"Stand down! All of you, stand down!"
Just as the tension in the plaza reached a breaking point, the crowd on the right suddenly parted. An imposing old man strode into the plaza, wearing a cloak, with a crescent-shaped hairstyle and a Western-style sword at his waist. He headed straight for one of the craters.
"Greetings, Saint Garling!"
The moment the old man reached the crater, Gunko climbed out. She didn't even bother to rewrap the bandages hanging loose from the corner of her mouth before dropping to one knee to greet him.
At the sound of Gunko's address, the crowd surrounding the plaza erupted.
"Saint Garling? He... he's the leader of the Knights of God? Good heavens, I've been stationed in the Holy Land for so long, but this is the first time I've seen him!"
"Were the Knights of God summoned too? What on earth is going on?"
"How did that woman in her underwear fall out of the sky?"
"Saint Garling came in person? Has the Holy Land been invaded?"
The old man was none other than Figarland Garling, leader of the Knights of God and a king who had once been active in God Valley.
"You look a mess, Gunko!"
Garling looked down at Gunko, then turned toward the crowd surrounding the plaza and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, return to your posts. The Knights of God are taking over here. No one is to approach without my permission."
As soon as Garling finished speaking, the noisy crowd fell silent. They then began filing back the way they had come.
"Saint Garling, I have important information!"
While everyone else was returning, Spandam came charging from the World Government Headquarters building, pushing against the flow of people as he hurried toward Garling.
"Stop!"
Before Spandam could get close, a member of the Knights of God standing behind Garling drew his sword and pointed its tip at Spandam's throat.
Spandam's legs went weak with fright. He dropped to his knees with a thump and stammered, "Lord Garling, I have important information..."
Garling didn't even glance at Spandam. He simply waved a hand. "Take him away!"
Just then, Spandine caught up.
Before the Knights of God could act, he rushed in front of Spandam and said urgently, "Please calm down, Saint Garling. I'll take him away right now!"
With that, Spandine didn't dare delay. He hauled his foolish son to his feet and ran.
Though he was the CP9 Chief, he was less than an insect before Garling, leader of the Knights of God. Garling not only led the Knights of God, who protected the Celestial Dragons and upheld their rule, but also had the authority to judge and execute Celestial Dragons.
Faced with a figure of such stature, even with ambition as vast as the heavens, all Spandine could do before realizing it was bow and scrape before him.
As soon as Spandine and his son left the plaza, Garling got straight to the point. "What happened? How did you..."
He broke off and immediately looked up at the sky, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.
Gunko didn't dare conceal anything. Still kneeling on one knee, she said, "To answer you, sir, we... we were blasted back here by Conqueror's Haki."
"Hmm?" Garling's pupils contracted slightly as he looked at the five Knights of God behind Gunko. "Was it the Vice Admiral Akira who started the mutiny? The six of you couldn't stand against him, even together?"
Gunko lowered her head in shame. "We didn't get the chance to fight!"
Before she had even finished speaking, Gunko suddenly remembered something. She looked up at Garling and lowered her voice. "Saint Garling, Akira... knows about Lord Im!"
The unexpected remark made Garling's eyes fly wide open. "What did you say?!"
At the same time.
Marineford, atop the Marine Headquarters building.
Akira stood on the rooftop with his hands behind his back, gazing at the warships slowly sinking beneath the sea. His eyes gradually narrowed.
Although the ships all flew the "Judicial" flag, he knew that their crews weren't all from Enies Lobby. Most of them were CP9 members.
He had detected the ships with Observation Haki as soon as they'd headed toward Marineford. He had even used it to listen in on the thoughts of some of the people aboard and learned that CP9 Chief Spandine had sent the ships here now.
"Spandine..."
A cruel smile touched Akira's lips as his eyes narrowed.
Spandine had dared to send people here at the same time as the Knights of God, which meant he had learned of their movements through his intelligence network.
