A demon.

The creature before them was a demon in every sense of the word.

In the ruined remains of Marineford, countless stunned gazes locked on the terrifying giant beast standing atop the wreckage.

That deathly grin curled at the corners of his mouth—like a god of death smiling from hell—sent shivers down their spines.

Bartholomew Kuma, emotionless as ever, stared straight at the demonic being.

"You planning to dance too?"

Ghidorah, wreathed in magma like he'd crawled straight out of hell, glanced toward Kuma and spoke coldly.

But his words disappeared like a stone thrown into the sea.

No response.

Not even a twitch.

Kuma stood frozen, like a lifeless steel doll drained of power.

"Not talking, huh?"

Ghidorah narrowed his eyes and shifted his gaze toward the harbor.

---

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Each step he took flattened the remaining structures, utterly ignoring the ruins beneath him.

"Stop right there."

Suddenly, Aokiji appeared in front of him, his voice like cold steel.

"Stop?"

That word was laughable.

What was he supposed to be, Gammera?

To Ghidorah, this trip to Marineford was already a success.

Only one task remained—

Sink the entire island.

And now, facing this attempt at obstruction, he felt no hesitation.

He lifted his foot and kept walking.

If Aokiji didn't know his place, Ghidorah was more than happy to educate him.

---

ZZZZT! WHOOSH!

Out of nowhere, the silent Bartholomew Kuma suddenly opened his mouth and fired a laser beam.

---

BOOM!

The searing hot laser struck Ghidorah's right wing, kicking up a massive wave of force.

"The hell, you really do want to dance!"

Caught off guard, Ghidorah's golden eyes sharpened instantly.

The blast didn't hurt much—

About as effective as a light massage—

But this wasn't about damage.

It was about face.

And on matters of pride, he did not play around.

His right head opened its jaws, preparing to unleash a Graviton Beam—

---

BOOM! BOOM!

But before he could, two golden lasers slammed into his body.

"What the hell?"

Seeing the lasers, Ghidorah's first thought went to that salaryman Admiral, Kizaru.

"Wasn't me!"

Seated atop a warship some distance away, Kizaru threw up his hands quickly when their eyes met.

Noting Ghidorah's still-fresh wounds, Kizaru furrowed his brow.

And then—

More lasers pierced through the ice mist and shot toward Ghidorah's position.

"Pacifistas."

The word immediately surfaced in Ghidorah's mind.

Humanoid weapons developed by the World Government, modeled after Bartholomew Kuma, and outfitted with laser beams modeled after Admiral Kizaru's abilities.

Standard lasers were weak to him.

Like scratching an elephant.

But those "Supercharged Lasers"—now those packed serious punch.

Even then, the damage was limited—

What pissed him off was the shockwaves.

Still, Ghidorah figured such tech had to be insanely expensive.

Even the World Government wouldn't be stupid enough to mass-produce them… right?

---

Wrong.

From the mist emerged five warships, all bearing the emblem of the World Government.

---

"What the hell!?"

When Ghidorah saw what was on board, even he sucked in a breath.

The World Government is filthy rich.

No wonder people say war is a game for the wealthy.

Each warship's deck had ten Pacifistas standing in formation.

On the lead ship, a strange figure stood at the bow:

Watermelon haircut, red belly band, a childlike face holding a massive axe.

"Sentomaru?"

Kizaru's eyes lit up and he flew over immediately.

"Ahhh, there you are. What a terrifying monster—I almost kicked the bucket!"

"Your injuries really do look bad."

Sentomaru glanced at him and replied, "The Gorosei have issued a kill-on-sight order. Terminate that monster at all costs."

"And… a high-ranking figure is on the way."

"High-ranking?"

"How high?"

The Gorosei themselves?

Kizaru narrowed his eyes. That didn't sound right.

Those five geezers rarely left Pangaea Castle, even if the Marines burned to the ground.

Who else could it be?

Kizaru didn't have an answer.

This government… really is a black ocean of secrets.

---

"Well, I'm injured, so I'll be sitting this one out."

Kizaru plopped down on the deck, openly lazing around.

Sentomaru didn't argue. Instead, he turned and issued the command—

"Fire!"

---

Zzzzt! Zzzzt! Zzzzt! Zzzzt!

Lasers erupted from all five warships, a storm of golden light erupting across the battlefield, all aimed straight at Marineford.

---

"The hell?!"

Kizaru, who had just sat down, jumped in panic and dropped to the floor.

"Sentomaru, are you insane?!"

"There are still tons of unconscious Marines down there!"

Sure, he was a "work-for-pay" kind of guy—

But those unconscious soldiers were innocent.

They didn't deserve to die like this.

---

"The Gorosei's orders were absolute," Sentomaru said coldly.

"Sink Marineford. Take the monster down with it."

---

"WHAT?!"

Kizaru's eyes flared with rage—though it quickly faded behind his usual lazy facade.

But inside, his fury burned white hot.

What did those unconscious soldiers do wrong?

Then again, this was exactly the kind of thing the World Government and its higher-ups would do.

---

Goddamn it.

Do they think I'm just some DPS test dummy?!

As the blinding laser light lit up the skies, even Ghidorah's heart skipped a beat.

Then—

His fury ignited.

---

With a thunderous roar, all three heads opened wide—

Three Graviton Beams fired simultaneously.

The golden beams clashed with the incoming lasers like electric whips, lashing out wildly.

Wherever they touched the lasers, the energy warped, bent, and exploded under the crushing pressure of gravity.

---

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions erupted in rapid succession, shaking all of Marineford.

The tremors were so strong, the cracking ice beneath them jolted many unconscious Marines back to life.

---

As their eyes opened—

They were nearly blinded by the golden light.

As their vision adjusted, many had the same thought:

Maybe it was better to stay unconscious.

---

Terrifying golden lasers streaked overhead like intercontinental missiles.

The hair-raising, scalp-numbing sensation drove the survivors nearly mad with terror.

Even Ghidorah couldn't block them all.

Over ten lasers made it past and struck the Navy Plaza.

---

Because Ghidorah had stepped forward slightly, he was now closer to the harbor's edge.

The explosions around him triggered massive shockwaves that overlapped and compounded, becoming even stronger.

---

The impact sent nearby Marines flying like ragdolls.

Dazed, injured, and screaming in pain, they crashed to the ground.

Some had the misfortune of being flung into shattered ice shards left from earlier battles—

And in an instant, blood burst into the air.

---

With casualties mounting, the area erupted into chaos.

Survivors fled like a flood toward the warships in the inner bay, desperate to escape.

PS: Access advance chapters at