...
Saint Saturn being cut in half and blasted away by Dorry and Brogy's combined strike landed like the loudest slap across the faces of the remaining four Elders.
Their meticulously planned, sure-to-succeed thunderbolt strike had been utterly ruined at the very last moment by two suddenly appearing "savage giants" in the most brutal, domineering way!
Watching Saturn's two severed halves fly off—and the two giants standing protectively in front of Dragon—Saint Mars, Saint Nusjuro, and Saint Peter's faces instantly darkened like storm clouds before a downpour.
Their eyes held unconcealed shock and rage, along with a trace of disbelief.
"Bang!"
Almost simultaneously, another muffled impact rang out from the other side of the battlefield.
Saint Garling's figure shot backward like a kite with its string cut, blood gushing from his mouth. His armor had completely shattered; he crashed miserably to the ground not far away!
And that spot happened to be near the same cliff wall where Saturn's upper half had embedded itself.
Even going all out, Saint Garling had only managed to hold on for a short time against Roger and Rocks—the gap in strength was ultimately insurmountable.
Coincidentally, Saint Sommers—who had been blasted away by Garp's earlier punch—was also struggling to rise in that same area.
Saint Garling, Saint Sommers, and Saturn's upper half embedded in the cliff wall…
Two of the God's Knights and one of the Five Elders had, in a short span, "gathered" in one place in a truly miserable tableau.
"Harald, you bastard… you actually kept such an ace up your sleeve?"
Rocks sheathed his sword and glanced sideways at the Giant King beside him, his tone carrying surprise and admiration.
He truly hadn't expected that when Harald received his "invitation," he had secretly contacted such powerful reinforcements.
Harald gave a simple, honest smile and explained: "When you said there was going to be 'big excitement' and 'something incredible' to see, I thought about it and sent a message to my old buddies Dorry and Brogy as well.
They really were quite far away, so it took them some time to get here… but arriving just in time—man, that's great!"
Harald looked at Dorry and Brogy with pure joy and relief.
"Hahahaha! Hey! Harald! These two are your friends, right? Thank you so much! You guys helped out big time!"
Roger also sheathed his blade and waved energetically toward Dorry and Brogy, his grateful smile completely genuine.
Without these two giants arriving in the nick of time, Dragon, Kuma, and the others would likely have met a grim fate.
Dorry and Brogy looked down at the human waving at them with hearty laughter, then at Harald beside them. Their thick brows rose.
"Hey, Harald—who's this guy? He looks pretty decent." Dorry pointed at Roger, a smile tugging at his face.
"Yeah, Harald—you said there was something 'weird' for us to come see. Where is it? We don't see anything strange."
Brogy was shouldering his axe, his bell-like eyes scanning around. Aside from the four differently shaped "monsters" in the distance, the wreckage everywhere, and a bunch of powerfully aura'd humans…
There didn't seem to be anything particularly "weird."
"That thing… just disappeared."
Harald scratched his head, unsure how to explain: "It's hard to explain in a short time, but it should appear again.
As for these 'monsters'…"
Harald pointed toward Saint Mars and the others, as well as Saturn's remains in the distance that were slowly writhing, attempting to reconnect and heal. His expression turned serious.
"They are the highest authority of the World Government—the Five Elders. Just now they were trying to kill someone my friend wants to protect."
Harald concisely summed up the light screen's appearance, the Five Elders' actions—including their attack on the giant warriors and the apology to Charlotte Linlin.
After listening, both giants' massive faces darkened with extreme displeasure.
Brogy looked at the Five Elders with mocking sarcasm: "World Government? With this kind of behavior? Harald, you're not still thinking of joining them, are you?
Guys who'd even kill their allies don't deserve to have Elbaf's king begging them!"
Brogy was furious about the Five Elders attacking the giants, while Dorry focused on another point.
His huge eyes glanced toward the massive Big Mom below, his gaze complicated: "Future scenes? Hard to imagine… but even harder to believe that the woman who killed Elder Jorul would actually apologize to you…"
Elder Jorul held an exalted status in Elbaf; he was a hero revered by all giants.
Though there were extenuating circumstances, that blood feud could not be easily erased.
Still, since the current king Harald had chosen not to seek immediate revenge, they—as his friends—temporarily set aside that emotion, knowing this was no time for personal grudges.
Dorry and Brogy's arrival was like placing two more massive weights on an already tilting scale.
