Watching the two men evacuating the soldiers—

Ghidorah ceased his attack.

He was a vengeful force, yes—

But that did not make him a senseless destroyer.

He was still a part of this world.

Though he had no grand ideals about preserving peace, neither did he seek to destroy everything.

After all, his bloodline still flowed in some of the people here.

Even if they were countless generations removed, they were still his true descendants.

A branch that had lost its way…

Worshiping false gods.

---

Kizaru and Aokiji, seeing Ghidorah halt, felt a faint stir of gratitude.

But far more than gratitude, what they felt was bitterness.

Because if not for this monster's arrival, none of this chaos would have unfolded in the first place.

---

"Mmm..."

A low groan sounded from the deck of the Moby Dick.

Sengoku had awakened, lying injured on the planks.

As he opened his eyes, he was greeted by… a crowd of pirates.

He jolted up—

Only for the pain of torn muscles and shattered bones to force a muffled grunt from his lips.

---

"Gurararara…"

"You've got one hell of a life force."

Whitebeard, ever magnanimous, chuckled aloud.

"You…?"

Sengoku's eyes widened, stunned to see the towering figure of Whitebeard standing at the ship's bow.

He couldn't believe it—

He'd been saved by his enemy.

---

"Spare me that grateful look," Whitebeard scoffed.

"It makes my stomach turn."

"Aokiji was the one who pulled you and Garp back."

Sengoku's expression softened.

Still wincing in pain, he nodded slightly.

"Either way… I'm grateful. With wounds like these, I should be dead."

He looked down at his tightly bandaged body, then forced himself to stand.

But the moment his eyes fell on the hellscape of the inner bay, his face darkened instantly.

Especially when he spotted the rows of Pacifistas nearby.

His fury boiled over.

He turned to look at Garp, now wrapped head to toe like a mummy.

Seeing no sign of consciousness, he silently turned away.

With a Moonwalk, he leapt into the sky, leaving behind only a few words:

"Thank you."

He glanced back at Garp, his voice dropping to a whisper:

"Farewell, my friend."

---

They say:

"You can never wake someone who's pretending to sleep."

Sengoku knew Garp was already awake.

Because the teardrop at the corner of his eye had betrayed him.

Their friendship—

perhaps it ended here.

Or maybe…

This was the best possible goodbye.

---

Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt!

Zzzzt! Zzzzt! Zzzzt!

Suddenly, the air trembled.

On the shoreline, twenty or so remaining Pacifistas suddenly activated and opened fire.

---

"Hey!!"

"Sentomaru, what the hell are you doing?!"

Kizaru's voice thundered in frustration.

---

"Huh? Admiral Kizaru, I didn't do anything!"

Sentomaru, still carrying his giant axe, looked confused and panicked.

---

"That was a remote command," Sengoku's battered voice rang out from the rear.

"Damn it—evacuate the soldiers now!"

Kizaru and Aokiji didn't hesitate.

They immediately began rallying and evacuating the remaining Marines from the inner bay.

---

"Damn it!"

Sengoku stared at the attacking Pacifistas, rage surging in his chest.

It was a rage that burned even brighter than the destruction Ghidorah had caused.

The rage of being stabbed in the back—by your own side.

Of spilling blood on the battlefield while your comrades plunge the knife behind you.

Worse yet—

They outranked you, and you still had to salute.

---

But that anger—

Someone else expressed it for him.

A golden beam suddenly cut across the battlefield—

exploding several Pacifistas in a single blast.

Sengoku, eyes narrowed, gave a silent nod of approval to the one he had once hated.

---

Ghidorah had joined the fray.

He opened his jaws, launching Graviton Beams that erased Pacifista after Pacifista.

As his heads swept across the field, the golden energy scythed through machine after machine, ripping them apart in brutal succession.

He had seen enough—

The World Government would stop at nothing to kill him—even if it meant erasing Marineford itself.

And so, he wiped them all out.

---

Just as he was about to cease fire, his enormous golden eyes caught movement below.

A figure, emotionless and silent, appeared beneath him.

Buzz—!

In the blink of an eye, Bartholomew Kuma teleported, his paw-wrapped hand striking Ghidorah's abdomen.

---

BOOM!

The hit sent a surge of violent energy ripping through his body.

His scales rattled under his skin.

---

Snap! Crack! SNAP!

The titanic body emitted the sounds of bones and flesh tearing—

A horrific internal shockwave.

"You really do want to dance, don't you?!"

Ghidorah roared in fury.

His right head swung down savagely at Kuma—

---

BOOM!

His head slammed into the ground, shaking the earth and kicking up a cloud of dust.

---

"The Paw-Paw Fruit, huh…"

Ghidorah narrowed his gaze at the now-distant Kuma, mildly surprised.

His attacks were whatever—

But that instant transmission ability?

That was a real pain.

Still… that was all it was.

---

ROAR!!

With a bellow, the right head's eyes blazed with savage fury.

Then—

A Graviton Beam exploded forward.

---

Even with his teleportation ability, Kuma couldn't fully evade.

The beam clipped him mid-jump—

ripping off half his arm and flinging him across the battlefield.

Crash!

He hit the ground hard, rolling violently, pieces of machinery flying from his body.

---

For a cyborg, wounds like that caused no pain.

So long as his legs were functional—he could keep fighting.

Ghidorah looked on in silence.

Watching blood and oil mix beneath the mangled form of a once-human man.

---

You could've lived as a man…

And yet you chose to become a machine.

What happened to this world?

---

Zzzzt!

Kuma stood and fired another laser.

But this one… was red.

---

The red beam struck at Ghidorah's feet—

A massive explosion erupted.

In the heart of the blast, Ghidorah felt the searing heat.

He unfurled his wings—

With one mighty flap, he dispersed the shockwave, flattening it instantly.

Still, the force pushed him back several steps.

The golden scales on his belly now stained with ash and soot.

The explosion drew the eyes of everyone nearby—

Even Sengoku turned to look.

By now, most of the soldiers had been evacuated.

Only the heavily wounded remained.

---

And then—

A new sound rose from the sea mist:

The roar of something massive cutting through the waves.

Sengoku and the others exchanged uneasy glances.

Who could be arriving now…?

As the sound grew louder and closer, everyone turned toward the foggy sea.

Eyes widened in disbelief.

From within the smoke and haze, a massive silhouette began to take shape—

Nearly 100 meters long.

The shape resembled… a ship.

But—

Was it really that huge?!

---

With a thunderous boom, the enormous figure burst through the mist—

A World Government battleship, colossal in size, entered full view.

And on its deck sat a giant—dozens of meters tall.

His face was brutal and lifeless, like a corpse that had forgotten how to feel.

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