Chapter 437: It's Over... (2)

"Damn it—"

"How could this be?"

"What on earth is going on?"

Upon hearing Athena and Apollo's conversation, the expressions of CP0 Shield, "Buddha" Sengoku, and "Black Arm" Zephyr all changed drastically.

They never expected that, in just the blink of an eye, the Fallen Angel El would lead the Totto Land Kingdom to attack Mary Geoise. And it was very likely they had already completely destroyed the Celestial Dragons, including the Five Elders, taking that place for themselves.

It seemed that above the Five Elders, there was also a so-called Celestial Dragon King named Imu, who might have been taken down as well.

"Heh, of course…"

Standing tall with a figure as alluring as her mother Charlotte Linlin, Athena looked at the three men bristling with hostility and spoke proudly:

"After all, Father is powerful!"

"And without the ancient weapon known as 'Uranus,' the World Government has long since lost its fangs and claws, so it's nothing to fear. It can be toppled at any time!"

"It's just that we didn't want the world plunged into chaos too soon. We've been gathering our strength for a swift, decisive strike, which is why we waited until now to make our move!"

Zephyr's expression was complicated. Sengoku and the CP0 operative were visibly shaken, their faces grim.

"Enough talk—surrender quietly!" The third child, Dal, remained composed as he hefted his ornate sword, pointing it at Sengoku and the others. "You can't escape!"

"Don't even think about it!"

Zephyr spoke in a low voice. Although he had lost all faith in the World Government, he felt no real fondness toward Totto Land, which used to be a pirate nation.

"Garp… so this is your choice?"

Learning that Garp had actually ordered the entire Navy to surrender, Sengoku's expression kept changing. His large fists clenched, veins bulging. In the end, with a look full of unwillingness and stubbornness, he glared at Dal, Ares, Athena, and the others before him, gritting his teeth:

"Damn it! I absolutely refuse to accept this—"

"So the World Government is gone?"

The CP0 agent muttered, his gaze turning crazed. "Then, as the shield of the Celestial Dragons, I guess I have no reason to go on living, do I!"

"Who would've thought that right after cutting all ties, I'd have to fight side by side again…"

Glancing at the members of the Kukulkan Family eyeing them like tigers, then back at his old comrade Zephyr, the once-heroic Sengoku, now at the end of his rope, could only give a bitter laugh:

"Looks like we don't have a choice today!"

"To die in battle is the best end a soldier can hope for, right?"

Zephyr's expression was calm. There was no trace of fear or regret—only determination. They all knew there was nowhere left to retreat. Perhaps this island would be their grave.

"Heh… Looks like we're late."

At that moment, two figures appeared unhurriedly, causing Sengoku, Zephyr, and the others to narrow their eyes in shock. It was none other than Redfield—"Red Count," one of the Shichibukai who preferred to work alone and never allied with anyone—and Chinjao "the Drill," the 12th Commander of the Happo Navy from Kano Country.

Nobody expected these two to show up here too. Even more surprising, they both seemed to bear signs of having just fought a fierce battle.

"Redfield, Chinjao, you've come at the perfect time!"

The CP0 operative narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth. "By order of the World Government, all Shichibukai must help the Navy suppress these traitors from Totto Land!"

"Oh, really?"

Redfield raised his brows. The next instant, a crimson blur flashed past. His razor-sharp bat-like axe, wreathed in terrifying black-and-red lightning, pierced the severely injured CP0 operative, who was too wounded to evade.

A pained scream rang out as the CP0 agent was sent flying, slamming violently into the distant ice.

"What!?"

Zephyr and Sengoku both paled. They hadn't expected Redfield to strike at CP0 without hesitation.

"Red, you bastard—"

Sengoku glared angrily.

"El-sama has given the command—"

Shaking the pitch-black bat-axe, the Red Count looked down on Sengoku and Zephyr, speaking coldly:

"Marine Admiral 'Buddha' Sengoku, willingly serving as a dog of the Celestial Dragons—your crime is unforgivable. The sentence is death!"

"You treacherous fiend! You've betrayed the World Government to join that Fallen Angel El!" Sengoku's eyelids twitched, his face dark with rage.

"You, serving under someone else? I really overestimated you, Red," Zephyr said in a low voice.

"Betrayal? From the start, Red was trained by my father. He joined the Shichibukai only under Father's arrangement." Dal looked down on the two men with a mocking grin.

Redfield's face was expressionless. He only wanted to see firsthand what kind of world that man would create.

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Sengoku and Zephyr both widened their eyes, cold sweat dripping as chills ran up their spines. Their hearts sank to rock bottom.

"Heh heh heh, Sengoku, who would've thought you'd end up like this?"

Chinjao fixed Sengoku with a vicious stare and suddenly pressed both palms together. "Hasshoken Secret Art—!"

In an instant, his drill-shaped head shone like tempered steel, covered in Haki that turned it pitch-black with a harsh gleam. His aura soared higher and higher, robes billowing in the wind. Then, like a cannonball, he launched himself forward, violently driving that terrifying drill at Sengoku.

"I've waited years for this day!!"

"For more than ten years, I trained like my life depended on it—all for this moment!!!"

"See how I skewer that Golden Buddha form you're so proud of… 'Drill Dragon Spike!!!'"

That razor-sharp drill tore through the air, radiating a pulse so fearsome it made onlookers' hearts race. The murderous intent was unstoppable.

"Buddha Shockwave!!"

Sengoku's expression changed, and without hesitation he released a shockwave from his golden Buddha palm, interwoven with threads of black and red lightning, blasting straight at the 12th Commander of the Happo Navy.

Boom—boom—

Deafening crashes echoed. Two colossal shockwaves collided, unleashing an immense clamor. Chinjao's strength was enough to surprise even Sengoku. He had honed the Hasshoken's secret arts to perfection, and combined with the power of his Devil Fruit, he had become astoundingly strong.

Not only could he focus his full power on a single point, rendering it nigh indestructible, he was so powerful it bordered on absurdity. Sengoku realized that had he shown the slightest carelessness, he might have been skewered right then and there.