The extreme threat sent a jolt through everyone's nerves.

Katakuri and Perospero's pupils shrank sharply. They both activated their abilities and coated them with Haki.

"Candy Wall!"

"Mochi Wall!"

Layer upon layer of Haki-infused candy and sticky rice stacked on top of each other.

Forming a massive dome that shielded their younger siblings.

Borsalino instantly vanished into light, disappearing without a trace...

Zzz—

Thunder struck down. The earth trembled wildly as thunder roared through the air.

Everything that came into contact with Thunder—whether land, seawater, or the Armament Haki walls—

Began to dissolve, releasing thick white smoke.

Soon, half the island was engulfed in smoke. Combined with the thunderclouds above and the ash mist below, it looked like the end of the world.

The sea was littered with the corpses of countless sea kings and fish, all cooked through. The ocean boiled.

A fierce gleam flashed in Enel's eyes as he activated his power to suppress it with all his might.

Thunder, which had already sunk into a quarter of the island, accelerated further.

Whoosh—!

A beam of blade-like light surged from the center of the island, piercing the sky.

Rumble—

The island quaked violently, the ground splitting apart.

An abyss, unfathomably deep, tore the entire island in two.

Countless boulders tumbled into the chasm.

At the bottom of the abyss, a red light began to shine, growing ever larger.

Charlotte Linlin's figure was the first to burst out.

Behind her came a colossal magma dragon, hundreds of meters thick, boundless and roaring toward her.

Catching a glimpse of Thunder descending at the island's edge, Charlotte Linlin spun in midair.

A massive cylindrical shockwave of sword energy, imbued with Conqueror's Haki, blasted forth.

It crushed the magma dragon's head and continued down toward the earth.

Boom!

The enormous magma dragon suddenly exploded, its body disintegrating into countless spears of molten rock that shot toward Charlotte Linlin.

Seeing the incoming magma spears, Charlotte Linlin swung her left arm, breaking and deflecting a large portion of them.

She aimed Napoleon at Enel.

"Roaring Light Cannon!!!"

Lightning and fire intertwined around the blade, forming a closed energy loop.

A high-density laser beam blasted forth, shooting straight at Enel near the island's shore.

Meanwhile, deep within the abyss—

Another highly condensed magma heat ray shot out, tearing through the sky.

White shockwaves formed at the outer edge.

The laser and the heat ray collided!

BOOM——!!!!!

A mushroom cloud erupted.

The shockwave from the explosion rocked Thunder, threatening to disperse it.

At the harbor—

The layers of mochi and candy shaped like a tortoise shell suddenly exploded.

Countless spikes pierced into the thunderclouds.

They continuously formed, got destroyed, then reformed and exploded again.

Enel snorted coldly:

"Fast reaction."

Originally, the plan was to blow up the Thunder after it had pushed into half the island, maximizing its power.

But the battlefield was unpredictable, and everything was disrupted in an instant.

Since that's the case...

Enel raised the golden staff in his hand high, lightning flashing as it connected with the clouds above.

"200 Million Volts: Thunder God!"

Dense lightning surged around him, and a towering Thunder God form over 100 meters tall took shape.

With a swing of the tens-of-meters-long staff in his hand—

The remaining half of the Thunder was pulled and condensed, the thunderclouds swirling violently.

A massive black dragon, tens of meters thick, crackling with lightning and stretching into the distance, formed and spiraled through the skies.

Enel, in his Thunder God form, landed steadily atop the giant dragon's head.

Suddenly, sensing something, he looked toward the island's center:

"Hmm?"

On the ground, within the Charlotte Pirates, Katakuri suddenly shouted:

"Evacuate the island now!!!"

Perospero looked out to sea:

"Sugar Sea Cow!!!"

A sea cow made of sugar suddenly took form and fell into the sea.

The boiling water kept melting it, but fresh sugar kept replenishing it continuously.

Everyone quickly leapt onto it, getting away from the island.

At the island's center—

A red light began to glow.

Then the red aura burst forth, sweeping across the island.

A deafening boom echoed.

The ground quaked uncontrollably, and scorching heat spread rapidly.

Everything on the island was instantly vaporized.

In the blink of an eye, the entire island was engulfed in flames, transforming into a molten hell.

At the island's center, two figures slowly retracted their abilities and weapons.

They turned and walked in opposite directions, into the sea of flames...

Within the blazing sea—

Enel and Borsalino suddenly appeared behind Sakazuki, following him outward.

Enel twirled the golden staff in his hand.

With a flash of lightning, it melted down into a golden bracelet, which he wore on his wrist:

"So the deal is done?"

Sakazuki said:

"Send word to Vice Admiral Kvel."

"Evacuate all islands north of Balishi Island."

"Redirect personnel to the New World's entrance islands, now under the control of the Big Mom Pirates."

This had been the previously agreed division.

Enel pulled out a Den Den Mushi:

"Understood~"

Borsalino exhaled deeply:

"Finally over, yo~"

Sakazuki rolled his shoulders and neck, then let out a small laugh:

"Let's go."

BOOM—!

The three of them shot into the sky...

...

On the Sugar Sea Cow—

Losing one ship wasn't a big deal to the Charlotte Family.

Charlotte Linlin narrowed her eyes, gazing at the island behind them:

"Katakuri, send word."

"Within three days, evacuate all personnel from those islands near the New World's entrance."

"Deploy troops to occupy the territories north of Balishi Island."

There was a hint of delight in her tone—clearly pleased to have filled the territorial gap.

When the gains outweigh the costs, win-win cooperation becomes the best solution.

Otherwise, with their strength, another ten days of fighting might not even produce a winner—and it would be meaningless.

They might even miss a valuable opportunity and lose out on secured benefits... not worth it.

...

A few days later.

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

All the soldiers at Headquarters were beaming with joy.

The Marines' return to the New World had a huge impact.

First and foremost, public trust had increased.

It was like a calming tonic for people around the world.

Then came the destruction of the Roger Pirates, Golden Lion's imprisonment, and the Navy's re-entry into the New World.

These events dealt a massive blow to the morale of New World pirates.

Though they couldn't stop pirates from setting sail all over the world—

The New World had become noticeably more stable.

Everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction...

Inside the massive conference room at Headquarters—

As the final person took their seat, the small high-level meeting began.

Fleet Admiral Kong looked at Garp, who had just returned to HQ:

"Garp, speak."

"What's the deal with Roger's child?"

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