One Piece: I wield thunder and lightning

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of something breaking through the air kept coming, and soon the surviving Five Elders had arrived in front of June.

When they saw Nicholas lying on the eagle's back with his eyes closed and seriously injured, they could no longer suppress the joy on their faces.

Nicholas, who was powerless to resist, was like a lamb to the slaughter in front of them.

Indeed, when Nicholas defeated Imu, their hearts sank to rock bottom. After all, they had helped Imu govern the world for centuries and knew very well how powerful Imu was. Yet, such a powerful Imu had been directly defeated by Nicholas.

So, how terrifying must Nicholas' strength be if he could defeat Imu?

However, things eventually took a turn. Nicholas was gravely injured and unconscious. As long as they could kill him, they might not be able to defeat the allied forces, but they could still drive them away.

After that, with the resources left by the World Government, they could completely ascend to the vacant throne of the World King.

At this moment, the ambition of the Five Elders was swelling wildly.

Once one has tasted the flavor of power, no one is willing to give it up easily.

Many others on the battlefield were also rushing towards this place.

Some were coming to kill Nicholas, while others wanted to protect him.

But the Five Elders, who arrived first, did not immediately take action against Nicholas.

Although Nicholas seemed severely injured and unconscious, with no resistance left, no one wanted to take the risk after witnessing the earlier scenes that were as devastating as a natural disaster.

After all, if Nicholas hadn't completely lost his strength and they acted rashly, the one who struck could die!

So, it wasn't surprising that they were hesitant. Nobody wanted to risk their life.

"Everyone, don't hesitate any longer. Let's attack together. Otherwise, if those guys arrive, we won't have another chance."

The tall and slender Elder in the air was the first to suggest.

The others, having their thoughts exposed, did not feel embarrassed and nodded in agreement.

For them, time was of the essence. If Nicholas' reinforcements arrived, it wouldn't be so easy to take him down.

Meanwhile, on the Red Line, Sengoku silently joined up with Akainu and Kuzan, and under the three's orders, a large number of Marines began to gather on the Red Line.

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, are you sure about this? You know what kind of terrifying consequences failure could bring, right?"

Kuzan looked at Sengoku with a solemn expression.

Clearly, the choices made by Sengoku and Sakazuki shocked even Kuzan.

"Kuzan, you know, sometimes you're too indecisive."

Sakazuki coldly said, looking at the ruins of Mariejois filled with the sound of killing.

"Yes, Kuzan, now is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We cannot allow another individual to threaten the world to exist on the seas!"

Covered in bandages, Sengoku looked towards where Nicholas was and spoke in a deep voice. At this moment, the drugs in his body were still in effect, putting his strength at its peak.

According to Sengoku's original plan, if they won this battle, he didn't mind joining forces with the Revolutionary Army to establish a new World Government and create a better world.

But now that Nicholas was severely injured and unconscious, he saw another possibility, which was to eliminate Nicholas once and for all, so that this world would no longer be controlled like before.

Without further action, he stepped forward, intending to rush toward Nicholas' position without hesitation.

But before his bent legs could exert force, an invisible gravity descended from above and enveloped him.

"Huh?"

Sengoku's expression changed, and looking at the gravity pressing down from above, he instantly understood something.

"Fujitora, why? Don't you know how dangerous that guy is to the world?"

Sengoku turned and looked at the purple figure approaching from not far away and said in a deep voice.

However, the gravity did not disappear but instead expanded rapidly.

The gravity field suddenly covered almost all the nearby Marine elites, making most of them immobile, some even being forced to their knees, struggling against the weight.

"Issho, you bastard!"

Sakazuki's arm turned into magma, dripping continuously on the ground.

He glared at Fujitora with rage.

Kuzan said nothing, merely observing Fujitora and the man beside him, Borsalino.

Tap-tap—

Holding his staff blade, Fujitora walked forward, striking the ground with each step.

The Marines trapped in the gravity field quickly noticed the arrival of Fujitora and Kizaru.

"It's Vice Admiral Fujitora…!"

