New World, the rear territories of Whole Cake Island and Wano Country.

As more and more pirates gathered toward the center, their numbers along the outer seas gradually dwindled. The ocean slowly fell silent until, eventually, not a single pirate ship could be seen moving through the region for nearly half a day.

Inside the hidden green zone, aboard the central warship, Onigumo stood motionless at the bow with a cold expression etched across his face. Sea winds swept through his coat as he quietly watched the hands of the pocket watch resting in his palm inch toward the designated time.

Tick.

Tick.

The second hand aligned perfectly.

Without hesitation, he picked up the communicator and pressed it down. Weak static crackled through the device as the communicators hanging from the waists of the commanders across the massive fleet rang simultaneously with Onigumo’s voice.

"Raise anchor. All personnel enter first-level combat status. Coordinate with the main force to close the final gaps in the encirclement and eliminate all pirates."

As soon as his words fell, the mechanical sea beasts at the very front suddenly rose upright like awakened monsters.

The giant mechanical lights serving as their eyes glowed red while the roar of machinery operating at full power thundered through the surrounding waters. The horned little figures sitting atop the machines stretched both hands toward the front.

Several transmission cables connected to the backs of the horned creatures began trembling violently.

Creak...

Creak...

Creak...

Massive Air Doors appeared one after another across the ocean surface and automatically unfolded, stretching endlessly beyond sight.

Warship after warship carrying a chilling murderous aura sailed out from the opened passages and descended upon the sea like an iron tide. Their formations rapidly expanded outward as they spread across the waters, weaving together into an enormous encirclement net.

Every several warships were personally overseen by an elite Vice Admiral.

Just like the cleansing operation Sakazuki had once launched against the pirates across the Four Blues, the fleets advanced from every direction toward Whole Cake Island and Wano Country, steadily tightening the noose around the trapped forces within...

* * *

New World, Marine Frontline Command Headquarters.

Morris and Tsuru sat at the center of the conference hall while the Vice Admirals commanding each fleet sat below them attending the meeting.

No one spoke. The only sound came from the officer standing beneath the enormous screen as he calmly explained the current deployment of Marine forces.

Rows of data and shifting maps flickered across the display.

When the screen switched to the pirates’ rear territories, the officer continued in a steady voice, "Vice Admiral Onigumo has already led his fleet to begin the encirclement and seal the final gap. The extermination campaign against the pirates has now entered its final countdown."

As he spoke, he waved his hand across the screen and the image rapidly zoomed out, turning into a map of the entire New World.

Blue lines representing the Marine defensive network stretched across the sea like an enormous cage. Around the dozens of islands once ruled by Big Mom and Kaido, the final opening in the encirclement was slowly being sealed shut while the surrounding blue lines steadily advanced inward.

The situation had become extremely clear.

Every pirate remaining in the New World had been trapped within the former territories of the two Emperors.

However, the defensive line itself stretched far too wide. From a distance, it resembled nothing more than a thin thread crossing the ocean. If the pirates managed to break through at any point, there would be no guarantee the Marines could hunt them down again afterward.

That was why, while carrying out large-scale bombardment attacks, a portion of the forces had to advance forward and establish a defensive line at the very front, creating a double-layered defense.

The inner defensive line would keep pushing forward while the outer line gradually compressed the encirclement from behind, consuming territory bit by bit until every remaining pirate had been exterminated completely.

If necessary, the warships assigned to the inner defensive line would have to sacrifice themselves to stop escaping pirate fleets. As long as they could hold the enemy in place long enough, the outer fleets would immediately carry out concentrated bombardments.

After all, although the Four Emperors were dead and more than half of their officers had been wiped out, there were still many pirates alive.

There were also all kinds of strange Devil Fruit users alongside the surviving officers of the Emperors’ crews.

The large-scale bombardment was like a giant sieve. It could clean out many low-level pirates across the islands before the Marine warships moved in and liberated the territory completely.

But such bombardments alone were not enough to kill the true strong fighters among the pirates.

There would definitely be powerful pirates leading fleets to break through the blockade. And the purpose of the inner defensive line was to stop them, hold them back, and if necessary, perish together with them.

Under no circumstances could pirate ships be allowed to break through to the outer defensive line...

After the map zoomed out to display the entire New World, the officer stepped away from the screen and quietly returned to his seat.

Silence filled the conference hall once again as everyone stared at the enormous map before them, their expressions serious.

Morris sat in the main seat with both hands clasped together atop the table. His gaze slowly swept across the room before he finally spoke in a low, heavy voice.

"The situation of the war is exactly as you see. We now need a group of people to form the inner defensive line and begin the advance.

"The danger level is extremely high. Most likely, those who go will not return. Is there anyone willing to volunteer?"

No one answered immediately.

The gathered Vice Admirals exchanged glances silently while the air itself seemed to grow heavier.

Doberman, seated near the front, slowly exhaled a long stream of cigar smoke.

"Haa..."

The white smoke drifted upward as his eyes lost focus for a brief moment.

Click.

The sound of the cigar being extinguished rang out softly.

He tossed aside the crushed cigar, regained his senses, and stood up.

"Leave the most dangerous area to me."

Once Doberman took the lead, the people below who had been exchanging glances suddenly smiled one after another and stood up in succession.

"I’ll go."

"Me too."

"Count me in."

Their earlier silence had not been hesitation. On the contrary, they had simply been signaling each other...

’Going or not?’

’Of course we’re going.’

’Then what are we waiting for?’

’Get up.’

’Together?’

’Move!!!’

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Just wanted to mention something. While posting this Chapter I was listening to music in Spotify. It just so happened that at the time I copied the Chapter from my docs, the song Final Countdown came on from all the random songs. Pretty cool coincidence 😂.

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