Imu's rage erupted the instant Makoto's meaning became clear.
Eight hundred years of life. Across that vast span of time, no one had ever dared speak to Imu like that.
Let them have their fun?
Imu's counterfeit Rinnegan flashed with killing intent.
The ability activated instantly.
Dark Soul Domination.
One of Imu's trump cards.
Once this ability took hold, Imu was confident that even a powerhouse on Rocks' level would succumb to the mental domination.
A magic circle materialized beneath Makoto and his crew.
A massive black pentagram rose from the ground, pulsing with an eerie radiance. Within the light, something seemed to writhe. Breathe. Hunger to consume everything in its path.
"What the hell?!"
The Fab Four's laughter died instantly.
The Gorilla Devil looked down at the black pentagram beneath his feet. His grin hadn't even faded before an irresistible force seized hold of him.
His lower body began sinking into the magic circle, as though invisible hands were dragging him under.
The Dolphin Devil, the Rabbit Devil, and the Libido Devil too.
All four of them were descending at visible speed. Black light coiled around their bodies like chains, binding them fast.
"Boss! Something's wrong with this thing!"
The Libido Devil shrieked, grabbing at the black tendrils, but he couldn't tear them loose.
Beam's expression shifted too.
His lower half had begun sinking into the circle as well. The human-form legs warped and twisted in the black radiance.
Yu Ishigami's body shifted back into Gun Fiend form.
But before Yu could open fire, Makoto seized the ripcord at the center of his chest.
SHKK.
The instant the cord was pulled, Makoto's body underwent a violent transformation.
The muscle across his chest ripped open.
His skull split down the middle, revealing a maw packed with razor teeth, morphing into a chainsaw blade.
Chainsaw Man Form.
The saw roared to life.
But this time, Makoto didn't swing at his subordinates.
He simply stood there.
Let the chainsaw's howl fill heaven and earth.
Then.
A terrifying devil power erupted from within him.
Energy straight from true hell radiated outward from Makoto in every direction.
BOOM!
The black pentagram magic circle at their feet shuddered violently under the force of that power.
The pentagram's edges began to blur. The black radiance started to fray. Then it let out a mournful wail.
Black fragments danced through the air, dissolving into specks of dark light before vanishing on the wind.
The Fab Four and Beam broke free from the circle's grip. They tumbled to the ground, gasping for air.
That thing had been a problem.
Imu...
In the instant that devil power had detonated, Imu's counterfeit Rinnegan contracted sharply.
During that split-second transformation, the figure Imu saw had changed.
It was no longer the young black-haired man.
It was something else.
A black devil with blood-sausage entrails draped around its neck like a scarf. Four arms. Chainsaw blades growing from its limbs.
The devil fruit soul inside Imu let out a wail of pure terror the moment it laid eyes on that black devil.
Imu's face went white.
Then a mouthful of blood came up.
"Lord Imu!"
The attendant Gunzi at Imu's side cried out in alarm.
Imu's entire body trembled. Speechless.
Several seconds passed before Imu regained enough control to make Nusjuro's body look up at Makoto again.
The young man still stood where he was. Chainsaw roaring.
"I was going to take my time playing with you."
Makoto's voice was calm.
"Since you pulled this, I won't hold back."
Imu's lips trembled.
Makoto didn't bother with the bald old fossil anymore. He turned to his subordinates.
The Fab Four and Beam had pulled themselves off the ground, faces plastered with the relief of survivors.
"Move."
Makoto said.
"Where to, boss?"
Yu asked.
Makoto looked up, toward the Red Line.
"Mary Geoise."
"Time to show them what happens when they cross me."
The words left his mouth. Complete Body Susanoo descended once more.
Grey-black energy surged from Makoto's frame. Faster than before.
Massive skeleton, armor, wings. All formed in an instant, engulfing Makoto, Yu, Beam, and the Fab Four within its frame.
The sky-darkening grey-black titan stood again atop the ruins of Sabaody Archipelago.
Everyone who saw it flinched.
They'd assumed the Complete Body Susanoo was Makoto going all out.
Now it was clear.
He'd been holding back.
Makoto steered the Susanoo toward the only person still standing in the middle of the battlefield.
Tsuru.
She knelt on one knee beside Kong's remains.
Tsuru looked up at the sky-darkening colossus.
Within the empty eye sockets, eyes bearing the Eternal Mangekyo pattern stared down at her.
