True Evil

A colossal fireball, as large as all of Loguetown, appeared high above their heads like a blazing sun, accompanied by a frenzied voice.

"Ha ha ha... How could an era like this not be thrilling..."

"Prepare to set sail, gentlemen! Let me give you a send-off!"

"No reason can stop a man from venturing out to sea!"

As his words fell, everyone aboard the pirate ships on the frozen sea stared excitedly at the man in the sky, shining as brightly as the sun.

"Men, what are you standing around for? Set sail... Set sail..."

"We can't possibly refuse this grand gift from Ye Mu, captain of the Sky Pirate Crew..."

"Yeah... No reason can stop a man from going to sea..."

Seeing the pirates' suppressed morale soar once more, Sengoku, a Marine admiral, finally could no longer sit still.

In the direction of the Loguetown Marines, golden light blazed. A massive golden Buddha appeared in everyone's sight, clasping its hands as a visible fist rose up.

"Damn Ye Mu of the Sky Pirate Crew... Do you know what you're doing? If these evil pirates are allowed to escape... how many people will lose their homes and families because of them..."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Hearing Sengoku's furious question resound across heaven and earth, Ye Mu continued pouring flames into the fireball above him, raising its temperature, while laughing in response.

"You're right, Marine Admiral Sengoku... Pirates may be evil, guilty of heinous crimes, but as a Marine admiral, you should understand what true evil in this world is..."

Those words made even Sengoku freeze, but Ye Mu's next words drastically changed his expression. Terror even made him forget to attack.

"It is those Celestial Dragons who stand above all... It is the World Government..."

"Evil pirates may destroy countless families, but the Celestial Dragons... the World Government, destroy entire nations..."

"If this world truly were as peaceful as you claim, then why would there be so many pirates..."

"Where do the evil pirates you speak of come from..."

"Tell me, Sengoku. As Marines serving the World Government and lapdogs of the Celestial Dragons, how many nations, how many islands, how many families have you destroyed..."

"If you truly insist on your so-called justice, then kill a Celestial Dragon first, just like I did, before coming to lecture me..."

Ye Mu's terrifying declaration, practically a provocation against the World Government itself, left everyone across the sea and even in Loguetown frozen in fear. Even the battling Marines and pirates stopped as if by mutual agreement, watching everything unfold.

"Big news... Big news! You idiots, did you record all of that..."

Morgans was completely fired up.

"Bastard... He actually dared provoke the World Government... No, these vile criminals absolutely cannot be spared. We must inform the Five Elders and have them deploy CP0..."

Spandine, meanwhile, had gone pale with fright.

"Fuffuffuffu... What a terrifying proclamation... This era is about to boil over completely..."

"Hehihihihi... Damn... Isn't that guy way too dazzling..."

"Captain Roger... Is this why you thought so highly of him..."

"Looks like I was right after all. Captain Ye Mu has the same dream as I do. Since that's the case, old man, even if it kills me, I can't let you get past me now..."

At that moment, Ye Mu was ready.

"Enel, come back. Tiger, get ready. We're withdrawing."

"Oh... Got it."

Enel, who had been confronting Kizaru, instantly flashed away, turning into a bolt of lightning and vanishing before Kizaru's eyes. Yet Kizaru did not pursue him, because he had sensed an extremely dangerous presence.

The instant Ye Mu spoke, the enormous fireball above his head, half the size of Loguetown, rapidly shrank into a terrifying black sphere no larger than a fist.

Despite being so far away, his Observation Haki sent him an intensely dangerous warning.

"Hey, hey... This move... It's way too terrifying, isn't it?"

Sengoku sensed the terror of this attack as well. The shock in his heart from earlier had long since been forgotten. Only one thought remained in his mind: he absolutely could not let this attack be unleashed.

In an instant, golden light flared from Sengoku's body. Visible shockwaves gathered in his hands as he became a blur and flew toward Ye Mu.

"I will never let pirates like you escape to harm the world... This is my justice!!!!"

Watching Sengoku fly toward him, Ye Mu remained as calm as ever.

"Too late..."

"Apollo's Fury..."

As his words fell, the black energy sphere in Ye Mu's hand shot out like a cannonball.

At that moment, Sengoku had already reached Ye Mu's side and was about to strike, but his expression suddenly changed. His entire body froze as he turned back with difficulty.

The target of that black energy sphere was not him at all, but distant Loguetown and the Marines.

"Damn it... Ye Mu, you bastard..."

Even though Kuzan and Kizaru were there, Sengoku could not afford to be careless.

He instantly abandoned his attack, flashed away, and prepared to use his shockwaves to stop the energy sphere from falling onto Loguetown.

But at that moment, an anomaly appeared that even his Observation Haki had failed to detect.

Just as the black energy sphere was about to collide with his shockwave.

Suddenly, as though controlled by someone, the energy sphere forcibly changed its course. It arced past him like a projectile and fell from the sky.

"No... Impossible..."

Disbelief filled Sengoku's face as he watched the black sphere descend and vanish completely into the ice.

The place where it fell was precisely the dividing line separating the Marines from the pirates.

"Crack..."

At that moment, the entire world fell silent. Across the vast frozen sea, only the sound of something breaking could be heard.

The cracking sound grew louder and louder.

Countless fissures began spreading across the visible ice, while scorching steam burst from them with piercing shrieks.

At that moment, all the powerful people who possessed Observation Haki sensed the immense turbulence beneath the sea. Even ordinary people could hear the rumbling below, as though something terrifying were about to surge up from the ocean floor.

"Boom..."

Before long, the piercing shrieks stopped, replaced by massive jets of scalding water like volcanic eruptions. One after another, they blasted into the sky through the shattered ice, completely separating the pirates from the Marines.

But it did not stop there. As the explosions beneath the water triggered a chain reaction, more and more ice broke apart until it finally erupted completely.

"Boom..."

A massive wave four or five hundred meters high rose before everyone's eyes, blotting out the sky...