The Roger Pirates, Rocks Pirates, and Giant King Harald were already extremely difficult to handle. Now adding two legendary captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates…
Unless "that person" intervened personally, the difficulty of this battle had risen to near-impossible levels for the Five Elders' side.
"Blue Ogre Dorry… Red Ogre Brogy…"
Saint Peter's voice carried gravity; his segmented body wriggled slightly: "These two troublesome guys actually showed up too… things just got a lot more complicated."
"It's too late for talk now!"
Saint Nusjuro gripped the First Generation Kitetsu tightly; the demonic blade trembled faintly: "We can only continue the plan! With Lord Im watching, no matter how many ants show up, the final outcome won't change!"
Though Saint Warcury had taken a small hit in his brief clash with Rocks, his momentum remained ferocious.
He steadied the slightly shaken morale caused by Saturn's severe injury and growled: "Exactly! Lord Im is watching us! Hesitation is blasphemy!
We must complete the mission before that damned light screen interferes again! Kill!"
Their words weren't deliberately hushed; they carried the resolve of burning bridges and absolute faith in the so-called "Lord Im."
On the other side, Harald had also explained the future fragments revealed by the light screen in greater detail to Dorry and Brogy—completely dispelling any remaining notion of Elbaf joining the World Government.
As both sides stood in tense confrontation—briefly sizing each other up and adjusting strategies—Garp confirmed his son Dragon was temporarily safe and let out a breath of relief.
But he did not join the pirate side. Instead, he silently retreated to the area near where the Marines had been, crossed his arms, and stood there with a complicated expression.
His position remained with the Marines; his hostility toward pirates had not vanished.
If the pirates attacked the Marines, he would still act.
That principled stance stood out especially starkly at this moment.
"How about it? You five old stinking bugs hiding in the sewer king's shadow?"
Rocks stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over Saint Mars, Saint Nusjuro, Saint Peter, and Saint Warcury—who had been forced back and whose breathing was slightly unsteady. His voice dripped with mockery and unbridled arrogance.
"The situation right now seems… very, very unfavorable for you, huh? If you've got any more trump cards, go ahead and play them! I'm really looking forward to it!"
Rocks' words were pure provocation, but deep in his eyes hid a cold calculation.
He wasn't blindly overconfident. Ever since he stormed Mariejois alone and pointed a gun at the "Empty Throne," he had known there was an even deeper, more terrifying darkness looming above the Five Elders.
He knew something existed behind them—and now might be the perfect moment to force that "something" out!
As if responding to Rocks' taunt—or perhaps to rally their own morale—
From the cliff wall direction, three figures slowly rose and returned to the front of the Five Elders' formation.
It was Saint Garling—though seriously injured, still combat-capable—Saint Sommers, equally battered—and… standing between them, his aura now basically stabilized!
The horrific waist-severing wound on his body had somehow healed seven or eight tenths, leaving only a hideous red scar—Saint Saturn!
His presence was clearly much weaker than before, but his eyes burned with humiliation and raging flames as he glared fixedly at Dorry and Brogy.
"This guy… actually really…"
Dorry frowned as he watched Saint Saturn nearly fully recovered.
"Healing that fast?!" Brogy's face also grew grave: "We didn't hold back on that strike at all!"
The Five Elders' near-undying regenerative ability once again made everyone feel the situation was extremely troublesome.
It meant that unless they could deliver a truly fatal blow—one that exceeded the limits of his regeneration—or find a way to suppress it, the battle would become exceptionally difficult and prolonged.
With Saturn's return, the Five Elders' top combat power had temporarily returned to "full strength."
Combined with Saint Mars, Saint Nusjuro, Saint Peter, Saint Warcury, and the remaining God's Knights members, they remained a terrifying force.
On the pirates and resistance alliance side: Roger, Rocks, Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Rayleigh, Gaban, Kaido, Big Mom, Harald, Dorry, Brogy…
The lineup was luxurious to the extreme, but internal relationships were tangled and full of mutual wariness. How much true coordination they could achieve remained uncertain.
This time, there was no "forced ceasefire" from the light screen.
Accumulated hatred, clashing ideologies, struggles over the future, and the deepest fears and ambitions—everything would fully erupt in the coming clash!
The final decisive battle of God Valley was on the verge of breaking out! And this time, there would be no "spectator seats"—everyone was both a piece on the board and a gambler holding the pieces!
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