That also meant Spandine had not only reached his hands into Marine Headquarters; he had infiltrated many departments in the Holy Land as well.
Putting his character aside, Akira had to give Spandine credit for getting this far with the strength of a complete weakling.
Of course, giving him credit was one thing. Since Spandine had dared to reach his hands toward Akira—and had joined forces with Enies Lobby and some high-ranking figure in the Holy Land to kill him—he had surely made peace with the prospect of dying.
"Lord Akira, what should we do about this teleportation array?"
Gion had stood silently beside Akira without asking why he had destroyed those warships. She stared intently at the teleportation array that had vanished from the opposite rooftop, her expression grave. "Leaving it here will always be a threat. Is there any way to get rid of it?"
Before Akira could respond, Borsalino stepped forward. "I'll stay here and guard it."
"No need."
Akira waved a hand. "Let me try!"
He turned and walked over to where Gunko and the others had been standing. After looking around, an idea suddenly came to him. He said decisively, "Gion, go get two talismans!"
"Huh?" Gion's eyes widened. She looked at Akira as if she thought she'd misheard him, inwardly flustered. That's the Knights of God's teleportation array, Lord Marshal!
The Three Admirals standing off to the side all looked at him in disbelief.
Sakazuki's facial muscles twitched violently. Though even he, an Admiral at Marine Headquarters, didn't know how the teleportation array worked, he was certain a couple of talismans couldn't seal it.
Borsalino turned his head and looked as though he wanted to say something, but in the end he fell silent, his gaze lowered.
Kuzan reacted more calmly. He merely furrowed his brow out of habit.
The sudden silence made Akira think he hadn't been clear. He looked bewildered. "What? Do I need to repeat myself?"
"N-no, there's no need..."
Gion came back to her senses and gave an awkward laugh. Once she was sure Akira wasn't joking, she immediately turned and ran off.
Soon, Gion returned to Akira with two talismans.
Akira took them and pressed them into his palm, quietly releasing his Conqueror's Haki.
The surrounding air began to vibrate at a low frequency. But unlike before, when his Haki had blasted Gunko and the other Knights of God away in all directions, this time it was strangely absorbed by the talismans pressed against his palm.
"!!!!"
At the sight of this baffling scene, the Three Admirals and Gion's eyes widened again. Borsalino's face twisted into a full-blown meme: his mouth gaped open, his eyes wide as saucers as he stared at what could only be called a miracle.
Sakazuki and Kuzan weren't quite as exaggerated, but Akira's move had still left them stunned. The same thought surfaced in both their minds: You can use Conqueror's Haki like that?
Seeing the Three Admirals and Gion's reactions, Akira found himself wanting to laugh.
But as someone who'd received professional training, he held it in. He was Marine Headquarters' Marshal now, after all. He couldn't go on being a joker like before.
Under the watchful eyes of the Three Admirals and Gion, Akira continued pouring Conqueror's Haki into the talismans while solemnly muttering under his breath.
As he sped up, the Haki pouring into the talismans made the surrounding air vibrate at a low frequency once more. A buzzing hum filled the air.
???
Question marks kept appearing over the Three Admirals' and Gion's heads. Who uses Conqueror's Haki like this?
Though they didn't understand, the four of them didn't dare ask—or make a sound.
As the four of them watched in bafflement, they silently backed away in unison as Akira's Haki grew stronger. Then Akira suddenly raised his voice:
"Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon, Prajna Buddhas, World-Honored Ksitigarbha, Prajna Bami Hong!"
The moment he spoke the final word, Akira raised the talisman infused with Conqueror's Haki and slapped it hard against the ground.
A ring of rippling air spread out, and the talisman sank straight into the ground, as if it had fused with the surface.
"Done!"
Akira looked at the talisman embedded in the ground, now infused with Conqueror's Haki, and nodded with satisfaction. "With this talisman in place, if they dare use this teleportation point again, it'll send them right back where they came from!"
Before you continue