At the harbor of Marineford, the Navy Headquarters—

Sengoku had yet to shed his towering golden Buddha form. His face remained stern as he looked down toward the massive port, now packed to the brim with countless warships—large and small—filling every inch of the bay.

On the decks of those ships stood tens of thousands—no, hundreds of thousands of Navy soldiers, shoulder to shoulder in tight formation. And once the final unit arrived, Fleet Admiral Sengoku began to deliver the speech he had carefully prepared:

“The Navy’s Declaration of Independence.”

“Justice… is justice for all mankind. It does not belong to a privileged class.

The Navy exists to protect the people—not to serve those who rule from their thrones.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Justice must never be tainted.”

“Anyone who does not wish to walk this path—feel free to disembark now.”

As soon as Sengoku’s voice faded, the entire harbor trembled.

The speech was short—barely a few thousand characters. But its weight struck like thunder in the hearts of those whose chests still burned with righteous fire.

Their eyes lit up like flames, blazing against the darkness.

And it wasn’t just a handful of them.

Tens of thousands of soldiers radiated the exact same conviction.

Yes—some did choose to leave. A few stepped off their ships and walked away… but not even close to ten thousand.

Seeing that, Sengoku exhaled quietly. The rigid tension on his face gave way to a deep, restrained emotion.

This army… was still worthy of trust.

Though he had gently called it a “Declaration of Independence,” what he truly meant was clear:

The Navy would rise up.

If he couldn’t stop Kyūjō here and now… then the only path left was to raise the stakes.

Opportunity doesn’t knock—you have to forge it.

And Sengoku was never a man known for hesitation.

Facing Kyūjō—”the boy” who had grown into a force at the summit of the world—Sengoku understood.

This might be his final stand.

His last shot at true justice.

And he would take it.

The Navy roared with fury. For too long, their frustration with the World Government had built up.

Now, their morale soared to unprecedented heights.

Garp, Zephyr, and Tsuru—Sengoku’s comrades for decades—hardly needed convincing. Honestly, they were only slightly shocked.

“If anyone were to pull something this insane, I always thought it’d be Garp…”

…Tsuru, the Navy’s Chief of Staff, mused inwardly.

But surprise aside, not one of them objected.

They trusted their old friend’s judgment.

Aokiji, who happened to be at HQ at the time, didn’t voice any objection either. He simply stood among them, calm as ever.

He didn’t need to say a word. His presence alone injected a wave of courage into the hearts of the soldiers.

— — —

With a flush of emotion rising in his face, Garp slung an arm around his old friend, the Black-Arm Zephyr, and turned toward Sengoku—who had just returned to his human form.

“Sengoku. Where’s Kyūjō? And Sakazuki?”

“Shouldn’t we wait for them to return from the New World first?”

Tsuru’s sharp eyes turned to Sengoku as well, silently waiting for his reply.

Because let’s face it—

Tachibana Kyūjō had taken down Big Mom singlehandedly.

Overwhelmingly.

Dominantly.

Even Edward Newgate—Whitebeard, the man once hailed as the world’s strongest—had never managed that.

In their minds, Kyūjō was already the undisputed strongest man in the world.

With power like that, surely the Navy had to call on him?

And considering his bond with Sengoku, Tsuru had assumed that Kyūjō would naturally stand beside them.

Unfortunately, this time… her assumption was wrong.

Sengoku gave a short sigh, his expression grim.

“No need to wait. Kyūjō has already gone ahead—on his own.”

“We all underestimated just how far he’s surpassed us…”

He shook his head slowly.

“I believe Sakazuki will agree with my decision, but… there’s no time. We’re moving now.”

“I’ll explain everything to him on the way.”

— — —

Mary Geoise.

The Holy Land of the Celestial Dragons—base of the World Government—resting atop the Red Line, that massive continent dividing the Grand Line in two.

Above the clouds, Tachibana Kyūjō hovered silently in midair, his long Navy coat fluttering in the wind, with the bold characters for “JUSTICE” printed on the back.

He had climbed the sky using Geppo, rising until the massive plateau of Mary Geoise lay below him.

Wind howled around him, making the coat on his back whip and ripple.

Those two black kanji—”正義”—rose and fell like waves on a sea of white cloth.

Kyūjō took a glance behind, staring for a moment at the word printed on his back.

Then he inhaled deeply, closing his eyes as he expanded his field of perception—

Infinity.

With a single pulse, his consciousness swept across all of Mary Geoise.

He didn’t strike immediately.

Though his plan was a frontal assault, a rampage still required precision.

He had to confirm the locations of the primary targets first:

The Celestial Dragons who needed to be erased.

By spreading his Infinity perception, Kyūjō created a mental map—ensuring he wouldn’t walk into any unexpected traps. The world was full of strange and dangerous Devil Fruit powers. There was no such thing as being too cautious.

And thanks to Infinity, ambushing Kyūjō was next to impossible.

As for his kill list? No long introductions necessary.

The Five Elders—Gorosei, and the leader of the God Knights, Saint Figarland Garling.

The rest of the Celestial Dragons—those spoiled nobles who lived only to party and abuse the weak—weren’t even worth his time.

