The Final Ultimatum

"What exactly do you want?" After a moment of silence, Kong gritted his teeth and asked.

"What do I want? I want world peace. Can Commander-in-Chief Kong make that happen?"

Kong said coldly, "As long as you kill the pirates at Marineford and abandon those pointless arguments of yours, the world will naturally be at peace."

"Hahahaha—" Zhu Mang burst out laughing. "I thought you were some Santa Claus who'd eaten the Wish-Wish Fruit, the Dragon Ball Fruit, or the Genie Lamp Fruit. But this is all you've got?"

As he laughed, his expression suddenly turned serious. "Pirates are, at most, a minor ailment to this world. You Celestial Dragons are the real cancer eating away at its bones! So my demand is this: hand over every Celestial Dragon."

"If you surrender voluntarily, I can show mercy and only execute those among you who have committed countless atrocities."

"But if you still resist or try to flee, I'll destroy all of Mary Geoise and erase every trace of the Celestial Dragons' existence from this world."

"Of course, you can also make a big gamble..."

A hint of excitement appeared on Zhu Mang's face.

"Try and see whether your Holy Knights or [Uranus] can kill me! Hehehe, I'm really looking forward to it!"

"Lastly, I'll give you thirty minutes to think it over. You might want to ask the Five Elders—or the Five Elders' master, that person called Imu. Hehehe."

Click.

Zhu Mang hung up the Den Den Mushi.

Holy Land Mary Geoise.

Commander-in-Chief's office.

Kong stared at the Den Den Mushi in his hand, fury erupting from him as his Conqueror's Haki surged wildly forth. It took the form of near-tangible black-and-red lightning, sweeping through the already messy office once more.

A moment later, he calmed down. He picked up one of the many Den Den Mushi on the desk that he had knocked unconscious with his Haki, flicked it several times to wake it, then contacted Cipher Pol. "Investigate the tremors on the Red Line immediately. The estimated location is beneath the Holy Land. I want a report within five minutes."

He picked up another one. "Go to Marine Headquarters, Marineford. I want more information about that monkey-tailed man, Gebinz."

"Go to Dressrosa and find out where that brat from the Donquixote family found the monkey-tailed man!"

"Strengthen the Holy Land's defenses. Order all Cipher Pol members not currently on assignment to return to Holy Land Mary Geoise at top speed. Order every member of the Marine Corps and the Holy Land guards into first-level war readiness!"

Order after order was transmitted from the office.

After issuing every command, he stood and ran toward the depths of the Holy Land.

That was the direction of Pangea Castle.

Within Pangea Castle lived not only the Five Elders, the World Government's highest leaders in the public eye, but also an exalted Celestial Dragon whose existence even he only vaguely knew of.

Lord Imu!

The situation now seemed to have exceeded expectations. He had done everything he could; what came next could only be decided by them!

Marine Headquarters.

Marineford.

After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Zhu Mang casually tossed it into Sengoku's hands.

"What did you just do? Did that energy cannon fly to Mary Geoise and blow up all the Celestial Dragons?" Garp asked.

He was dying of curiosity. One moment ago, Commander-in-Chief Kong had been acting so domineeringly, yet the next, he seemed like a completely different person.

The power of that energy cannon had obviously taken effect.

"No. There are still many slaves in Mary Geoise. If possible, I'll try to save them."

If not, they can only die alongside the Celestial Dragons.

For those slaves, that might perhaps be a form of release.

Naturally, Zhu Mang did not say that aloud.

After pausing for a moment, he continued, "That strike probably punched a hole in the Red Line or something. Maybe in the future, people traveling between Paradise and the New World won't need World Government approval or have to risk passing through Fish-Man Island ten thousand meters beneath the sea. Does that count as my small contribution to making the world a better place?"

He was grinning and joking again.

This man's moods really changed from one moment to the next.

Still, it was clear that he spoke to ordinary people with this same relaxed, joking manner. Only when speaking to enemies did he become stern and harsh.

Thankfully, we probably aren't enemies right now... right?

"You said to Commander-in-Chief Kong just now, 'you Celestial Dragons'... What did that mean? Could Commander-in-Chief Kong be a Celestial Dragon too?" Tsuru asked. She had recovered somewhat by now.

"I can answer that," Sengoku said. "You're right, Little Tsuru. Commander-in-Chief Kong is indeed a Celestial Dragon. He comes from the Manmaya Family, and his full name is Saint Manmaya Kong!"

"What?!" Tsuru was shocked, then suddenly understood. "No wonder I always thought Commander-in-Chief Kong's hairstyle looked so much like a Celestial Dragon's. So he really is one of them..."

As she spoke, she sighed, her eyes dimming slightly.

It was as though one of her idols had shattered.

Still, that was only natural.

Kong had been the Fleet Admiral of her generation, as well as the spiritual pillar of most Marines at the time.

Just as Sengoku was to the Marines of today.

Yet her former idol had turned out to be one of the Celestial Dragons she despised most. How could that possibly feel good?

"Nani?!" Garp's eyes widened. "Commander-in-Chief Kong is actually Celestial Dragon scum?"

Veins bulged on Sengoku's forehead. "You bastard, keep your voice down!"

Fortunately, although the entire battlefield had come to a standstill, with the Marines and pirates having each retreated to their respective positions, everyone had been forcibly stunned by the series of events just now.

They were all discussing it among themselves and had not noticed this side.

Only Kizaru and Aokiji, while watching Zhu Mang warily, were also standing nearby with their ears perked up, listening to the secrets the old Marines were revealing.

Upon hearing that, both wore expressions much like Garp's.

When Kong had served as Fleet Admiral, they had just belonged to the generation that had newly joined the Marines. Kong had later promoted them to Rear Admiral and Vice Admiral.

Though their relationship with Kong was not as close as Sengoku and Garp's, they still deeply respected this old man who had dedicated his entire life to the Marines.

But now...

If worldviews had physical form, the pieces of theirs combined would probably have piled up into a huge heap on the ground.

Sengoku glanced at the two of them and said, "Commander-in-Chief Kong is different from those other... Celestial Dragons."

"That's true. He doesn't wear that stupid fish tank," Garp said solemnly.

"No, it's because he's a 'real Celestial Dragon,' isn't it?" Zhu Mang said.

Sengoku looked at him in surprise, then faced Garp and the others' gazes and nodded.