What Is Judgment?!
On the battlefield, the world was utterly silent, as if dead.
Billions of tons of seawater slowly fell from the sky, and the colossal water Buddha statue that once covered the sky and stretched across the heavens and earth was reduced to an annihilated phantom in the blink of an eye by Uchiha Yoru, as if it had never existed.
The seawater returned to the ocean without a ripple.
At this moment, the sea ceased its roar, the storm stopped its whisper, and all things returned to silence.
The sky was like a curtain being drawn back, revealing a deathly gray light—a despair that even sunlight could not penetrate.
The air was thick with the stench of death.
Whitebeard, the Admirals, pirates, fleets, Marineford... everything that once constituted "order" has been erased like deleted data, leaving no trace.
It's as if, before descending, a deity wiped away a corner of the old world, just to empty the canvas.
Donquixote Doflamingo stood silently atop the wreckage, his gold-rimmed glasses reflecting a cold light as he gazed in silence at the direction in which the "water god" had vanished.
A faint smile played on his lips, but his eyes were lifeless.
He finally realized one thing:
"This is not a strong person."
"This is... a disaster."
A hierarchy that does not belong to the human world, an existence that can devour "order itself".
That kind of power disregards rules, equality, and purpose.
Its mere existence is enough to reshape the world.
Donquixote Doflamingo felt a tremor in his heart, but no fear.
On the contrary, he laughed.
It was a manic, repressed, almost pious laugh, as if a believer had seen a true deity.
He slowly took a step, stepping between the sea and the ruins, his leather boots stained with the embers of war, as if stepping into a myth about to be restarted.
Donquixote Doflamingo lowered his head, his eyes deep and unfathomable, his tone playful yet revealing a rare, almost pious solemnity:
"My lord—your ideal is to unify the world, isn't it?"
Uchiha Yoru did not respond.
He simply watched the man before him, laughing as he uttered these insane words.
Ming's expression hardened, but he did not back down.
He wasn't testing the waters, nor was he trying to make a goodwill gesture.
He's placing a bet.
Having staked his entire life's beliefs and twisted ideals on whether he had finally found the one who could crush the entire "order."
However...
He grinned, revealing a set of snow-white, fang-like teeth, his voice low and menacing, each word like a curse etched on the prison walls:
"This world is far from clean enough."
He slowly raised his head, his gaze piercing through the ruins, seemingly looking directly at the Red Line thousands of miles away.
"On the throne of the Red Line sits a group of Celestial Dragons. These good-for-nothings, with the support of Imu and the Five Elders, consider themselves superior and regard all species except the Celestial Dragons as slaves!"
"The Celestial Dragons make the Navy wear the mask of justice, purging heretics for them; they let royal families live on gold and corpses, maintaining their rule for them."
"Even those Four Emperors and Seven Warlords of the Sea who command the seas... are merely iron fences used for balance."
At this point, he chuckled softly, his voice hoarse and low, carrying a natural irony:
"Sometimes I wonder if the word 'freedom' was raised by the Celestial Dragons to be a joke."
"Unify the world? Ha... that sounds like a pretty good answer."
His eyes suddenly turned cold, and his words were sharp as knives:
"But to unify the world—we must first overthrow them."
"Overthrow the Celestial Dragons' so-called throne"
"Destroy those Celestial Dragons who sit on golden thrones and call themselves 'gods,' and behind them, the ghost hiding in the shadows of the throne, afraid to see the light— 'Imu.'"
When he spoke that name, his voice unconsciously lowered, as if he were infiltrating a taboo, or pointing directly to the core of the greatest lie in history.
"I know things I shouldn't know."
"The Void Century, the true end of the 'Grand Line,' the true meaning of the 'D Clan'... I've experienced them all."
"I can take you to their roots."
As soon as the words were spoken, the world seemed to fall into a brief silence, even the wind on the broken sea seemed to freeze.
Uchiha Yoru finally made a move.
He nodded slightly, as if in response.
"... lead the way."
Those two simple words were like a death sentence pronounced by the Grim Reaper.
A sudden gust of wind arose, and the wreckage swirled in the air.
Donquixote Doflamingo's feathered cloak fluttered in the wind, like a royal robe reborn from ruins. He exhaled a long breath, his eyes burning with excitement, his smile filled with utter madness and the fiery passion of returning to his roots.
That was his unfulfilled dream from his youth, a yearning born of despair and bloodshed—the true meaning of New World.
"Alright, sir."
He chuckled softly, as if welcoming the rising sun after a thousand-year-long night.
"Next, it's time to teach those arrogant fools a lesson—"
"And taste what it means to be judged."
Holy Land Mary Geoise
Within the high walls, the first light of dawn broke.
The summit of the Red Line remained as tranquil as yesterday, with mist swirling around the glazed tower's spire. The morning light shone down, like gold dust covering corpses, a beauty that was unsettling.
But amidst today's silence, an indescribable gloom is faintly emerging.
The World Government's most secret meeting room.
The Five Elders gathered together.
Their faces were solemn, and their aura was overwhelming. If anyone else were present, they would not dare to look directly at them.
Standing on the edge of the rooftop was an elderly man with a wrinkled face and trembling hands.
In his palm lay an encrypted Den Den Mushi that had completely lost its signal.
The insect's body was cold and stiff, its antennae drooping, showing no signs of life.
He spoke, his voice low and somber, as if even language itself had been torn apart by the unknown:
"... Marineford has been completely out of contact since an hour ago."
"Including the Marine Headquarters fleet, listening towers, and intelligence nodes—all have been disrupted."
"Whitebeard, Sengoku, Akainu... we couldn't even detect a trace of the aftershocks of their battle."
As soon as he finished speaking, the conference room fell into a deathly silence.
An elderly man wielding a long sword slowly stepped forward; the blade remained sheathed, yet his eyes already gleamed with a chilling light.
"The character of the Sengoku could not have vanished quietly."
Even if defeated, warning signals should be left behind.
"Now is not the time to fail."
He paused, his tone as cold as ice:
"Instead—the entire battlefield was wiped out."
Another elderly man with a sculpted face whispered:
"This is not war; this is the erosion of reality itself."
The long-bearded old man closed his eyes in thought, and after a long while slowly opened them, his tone like that of a judge:
"Neither pirates nor Revolutionary Army."
"It is some kind of... unrecorded power."
After he said that, everyone fell silent.
Since its inception, the Five Elders have never encountered such a completely out-of-control situation.
They are accustomed to dominating everything—information, war, peace, history...and even human thought.
But this time, the situation has spiraled out of control.
After a few breaths of silence, the Supreme Speaker, standing in the center, finally spoke, his tone regaining its usual coldness and iron-fisted tone:
"Immediately activate the 'Global Full Combat Readiness Mechanism'."
"Mobilize the remaining naval forces in the vicinity, and join forces with the 'God's Knights' to set up defenses here."
"Redeploy CP0 to expand intelligence coverage."
He surveyed the entire room, his gaze as dark and unfathomable as an abyss:
"Block all information channels, control Morgans, and unify the narrative."
"Classify the incident as a 'devastating surprise attack launched by extremely evil pirates' and suppress all public opinion."
The other person continued:
"Domestically, order the directly subordinate kingdoms to enter a state of high alert to prevent any unrest."
"Externally, suspend all negotiations with the Revolutionary Army and the Four Emperors."
"If necessary... 'Level 0 resources' can be used to restore emergency response authority for disaster-level events."
The last one's voice was chilling, like a hammer striking bones:
"Any force attempting to take advantage of the chaos will be 'eliminated first'."