Akainu retreated.
With the pitiful few Marine warships that remained, he left like a beaten dog.
He was unwilling, but he was powerless to resist, and he no longer had the ability to carry out this Buster Call.
The World Government's orders were relayed through Marine Headquarters to everyone: this Buster Call had ended in unexpected failure.
Mary Geoise had been attacked, leaving the Five Elders unable to spare attention for outside affairs in the short term.
Because they had to remain on guard against a possible Revolutionary Army assault.
Meanwhile, the God Knights, who had been sent as another powerful source of support, had been annihilated near the waters of Sphinx.
Whether it was the God Knights themselves or their commander, Saint Garling, none had sent back any news. Judging from the intelligence feedback, they had all been killed by Demon Ren.
Of course, this information had only been confirmed on the Five Elders' side.
The outside world had no idea that a knight order made up of Celestial Dragon powerhouses had been completely slaughtered by a pirate out at sea.
And outside, with no top-tier combat strength to provide support, all sorts of situations had arisen one after another.
Kuzan was blocked by Mihawk, unable to advance even a single step. He had not even managed to destroy the first island.
Kizaru was entangled by the Whitebeard Pirates' second-in-command and the culprit who had abducted the Celestial Dragons, likewise unable to play any role.
As for Akainu, according to Vice Admiral Tsuru's report—
Demon Ren had brazenly intervened, engaging Akainu in battle over Kefi Island.
After a full day of fierce combat between the two sides, Akainu had fallen into a disadvantageous position, unable to defeat Demon Ren, much less carry out his mission.
At the same time, Marine warships in other locations had all suffered meteor attacks.
Based on the intelligence assessment, the culprit was the powerful figure who had once acted during the Dressrosa Incident and had also blocked Kaido during the Marineford War.
And through later intelligence gathering, it had been confirmed that this powerful figure was an Honorary Executor of the Cross Guild.
Codename—Fujitora!
The core battlefield, Sphinx, had been struck by a giant tsunami.
Sengoku was forced to retreat. Red Hair left with Ace. They had achieved no actual results.
In summary, these were the various factors behind the failure of this Buster Call.
"How terrifying."
After Tsuru finished reporting and sent it upward, she turned to look at Kuzan, who was wrapped in bandages before her. "Sengoku was right. No matter what operation we carry out, we have to take Demon Ren into account. Otherwise…"
Kuzan finished the rest of her sentence. "Otherwise, we'll be met with all kinds of unexpected accidents.
"Just like this time. I truly never expected Mihawk to join the Cross Guild. He's clearly still a Warlord of the Sea."
"Hawk-Eye is not a simple man. Being devoted to the way of the sword does not mean he lacks brains."
Tsuru shook her head. "After what happened at the Marineford War, the Warlord system was not going to last much longer.
"He should have been able to guess that much. We knew it too, but it should not have happened this quickly.
"I suspect Ren must have done something, causing Mihawk to join the Cross Guild far earlier than we expected."
"The information leaked, didn't it?"
Kuzan looked down at the bandages covering his body. Beneath them were countless sword wounds. "His sword carried very little hesitation."
"I think so too."
Tsuru sighed. "If we calculate it carefully, this matter probably still has something to do with Ren.
"That man seems to have many channels for obtaining intelligence. Or perhaps he really is… the prophet you mentioned.
"If that is the case, then the fact that Dressrosa and Alabasta, two Member Nations, were contacting other kings to abolish the Warlord system surely could not have been hidden from him.
"Perhaps even the higher-grade version of the Pacifista on Vegapunk's side, which Kizaru is responsible for, has already been exposed under his nose."
"…"
Kuzan did not answer. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Has the World Government sent back any intelligence regarding Ren's Devil Fruit ability?"
"No. Almost nothing."
Tsuru shook her head and said, "The official I contacted only said that it might be a new Devil Fruit.
"But when I pressed him further, he refused to say more. He only told me there was no intelligence regarding that aspect."
"They're powerless too?"
Kuzan pursed the corner of his mouth. "If we want to move against that guy, we'd need at least an operation on the scale of this Buster Call.
"Only then would there be a possibility of killing Ren. And even then, that probability would be extremely low."
"We'll leave that for Sengoku and the others to worry about."
Tsuru gave up thinking about countermeasures against Ren. At this point, she more or less understood the Devil Fruit abilities Ren possessed.
To be honest, the fact that he could defeat Akainu one-on-one meant that Ren possessed the strength of a peak powerhouse.
Add to that his pile of strange and bizarre abilities that he still had not fully revealed, as well as his highly probable prophetic ability.
She truly had no idea how they could eliminate Demon Ren.
If they wanted certain success, then perhaps it would take the scale of this Buster Call, plus the World Government's forces, plus Kaido, Big Mom, and Red Hair—an all-out force that could be described as the entire world targeting him—to guarantee victory.
There was a possibility that such a method could be carried out, because the Marines and the World Government did indeed need to eliminate Ren.
And Kaido, Big Mom, and Red Hair were pirates. The first target of the Cross Guild that Ren had established was the pirate world as a whole. On top of that, both sides had grudges.