"Where is Mary Geoise?"
Makoto's voice fell from above.
Tsuru wasn't about to answer a terrorist's question.
She looked at Kong's bisected corpse. At Sengoku, collapsed on the ground, still not fully recovered. At the Marines lying dead in pools of blood.
Tsuru drew a long breath.
She chose not to fight.
A trembling finger pointed in a direction.
Makoto followed the line of her finger.
"Thanks."
The words left his mouth.
The Complete Body Susanoo's wings unfurled behind it. The downstroke hurled debris and dust into the sky.
But the instant the Susanoo lifted off.
"Wait! Wait for me!"
A breathless, slightly sycophantic voice called out from behind.
Makoto glanced back.
Morgans was flapping his wings frantically, gasping as he tried to keep up.
The bird-man pumped harder, finally matching the Susanoo's altitude, then flopped onto its shoulder with a thud.
"Lord Makoto!"
"Please! Let me come along!"
He could feel it!
If he photographed what came next, he'd go from a no-name intern reporter to the biggest name in the world's news industry!
Morgans pressed his palms together, forehead bouncing against the Susanoo's armor.
Makoto gave the bird one look. The next second, the Susanoo's hand scooped Morgans into its palm, and the wings beat toward Mary Geoise.
...
After Makoto's silhouette vanished completely beyond the horizon, Grove 66 finally fell quiet.
A terrifying quiet.
Surviving Marines sat slumped on the ground, chests heaving.
Some held their comrades' bodies in silent tears. Some gripped their weapons with shaking hands. Others stared blankly at the sky, as if they hadn't yet woken from the nightmare.
Those who'd made it out alive looked like every drop of strength had been drained from them.
"Um... could someone let me out?"
From inside the prisoner cart, Roger tried.
No one responded.
"Hey, I'm still..."
Roger tried again.
No one responded.
Roger: "..."
These bastards forgot they'd locked people in a cage?
At that moment, Nusjuro's body, which Imu had been possessing, went rigid.
His eyes shifted from hollow back to clarity. But the next instant, his expression turned ugly.
Because Imu, before departing, had left one sentence in his mind.
"Return to the Holy Land immediately."
Nusjuro clenched his jaw. He glanced at the Marines sprawled on the ground. At the Roger Pirates locked in their cage. At Kong's corpse.
"Clean up the battlefield. Take Kong's remains back to headquarters."
He dropped the words and walked to the center of the battlefield.
Then, under everyone's bewildered gaze.
A black pentagram materialized beneath Nusjuro's feet.
A flash of light. Nusjuro vanished.
Back to Mary Geoise.
...
Tsuru and Sengoku stood before Kong's remains.
His body had been severed at the waist. Upper half and lower half lay in separate craters.
Sengoku crouched down and carefully lifted Kong's upper body from the dirt.
Tsuru retrieved the lower half from the adjacent crater.
Together, they placed the two halves together on a clean patch of ground.
"Mr. Kong..." Tsuru's voice was so hoarse it was barely audible.
Sengoku said nothing. Just bit down hard on his lip.
...
On the other side, the giants lifted Harald's body from the crater floor.
The King's frame had been nearly pancaked by the Complete Body Susanoo's blow.
"Take His Majesty's remains back to Elbaf."
An elder giant warrior spoke, voice thick. His eyes were bloodshot.
"This grudge, the giant race will repay."
The other giants clenched their teeth, hatred burning in their eyes.
Harald was dead.
With Makoto, the giants now shared a blood feud.
But first priority was returning the King's body home and notifying the elders and the prince.
The giants carried Harald's remains and marched with heavy steps out of Grove 66.
"Hey..."
Roger's voice rang out from the prisoner cart again.
"I'm still here."
This time, someone finally looked.
Sengoku raised his head. Bloodshot eyes found Roger. He didn't speak.
Roger: "..."
They actually forgot?
"Hey! Are you deaf?! Let me out of here!"
Roger lost it, grabbing the cage bars and shaking them. The iron frame rattled and clanged.
But right then.
A familiar voice dropped from above.
"Oi, Sengoku, Tsuru. You two actually kept this from me."
Roger's eyes lit up.
Sure enough.
A middle-aged man in a Marine uniform was descending through the air using Rokushiki Moon Walk.
Monkey D. Garp.
Roger's sworn rival.
The only Marine he acknowledged.
This joint Marine-World Government ambush on Makoto at Sabaody, the operation to capture the Roger Pirates, had been kept secret from Garp.
The reason was simple. They were afraid this lunatic would charge in and turn the whole situation into a mess.
Everyone knew those two had an unusual relationship.
But looking at how things turned out...
Might have been better to bring Garp along.
Garp had barely touched down when his eyes landed on a body on the ground before anyone could greet him.
His smile froze.
His mouth opened. Nothing came out.
"...What happened?"
For once, Garp was serious.
Sengoku and Tsuru said nothing.
"Who did it?"
Garp asked again.
"Makoto Nishikado." Tsuru's voice was barely a whisper.
Garp paused. Didn't recognize the name.
A few seconds later, his gaze drifted past Sengoku and Tsuru, landing on the prisoner cart in the back.
The entire Roger Pirates crew was crammed inside the iron cage. Battered, filthy, miserable.
"Hey Garp, help me open this cage..."
Roger called out.
"Why do they stink so bad..."
Garp sniffed, wrinkling his nose.
If his own admiral hadn't just died, he'd be blowing snot bubbles laughing.
Roger: "..."
"Let me out first, then talk."
Roger called again.
Garp was about to go let them out when Sengoku spoke.
"Who said you could release them?"
Garp's feet stopped. He looked back at Sengoku.
Sengoku stood up from the ground. His face was still pale.
"Tsuru and I are heading back to Marineford to mobilize reinforcements for the Holy Land." Sengoku said. "I'm taking them to Impel Down."
Garp frowned.
"Impel Down? Why bother..."
"Those are orders."
Sengoku cut him off.
His tone left no room for argument. Though his rank was the same as Garp's, vice admiral, with Kong dead, Marine headquarters desperately needed someone to take charge.
Sengoku was the obvious choice.
Garp looked at Sengoku's unyielding eyes and stayed silent for a long moment.
Finally, he shrugged. "Fine, fine. Whatever."
...
Nusjuro's magic circle faded. He reappeared in Mary Geoise, among the other Five Elders.
The other four Elders stared at Nusjuro's battered state in shock.
"What happened?"
The one seated at the head, Marcus, asked gravely.
"Didn't go well?"
Nusjuro's face was dark. He walked to his seat and sat down.
He didn't answer the question.
"Summon the Holy Knights immediately."
"And every available combat unit from Marine headquarters."
The other four Elders exchanged glances.
"What's happened?"
Nusjuro drew a deep breath.
"That Makoto bastard..."
Every word came out through clenched teeth.
"He's coming here."
The moment those words landed, all four Elders' expressions shifted.
The last time a pirate dared attack the Holy Land was the Rocks era.
Rocks hadn't even "attacked" Mary Geoise. He'd infiltrated it.
But now, Nusjuro was saying Makoto was coming to fight.
Openly.
"The hell?"
The bald, white-bearded Warcury shot to his feet.
Nusjuro gritted his teeth.
"He's heading this way right now."
Before the Five Elders could discuss further.
Imu's voice resonated simultaneously in all five minds.
"Audience at the Empty Throne."
The Five Elders rose as one.
They strode from the room, down the dim corridors, toward the deepest sanctum of Mary Geoise.
At the same time, Imu's voice echoed in every Holy Knight's mind.
"All units mobilize. Defend the Holy Land."
The instant those words fell, every corner of Mary Geoise stirred.
The Holy Knights.
One of the World Government's supreme military forces. The highest combat asset directly under the Celestial Dragons. Full mobilization.
From castles across the Holy Land, Holy Knights in their flamboyant garb emerged.
Tall and short. Men and women. Old and young. But every single one radiated a suffocating aura of power.
At their head stood a powerfully built young man.
Pale yellow hair slicked back. A face like a crescent moon.
Saint Garling Figarland.
The Holy Knights' supreme combatant.
Shanks' and Choux's father.
"All units, assemble."
"Target..."
Garling's words died in his throat. His pupils contracted sharply.
Not just him.
Every Holy Knight present saw the same thing at the same instant.
At the edge of the firmament, a grey-black silhouette was growing larger by the second.
That was...
A grey-black titan with sky-darkening wings, flying straight toward Mary Geoise.
It was here.
Garling's expression hardened. His hand clamped down on the hilt at his hip.
"Holy Knights! Intercept!"