"Why is he attacking us!?"

"And Admiral Kizaru! Why are they…?"

They stared in shock, unable to understand why Fujitora would suddenly restrict their movements.

Many Marines glanced between Sengoku, Sakazuki, and the approaching Fujitora and Kizaru, realizing something.

Seeing this, they all looked at the Marine commanders with complex expressions.

Tap-tap—

In the silent atmosphere, only the sound of Fujitora's staff tapping the ground could be heard.

Finally, Fujitora stood in front of Sengoku and Sakazuki.

Looking at Sengoku with his white, sightless eyes, Fujitora could clearly feel Sengoku's emotions.

Sengoku's actions were not wrong.

After all, after Imu was defeated, Nicholas was like a sword hanging over everyone in this ocean.

If Nicholas really intended to rule the world like Imu once did, no one would be able to stop him.

But Fujitora could not allow Sengoku and the others to harm Nicholas.

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, do you really think that getting rid of Nicholas will solve everything?"

Fujitora "looked" at Sengoku.

Faced with Fujitora's question, Sengoku fell silent.

To be honest, he didn't have a clear direction for where the world would go after Nicholas was gone.

Sakazuki, however, glared at Fujitora and said through gritted teeth, "Fujitora, don't forget you're a Marine… and that guy is a pirate!"

"…"

Fujitora remained silent.

This battle that would decide the world's future had ended with Nicholas' victory.

Remembering what Nicholas had told him before, Fujitora couldn't just stand by and watch Nicholas die.

He wanted to see what kind of world would emerge under Nicholas' leadership after the World Government was overthrown, as Nicholas had promised…

Fujitora didn't have the ability to foresee the future, but the changes in Wano Country and the Revolutionary Army's various actions gave him hope.

So he was filled with indescribable expectations for the future of this sea.

But he knew this reason alone could not persuade Sengoku and Sakazuki. Sengoku was usually rational, and he would not gamble the future of this sea on Nicholas' choices.

And Sakazuki's unwavering belief in justice also made him unwilling to place the future of the sea in the hands of a "pirate."

Fujitora's silence made Sakazuki even angrier.

"You traitor!"

He spat out, glaring at Fujitora, believing that Fujitora's actions were a betrayal of the Marines' justice.

Then, he looked around at the Marines and shouted, "Nicholas must die!

! The Great Pirate Era ends today… From this day forward, the world will be at peace!

!"

"…"

Hearing Akainu's roar, the eyes of most of the Marines present became resolute.

The Marines gathered here were mostly from the Hawk faction, and their goal was to bring absolute peace to the sea, even at great cost!

And right now, Nicholas was undoubtedly the strongest pirate in the world.

As Akainu's voice fell, one by one, the Marines stood up against the gravity, legs still trembling, but with determination on their faces.

Kuzan silently stepped aside, watching both sides.

His choice was to remain neutral.

Sengoku and Sakazuki, who knew Kuzan well, merely glanced at him before looking away. To them, Kuzan's decision was understandable.

"Borsalino, the Revolutionary Army wouldn't want a person capable of threatening the world, would they?"

At this moment, Sengoku looked at Kizaru, who stood with his hands in his pockets beside Fujitora.

They already knew Kizaru was part of the Revolutionary Army. If they could win him over, their chances would increase.

In reality, Kizaru, like Dragon and Fujitora, had placed his hopes on Nicholas.

Nicholas had promised to overthrow the World Government, and he did it. Kizaru had seen the Revolutionary Army's manifesto, and he knew that if they could achieve those goals, the world would see true dawn.

Now that Imu was defeated and the World Government was collapsing, how could Kizaru allow any mishap?

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, if the Marines could truly bring peace to the world, why was it a pirate like Nicholas who led the charge to overthrow the World Government?

In the past, the Marines compromised too much for the sake of 'justice,' with the World Government and the Celestial Dragons. Why do you think you can succeed now?"

"Bors…"

Hearing this, Sengoku was about to retort but was interrupted by Kizaru.