With a little maneuvering, it was not impossible.
But Tsuru could not imagine that scene.
The Marines, a world-hegemon-level force. The World Government, the actual rulers of the world. Three-fourths of the pirate world's great powers.
All joining forces to deal with Demon Ren.
At the very least, Tsuru could not understand such a thing. It was far too absurd.
So she shifted her attention, looking at Kuzan as she said, "Compared to that, the follow-up matters are more important."
"The position of Fleet Admiral?"
Kuzan lowered his head. "Sorry. I didn't accomplish anything."
"I think you're actually quite happy."
Tsuru smiled. "I'm happy too. In a certain sense, we even have to thank Demon Ren for interfering.
"You did not go against your own heart and slaughter civilians, but you also did not lose the possibility of being chosen because of it.
"Because this Buster Call was basically a complete failure. Even Mary Geoise was attacked by Whitebeard.
"Your competitor, Akainu, is still lying in the hospital right now. In comparison, his performance was even more disgraceful than yours.
"But…"
At this point, Tsuru's expression became serious. "I have to tell you this. The ones who will truly make the decision are still the Five Elders.
"When it comes to the candidate for Fleet Admiral, accomplishments are not the only measure. Your stance is what truly matters."
"…"
Kuzan did not speak. He merely remained silent.
Seeing this, Tsuru sighed. In the end, she said nothing more.
They had already placed their bet. At this point, there was no way for them to say they should change candidates.
Garp had already retired and quit. Sengoku was about to step down as well. The current Marines were no longer their era.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, rest early. I'll go recover now."
Kuzan rose and bid farewell, his expression somewhat gloomy. He looked as though he was still conflicted and tormenting himself over that question.
But in truth, Kuzan was thinking about one thing.
The current situation seemed to be a relatively favorable development for him.
Then—
Just what form would Ren's prophecy take when it came true?
Compared to the subtle atmosphere at Marine Headquarters, the atmosphere in the meeting hall within Mary Geoise was much more violent.
"That beam of light has been confirmed… it was the work of the pirate Demon Ren."
The moment that beam of light was mentioned, the Five Elders could not help their eyelids from twitching. Even though they could regenerate, they could not forget that sensation of being melted.
"The most crucial point is that this man is an anomaly."
Saint Saturn said in a deep voice, "He ambushed us while we were fighting Whitebeard, then fought the God Knights and killed Saint Garling and the others.
"After that, he also fought Akainu over Kefi Island. In total, all of that took less than a day.
"To be precise, it was from the dawn of our operation until dusk that same day.
"To cross such an immense distance in such a short amount of time—in my memory, only the Warp-Warp Fruit can do such a thing."
"But this anomaly has more than one Devil Fruit ability. Ultra-long-distance movement is only one of them. The Marines' report suspects he may possess prophetic ability.
"Of course, there is not enough evidence, but if both Sengoku and Tsuru could make such a judgment, I believe they must have their reasons."
Saint Nusjuro wiped the Shodai Kitetsu in his hands, his eyes dark and sinister. "So either a new Devil Fruit has appeared that we know nothing about—
"After all, such things are born from human desires.
"Or there exists some kind of technology that allows one to eat multiple Devil Fruits."
"I believe it is the former. The latter is impossible. Even Vegapunk cannot accomplish such a thing."
Saturn's tone was certain. "What Vegapunk cannot do, others are even less capable of doing."
"Agreed," Saint Warcury nodded.
"Then how should we deal with him now?"
"He must be killed. Not merely because he joined forces with Whitebeard, and not merely because he ambushed us.
"But because, based on my observations, this man harbors extremely strong hostility toward the World Government.
"The Cross Guild he established currently appears to be targeting only pirates, but I believe this may be a method of seizing fame.
"Once his prestige is sufficient, something we do not wish to see may occur."
Saint Mars spoke in a deep voice. After they were ambushed, they investigated who had attacked them.
During the process of learning the truth, Mars keenly sensed what this man named Ren was hiding.
Perhaps it was ambition like that of Rocks!
The four present fell silent for a moment. Then Saint Ju Peter said, "Has Whitebeard's death been confirmed?"
"Confirmed. His Vivre Card has burned to nothing."
Saint Warcury nodded. "The fact that he could survive our encirclement and still maintain such powerful combat strength…
"It should have been because of some kind of Devil—"
At this point, he paused, his tone becoming grave. "It should have been because of Demon Ren.
"The Devil Fruit abilities from other aspects do not quite match. Only this anomaly could cause unknown factors to appear."
"Then let it be decided. Eliminate him at all costs."
"To make such a choice at a time like this? What about the other matters?" one of the Five Elders questioned.
"There is no need to be overly concerned. The current situation is that we have failed once, and our authority has suffered significant damage.
"But… it has not yet reached the truly critical moment."
Saturn said, "The reason Red Hair has broken with us is that he cannot possibly hand over Ace.
"And after Saint Garling's death, the Figarland family needs a banner. We do not require Ace's actual death.
"We only need to break that banner. Whether or not there is truly a second Pirate King is, in fact, irrelevant."
(End of Chapter)