I Punch the Tailed Beast Ball

Originally, Big Mom had been evenly matched in battle, but in an instant, she was left on the brink of death, catching many people watching the live broadcast completely off guard.

"What a terrifying slash," Marco sighed.

That was one of the Four Emperors, someone on par with their old man, yet she had nearly died from a single slash. Just how powerful was that attack? If he had been the one facing it, he would probably have turned into ashes in an instant.

It had to be said that this slash was the perfect counter to Devil Fruits with extremely high regenerative abilities like his. If your entire body was reduced to ashes, how could you regenerate? That would require resurrection, not regeneration.

Relying on the Phoenix Fruit, Marco could usually hold off opponents stronger than himself, such as an Emperor or an Admiral, for a while. After all, he was nearly impossible to kill. But against Nagasawa, that tactic was completely useless.

One slash and he’d be finished. What was there left to stall?

"No wonder he was able to kill Kaido. With strength like that, it’s not surprising," Vista, being a swordsman, understood Nagasawa’s terror even better.

After reading the newspaper, Mihawk had deliberately gone to a place broadcasting the live stream. Seeing that slash, his eyes flickered. This was exactly the ultimate slash he had always pursued—ultimate speed combined with ultimate power.

After witnessing it, Mihawk turned around and left without another glance.

There was nothing left to watch. Although the war had only just begun, it had already ended the moment Nagasawa unleashed that slash.

"Ghost girl, we’re leaving," Mihawk calmly called to Perona, who was still frozen in shock.

"That lying Marine is actually that strong." Perona thought for a moment and decided that from now on, she wouldn’t insult Nagasawa openly anymore. She would secretly curse him behind his back instead.

"Hey, why are you walking so fast? Wait for me!"

Only then did Perona realize Mihawk had already left without waiting for her. She angrily stomped in the air before hurrying after him.

Watching Charlotte Linlin nearly die under Nagasawa’s slash in the live broadcast, Akainu’s eyelids twitched violently.

The power of that slash was simply too terrifying, and its speed was unbelievably fast. It was almost certainly the most frightening sword slash Akainu had ever seen. Neither Mihawk nor Whitebeard during the Summit War could compare to it.

Akainu even had the feeling that Charlotte Linlin had survived not because of her tremendous vitality, but because Nagasawa had never intended to kill her.

"The Great Age of Pirates is about to come to an end."

Akainu suddenly realized that the goal he had set for himself was now much closer than he had ever imagined.

Once the Big Mom Pirates were eliminated, only two of the Four Emperors would remain in the New World. Even if they joined forces, they still wouldn’t be a match for the Marines.

Nagasawa alone could deal with an entire Emperor’s crew. Even if the Red Hair Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates were stronger than the Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates, they could simply assign one more Admiral to assist Nagasawa. Could the rest of the Marines not handle a single Emperor’s crew?

"Mom!"

The members of the Big Mom Pirates panicked the instant they saw Charlotte Linlin gravely wounded.

Within the Big Mom Pirates, Charlotte Linlin’s position was irreplaceable. She was the mother of the ministers governing Totto Land and also the captain of the pirate crew.

Although she had many flaws—such as her food cravings causing her to lose all reason and destroy everything around her, along with her obsession with saving face—all of them were overshadowed by one overwhelming advantage.

She possessed the strength of an Emperor of the Sea.

So after Big Mom suffered a devastating injury, many members of the Big Mom Pirates immediately lost their composure. Their morale plummeted, and even if they possessed ten parts of strength, they could only display seven.

Meanwhile, seeing their own Admiral display such overwhelming might, the Marines’ morale soared.

With ten parts of strength, they fought with the momentum of twelve.

As one side weakened while the other grew stronger, coupled with the Marines having Ryokugyu—a Vice Admiral with Admiral-level strength—the Marines, who had already been powerful overall, quickly drove the pirates into collapse.

Under these circumstances, even the Three Sweet Commanders were gradually unable to withstand Ryokugyu’s offensive.

The moment Nagasawa used Zanka no Tachi, the entire battlefield changed dramatically.

Nagasawa gave Big Mom no chance to recover. He rushed forward, struck the severely wounded Big Mom with another heavy blow, knocking her unconscious, then grabbed her with one hand and returned to the warship.

"Big Mom Pirates, you’ve already lost. Surrender immediately."

Nagasawa’s voice echoed across the battlefield and spread throughout the world via the Den Den Mushi.

He still hoped they would surrender willingly. Otherwise, if they all died, where would he harvest Devil Fruits?

He had to admit that farming Devil Fruits from the Four Emperors was incredibly efficient.

The Four Emperors themselves usually possessed extremely powerful Devil Fruits. Their first mates also had excellent abilities, and many of their subordinates were Devil Fruit users as well.

Defeating the Beasts Pirates had allowed him to harvest a large number of Zoan Devil Fruits.

Meanwhile, the Big Mom Pirates possessed a huge number of Paramecia Devil Fruit users.

Nagasawa’s declaration completely shattered the already crumbling morale of the Big Mom Pirates.

