All Five Elders Descend

"Saturn, Warcury, Ju Peter, Nusjuro, teleport here immediately!!!"

Seeing Dragon grow suspicious.

Saint Marcus Mars's face darkened. He directly exited his Itsumade form, black lightning flashing around him as black flames ignited across his body.

He immediately activated the Teleportation Magic Circle.

In an instant.

The heavens and earth changed color.

A massive, eerie pentagram magic circle descended from above, ominous lightning pouring down from it as it abruptly spread open.

At the same time.

In the Office of the Highest Authority in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, thousands of miles away.

Saint Saturn, Saint Warcury, Saint Shepherd Ju Peter, and Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro heard Saint Marcus Mars's call at once.

The four exchanged glances and vanished from where they stood in an instant.

"What did you do?!"

Dragon's pupils trembled slightly. Staring at the magic circle that had appeared in midair without warning, every muscle in his body tensed as a sense of foreboding spread through him.

What was that thing?

A legendary magic circle?

Was it a Mythical Zoan ability Saint Marcus Mars had eaten?

Boom, boom, boom!!!

Saint Marcus Mars ignored Dragon, merely releasing an utterly terrifying Conqueror's Haki without pause.

On the frozen sea below.

Aokiji and Crow, who had been fighting, stopped and looked up at the pentagram magic circle filled with black lightning and flames.

"This is..."

Both of their expressions shifted as their brows furrowed tightly—

"Mars, what happened?"

"Why did you summon us?"

Under the watchful gazes of the wary Dragon and Crow, as well as the grave-faced Aokiji.

The enormous, unfathomable magic circle stopped rotating. Then, four masses of liquid continuously writhed and swelled.

Four unfamiliar yet terrifying auras soared into the sky.

"This is!"

"How is this possible?"

Dragon gripped Sumer's neck tightly, shock and disbelief written across his fierce face.

Within his pupils, four monsters that seemed to have crawled up from hell slowly revealed their true forms.

One was a gigantic monster with the lower body of a spider and the head of a bull, wrapped in black flame clouds.

One was a gigantic warthog with four tusks, a spotted body, and black flame clouds coiling around it.

One was a skeletal horse draped in horsehide over its face and back, likewise surrounded by black flame clouds.

One was a massive Sandworm with ferocious giant steel teeth, also wreathed in the black flame clouds possessed only by awakened Zoans.

"Crow, retreat—"

A bead of cold sweat rolled down Dragon's temple. Without the slightest hesitation, he roared at Crow on the ice.

Crow reacted quickly. Almost the moment Dragon finished speaking, his entire body exploded into countless ash crows that flew away.

Aokiji did not stop him. With both hands in his pockets, he simply stared fixedly at the four who had emerged from the magic circle.

"Stop Monkey D. Dragon! Sumer is in his hands—"

Seeing how cunning Dragon was, Saint Mars immediately roared and flapped his wings as he gave chase.

Sumer absolutely could not be taken away by the enemy. Otherwise, the consequences would be unthinkable.

"What?"

"Damn it!"

"Mars, why is Sumer in Monkey D. Dragon's hands?!"

"Chase them!!!"

Saint Saturn, Saint Warcury, Saint Shepherd Ju Peter, and Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro were equally alarmed.

They had no time to ask what had happened and immediately chased after them.

"Crow, faster!"

Dragon flashed repeatedly and appeared out of thin air on Crow's back. Watching Saint Mars and the other four pursue them like abyssal beasts, immense pressure weighed down on him.

More cold sweat seeped from his fierce face.

"Dragon, those are the other four Five Elders, aren't they?!"

A tidal wave surged through Crow's heart. A sonic boom cloud appeared behind him as he pushed his speed to the limit.

"Most likely."

Dragon had also guessed Saint Saturn and the others' identities. His eyes flickered as he continued, "This trip was not in vain. We obtained a great deal of information."

