Chapter 266

Fishman Island.

Ace, Ma Erke, and the other remnants of Bai Huzi's crew had all come here.

Both to recover from their wounds and to gather their old subordinates.

After Ma Erke announced that the Whitebeard Pirates would be joining the war, he let them choose for themselves whether to stay or leave.

Some chose to stay, and quite a few chose to leave.

…………

Whether in the New World, or on the Grand Line, or in the Four Seas, jaw-dropping changes were taking place everywhere.

Every faction was mustering its fighting strength, one piece of news after another popping up, the newspapers barely able to keep up with the reports.

…………

The Holy Land, Mariejois.

Fujitora, who had replaced the deceased Huang Yuan and succeeded him as Admiral of Marine Headquarters, walked through the resplendent palace draped in his Justice coat.

Just now, he had received a mission from Kong the Steel Bone, ordering him to go to the Four Seas and conscript as many troops as possible.

"So they're planning to drag even untrained people into this war…"

A somewhat grave look settled on Fujitora's face.

After he walked out of the palace.

A Celestial Dragon, riding on a slave's back and surrounded by a retinue of attendants, blocked Fujitora's path.

"Hey, you're a Marine Admiral, right? Have you caught that traveler Luo En yet or not?"

"No."

"Why haven't you caught him yet? Aren't you a Marine Admiral?"

That ugly-looking Celestial Dragon circled around Fujitora on his slave's back, "What on earth are you Marines good for? Do you even still want your jobs?! Oh right, why aren't you saluting me when you see me?!"

"Because I happen to be a blind man who cannot see."

Fujitora said flatly, and stepped past the Celestial Dragon.

When he walked out of Mariejois.

Fujitora opened his eyes, which were filled with white, and turned his head to look back at that city of extreme splendor behind him.

"That bet… it seems it was you who won, Luo En…"

"The Celestial Dragons truly have no need to exist on this sea."

…………

Meanwhile, inside the ruined Marineford.

Smoker saw Aokiji lying on top of the ruins of Headquarters, sunbathing.

"What are you doing here?"

"Can't you tell at a glance? I'm enjoying my last bit of slacking-off time."

Aokiji didn't even open his eyes.

Smoker bit down on his cigar, sat down beside him, looked at the devastated plaza ahead, then gazed up at the clear blue sky: "Back in Luo Ge Town, I met Luo En. He said he was going to overturn the world. I didn't expect he actually meant it."

"When that man decides to do something, he'll definitely see it through to the end."

Aokiji said lazily: "Back when he was at Marineford, he was already like that."

"If he had joined the Marines back then…"

Smoker exhaled a puff of smoke: "Would things have turned out the way they have now?"

"That guy could never have joined the Marines."

"True enough."

Smoker was silent for a while, then looked at Aokiji and spoke: "I heard Teacher Zefa has founded a new Marine force in the New World. Did you know?"

Aokiji gave a grunt of acknowledgment.

"What do you think?"

"What do I think…"

Aokiji opened his eyes, hands clasped behind his head, and gazed at the sky with a slightly lost look, murmuring: "Who knows…"

…………

Fifteen days remained until the appointed day.

On this day.

A ship hovered ten thousand meters above Whole Cake Island.

A figure dropped like a meteor, plummeting straight down toward Cacao Island below.

230, Sage Body

Boom!

A vast stretch of grassland on Cacao Island was smashed into a huge crater by that meteor-like falling figure.

That enormous sound immediately drew the attention of many people on Cacao Island.

"What? What's going on?"

"What happened?!"

"Let's go take a look."

Xia Luote · Perospero, the Candy Minister, who happened to be nearby, heard the tremendous crash and, quite curious, led some men over.

When they arrived at that stretch of grassland.

They watched that tall, upright figure slowly walk out of the enormous crater ahead.

When they clearly saw the calm, composed face of that young man with a black sword at his waist.

Perospero, wearing a tall top hat, was first stunned, then his pupils shrank sharply, his heart shaking wildly.

"Th-that guy is!?"

Under Perospero's horrified gaze, the young black-clad youth raised his head, and a brilliant light flashed in his azure eyes.

In an instant!

A terrifying gravity descended upon the few of them, instantly pressing Perospero down to a half-kneel on the ground, and his subordinates were pressed flat onto the ground entirely.

As that person slowly approached, that gravity grew stronger and stronger, and the grass beneath the few of them gradually sank downward and caved in.

"Ah!!!"

Listening to the pained howls of the subordinates beside him, enduring the crushing pressure of that gravity,

Perospero stared at the black-clad youth slowly approaching from ahead, cold sweat pouring down his forehead:

"Wh-why are you appearing here?!"

"The Traveler, Luo En!"

Hearing this name, the rest of the few pressed flat on the ground all felt their hearts tremble violently!

Now on this sea, probably no one can ignore this name, whether the Government, or the Four Emperors.

Luo En did not answer him, calmly stepping past him with an expressionless face.

Perospero, one of the highest-ranking officers of the Big Mom Pirates, was also pressed completely flat onto the ground by that ever-intensifying gravity and that invisible aura.

Only after that person had walked far away did that gravity slowly dissipate,

Perospero climbed to his feet, his face covered in cold sweat, deeply shaken.

The strength of the two was completely not on the same level!

If that person had harbored killing intent, he would surely have already died just now!

"What on earth did he come here to do?"

Perospero stared in the direction Luo En had departed, suspicion and uncertainty on his face.

"Right, I must report to Mama right away."

He had just taken out his Den Den Mushi.

Just at this moment.

In the distance.

A massive, unmatched black slash rose across the sky, and even the heavens darkened for it.

"Eh?!!!"

Under the gaze of Perospero's eyes that nearly popped out of their sockets, that fierce, massive slash swept with unstoppable momentum toward the highest level of Cake Island — the building where Big Mom was.

Charlotte Smoothie within the city looked up, staring at the slash that swept past overhead, her expression also extremely shocked and stunned.