Seeing that Big Mom had already been captured, many pirates who didn’t want to be arrested and thrown into prison immediately turned and fled. The members of the Big Mom Pirates scattered across Totto Land also displayed every trick they had to escape after realizing the situation was hopeless.

Naturally, the Marines relentlessly pursued the fleeing pirates, attacking every pirate who still retained the ability to resist.

Only after thoroughly searching the entirety of Totto Land did the Marines finally withdraw.

Thus, the war between the Marines and one of the Four Emperors ended in an overwhelming Marine victory.

"I thought it was going to be a brutal war, but it ended up like this."

Smoker lit a cigar, took a deep drag, and spoke.

"Isn’t that a good thing? I never imagined Admiral Nagasawa would be this strong. He defeated one of the Four Emperors so quickly."

Tashigi seemed to have become one of Nagasawa’s biggest admirers.

"Of course it’s good that the Marines are strong. It just feels like the situation changed too quickly."

Smoker exhaled a cloud of white smoke.

He felt that anyone who had personally experienced the Marines’ defeat during the Summit War would never have imagined this battle ending so easily.

Smoker glanced toward Nagasawa standing on the warship ahead.

Of course, he already knew the reason.

Back during the Summit War, the pirates had Whitebeard, who could fight three Admirals by himself.

Now, the Marines had Nagasawa, who could kill one of the Four Emperors.

That was the difference.

After the live broadcast ended, civilians everywhere celebrated joyfully.

Another Emperor of the New World had fallen. Public safety should improve significantly from now on.

Every major force reacted differently.

Some believed the Great Age of Pirates had reached its peak and would now begin its decline. The coming era would belong to the Marines.

Others believed Kaido and Big Mom had simply been too weak. Once they disappeared, new Emperors would soon emerge to replace them.

Still others wondered why the Red Hair Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates had remained completely inactive.

Weren’t they worried that after dealing with the Big Mom Pirates, the Marines would come after them next?

"Risk our lives fighting the Marines just to save the Big Mom Pirates? We don’t have time for that."

Ace smiled and burned the newspaper in his hand.

The Whitebeard Pirates hadn’t been sitting idle.

In fact, immediately after news of Kaido’s death spread, the Whitebeard Pirates had headed straight for Wano.

The Whitebeard Pirates had deep ties to Wano.

Former Second Division Commander Kozuki Oden had once been the Daimyo of Kuri and heir to the Shogun of Wano. Oden’s wife had also joined the Whitebeard Pirates alongside him.

Later, due to various circumstances, Oden sailed aboard Roger’s ship before eventually returning to Wano, where he was killed by Kaido and Kurozumi Orochi.

Not only that, but the current Sixteenth Division Commander Izo was also from Wano. He had joined the Whitebeard Pirates together with Kozuki Oden. However, when Oden joined Roger’s crew, Izo stayed behind with the Whitebeard Pirates.

Because of these connections, the Whitebeard Pirates had long wanted to attack Wano, but they had never found the right opportunity.

Now that Kaido was dead, they had immediately set sail, arriving in Wano to suppress the remnants of the Beasts Pirates.

Ace also took the opportunity to fight Queen, defeating him and proving his own strength.

However, after arriving, the Whitebeard Pirates discovered that even without them, Wano would have been fine.

The Revolutionary Army was already there, working together with Wano’s samurai.

...

Because the Marine campaign against the Big Mom Pirates had been broadcast live, the world had already been thrown into an uproar before newspapers could even publish the story.

Everyone was shocked by the terrifying strength of the Marines.

Even one of the Four Emperors had been eliminated with ease.

The World Government originally thought they had achieved a complete victory.

With the Marines becoming so powerful, what nation would still dare to rebel?

However, when one urgent phone call after another reached the Five Elders, they could no longer remain calm.

While the Marines were launching their large-scale offensive against one of the Four Emperors, the Revolutionary Army had simultaneously launched the greatest revolution in its history, liberating ten countries at once—and every single operation had succeeded with astonishing speed.

Only then did the Five Elders truly witness the Revolutionary Army’s strength.

They had never expected the Revolutionary Army to possess such formidable forces scattered all across the world.

Some of those countries were located in the Four Blues, while others were in the New World, spread across vast distances.

What angered the Five Elders even more was that among the Revolutionaries who had participated, the former Marine Admiral Aokiji had appeared.

There was no mistaking him.

Aokiji’s ice powers were unique throughout the world. Anyone seeing those enormous ice sculptures would immediately recognize him.

Had Aokiji become a pirate, the Five Elders wouldn’t have cared much.

But becoming a Revolutionary was something they absolutely could not tolerate.

Enraged, they immediately ordered a bounty to be issued for Aokiji.

"Even Kuzan has joined the Revolutionary Army. Perhaps we should have the Marines concentrate all their efforts on dealing with them."

The Five Elder in the green suit with a handlebar mustache spoke with a solemn expression.

Previously, they had merely viewed the Revolutionary Army as a dangerous warning sign.

Now, however, it had truly demonstrated the ability to threaten the World Government.

They had liberated ten countries in a single operation.

The World Government only had a little over 170 affiliated nations in total.

"Wasn’t this man previously recommended by many within the Marines to become Fleet Admiral?"

Another Five Elder shook his head.

Back then, many people within the Marines had supported Kuzan.

However, the World Government had preferred Akainu.

"Looking at it this way, perhaps problems have appeared within the Marines."

"Perhaps the justice coats they wear have made them forget that they are the World Government’s military force, not some true messengers of justice."

The Five Elders discussed the matter one after another.

The excitement they had felt after the overwhelming victory in the live broadcast disappeared completely.

As the discussion continued, someone proposed having CP0 conduct an internal investigation and purge within the Marines to ensure they would forever remain the World Government’s weapon instead of becoming a threat to it.

"The Marines are extremely powerful and are the World Government’s strongest weapon. Besides, they’ve just achieved a great victory. Now is not the time for such actions."

The more rational members of the Five Elders understood that this was not the right moment to move against the Marines.

The Marines had just won a tremendous victory, and carrying out such a purge now would undoubtedly provoke tremendous resentment throughout the organization.

The Revolutionary Army had already demonstrated how dangerous it had become.

If problems arose within the Marines at such a critical moment, it would be no different from courting disaster.

Thus, the Five Elders unanimously decided to deal with the Marines only after the situation had stabilized.

With ten countries being liberated all at once, the World Government had no way to suppress the news.

There were simply too many nations involved.

They could only try their best to limit the spread while simultaneously smearing the Revolutionary Army.

At first, newspapers merely reported that revolutionary uprisings had broken out in various countries.

But after comparing all the reports, people were shocked to discover that the Revolutionary Army hadn’t targeted one or two nations.

They had attacked ten countries simultaneously.

To the newspapers, it felt as though New Year’s had arrived.

Everywhere they looked was another massive headline.

Naturally, the World Government spared no effort in vilifying the Revolutionary Army, calling them criminals even more vicious than pirates, the greatest scourge in the world, accusing them of committing murder, looting, and destruction on a national scale.

However, after developing for so many years, those who paid attention to the Revolutionary Army knew it always stood on the side of the common people.

Moreover, the Revolutionary Army had previously live-streamed the liberation of Dressrosa, which clearly contradicted the World Government’s claims.

The Revolutionary Army had anticipated this move from the World Government long ago.

They had prepared in advance.

They released footage of public trials for nobles who oppressed the people, along with extensive evidence exposing the World Government’s crimes.

The World Government had never expected such a swift counterattack.

Left with no better options, they stubbornly maintained their narrative while contacting the Marines, ordering Marine bases across the world to immediately dispatch forces to suppress the Revolutionary Army.

However, compared to Marine Headquarters, the branch bases were far weaker.

After all of their operations, they inflicted very little damage upon the Revolutionary Army.

Instead, they only made the Revolutionary Army even more famous.

In the past, when people talked about the world’s great powers, they generally thought of the Marines, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the Four Emperors.

But now, without question, the Marines and the Revolutionary Army had become the two forces attracting the greatest attention in the world.

They were also the two strongest powers.

Those who strongly identified with the Revolutionary Army’s ideals were naturally overjoyed upon seeing it possess such overwhelming strength.

To them, it proved they might truly be walking the right path.

But there were also those who found the rise of the Revolutionary Army deeply unpleasant.

Looking at the endless newspaper reports covering the Revolutionary Army, Akainu frowned.

"One wave hasn’t settled before another rises. Those rats hiding in the shadows have started jumping out to threaten the world’s stability."

The Revolutionary Army stealing the spotlight left Akainu extremely dissatisfied.

This period should have belonged to the Marines, allowing them to bask in the glory of their victory.

"Pirates, Revolutionary Army... come at me. I’ll wipe every last one of you out."

At this moment, Akainu was filled with confidence.

He believed the Marines under his command would bring an end to the Great Age of Pirates and suppress the Revolutionary Army.

While the Revolutionary Army was making headlines, Nagasawa wasn’t idle either.

Having consecutively defeated two of the Four Emperors, his prestige within the Marines had reached its absolute peak, making it the ideal time to expand the Revolutionary Army.

He started with his direct subordinates, then moved on to Marines he thought highly of.

Nagasawa first observed and tested whether his chosen candidates were interested in the Revolutionary Army and sympathetic to its ideals before approaching them.

Everything progressed smoothly.

Almost everyone around him belonged to the faction of Marines who genuinely cared about civilians.

Combined with the subtle ideological guidance Nagasawa had been giving them over the years, their awareness was already quite high.

However, despite how smoothly things went, when Nagasawa revealed that he himself was a member of the Revolutionary Army, Tina was utterly stunned.

The son of the previous Hero of the Marines was the leader of the Revolutionary Army.

The current Hero of the Marines was outright a Revolutionary.

It was truly an unbelievable twist of fate.

And Nagasawa had even entered the Marines under Garp’s guidance.

Had Nagasawa not explained that Garp was not part of the Revolutionary Army, Tina would have suspected Garp had been an undercover Revolutionary all along.