If they happened to get caught in the crossfire? Good riddance.

If not? No loss.

— — —

In just a moment, Infinity etched a full map of Mary Geoise into Kyūjō’s mind—including its secret places.

All five Gorosei were present.

The only downside?

The Holy Knights weren’t.

As for the CP0 and CP9 agents guarding the place?

Kyūjō didn’t even spare them a glance.

They were like blades of dry grass—one swing, and they’d scatter.

And by “one swing,” he didn’t mean a strike that cut a man.

He meant a strike that cleared an entire zone.

When Kyūjō directed his perception toward Pangaea Castle, however, he sensed something strange—

A void.

An unnatural blank space.

His brows furrowed.

He recognized the sensation: a specific Conqueror’s Haki technique called Observation-Killing, or Kenbun-Goroshi—something he had once sensed from Shanks, and now… from within this castle.

Fortunately, while Observation-Killing could blind Kenbunshoku Haki, it had minimal effect on Infinity.

Kyūjō had tested it before—against Shanks himself.

Observation-Killing could slightly slow down his predictive models…

But it couldn’t nullify them entirely.

Which made sense.

Observation-Killing was designed to counter observation.

But Infinity was a fusion of something far deeper:

“The Calm Mind of a Swordsman.”

“The Sixth Sense.”

“Transparent World Perception.”

A blend so refined, a single trick couldn’t break it.

Even so, the sheer scale of Observation-Killing inside Pangaea Castle was incredible.

All of it was shrouded.

From the outside, Kyūjō couldn’t detect anything within.

No more time for scouting.

It was time to begin.

“Inhale… draw in…”

He activated Thunder Breathing 3.0, drawing in an immense breath.

His lungs, pores, and windpipes opened fully—turning his body into a vortex.

The air within hundreds of meters rushed inward.

His body—originally over two meters tall—expanded.

Stretching, growing.

Until he stood three-point-six meters tall.

“Haaah…”

He rolled his neck and exhaled deeply.

That… felt good.

This was his true form. Tall, complete, unrestricted.

Until now, he had always compressed himself—training with self-imposed limitation.

He glanced down at his Navy uniform, still perfectly intact despite the transformation.

Kyūjō gave a silent nod of approval.

Thanks, Vegapunk.

Without that genius scientist…

What? Was I supposed to fight buck-naked?

Win the final war of humanity without pants?!

That would’ve been the real loss, wouldn’t it?

He chuckled lightly and shook his head, pushing away the absurdity.

His hand reached down to his waist and gripped his old friend—

Rairyūken.

He unsheathed the black blade, whispering softly as he did:

“Let’s hope… this won’t be our final battle, Rairyūken.”

As the words left his lips, an obsidian-black Busoshoku Haki coated the blade.

And then—

He dived.

From the skies above the Red Line, he dropped like a thunderbolt, descending straight toward the World Government’s Administrative Hall—where the Gorosei waited.

His body crashed through the rooftop with a deafening impact, shaking the building’s foundation.

But he absorbed the momentum and landed steadily—

Right in front of the five.

The Gorosei.

The surface-level rulers of the World Government.

They were:

Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, Warrior God of Finance.

The bald one with glasses and a long sword—Shodai Kitetsu, no less.

Clad in white robes instead of a business suit, he was the strongest among them.

A master swordsman whose power neared that of prime Garp—and who wielded the Mythical Zoan: Uma Uma no Mi, Model: Bakotsu.

The other four were no less dangerous:

Saint Shepherd Ju Peter, Warrior God of Agriculture.

A crimson suit, no tie. Blonde hair, golden mustache, and a scar on his chest.

His fruit: Mushi Mushi no Mi, Model: Sandworm.

Saint Topman Warcury, Warrior God of Justice.

A green suit, bald head, and thick, figure-eight-shaped mustache.

His fruit: Ino Ino no Mi, Model: Fengxi.

Saint Marcus Mars, Warrior God of Environment.

A navy suit. Long, straight white hair with an equally long beard.

His fruit: Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Itsumade.

Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, Warrior God of Defense.

Black suit, curly white hair and beard, a flat cap, and a scar on his cheek.

His fruit: Ushi Ushi no Mi, Model: Gyūki.

— — —

With just a second of Infinity, Kyūjō had already mapped every detail of their powers.

Besides the bald swordsman, the others were roughly Admiral-level—comparable to Akainu or Aokiji.

Staring at the intruder—their “fellow Admiral” with blade drawn—Nusjuro’s temple twitched.

With a loud smack, he crushed the wooden tea table before him.

“Admiral Azure Dragon of the Navy! You worm!! Who gave you permission to trespass into the Holy Land—armed?!”

“Do you seek… rebellion?!”

Before Kyūjō could even respond—

A CP0 agent burst into the room, clearly in a panic.

He hadn’t even registered the tense atmosphere when he cried out:

“G-Gorosei-sama!”

“Fleet Admiral Sengoku—he’s leading the entire Marineford force—he’s marching on Mary Geoise!!!”

“WHAT?!”

The Gorosei and Kyūjō exclaimed at the same time.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep