Knox’s unreadable expression and low voice made the others vaguely feel that something was wrong.

The smile on Kaido’s face slowly faded. "What did you say?"

Big Mom and Shanks also grew serious.

He was not the one who killed him...

Could it be that Sakazuki had moved against his own man?

Knox’s face was grim as he looked at them. "You heard me right. I wasn’t the one who killed him. I even lost one of my subordinates.

"We were about to succeed, but Bullet suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He took Kuzan and my subordinate away by force.

"When I returned to the island this afternoon, that fake news had already spread through the entire New World somehow..."

Even now, thinking about it made him furious.

If he had really killed Kuzan, that would be one thing. But this was just taking the blame for nothing.

After fighting Kuzan for nearly half a day, Leonard had finally found an opening. The power of the Dark-Dark Fruit was just about to touch Kuzan.

Then Bullet suddenly appeared.

With a single strike, he knocked Leonard unconscious. After that, he grabbed Kuzan by the arm and retreated immediately.

Unexpectedly, he did not continue fighting.

Seeing Bullet take Kuzan away instead of joining forces against him, Knox had even felt relieved. If he had been forced into a two-against-one battle, it would have gone badly for him.

As for Leonard being taken, he did not care at all. He only valued the man’s ability. Since he was so useless, there was no reason to save him.

And since the island below had already been swallowed clean by Leonard, he simply led his forces away.

But the moment he returned, the news that he had killed Kuzan had already spread across the whole New World. Even he had been stunned.

Then he realized that Sakazuki had likely plotted against him again.

The other three were clearly shocked as well.

For a moment, the Four Emperors fell silent.

After a long while, Shanks spoke with a grave tone. "No. I also ran into Bullet this afternoon."

He turned his gaze toward Kaido.

Kaido, on the other screen, also reacted and said in a deep voice, "That’s right. How could there be two Bullets? No matter how fast he is, crossing the entire New World still takes time. In one afternoon, he appeared on both sides of the New World. How is that possible? Can he split himself in two?"

Shanks continued, "Besides, what benefit would this bring Sakazuki? It makes no sense..."

Everything was full of mysteries.

How had Bullet appeared in two places?

Why did Kuzan die after being taken away by Bullet?

Even if Bullet killed him, who gave the order?

From every angle, it did not match Sakazuki’s interests.

Knox sneered. "How does it not benefit him? Would removing dissenters not count?"

Shanks shook his head. "Even if he wanted to remove dissenters, the timing is wrong. Killing Kuzan now... who in the Marines can stop your power? If your ability cannot be countered, their supply lines will be cut apart. Would he really hand us the Marines at Whole Cake Island and Wano for slaughter?"

Knox’s face darkened. "Who knows what backup plan he has. The whole New World was deceived. We still don’t know what Sakazuki wants. For now, we’d better all stay quiet. You all know how brutal his retaliation can be..."

To be fair, every current Emperor had suffered badly at Sakazuki’s hands.

Knox had been outplayed years ago.

Big Mom had her Whole Cake Island broken through and her Road Poneglyph stolen.

Kaido and Shanks had broken the rules by interfering personally, only to be crushed by Sakazuki.

Those lessons had made them especially cautious whenever he moved.

But even so, they had still underestimated him.

Sakazuki’s move was already underway, and they were about to feel it.

From Shanks’s side came his voice. "That’s right, I... we..."

Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi on Shanks’ side began shaking violently. Before the others could react, the one on Knox’s side did the same.

Bzzzt!

Puru~

The Den Den Mushi of both men went dark at the same time.

Big Mom and Kaido frowned deeply.

What was happening?

* * *

On the other side of the New World.

The Den Den Mushi in Knox’s hand suddenly lost signal for no reason. Simultaneously, he felt the island beneath his feet begin to shake.

"An earthquake?"

Rumble!

A deafening roar, as if heaven and earth were splitting apart, stunned everyone on the island.

The once solid ground now felt like loose soil as huge cracks spread and collapsed. Scorching heat mixed with the smell of sulfur surged upward onto the island. It was so hot and suffocating that people began losing consciousness.

Beneath the shattered earth, a crimson glow flickered and kept growing larger. As that red light beneath the ground expanded, the shaking became more violent, and the sulfur stench grew even stronger.

Knox transformed into steam and shot upward.

What entered his sight left him frozen in place. Even he had never seen such an apocalyptic scene.

The black night was illuminated by crimson light, turning the world into something like hell.

Above, below, left, right...

Everywhere he looked was surrounded by blazing red fire. Towering pillars of flame connected sea and sky, as if the ocean itself were fuel, as if the New World was being burned into ashes.

The island beneath Knox had already completely collapsed.

Endless crimson light burst forth.

Boom!

The island was erased.

Everything was gone.

Limitless magma erupted upward, blasting into the heavens and burying all things under it.

Only then did he understand what those towering pillars of fire in the distance were.

They were islands being swallowed whole by magma.

Floating in the air as steam, Knox stared in disbelief.

How dare he...

How dare Sakazuki do this!

Even he himself had never descended into madness to this degree. Was Sakazuki trying to burn every living thing in the New World to death?

What about the civilians? The Marines? Did none of it matter?

Knox thought that because the world before his eyes truly looked like hell.

Everywhere was crimson magma. No exceptions.

His mind could no longer think clearly.

Now he understood how Sakazuki planned to deal with him after resolving Kuzan.

Everything within sight, all he had built, had been turned to ash...

Driven mad with hatred, veins bulging from his eyes, Knox roared.

"SAKAZUKI!"

* * *

Holy Land of Mariejois.

Countless residents could not sleep that night.

The tremors coming from the New World shook even the Holy Land ten thousand meters above. Innumerable residents and Celestial Dragons rushed to the edge of Mariejois and stared in shock at the crimson fire pillars rising through the night.

The Five Elders stood at the highest point, looking toward the flames of the New World.

All of them were silent.

After a long time, Nusjuro finally spoke in a hoarse voice. "Sakazuki has gone too far. He absolutely cannot be allowed to remain."

This was no longer a matter of erasing one or two islands and letting time make people forget. A disaster on the scale of detonating the New World would certainly be recorded in history.

Even the World Government could never fully suppress something like this.

How dared Sakazuki do it... was he truly afraid of nothing?

The other elders said nothing. They too were shaken.

Sakazuki’s response... was ruthless.

Ruthless beyond words.

**

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