"I never expected the Five Elders to all be Mythical Zoan monsters. They even possess legendary magic circles and can summon the other Five Elders—"

All this time.

The Revolutionary Army had possessed very little intelligence on the Five Elders. The same was likely true of every other force in the world.

This intelligence was simply too important!

"Dragon, what about your son?"

"This Celestial Dragon in my hands definitely isn't an ordinary Celestial Dragon. Perhaps we can use him to exchange for our people!"

Dragon fell silent for a moment, thoughtfully watching Saint Mars and the others continue their relentless pursuit.

At this point, even a fool could see that the Five Elders seemed to care deeply about the Celestial Dragon in his hands.

Perhaps.

He could learn some unexpected secrets from this Celestial Dragon. Otherwise, it was difficult to explain the Five Elders' current anxiety and persistence.

"I hope so."

Crow sighed inwardly.

In truth, before coming here, they had already prepared themselves for the possibility that they would be unable to rescue Straw Hat.

Because the World Government was very likely to have set an inescapable trap.

For example, they had secretly transferred two Navy Admirals, Kizaru and Akainu, here, and had even brought in Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

That was why only he and Dragon had come.

If anything went wrong, they could retreat immediately.

Just like now.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

The biting gale blew like knives. One side pursued while the other fled, and they had already traveled more than a hundred kilometers.

Saint Mars pursued through the sky.

Saint Saturn, Saint Warcury, Saint Shepherd Ju Peter, and Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro pursued across the frozen sea.

But gradually.

The frozen sea came to an end.

"Damn it!"

"Mars, we absolutely cannot let them abduct Sumer."

"You chase after them first. Activate the Teleportation Magic Circle at any time!"

Saint Saturn and the others stopped at the edge of the ice. Before them was a turbulent sea. They raised their heads and watched Dragon and Crow vanish into the distance.

At the same time, they began communicating telepathically.

"Understood."

Saint Mars fiercely beat his wings, a sonic boom halo standing behind him.

"Mars, how did Sumer end up in Monkey D. Dragon's hands? What exactly happened?"

Saint Nusjuro's expression was extremely grim.

There was no need to explain Sumer's importance. He was the key to whether they could truly live and whether they could travel to "Earth."

Lord Imu had always attached great importance to him.

If Lord Imu learned that Sumer had been lost, and had even fallen into the Revolutionary Army's hands, he would definitely fly into a rage.

All of them could be held accountable.

If things went badly, Saint Mars, whose failure had been particularly severe, might even have everything bestowed upon him taken back by Lord Imu.

Saint Figarland Garling would then take his place.

Just as the future Sumer had previously revealed—Saint Jaygarcia Saturn would be replaced by Saint Figarland Garling due to his poor performance.

Saint Marcus Mars knew this as well, which was why he had been so terrified and immediately activated the Teleportation Magic Circle to summon Saint Saturn and the others.

And now, he was pursuing them without relent.

He had no choice.

He was chasing after his own life.

"While returning to Mary Geoise, Monkey D. Dragon..."

Saint Mars spoke stiffly and explained what had happened.

"Mars, you were careless this time! You should know very well what Sumer means to us and to Lord Imu!"

"Now is not the time to discuss that. We need to seize Sumer back as soon as possible!"

"Should we inform Lord Imu?"

"Wait!!!"

The moment Saint Marcus Mars heard Saint Shepherd Ju Peter suggest informing Lord Imu, he anxiously interrupted.

He panicked.

"Give me a little more time. I'll definitely catch up to them. When I do, you can teleport over at any time!"

"That is our only option."

On the ice field.

Saint Saturn, Saint Warcury, Saint Shepherd Ju Peter, and Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro all exited their full beast forms and returned to human form. They exchanged glances and decided to give Saint Marcus Mars a chance to make up for his mistake.

Although the main responsibility lay with Saint Marcus Mars, none of them could be certain whether Lord Imu would vent his anger on them as well.

As long as they seized Sumer back, they could completely pretend that nothing had happened.