Chapter 329

Translator: PapaSmurf0700

Mary Geoise: The Chamber of Authority

"Just what is the origin of this man?"

The bald Elder of the Five Elders slammed his cane into the marbled floor, the sharp crack betraying his fury.

"His origins are irrelevant now," the blond Elder countered, his voice cool and rational, yet his eyes burned with an icy fire as he watched Bai Ye on the monitor. "What matters is that if he does not die today, he will undoubtedly become a grave threat to our world order."

"He is not yet strong enough to turn the tide of this war," the bearded Elder added, stroking his magnificent white beard. "He has merely delayed the inevitable." While he was surprised by the Priest's sudden explosion of power, this was a contingency they had prepared for. It was precisely why they had deployed three agents of near-Admiral strength in the first place—assets usually reserved for strategic operations against the Four Emperors themselves. It was an extravagant use of force, and one that highlighted their absolute commitment to victory.

On the screen, the battle shifted. Though Bai Ye had momentarily suppressed the three CP0 agents, they had already adapted. Their mission was no longer assassination; it was containment. They would stall him, bleed him, and wait.

"Our warships will arrive soon," the bald Elder stated, his anger giving way to cold certainty. "And when they do, no one on that island will escape."

"Perhaps we won't even need to wait that long," the fifth Elder, a portly man with a knowing smile, said meaningfully. "In every other engagement, the Navy holds the clear advantage."

Just then, a sharp knock echoed from the chamber doors.

-----

"Hahahaha! I never thought I'd live to see the day!" Eustass Kidd roared with laughter from his perch on Sabaody. "The mighty Navy, held to a draw by a couple of pirate crews!"

"It's only temporary," Capone "Gang" Bege grunted around his cigar. "Those World Government dogs are changing the game. If it weren't for those Pacifistas and that Priest's strange paper soldiers, the outer rings of pirates would have already been crushed. They're outnumbered ten to one."

"The probability of Straw Hat's survival is not zero," Basil Hawkins intoned, his gaze fixed on the unfolding chaos. "But the outcome will be decided by these smaller clashes. The moment one of these key battlefields falls, the war is decided."

-----

He was right. On the blood-soaked grounds of Marineford, every combatant felt the shift.

"Empress Hancock, I suggest you stand down."

A wall of Cipher Pol agents and Marine officers blocked the Pirate Empress's path, their voices stern warnings.

"I do not take orders from the likes of you!" she snarled, lashing out. But for all her power, she was trapped, unable to break through the disciplined formation.

This scene was repeating itself all across the island. The Navy and the World Government were leveraging their greatest weapon—numbers. They were systematically dividing the battlefield, isolating the pirates' strongest fighters. Like the CP0 agents facing Bai Ye, their goal was no longer to kill, but to entangle, to bog down, and to win through sheer attrition. The pirates felt the net tightening, their anxiety mounting as the balance of power began to tilt irrevocably.

BOOM!

Several laser beams tore into the ground, erupting in a violent explosion. Admiral Kizaru strolled casually from the smoke, his signature pinstripe suit now smudged with dirt and grime. He looked at the two figures still blocking his path, his lazy expression unreadable.

"Ooooh, still determined to resist?" he drawled, looking at Marco, who was struggling to maintain his hybrid phoenix form. "Why not just surrender peacefully?"

Kizaru's gaze then shifted to the hulking form of Bartholomew Kuma. "And as for you... just how many more of my light-speed kicks can that body of yours take?"

Kuma stood firm, a silent monolith, but his massive frame was riddled with hideous, cauterized wounds. He could repel physical damage, but he could not negate the searing energy of Kizaru's attacks. It was clear this front was about to collapse.

"General Franky: Coup de Vent! SUUUUPER!"

From high above, a terrifying blast of compressed air roared toward the Admiral.

"My, my. A member of the Straw Hat crew?" Kizaru said, unfazed by the gale-force winds. He put his hands in his pockets, his body dissolving into a shower of golden light before reforming directly behind the massive General Franky mech.

"In that case," Kizaru sighed, "I'll have to dispose of you first."

As he casually raised his leg for a kick, something unexpected happened. Several rows of sharp spikes suddenly erupted from the back of the General Franky. Kizaru was surprised, but not panicked. As a Logia user, he was untouchable.

Unless…

Schlick!

The spikes, forged from Seastone, plunged deep into Kizaru's calf and foot. For the first time since the war began, blood—his own—spilled onto the battlefield.

WHAM!

Despite the shock, Kizaru's kick still connected, sending the massive mech crashing to the ground. "You have Seastone?!" he exclaimed, his lazy demeanor finally cracking. To be injured by a sneak attack… it was infuriating.

"OW!" Franky, inside his nearly eight-meter-tall armor, leaped back to his feet and struck his classic pose. "That was a winning move from General Franky! Backstab!"

Kizaru's face twisted into an ugly grimace. With this, Franky had officially joined the fight against a Marine Admiral.

Meanwhile, another battle raged.

CRACK!

With a final, explosive effort, two figures burst free from a prison of jagged ice. It was Zoro and Sanji. That they had survived this long against an Admiral was a testament not only to their monstrous strength, but also to the seemingly endless supply of healing pills provided by Bai Ye.

But even pills had their limits. They could mend flesh and restore stamina, but they could not erase the bone-deep weariness of the soul. Their bodies were a canvas of cuts and bruises, layered with patches of stubborn ice that even Sanji's Diable Jambe couldn't melt. The frost hampered their movements and leeched their strength.

"Haaaah..." Admiral Aokiji exhaled a plume of frozen air, his form materializing before them. He was, by comparison, almost pristine. He looked at the two Straw Hats, who were clearly nearing their absolute limit, and sighed with genuine respect.

"To have held out this long… you should be proud."

With that, he stretched out his hand. "Ice Age!"

A tidal wave of absolute zero surged from his body, freezing the very air it touched. Just as the ice was about to consume them, a new sound split the air.

"El Thor!"

A colossal pillar of lightning descended from the heavens, shattering Aokiji's attack into a billion glittering shards.

"Nami-swan!" Sanji cried, her timely arrival seeming to breathe new life into him.

"Well now. A Logia of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?" Aokiji noted, his left hand already forming two new spears of solid ice. "But you've only just acquired this power, haven't you? It's not nearly enough, beautiful lady."

He flicked his wrist, sending the ice spears hurtling toward her. Nami didn't move. She simply stretched out her right hand, a new power awakening within her: Observation Haki.

But Nami's Haki was special. During her training, her incredible sensitivity to weather had blossomed into a unique form of observation: Climate Sorcery. She could sense the most minute elemental changes in her environment. And now, as a Logia, she could command them.

Sensing the trace lightning elements within the moisture of the ice spears, she clenched her fist. "Detonate."

BOOM!

The spears exploded violently in mid-air. In that moment, Nami officially joined Zoro and Sanji, forming a trio to challenge Admiral Aokiji.