Chapter 381: The Final Battle Is About To Begin

On the largest ship at the center of the fleet.

Dragon looked at the latest intelligence from the New World. His face was weary. He had barely slept during this period.

Kuma, one of the comrades who helped found the Revolutionary Army, was dead. Ivankov was dead as well. Sabo, the successor he had raised and the Revolutionary Army’s Chief of Staff, was also dead.

This war could already be said to be lost. There was no future. How could they win?

The Revolutionary Army’s foundation was too shallow. Even after years of explosive growth, they were still far too weak.

But there was no turning back now.

Even knowing they were moths flying into flame, they still had to charge forward.

The World Government erased islands whenever they pleased. Sakazuki had detonated the New World. Countless people had died. How could the world be left in the hands of monsters who used such inhuman methods?

Knock, knock, knock.

A knock came at the door.

Dragon set down the report, pressed his fingers to his temples, and hid the exhaustion on his face.

"Enter."

A Revolutionary Army soldier stepped inside. "Reporting, Supreme Commander. All branch fleets have arrived and await your orders."

The soldier sounded excited. After all, this was a war that would decide the fate of the world, and he had the honor of taking part in it.

Dragon took a deep breath, stood up, and walked to the window. He looked toward the Red Line.

"Begin."

With that command issued, the Revolutionary Army forces across the Four Blues split into two groups.

One openly entered Reverse Mountain and charged into the Grand Line.

The other fleet, gathered in the East and South Blues, crossed the Calm Belt and drove straight toward the lofty Holy Land of Mariejois.

* * *

Within the New World, the earth-shaking disaster of the previous night had already spread throughout the seas.

A cloud of death and fear hung over every pirate as the urge to flee the New World rose uncontrollably. The Marines like this simply could not be defeated, so why die for nothing?

The Four Emperors, once seen as rulers who crushed the world beneath them, now looked shockingly weak and fragile.

In one night, the forces of two Emperors, Knox and Red-Haired Shanks, had been completely destroyed. Their surviving remnants were being hunted down and driven toward the center by the Marines.

Once the Marines’ encirclement fully closed, everyone would die.

Yet no one dared show dissent because of the brutality of the Emperors and their crews. But their hearts had already fallen apart...

At the same time, a video call was taking place between the Four Emperors.

Big Mom and Kaido remained in their respective bases, both wearing grim expressions. Knox and Shanks, meanwhile, stood upon reefs formed from hardened magma. Their scarlet eyes were nearly mad with rage.

The call had been connected for quite some time. Yet no one spoke.

Knox forced himself to suppress his emotions. His hoarse voice finally broke the silence. "Think of a solution."

In a single night, decades of effort had been wasted...

Everything was gone.

After ruling the seas for decades, he had ended with nothing.

The fact that Knox and Shanks had not gone insane, and still retained a trace of reason, already showed tremendous willpower...

As for what had happened to them, even Kaido, watching from the other side of the call, felt a chill in his heart.

The words Sakazuki once said still echoed in his ears.

That day, he had been deceived and lost nothing. But now, two men who had truly lost everything stood before him. The fear he had once buried surged back into his chest.

Kaido grabbed the wine jug beside him and drank deeply.

Gulp, gulp...

Bang.

He slammed the jug onto the ground. His face darkened. "A solution? What solution could there be? It’s already reached this point. Who can still escape?"

Kaido, shown on the screen, grabbed his kanabo and stood up.

"Prepare for the final battle."

Snap.

The image on the Den Den Mushi cut off.

He was no longer in the mood to waste words with them. Knox and Shanks had already become stray dogs with no home. Then who would Sakazuki target next?

Did it even need to be asked?

Either him or Big Mom.

As for how this war would end, he no longer wanted to think about it...

No matter what, death was waiting. They would lose either way. But before that happened, he would at least tear off a chunk of flesh...

* * *

New World, New Marineford.

By now, Headquarters had quieted down. Yesterday’s chaos was gone.

At the execution platform in the plaza, soldiers were carrying out rapid expansion work under Sakazuki’s orders. Every soldier wore an excited expression, as if being allowed to build and enlarge this platform was the highest honor.

Above the fortress, Sakazuki, the man who had just slammed down the accelerator on this war for the world, looked no different than usual. He remained calm and composed.

Standing by the wall, he looked toward the smoke-filled distance. And at the execution platform being expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Tap, tap, tap...

Slow and crisp footsteps sounded.

Robin walked over from afar.

Even from this distance, last night’s blazing sky and violent tremors could still be seen from the fortress. The heavens had nearly been swallowed by darkness. What formed that darkness was endless volcanic ash and thick black smoke.

After spending the past few days within Marine Headquarters, most of Robin’s fear toward Sakazuki had already faded. But even now, she could not help feeling shaken.

The dozens of islands inside that black circle. Hundreds of thousands of lives...

All of them had truly been destroyed...

Without realizing it, Robin walked to Sakazuki’s side. Looking at the smoke-covered sky, the question in her heart could no longer be suppressed.

"If you do this, then it won’t just be pirates. The people of the world will also fear the Marines. The destruction of dozens of islands... news like that can’t be hidden. Is that also insignificant?"

Sakazuki looked out at the sea and spoke. "Didn’t Carlo already tell you? There are only a few people who control this world. Everyone else is insignificant."

As if thinking of something, his eyes narrowed slightly, and the corner of his mouth rose.

"The people’s fear is not important. Because if I want to, I have countless ways to erase that fear. And countless ways to make it even worse.

"What matters is... in that endless darkness of night, the crimson sky that burned all night long... it should have kept those others awake. Let them feel fear. That is what’s truly interesting. Isn’t it?"

Just as he said, the other few who controlled the world had indeed gone sleepless all night. They had stood at the edge of Mariejois and watched until dawn...

Hearing that, Robin gave a bitter smile and sighed. "Maybe so."

Perhaps her position was too low. She could not understand the world from the perspective of those few people, including him.

Whoosh!

Carlo suddenly appeared, smiling as he nodded to Robin. Then he looked toward Sakazuki, took a deep breath, and a trace of excitement showed in his eyes.

"Everything is ready, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki."

The equipment brought from Egghead had already been moved out of storage. Men had begun installing it onto the newly expanded execution platform.

After decades of planning and struggle, they had finally reached this day. Even the usually steady Carlo could not help feeling excited.

Sakazuki gave a light chuckle and said calmly, "Then let it begin. Send a notice to the entire world. Tomorrow at noon, the full-scale war begins.

"We will publicly execute the last surviving member of the Three-Eyed Tribe and destroy the Poneglyphs. We will end the Great Pirate Era that was started by the pirate Roger.

"That ridiculous dream of becoming Pirate King... the Marines will crush it completely.

"And notify the Four Emperors. They may bid this world their final farewell before the full war begins..."

**

**

**

Thank you for reading! If you’d like access to extra Chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:

P@treon/SilverShark769

Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!

Your support means a lot, thank you!