Dragon, You Won't Escape This Calamity

Crack, crack~

A will that proclaimed itself supreme above heaven and earth enveloped the entire warship, unstoppable wherever it reached.

Terrifying black-red arcs of electricity stretched through the air like dense human blood vessels, sending chills down the spine.

Sumer had just stepped out of the cabin. Before he could make sense of what was happening, his consciousness sank, and he passed out.

"Saint Sumer—"

Seeing Sumer's head droop and his entire body go limp, Califa tried to catch him. But before she could inspect him closely, her own body went slack, and she crashed heavily to the ground.

Behind them,

Kaku, Jabra, Kumadori, and Fukurou had all fallen unconscious.

Only Rob Lucci was drenched in cold sweat, his expression drastically changing as he knelt on one knee and struggled to hold on.

At that moment,

A set of firm, steady footsteps rang out from the cabin.

Saint Marcus Mars wore an expressionless face. As he passed Sumer and the others, he lowered his head and cast them a glance.

He stepped onto the deck and looked straight up at the two figures standing atop a gigantic crow formed from soot.

The tall figure on the left wore a black-green coat, his spiky hair hanging casually over his shoulders. Red square tattoos covered the left side of his face.

The lack of eyebrows made his features appear especially vicious.

On the right stood a tall, powerfully built bald man with a cold expression.

His skin was deathly pale, as though he had leukemia.

He wore a metal-studded beak-shaped mask over his face, a black feathered coat over his upper body, dark black pants below, and nail polish on both hands.

If Sumer had still been conscious, he would have recognized them at a glance.

They were Monkey D. Dragon, the sweating king who entrusted everything to the wind, and Crow, commander of the Revolutionary Army Northern Army and wielder of the Logia-type Soot-Soot Fruit.

At some point,

Aokiji had also appeared on the deck. When he saw the intruders clearly, a trace of complexity flashed across his normally lazy face.

"The world's most dangerous criminal, leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon!!!"

"Crow, commander of the Revolutionary Army Northern Army."

Saint Marcus Mars's gaze was dark and cold as he recognized Dragon and Crow at once.

After all, the Revolutionary Army was a rebel organization the World Government regarded as highly dangerous—even more dangerous than pirates.

Its threat level far surpassed that of the so-called Four Emperors, those sea overlords who fought one another like a disorganized rabble.

Over the years,

They had always wanted to wipe out the Revolutionary Army. Yet the Revolutionary Army was like rats in the gutter, never confronting the World Government head-on. Instead, it waged guerrilla warfare everywhere and sowed discord among the many allied nations.

Since each side wanted the other dead, they had naturally investigated one another.

So they were not unfamiliar with each other.

"I never expected one of the Five Elders, the World Government's highest authorities, to personally descend and capture an obscure pirate."

"You only wanted to lure me out. Now you've succeeded."

"Saint Marcus Mars! Where have you hidden Luffy?"

Dragon's eyes were piercing as he stared at Saint Marcus Mars, black-red arcs of electricity coiling around his entire body.

His Observation Haki had already scanned the entire warship, yet he had found no trace of Luffy.

This was a trap.

A trap aimed at him.

From the moment he received news that Luffy had been captured, he knew the World Government had likely discovered that Luffy was his son.

The real target had never been Luffy. They wanted to draw him out.

To guard against an ambush by the World Government, he had brought only Crow this time.

If the World Government had truly laid down a net from which there was no escape, they would still be able to withdraw calmly.

But the situation now was somewhat beyond his expectations. Luffy was not aboard the ship, and there was no ambush either.

Aside from Saint Marcus Mars and Aokiji, who were somewhat troublesome, the rest were insignificant fodder.

One burst of Conqueror's Haki had cleared them all out!

"Aokiji! Freeze the sea."

Saint Marcus Mars did not answer Dragon. He merely widened his eyes, and an invincible, terrifying wave of Conqueror's Haki bore down on Dragon from every direction.

