The Public Execution of a Celestial Dragon
"Publicly executing Celestial Dragons?!"
Ace's pupils contracted sharply, and he jumped up from his chair in shock. "Are they insane?!"
Shirahoshi was stunned, covering her mouth with both hands, her voice trembling slightly. "Could it be... just because he helped us?"
These words were like a sharp needle, instantly piercing through everyone's defenses.
Garp remained silent, his face as dark as the sea before a storm, his gaze seemingly able to pierce through the night and see the Holy Land shrouded in conspiracy and arrogance.
After a long pause, he slowly exhaled, his voice low and hoarse. "Ha... it seems this 'calm' was the real storm all along."
Luffy's fists cracked, and his anger almost spurted from his eyes.
"Just because he helped someone, he's treated like an outcast?! He's to be executed?! What kind of logic is this?!"
His voice resonated through the air, filled with anger and an irrepressible Justice.
"Don't they even value their own lives? Then I'll go save him!"
"Luffy, no!!"
Neptune's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly stood up to stop him, his voice filled with anxiety and fear.
"This is the Holy Land Mary Geoise! If you make a move here, not only will you yourselves be dragged into it, but the entire Navy and even Fish-Man Island will be caught up in it!"
Ace and Luffy were slightly taken aback, and the air in the room seemed to freeze instantly.
They certainly understood that Neptune was right; this was not a fight where one could throw punches recklessly.
This is the heart of World Government, the altar of power.
To take action on this land would be to openly declare war on "God".
That was a line that no one dared to cross.
Even so, their fists remained clenched.
The suppressed anger and burning determination made the air feel scorching.
The two looked at each other.
At that moment, Ace and Luffy's eyes were almost identical—no impulsiveness, no fear, only burning conviction.
They both looked at Garp.
Garp's weathered eyes, which had witnessed countless eras and wars, now saw in the gaze of his grandsons a long-lost "will."
The room was silent, with a breeze blowing in from the window, stirring the documents and candlelight on the table.
Light and shadow flickered on Garp's face, revealing deep lines and a faint smile.
Finally, he let out a long sigh.
Then—he laughed.
The laughter was deep and resonant, yet it struck like thunder in everyone's hearts.
"Ha ha--"
"I appointed you to the navy, not so you could be cowards!"
Neptune's eyes widened in shock, and he exclaimed, "Vice Admiral Garp! You... you know what you're saying?! That's the Holy Knights!!"
Garp simply grinned, his familiar arrogance and unruliness reappearing on his face.
"Hey! I've lived to this age, I don't care about their rules anymore!"
Luffy and Ace exchanged a smile, their blood boiling with excitement.
"Grandpa..." Luffy grinned, the radiance of his youthful face returning, "You really didn't disappoint us!"
Although Shirahoshi was nervous, she couldn't help but whisper, "Saint Mjosgard... he saved us..."
Then she looked at King Neptune and said softly, "If we do nothing, even the sunlight on the seabed will be obscured..."
Neptune paused for a moment, then slowly closed his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, there was no longer any hesitation in them, only a calm determination.
"Alas... it seems that the tides of time are ultimately beyond the control of old people like us."
Garp smiled slightly, his tone calm yet powerful.
"Since they want the whole world to see 'execution'—then we'll show the whole world what 'salvation' really means."
The next morning --
The sky over Holy Land Mary Geoise remained shrouded in heavy clouds, the sunlight was suppressed, and the whole world seemed to be covered with a dull, iron-gray hue.
On the long path leading to the Central Square of the Holy Land, delegates from various countries attending the Reverie are arriving one after another.
Each person wore an undisguised unease; they looked at each other, but no one dared to speak first.
An eerie, chilling atmosphere filled the air.
In the center of the square, a massive symbol of the World Government stands atop a high platform, like a cold, stern blade of judgment.
Above the sign, a figure bound by iron chains hangs high.
He was a green-haired man.
Blood trickled down his forehead, dripping down his cheeks and splashing onto the stone platform beneath his feet, creating tiny red spots.
--It was none other than Donquixote Saint Mjosgard.
Donquixote Saint Mjosgard
He hung there silently, covered in blood, his clothes torn, blood trickling down his forehead and staining his chest red.
Even so, his expression remained calm, only his once gentle eyes were now bloodshot.
In the square, dozens of representatives from around the world looked uneasy, whispering among themselves as their eyes darted between the towering figure and the symbol of the World Government.
"He... isn't he the Celestial Dragons helped the Ryugu Kingdom that day?"
"To be executed for such a trivial matter?!"
"This is too... too cruel..."
Their voices were faint, yet enough to ripple through the silence.
On the opposite side, a group of Celestial Dragons gathered in a row.
They were dressed in white robes, wore hoods, and had ugly faces and ferocious expressions.
"That's him! That outcast!"
"They actually beat up their own kind for the sake of a mere Fish-Man!!"
"Execute him!! Let him know the price of rebelling against the gods!!"
Their hysterical screams rose and fell, like a pack of rabid dogs tearing at their own kind.
At the height of the uproar, a sudden commotion broke out within the Celestial Dragons' ranks.
The crowd parted to make way, their footsteps echoing steadily and coldly across the stone slabs.
A tall man slowly appeared.
He had crescent-shaped white hair, wore a black and gold robe, and walked with a steady and unapproachable gait.
The moment that invisible pressure appeared, even the Celestial Dragons' clamor ceased instantly.
--It is none other than one of the Five Elders, Saint Garling.
He walked to the center of the square, put his hands behind his back, and raised his cold gaze to the bound figure.
"The executed," he said in a low, hoarse voice, yet each word was as clear as a hammer blow.
"It is none other than the traitor who sheltered the Fish-Man Race and beat his own kind— Donquixote Saint Mjosgard."
Whispers and gasps rose and fell across the square.
Saint Garling looked around at the representatives from various countries present, his eyes devoid of any emotion, only displaying a cold indifference and contempt for everything.
Those who protect scum are even more despicable than scum themselves.
As soon as he finished speaking, it was as if the whole world froze at that moment.
The wind stopped, the clouds pressed down even lower, and even breathing seemed to be imprisoned.
Everyone froze in place, afraid to speak or move.
--until.
"Bullshit!"
A roar, like thunder, tore through the deathly silence!
The sound erupted from behind the seats of representatives from various countries, startling countless people who instinctively turned their heads.