Split Forces

"Boom! Da! Da! Bang!!"

The jaunty Drums of Liberation echoed through the ruins, turning the gravity-warped battlefield into an absurd playground. In his pure-white Nika Form, Luffy bounced across the ground, each landing making the alloy floor sink and spring back like rubber. Beside him stood Rain, cold and imposing in black, the destructive Extreme Pressure Mantle flowing over his fists. Together, they faced down five monstrous figures that towered into the sky.

Yet the Five Elders were no mindless beasts. They possessed the finest political instincts and battlefield judgment on the seas.

"Whoosh—!!"

Saint Mars beat his wings in his monstrous bird form, whipping up a violent gale that seemed to tear through the air. His enormous eyes, glowing a sickly green, reflected the Marines fleeing in chaos along the distant coast—and Vegapunk himself, whom Kuma was desperately escorting toward the sea.

"Don't lose sight of what matters, Saturn!"

Saint Mars let out a piercing screech that cut through the thunderclouds and made everyone's ears ache. "Mary Geoise sent us to capture and eliminate Vegapunk. We cannot let the knowledge of Science Island reach the outside world! If we stay here fighting these two monsters indefinitely, that old man will escape in a submarine!"

Saint Warcury and Saint Nusjuro, who had been about to launch their attacks, stopped short.

It was true. Their undying bodies meant they had no reason to fear a direct clash with Rain and Luffy. But both opponents were powerful enough to keep them pinned down. If all five Elders remained here, their mission to wipe Egghead clean would become a pointless war of attrition!

Just as the Five Elders' faces darkened and they prepared to change tactics—

"Whoosh—!!"

At the far edge of the sky above the sea, the golden streak of light that