His body transformed at the same time. Black lightning lashed around him as he rapidly became the legendary monstrous bird, Itsumade.

Now that Monkey D. Dragon had walked into the trap himself, this was the perfect chance to eliminate him in one stroke.

After giving Aokiji his order, Saint Marcus Mars could not wait to make the first move.

"Ice Age!"

Aokiji wore a lazy expression as his entire right arm turned to ice. He crouched down and pressed it against the deck.

In an instant,

Terrifying cold radiated from Aokiji and rapidly spread in every direction, freezing everything in its path.

The wind stopped.

The rain stopped.

The raging, violent sea froze in place.

Even the warship and the unconscious Sumer and the others froze into ice sculptures. Doll and Lucci, who had been struggling to endure, were not spared either.

Bzzzz—

The air trembled.

Two overwhelming waves of Conqueror's Haki tore through the heavens as Saint Marcus Mars became a bolt of black lightning and appeared before Dragon.

Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki wrapped around his claws as he mercilessly kicked at Dragon.

Dragon clenched his right fist, likewise coating it in Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki, and struck Saint Marcus Mars from a distance.

Between fist and claw,

A sphere of shimmering, multicolored lightning rapidly expanded, while twisted and violent arcs spread from it and lashed out in every direction.

The sea Aokiji had just frozen immediately shattered apart, then buckled upward into countless icebergs.

"Mythical Zoan."

Dragon's hair stood on end, his gaze filled with sharpness.

This was the first time he had seen one of the Five Elders fight. The fierce bird his opponent had transformed into was clearly a Mythical Zoan.

And it had already awakened.

Until now, the Revolutionary Army had only investigated the Five Elders' names and appearances. Their abilities and strength were unknown.

For the past century, the Five Elders had rarely descended into the lower world, much less fought anyone.

"Dragon, today you will not escape calamity."

Saint Marcus Mars opened his beak, revealing rows upon rows of sharp, thorn-like fangs. Coated in Haki, it snapped down at Dragon from close range.

Dragon tilted his head and dodged, several strands of hair at his temple severed as a phantom image of a divine dragon emerged behind him.

His left hand transformed into a dragon claw, wrapped in Haki, and struck Saint Marcus Mars's raised serpentine body from a distance.

Pfft~

The phantom divine dragon roared and burst free from Saint Marcus Mars's back.

It then split apart the frozen sea all the way through, leaving behind a massive ravine that stretched beyond sight before dissolving into specks of light amid the lightning-filled air.

Saint Marcus Mars opened his fanged beak and spat out a mouthful of blood. A bloody hole had appeared in his serpentine body, allowing the scenery behind him to be seen through it.

Seizing the chance,

Dragon clenched his right fist and increased his strength with another blow. Saint Marcus Mars could no longer hold on and shot away like a streak of light, smashing through a multitude of icebergs before finally being buried beneath shattered ice.

"Two Thorn Spear!"

Whoosh—

Kuzan opened his right hand, and an ice spear appeared in his grasp. He then hurled it forcefully at Dragon.

He could not just stand by and watch Saint Marcus Mars get killed.

Yes.

In Aokiji's eyes, Saint Marcus Mars was as good as dead. Dragon had blasted a hole through his body; he probably would not survive.

Aokiji had thought Saint Marcus Mars, as one of the Five Elders, had some real skill. After all, the pressure he exuded and his Conqueror's Haki had both been suffocating.

More importantly, he was the user of some Mythical Zoan ability.

Who would have thought that after only two or three moves, Dragon would gravely injure him? Whether he could even survive was now in question.

He was all show and no substance.

Afterward, Aokiji feared he would be held accountable.

"Crow Barrier!"

A vast amount of soot condensed into form as Crow appeared in midair. He raised his right hand and created a thick barrier of soot.

Crack, crack~

The terrifying cold was unstoppable.

Crow's gaze darkened as he watched the soot barrier freeze into a solid block of ice. He immediately transformed into soot and vanished, reappearing on the deck.