"Fleet Admiral, can you tell me how the Marines will bring peace after eliminating Nicholas? What will you do with the royal families and nobles of the World Government member states? What will happen to the slaves? What about non-government nations? Where will other races stand in the new world order? Do you have any answers?

No, you don't. If you can't answer those questions, then, in my view, you're just playing the fool.

I don't trust pirates either, but compared to you, I'd rather take my chances with Nicholas."

"Damn you!"

Hearing Kizaru's words, Sengoku and Sakazuki were incensed. They also understood what Kizaru was implying.

"You have nothing. So why can't we wait and see what Nicholas can bring to this world?"

Kizaru's voice was calm but filled with disappointment and sarcasm.

"The worst outcome would be the birth of a new 'World Government.' At that time, we can still maintain 'peace' as the 'Navy.' After all, those Revolutionary Army folks don't have as much experience as we do.

And Sakazuki, is the justice you uphold now the same as the one you believed in at the beginning? The atrocities committed by the Celestial Dragons are far worse than those of some pirates. Why didn't you dare to get rid of them before? 'Pirate' is just a label. Evil in this world shouldn't be treated differently because of one's status."

Kizaru looked at Sakazuki and spoke indifferently.

Back when he and Sakazuki joined the Navy together, he was also very aggressive; otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten along so well with Akainu.

But gradually, he realized that the greatest cancer in the world was actually the Celestial Dragons. And when he found himself unable to change anything, he chose to lay low and live day by day.

As Kizaru finished speaking, the scene fell into a silence.

After all, Kizaru was right. The Celestial Dragons were once the greatest evil in the world, but they didn't dare to wield their blades against them. And Kizaru's statement that evil in the world shouldn't be treated differently because of one's status made them all fall silent.

At this moment, a voice broke the silence.

"Quite lively here."

The voice came from behind Fujitora.

Everyone was startled and reflexively looked behind Fujitora, only to see Shanks, carrying Gryphon, leading the Red-Haired Pirates' senior officers toward them.

As Red-Haired approached, the atmosphere in the scene became noticeably tense.

"Shanks, state your purpose!"

Doberman beside Sengoku loudly demanded.

Hearing his words, Shanks suddenly released his Conqueror's Haki, pressing it down upon the Navy.

"The current situation is pretty much as originally planned. I can't let you guys ruin this hard-won balance! Anyone who wants to take down Nicholas has to get through me first!"

Shanks brandished Gryphon to show his stance.

At this moment, some cadres from the Revolutionary Army and the coalition forces seemed to sense the commotion and quickly approached.

"Even if we don't intervene, do you think Nicholas can handle the Five Elders?"

Sengoku said coldly.

"You don't need to worry about that. Those guys should already be on their way to support their captain, and there are also people going to stop the Five Elders."

Hearing Shanks' words, Sengoku's mind raced.

Then, a flash of realization crossed his mind as he looked sharply at Red-Haired Shanks.

Meanwhile, just as the Five Elders were about to end Nicholas, a loud screech came from a distance. A giant bird, traveling at several times the speed of sound, was rapidly approaching.

"Right on time."

Borsalino looked at the approaching giant bird with a smile.

Dragon, who was standing in front of the Five Elders, also breathed a sigh of relief.

Facing the Five Elders alone was a huge pressure, not to mention he had to find a way to protect Nicholas.

Now it seemed Nicholas had indeed arranged a trump card.

"Ahhh! Slow down… slow down…"

On the back of the giant bird in the distance, a blue-haired man with a red nose and a ponytail was clinging tightly to the bird, tears streaming down his face.

…

One hundred miles from the redline, a man with flowing crimson hair shaped like a crescent moon watched the battlefield. His gaze landed on a figure with a similar shade of red hair. He sighed and muttered, "Shanks, my boy… " 

Thinking about Shanks, he also looked at Buggy, Reflecting on how Shanks and Buggy shared a similar fate, Garling recalled the fat Celestial Dragon killed by Shanks. The rotund noble would never have imagined that the son he cast aside would go on to join Roger's crew and become a sworn brother to his own son, Shanks.