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The cataclysmic explosion painted Mary Geoise in a wash of crimson light.
When the dust settled, the Golden Lion was gone.
Shiki had died in battle, burning his life force to ash under the gaze of the entire world. He left no body behind, no grave to visit. But his final, brilliant strike ensured that the sea would never forget him.
He was the legendary pirate who dared to attack the World Government head-on and chose the Holy Land as his tomb.
The live broadcast cut to black the moment the seven Marine legends were pushed back by the explosion. Both Arthur and the World Government had achieved their goals.
Arthur couldn't bear to see a man like Shiki die in obscurity, so he gave him a grand stage. The World Government, in turn, had displayed their overwhelming power to the masses. The messy cleanup that followed didn't need to be televised.
As for Kaido? The enraged Marines, still high on adrenaline, ganged up on him. They beat him dizzy and threw him off the Red Line, dropping him ten thousand meters into the ocean below. His parting words were a promise: "I'll be back!"
Arthur left, too. Before he departed, he made a rare offer to the dying Dr. Indigo, asking if he wanted to join the Thunder God Pirates and work with Vegapunk. He didn't force him.
The answer was a predictable refusal.
Indigo had sailed with Shiki for decades. Despite his clownish demeanor, his loyalty was absolute. He chose to die there, beside the crater where his captain had fallen.
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Mary Geoise was a wasteland. Corpses littered the ruins. The cleanup and reconstruction would take years. One could only imagine the tantrums the Celestial Dragons would throw when they emerged from their bunkers to see their paradise reduced to rubble.
In a makeshift tent erected amidst the debris...
The surviving Marine leadership and the World Government high command gathered. The mood was grim.
The Five Elders and the Admirals sat down, anger etched on every face.
"Do we have the casualty report?" Kong asked, his face pale. Shiki's final attack had injured all seven of the defenders to varying degrees.
A Marine Captain, missing an arm, entered the tent. He saluted with his remaining hand and delivered the cold, hard numbers to the rulers of the world.
"Combined Marine and Army forces: 100,000. Confirmed casualties: 30,000..."
That meant the actual number, including the missing and unconfirmed, was much higher.
It was a massacre. Shiki's pirate fleet and his army of tireless, berserk beasts had possessed individual combat strength far superior to the average soldier. If the Admirals hadn't possessed wide-range annihilation abilities, the death toll would have been catastrophic.
"BANG!!"
Kong slammed his fist onto the low table.
"Damn pirates! Damn Thunder Emperor!"
"If he hadn't egged Shiki on, that lunatic never would have attacked Mary Geoise! All of this blood is on Arthur's hands!!" Sengoku was livid. He wanted nothing more than to run Arthur through with a sword.
But the infuriating truth remained: the Navy currently had no way to stop him.
"The Navy has suffered heavy losses. We need to replenish our ranks. We need a World Draft," Tsuru said, scanning the room calmly. "We used Shiki's attack to showcase our power. Recruitment should be easy now."
"To add to that," Tsuru continued, "Sengoku, Vice Admiral Komei, and I have discussed this. The draft shouldn't just be for grunts. We need to target the hidden powerhouses of the world—those strong civilians who still believe in Justice."
"When we recalled our forces to fight Shiki, the world fell into chaos. But in many places, it was these civilian experts who stepped up to suppress the pirates."
"There is a report of a wandering blind man in the first half of the Grand Line. goes by the name 'Issho'. His strength is terrifying—swordsmanship, Devil Fruit power, Haki. He is likely on par with an Admiral."
"Oh? Such people exist?"
Even the Five Elders looked interested.
An Admiral was the Navy's "Highest Power." They were monsters capable of holding back Emperors. Finding a civilian with that kind of power was like finding a diamond in a dung heap.
"But powerful people are arrogant. They're mavericks," a Vice Admiral argued. "You can't expect them to train with recruits or start at the bottom."
"And what about loyalty? How do we know they aren't pirate spies?"
"If we give them a low rank, they'll leave. If we give them a high rank without merit, the troops will revolt!"
The tent erupted into debate. Bringing in outsiders at a high level was a logistical nightmare.
"Background checks can be handled by Cipher Pol. They'll find any dirt," Tsuru countered.
"As for rank… I have a question for the Five Elders. Why does the Navy only have three Admiral seats? Is it fear of losing control? Fear of fragmentation? There is no need for such worry. Every Admiral follows their own Justice, but suppressing evil is their duty regardless."
"If you are still worried, we can create new Admiral positions specifically for these drafted 'monsters.' Give them the title, but limit their political power. Station them in the branch bases across the seas to suppress the New World!"
The Five Elders' faces darkened. They didn't like being questioned, but Tsuru's logic was sound. They couldn't find a flaw in it.
"Very well," Saint Shepherd Ju Peter conceded. "We will create two additional Admiral seats for these… clean-background monsters. Any objections?"
"None." A smattering of applause filled the tent.
"Good. Execute the World Draft and the Seven Warlords project immediately. But most importantly…" Saint Topman Warcury leaned forward, his expression fierce.
"This war was orchestrated by Arthur, yes. But he is just a pirate. He cannot shake the foundation of the World Government."
"The real threat… is the Revolutionary Army. Those who freed the slaves."
"Freedom? Democracy? Equality?"
"These are dangerous ideas. They must be destroyed."
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