The three Elders of the Five Elders locked eyes with Kuke.

The emotions they had anticipated—shock, fear, submission, pleading—none of these were present.

All they saw was indifference.

In this silent confrontation, the three Elders, who had maintained an elevated posture, suddenly felt like lesser beings, as though they were naturally inferior.

It reminded them of the way they bowed before Im-sama.

“Damn it.”

Even they were startled by their own reaction.

“Despicable criminal Kuke, have you never considered that this day would come?” said the curly-haired Elder arrogantly. “No matter how many secrets you hide or powers you wield, the result will only be one: death!”

His words were like a declaration of judgment.

The surrounding pirates dared not utter a word of mockery.

Mocking the Navy was one thing, but to mock the supreme rulers—the Five Elders—was unthinkable.

With the appearance of the Five Elders, most of the pirates lost all hope for the Sun and Moon Pirates.

To them, the Five Elders were unfathomably powerful, even more terrifying than the Admirals.

Behind them stood four mysterious men, unfamiliar yet undoubtedly dangerous.

And then there was CP0.

This overwhelming force was enough to terrify even pirates with bounties in the hundreds of millions, leaving them pale and trembling.

“This isn’t the time to worry about the Sun and Moon Pirates’ safety.”

The pirates suddenly realized the true peril.

It wasn’t just the Sun and Moon Pirates in danger—all the pirates present were now at risk.

“With so many monsters here, any one of them could wipe us out.”

“Run!”

No matter how curious they were about the battle to come, their survival was paramount.

The pirates scrambled in every direction, fleeing Lodestar Island across the frozen sea.

“Damn it, the sea is frozen. We can’t escape by ship!”

“If we can’t use ships, we’ll just run on the ice. Staying here means certain death.”

“Exactly!”

“Sun and Moon Pirates, hold out a little longer so we can get farther away.”

The crowd of pirates ran frantically across the ice, tripping and falling only to quickly get back up and continue their desperate flight. None dared to look back.

“These pirates don’t deserve to flee…” Akainu’s fists glowed with molten heat.

“They’re trash. Let them run. Don’t waste your energy or divide our forces,” the sword-wielding Elder ordered, stopping Akainu.

“Dealing with the Sun and Moon Pirates is the priority.”

The three Elders never took their eyes off Kuke.

They would not allow anyone from the Sun and Moon Pirates to leave.

On the island, however, many non-pirates remained.

Journalists, unaffiliated fighters, and other individuals without bounties stayed behind.

“We originally came to capture the moment when the Sun and Moon Pirates became the Pirate King. Looks like that won’t happen now.”

“We didn’t get the footage we wanted, but we’re witnessing an even bigger scoop.”

“Is this the end for the strongest pirate crew and the strongest man today?”

Journalists raised their cameras, capturing every moment.

CP0 agents frowned and glanced at the Five Elders, silently asking whether these people should be killed.

“Let them take their pictures. The world will know sooner or later,” the Elders said, halting CP0.

Not far away, Garp scratched his head. “This scene feels familiar, like I’ve seen it before.”

He shook his head and quickly dismissed the thought. “The result won’t be the same as before. It won’t.”

Aboard the Radiant Eclipse, Shakky exhaled a plume of smoke. “The Five Elders—alive and in person. This is the first time I’ve seen them up close.”

She studied them curiously.

Not even Rocks D. Xebec, at his most powerful, had forced the Five Elders to step onto the battlefield.

Stussy, too, felt a strange sense of irony.

She had once been part of CP0 and rarely had the opportunity to meet the Five Elders. She certainly never imagined she’d one day look down on them from a higher position, calm and unshaken.

“This… this is the end!” Charlotte Linlin stammered, her voice trembling.

Her reaction was the weakest on the ship, even worse than that of the teenage Hiyori Kozuki.

Hiyori blinked her wide eyes and asked curiously, “Why are you afraid? Isn’t the captain invincible?”

Charlotte Linlin looked at Hiyori with a tearful expression, full of envy.

She wished she could share the ignorance and fearlessness of youth.

“This is certain death,” Linlin muttered, collapsing onto the deck in resignation.

She no longer even thought about negotiating terms with Kuke.

It was pointless now.

In her heart, she believed this wasn’t a fight she could survive by sheer willpower, nor could she escape.

Tears welled in her eyes.

Linlin lamented her fate. She had just begun to feel that joining the Sun and Moon Pirates might not be so bad, and now this.

“It seems you’re neither shocked nor afraid,” the Five Elders observed, puzzled as they looked at Kuke.

Even the once-mighty Charlotte Linlin had been reduced to despair, so why was Kuke still so composed?

“Did seeing us not strike fear into you? Not fill you with hopelessness?”

“I came here to help you put on this show,” Kuke replied with a smile.

The moment Kuke confirmed that the three Elders and the Navy’s strongest had arrived at Lodestar Island, he could have used his abilities to teleport the Radiant Eclipse to infiltrate Mary Geoise.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he made the long journey to Lodestar Island.

Out of sympathy, he wanted to let them see him in person. After all the effort they had put into this, wouldn’t it be a pity if they didn’t even get to meet him?

It was also a matter of achievements.

The greater the spectacle, the greater the reward.

“A show? Hahaha… We’re all here, and you think today is just for fun?” The Elders couldn’t help but laugh mockingly.

“Isn’t it?”

To Kuke, they were nothing but clowns.

The Elders’ expressions darkened.

They had planned to slowly crush Kuke’s pride and hope, to see him fall into despair and beg for mercy.

But now, they had lost interest.

If he wouldn’t understand, then they would use force to show him the insurmountable difference between them.

“No one in this ocean can challenge our judgment,” the Elders declared, turning to the Navy.

Even Smoker and Hina emerged from hiding.

“Navy, begin!”

Akainu’s terrifying aura flared, but he hesitated.

He glanced at Kizaru and Aokiji. You’re not going to let me charge alone again, are you?

“Hina, long time no see,” Kuke greeted his former comrade.

“Long… long…” Hina stammered, torn between wanting to respond and worrying about her position.

“Are you using her to divide my focus in battle, Elders? That’s why Hina is here, right?” Kuke questioned.

Apart from such tactics, Hina’s strength wouldn’t qualify her for this confrontation.

Hina furrowed her brow, glancing at the Five Elders out of the corner of her eye.

Could it be true?

She had suspected as much but dared not dwell on the thought.

If true, it meant she had been reduced to nothing more than a tool, a pawn to be used.

“Why haven’t you started yet?” the Elders urged the Navy.

“By the way, is Mary Geoise well-defended right now?” Kuke asked.

The Elders froze for a moment.

In the next instant, they saw something that left them utterly dumbfounded.

——

DONT FORGET POWER STONE

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep