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Ten minutes earlier.
At Mariejois, inside Pangaea Castle.
The Five Elders had just received news that 'Leader' Dak had appeared not far from the eastern side of Mariejois.
"Hmph, how arrogant, daring to deliver himself right to our doorstep. It seems he wants to die!"
"He's overconfident in his abilities and knows nothing about the power of the World Government."
"Pokémon, these creatures that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, can't possibly be stronger than us who have ruled the world for so long."
"Most likely, that guy is just some Devil Fruit user who created these creatures using his powers."
"A minor issue. Don't let it bother you. We'll capture him alive, force him to hand over those tools. If he deceives us, we'll kill him."
The five old men sat calmly in front of their sofa, leisurely discussing Dak and the three Pokémon's self-destructive actions. They didn't take Dak and the Pokémon's strength seriously.
For the powers below them, Pokémon were a force to be reckoned with. If they could obtain this power, they could rule the world for another eight thousand years!
But they thought the ceiling for Pokémon strength was at most that of Sceptile.
Although Sceptile had effortlessly defeated three CP0 members, the Five Elders still didn't think it was that strong. Any one of them could easily kill three CP0 members. The Admirals could as well, so Sceptile was just at the Admiral level at best.
Even if there were three such Pokémon, even if Giratina was stronger, it might be at the level of Whitebeard or Garp. They believed they could still handle it.
So, the Five Elders were just sitting in their office, waiting for good news.
They had dispatched a hundred thousand troops!
Among them were most of the CP0 leaders.
This force was enough to take down even an Admiral or the Fleet Admiral.
Boom!
A distant rumble reached their ears.
"Hm?" x5
The Five Elders opened their eyes simultaneously, looking at the water cups on the table, quietly observing.
Boom!
The rumbling grew louder, and they clearly saw the water in the cups ripple.
They frowned, not expecting the battle's aftermath to be so intense that it affected Pangaea Castle.
It seemed those Pokémon were indeed troublesome, but they shouldn't pose a significant problem.
Boom!
Crash!
Shatter.
The third rumble was of an entirely different magnitude than the first two.
The water cups on the table were shaken to the ground, shattering into shards of glass, and water spilled across the floor.
"Should we dispatch the Knights of God..."
Boom!
The fourth rumble.
None of the Five Elders could remain seated; they all stood up from their sofas.
They could distinctly feel the entire Pangaea Castle shaking.
Pangaea Castle was made of ultra-heavy alloy, with each wall weighing tens of tons. Yet, the castle was shaking.
What did this mean for the rest of Mariejois?
The Five Elders were alarmed, hastily moving to the windows to look outside.
In the next moment, their eyes widened in shock.
The clouds that usually enveloped Mariejois had been dispersed by the shockwaves, revealing the entire city.
Countless buildings had collapsed, and many Celestial Dragons were running around in panic.
And most crucially, the slaves had all escaped their cells.
Every slave's eyes shone with a strange light. If it weren't for the explosive collars still around their necks, they would have already started killing Celestial Dragons or escaping.
Mariejois was in chaos.
And the tremors continued.
In just a few seconds, the Five Elders watched as the ground beneath Mariejois cracked, luxurious white marble sinking into the fissures. Even some clumsy Celestial Dragons fell into the gaps.
The fissures weren't deep enough to be fatal, but injuries were inevitable.
"Send the Knights of God to the battlefield outside immediately!"
Jaygarcia Saturn, one of the Five Elders, ordered.
He was the 'Warrior God of Science Defense' among the Five Elders, responsible for utilizing scientific technology to protect Mariejois. With the city under attack, it was natural for him to take charge.
Saturn not only had immense scientific knowledge but also formidable combat strength. He viewed humans as livestock and was the primary cause of the tragedy that befell Kuma's family.
Since the plot involving Kuma was revealed, Saturn had become one of the most hated figures among fans, rivaling the disdain held for Orochi.
"Buzz!"
Giratina's Boomburst attack reached Mariejois.
Its power had diminished over the distance, but for the ordinary Celestial Dragons, it was disastrous. Their ears began to bleed, likely causing permanent hearing loss.
Some of the weaker slaves were equally affected.
But they didn't care. They couldn't feel pain. Seeing the Celestial Dragons in such a miserable state, they suppressed their urge to laugh hysterically. They didn't care if they went deaf.
Some slaves, who had long since lost the will to live, seized the moment, grabbing stones to attack the Celestial Dragons who had fallen into the cracks.
Slash.
In the nick of time, a flying slash killed the attacking slave.
A group dressed in predominantly black attire approached. There were about twenty of them.
Leading them was an elderly man with sunglasses, his hair and beard forming a forward-pointing crescent.
Figarland Garling.
Once a ruler of the God Valley in the West Blue, he was now the leader of the Knights of God, a position equal to the Five Elders, though his strength was unknown.
The God Valley incident was just a game for the Celestial Dragons.
The original inhabitants of God Valley, Kuma's family, and other slaves were the prey, while the Knights of God and the Celestial Dragons were the hunters.
Killing the prey earned points, which could be used for various rewards.
The ultimate prize was six chests containing Devil Fruits.
The famous battle at God Valley was mainly a fight between the Knights of God and the Rocks Pirates. Roger and Garp joined the battle with the simple goal of defeating Rocks.
Several Devil Fruits were taken during the battle.
One of the six Devil Fruits was eaten by Kuma on the spot, allowing him to save five hundred people.
It was the Paw-Paw Fruit.
As for the other five, one might have been Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Mi, taken by the Roger Pirates.
Another two might have been Kaido's Fish-Fish Fruit.
In the end, Big Mom found the place where the Devil Fruits were hidden. Kuma was attacked by Big Mom and had to eat the Paw-Paw Fruit to save people.
Considering Kaido's debt to Big Mom, it might have been for this Devil Fruit. Although Big Mom didn't get the Paw-Paw Fruit, she took the Fish-Fish Fruit.
The remaining three could be the Ope Ope no Mi or other fruits.
Ten years later, Garling executed Donquixote Mjosgard during a meeting for protecting the Fishmen and releasing the assassin of Saint Charlos.
Mjosgard was the Celestial Dragon saved by Otohime on Fish-Man Island.
It was rare to see a Celestial Dragon on the path to becoming a normal human, but Garling executed him.
It didn't matter much. Though Mjosgard showed signs of redemption, it didn't change the fact that he had done many evil deeds. His death was no great loss.
Garling's surname might remind people of Noland, the liar from Skypiea.
But the two were unrelated, just like Bellamy and Ginrummy. Their names were similar, but they had no connection.
"Return to your places, slaves should act like slaves."
Garling sheathed his sword.
He was clearly a master swordsman, even stronger than Mihawk.
Behind him were nineteen younger figures, likely the elite of the Twenty Families.
The slaves exchanged glances, reluctantly returning to the ruins of their cells, heads down.
But they occasionally glanced beyond Mariejois.
They longed for freedom.
In the sky, a quiet sound emerged.
Everyone instinctively looked up to see a strange creature floating down.
Shadow Sneak.
"Giratina, see that castle ahead? Use Hyper Beam."
"Woo."
Giratina didn't even charge up, instantly unleashing a massive red beam.
The Hyper Beam used during the tournament was suppressed. Now, it was at full power!
The enormous beam struck Pangaea Castle.
Even Garling couldn't react in time to block it.
Besides, he felt he couldn't stop it.
Garling instinctively turned to look at Pangaea Castle.
The massive castle had a hole thousands of meters wide, teetering on the edge of collapse.
The Five Elders' office, located on the top floor, was outside the Hyper Beam's range, sparing them.
They were lucky.
But Giratina's Hyper Beam probably couldn't kill all five of them at once, just severely injure them.
Thus, Mariejois was effectively destroyed.
Rebuilding the city in the sky would take at least a year or two.
Dak suspected that the World Government might never dare to place their headquarters here again.
(End of Chapter)