Arrival, Celestial Dragons! (Combined Chapter)

Nika Luffy's appearance threw the World Government and Marine Headquarters' established plans into disarray.

Their original strategic focus had been to restore their rule over the Four Blues. Since the battle at Starting Island, Marine Headquarters had suffered devastating losses and, even after all these years, had yet to recover its former strength.

After Tsugikuni Yoriichi's return, the massacre at the Holy Land had also made the relationship between the Celestial Dragons and Marine Headquarters increasingly delicate.

Once the Celestial Dragons' strength had been weakened, they minimized their contact with Marine Headquarters as much as possible, lest the Marine officers see how frail they had become.

Throughout these centuries of history, Marine Headquarters had always been the Celestial Dragons' loyal hound. Yet at the same time, the Celestial Dragons had always held deep wariness toward this pack of loyal hounds.

The Gorosei's long lives had given them an unparalleled understanding of human nature. They knew very well that Marine Headquarters remained their loyal hound only because their strength had always been enough to suppress it.

Even during Marine Headquarters' prime, its top-level combat power had never surpassed that of the Holy Land.

But now, the tides had changed. The emergence of unfamiliar powerhouses made the Celestial Dragons wary, and they feared that Marine officers might learn the truth and develop thoughts of rebellion.

The New Marines had always been a thorn in the Celestial Dragons' hearts. The betrayals of Zephyr and Kuzan, two former Marine Admirals, had been an incomparably severe blow to both Marine Headquarters and the Celestial Dragons.

They had no way of guaranteeing that no one within the current Marine Headquarters harbored such thoughts.

To guard against every possibility, maintaining their vague air of mystery was crucial.

Yet the appearance of the Nika Fruit also forced the