CH 63

Is It Really Happening?

Sengoku sensed something was off, his heart skipping a beat.

"Send someone to protect them immediately—no, notify Saint Rosward's entourage and tell them Bai Yu is dangerous! Pay attention and act now!"

He immediately hung up the Den Den Mushi.

Something was definitely about to happen!

Sengoku stood up and looked at Kizaru.

"You need to get to Sabaody as soon as possible. Garp, stop eating. You, Momousagi, and the others will stay at headquarters. Aokiji and I will go as well."

Sengoku hadn't forgotten Bai Yu's words: 'If you don't come, you're a waste.'

Sabaody was close to Marine Headquarters, and Sengoku had no intention of letting Bai Yu continue to grow unchecked.

Was he going alone?

Of course not. They would launch a full-scale siege.

Garp raised an eyebrow.

"Are you seriously going? We don't even know if Bai Yu is there or not. Why don't I go instead?"

"Hmph, you stay here," Sengoku said firmly.

He highly doubted Garp would actually fight seriously. Ever since Roger's death, Garp had never truly gone all out.

Boom!

Suddenly, an explosion rocked Marine Headquarters, shocking everyone.

Boom!

Another explosion followed.

The sound seemed to come from the sky—distant but powerful.

The Marine officers rushed out of the office, eyes widening as they saw a crater the size of a small ship in the middle of the plaza.

A Rear Admiral shouted from a distance:

"Reporting, Fleet Admiral! A laser beam was fired from a distance, but it missed its target!"

"…!"

Sengoku and the others glanced at the crater, then looked up at the sky.

More precisely, they turned their gazes toward Mariejois—the Holy Land atop the Red Line.

Tokikake (Chaton) gasped.

"Oi, someone is attacking Marine Headquarters from a distance… and they're also targeting the Holy Land?!"

"This is insane!"

Garp narrowed his eyes.

"Another laser… but this one feels very familiar…"

"Bai Yu's spaceship!"

Aokiji was the one to say it, his face filled with shock.

Bai Yu was attacking Mariejois?!

Whoosh!

Another laser shot through the sky, heading toward the Holy Land.

But before it could land, an immensely powerful slash erupted from Mariejois, cleaving through the laser mid-air, causing it to explode.

A top-tier swordsman had countered the attack.

Seeing this, Sengoku reacted instantly.

"Kizaru! Head to Mariejois immediately!"

Kizaru hesitated for a moment before sighing.

"Yare yare… what a troublesome day…"

Still, it was better than facing Bai Yu at Sabaody.

As another laser streaked across the sky, Sengoku clenched his fists in anger.

"That damn Demon King…! Garp, Aokiji—you stay at headquarters. I'm going too!"

Whoosh!

Sengoku activated his Buddha form, using Moonwalk to propel himself toward Mariejois, his golden form even brighter than Kizaru's.

Watching him leave, Vice Admiral Tsuru frowned.

"Don't you all find this… strange?"

The Marine officers turned to her in confusion.

Momousagi asked, "Sister Tsuru, what do you mean?"

"Sengoku and the Admirals originally planned to go to Sabaody to contain Bai Yu, fearing he would attack the Celestial Dragons."

"And now?"

Tsuru looked toward Sabaody.

"Sengoku and two Admirals have gone to Mariejois. We are staying at headquarters. That means… Sabaody is left unguarded. Bai Yu can do whatever he wants there."

Ah…!

Everyone realized it at the same time.

Had Bai Yu… outmaneuvered them?

Had he lured the Marines away, splitting their forces?

"Puhahaha! What a smart brat!" Garp laughed.

"You mean… his target was never Mariejois. His goal was always the Celestial Dragons at Sabaody, right? Amazing!"

Sengoku had lost this round.

He had no choice but to react to Bai Yu's attacks, and now they were stuck.

They couldn't afford to leave Marine Headquarters undefended.

They couldn't not defend the Holy Land.

And so… Bai Yu could do as he pleased.

Garp looked up at the sky as more laser beams were fired at the headquarters.

Tsuru sighed.

"He's trying to keep the remaining strong Marines here… completely cutting off reinforcements for Sabaody."

Aokiji scratched his head.

"If we leave now, he might switch targets again… What if this is another distraction?"

Bai Yu had seized control of the situation.

He dictated Marine movements.

They had lost the initiative.

Bai Yu's Plan in Motion

Bai Yu's spaceship had already left Sabaody and was hovering over the Calm Belt.

It was now in attack mode—bombarding Marine Headquarters and Mariejois with ultra-long-range laser strikes.

Total chaos.

"The plan is working perfectly."

Nami watched with admiration.

Spaceship Attack Mode 1: Laser Cannon

• 108 laser turrets positioned around the ship

• 2000-kilometer range

• Each shot capable of destroying a warship

Mariejois and Marineford were both within range.

By attacking intermittently, Bai Yu was keeping the Marines completely disoriented.

"According to Bai Yu's plan, we'll fire a maximum of ten times at Mariejois, then retreat to the Calm Belt to hide," Nami explained.

"But why not just keep attacking Mariejois from a distance? That way, no one would go to Sabaody to stop Bai Yu," she wondered aloud.

Kalifa, who understood powerful figures the most, spoke in a complicated tone.

"He might still want to fight again."

Robin, however, looked serious.

"Don't underestimate the World Government," she said.

"We're not fully prepared yet. Bai Yu doesn't want to provoke them too much just yet. We also don't know if they have spatial ability users who can track us via the laser trajectories."

The girls froze.

Space-type Devil Fruits?

Rare, but not impossible.

If the Government had one and tracked their laser trajectory, they'd be completely exposed.

Stopping the attacks before that happened was a smart move.

"But what's Bai Yu doing?" Perona asked nervously.

"Is he really going to… capture a Celestial Dragon?"

Sabaody Archipelago – Soap Bubble Park

Bai Yu walked through the area while speaking into the Den Den Mushi.

"You're well-informed, Morgans. Yeah, I caught Rayleigh. And now I'm interested in the Celestial Dragons."

"H-Hi… You…"

On the other end, Morgans was stunned.

But at the same time… he was thrilled.

"This is BIG NEWS! Do you need me to do anything?!"

Morgans wanted to fly to Sabaody immediately, but he was too far away.

Bai Yu hesitated for a moment.

"I originally planned to livestream the Celestial Dragons' downfall to the entire world."

"But after thinking about it… It's not the time."

"HISS!!"

Morgans' entire body shivered.

This Demon King was even crazier than the Rocks Pirates!

Even they never considered broadcasting their atrocities live!

If Bai Yu killed a Celestial Dragon, that would be huge.

But if he livestreamed it?

That would be a declaration of all-out war against the World Government.

"…This is getting out of control."

And then… Bai Yu saw something ahead.

His heart froze.

His fingers clenched so tightly that he crushed the Den Den Mushi.

A Celestial Dragon… was killing innocent people.

And in that moment…

Bai Yu made his decision.

"I WILL NEVER FORGIVE THIS."

BOOM!

His Conqueror's Haki erupted—stronger than ever before.

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