn hurriedly arrived at the Flower Room to request an audience with Imu-sama.

Truly, if Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen had only kidnapped one hundred Celestial Dragons, it would have been one thing; the critical issue was that he had kidnapped Saint Elaine once again.

Precisely because Saint Elaine had been kidnapped again, Saint Saturn and the others found themselves in a dilemma.

Continuing the fight would very likely cause Saint Elaine to perish on the spot, and afterward, they would likely be held accountable.

Yet any plea for peace was rejected by Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen.

On the Void Wang Zuo.

Imu's pair of scarlet eyes regarded the photo of Saint Saint Saiwen on the bounty poster with keen interest.

"D~?"

Saint Saturn understood; Imu-sama was asking whether Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen truly belonged to the D.

"Imu-sama."

"Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen is not of the D."

"He was the chef of the original Luo Jie Pirates, the one who stole the Ope Ope no Mi ability four years ago, and the one who forcibly breached the Buster Call at Ohara two years ago to rescue Nico Robin."

"One year ago, he kidnapped your descendant, Saint Elaine, and began Extort the World."

"Afterward, we ordered the Navy to deploy Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kaido to launch a Buster Call, but we did not expect Shiki to join his ranks."

"Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen and his party leaped over the Red Line and escaped the Buster Call."

"Ten months ago, we reached an agreement with them; Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen led the Morning Star Pirates to reclaim the Elbaf national treasure from Elbaf."

"Some time ago."

"The Navy captured Luo Jie's son, planning to lure out the former members of the Luo Jie Pirates and Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen's group to annihilate them all at once."

"Considering Sengoku's hard work and great merits, we agreed to the Navy's proposal."

"Who would have thought Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen would take your descendant Saint Elaine... along with descendants of one hundred other families, and is now confronting the Navy in Marineford."

Hearing these words, Imu fell silent for a long time, feeling only that these fools were truly stone-hearted and lost their minds.

"Since he is not of the D and once helped you reclaim the Elbaf national treasure, why not continue to recruit him, but instead seek to crush him?"

From these various incidents, Imu formed a general concept of Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen's strength—

Between a Navy Admiral and Harald, yet he is not even nineteen years old, possesses immense potential for growth, and is willing to cooperate with the World Government.

Yet these fools have turned the situation into what it is now.

"The eight-hundred-year pact of Joy Boy is approaching; the most important thing for the World Government is to find the Nika Nika fruit."

"Are you all too idle?"

Saint Saturn quickly pressed his forehead to the ground.

"Imu-sama."

"Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen does not intend to seek peace."

Imu rose from the Void Wang Zuo and, without turning back, tossed out a single sentence: "It is merely that the conditions are insufficient; agree to whatever conditions he proposes."

"Afterward, bring him to see me."

After Imu had departed for a long while, Saint Saturn finally raised his head, took out a Den Den Mushi to contact Saint Natsunaro, but no one answered no matter how many times he called.

"It's bad; could it be that fighting has already broken out?"