One Piece: New Order

Chapter 401: Preparations Before The Finale

Late at night, the ruins of Whole Cake Island.

Molten lava covered the entire island as crimson magma flowed across the land, illuminating the darkness of the night.

The air was filled with the stench of sulfur while pirate ships gathered around the outer edges of the island and Big Mom’s children searched around in despair.

Unfortunately, everything on the island had already been swallowed by magma. After searching for a long time, the only thing they found was half of Katakuri’s weapon.

What that meant no longer needed to be said.

Quite a few of the younger brothers and sisters who were especially close to Katakuri could no longer hold back their tears.

Boom!

Oven and Daifuku finally returned.

The pirates sent out to receive them had all been blown apart by the Marines. Left with no other choice, they rushed back immediately.

But at this moment, Oven stared at Whole Cake Island in disbelief.

"How is this possible!!!"

In just a single day, Whole Cake Island had been destroyed. He could no longer sense any familiar presence.

"What exactly happened here?!"

As soon as his voice rang out, the remaining members of the Charlotte Family seemed to finally find a backbone. They quickly gathered around them and began speaking over one another.

"The Marines ambushed Mama!"

"It was probably Sakazuki’s doing."

"Big Brother Katakuri is probably already..."

"And Big Brother Perospero too..."

Seeing Brulee’s tear-stained face and the broken half of Katakuri’s trident in her hands, Oven’s eyes turned bloodshot.

"Damn it! How did it become like this?! Why didn’t anyone notify us earlier?!"

His mind immediately recalled the Marine fleet they had destroyed earlier. Thinking back on it now, it was definitely not a coincidence.

If something had happened to Mama, then the Marines had probably already begun their encirclement operation. That fleet they destroyed was most likely just the advance force scouting ahead.

Damn it.

If they had known earlier, he never would have come back here to die.

The Marine siege had already begun. Trying to break out now would be incredibly difficult.

Brulee shook her head hopelessly. "No. All the Den Den Mushi lost their signals. We couldn’t connect any calls at all. At first I thought it was only happening to me, but after everyone gathered together, we realized it was the same for all of us. It must be the Marines’ doing."

Oven and Daifuku exchanged a glance as their pupils suddenly shrank.

Wasn’t this exactly the same situation as the Den Den Mushi they used to contact Mama? Calls could only be sent out, but nobody would answer.

Daifuku took a deep breath before speaking in a heavy voice. "Forget about that for now. Gather everyone first, otherwise we’ll all die here.

"On the way back, we already destroyed one of the Marine encirclement fleets. But we don’t know how far the others have advanced by now.

"Don’t stay here. Retreat immediately."

Hearing this, the other children quickly responded and began gathering people onto the ships to evacuate.

Meanwhile, Oven and Daifuku stood at the edge of the island with dark expressions.

Everything had happened too suddenly. Mama’s fate was unknown, though there was a high chance that she was already...

As for Katakuri and the others, there was no need to say more. The only thing left behind was half a weapon. They had undoubtedly died at Sakazuki’s hands.

The massive Charlotte Family had collapsed in an instant, and the two of them had suddenly become the strongest members of the Big Mom Pirates.

But if they had a choice, neither of them wanted to become the ones leading the crew.

Oven swept his gaze across the island overflowing with magma and spoke in a deep voice. "What do we do? Where do we retreat to?"

Daifuku’s expression looked ugly as he responded, "Suppress the news and get a map first. Then gather the pirates from the surrounding islands and use them as cannon fodder. Finally, find a chance to break through the encirclement."

Logically speaking, the gap they came through earlier should have been the easiest place to break through. But it was simply too far away. Even the two of them, with no burdens holding them back, had spent several hours flying back.

If they tried returning there now, not only could there already be Marine blockades waiting for them, they also could not abandon what little remained of the Charlotte Family and all their younger brothers and sisters.

The only thing they could do now was gather more pirates, use them as sacrificial pawns, and wait for an opportunity...

* * *

Late at night.

New World, New Marineford.

No one rested within the pirates’ headquarters, and the Marine Headquarters was equally brightly lit.

But the atmosphere was completely different.

Every Marine wore an energetic expression filled with pride. The only similarity was that they too were carrying out an evacuation.

Inside a tall building overlooking the island, Garp stood by the window with his arms crossed as he quietly watched the busy soldiers below.

Sengoku sat on the sofa behind him with a calm expression, casually tossing rice crackers into his mouth one after another. Inside the silent room, the only sound was the crunching of food.

Only after taking out the last rice cracker and placing it into his mouth did Sengoku finally speak.

"Garp..."

Without turning around, Garp continued looking at the scenery outside the window.

"Hm?"

While chewing the rice cracker, Sengoku spoke in a low absent-minded voice. "Be careful tomorrow. Something is wrong with Sakazuki..."

Garp’s expression stiffened slightly as he turned his head. "Did you notice something?"

Sengoku calmly shook his head. "No... it’s just a feeling..."

Many years ago, Sengoku had already begun to suspect something. But after probing several times, including during the Ohara incident, he never discovered any problems. Eventually, he slowly let go of his suspicions.

But now, as the Four Emperors had been wiped out and Sakazuki’s goal achieved, with war against the World Government about to begin, Sengoku finally realized what had been bothering him.

Sakazuki was too perfect, like a machine that never stopped moving, completely out of place with everyone else in this world...

Looking back at Sakazuki’s past, one would realize that since joining the Marines at the age of twelve, he had never stopped for even a moment. From the North Blue to the Grand Line and then the New World...

He was either exterminating pirates or on his way to exterminate pirates.

Sengoku himself could not do it, Garp could not do it, Zephyr could not do it, and even Borsalino and Kuzan could not become like Sakazuki...

Fighting Roger to the death.

Fighting Whitebeard to the death.

Ending the Great Pirate Era.

Destroying the Four Emperors.

And now preparing to declare war against the World Government.

It was as if he had arrived in this world carrying some kind of mission, existing solely to cleanse the sins of the world.

But that was also the source of Sengoku’s unease.

If this were some mythological story, then what roles were they playing within it?

This battle concerned the future fate of the world. What would the final outcome be? What exactly was Sakazuki’s true objective...?

With all these thoughts mixed together, even Sengoku, who possessed the wisdom of the Buddha, felt his mind descend into chaos.

He had no idea what tomorrow would look like, but one thing was certain: a great many people would die. Perhaps even they themselves...

War was not a game, especially not a war over ownership of the world...

* * *

At the same time, at the top level of Marineford’s fortress, Sakazuki stood beside the wall, looking down at the busy island below.

"How much longer until the evacuation is complete?"

Carlo stood nearby and answered, "Everything will be cleared out before five tomorrow morning."

Sakazuki nodded slightly. "Have all the notifications been sent?"

Carlo replied, "The Marine bases on both sides of the Red Line have already begun retreating deeper inland.

"We’ve also issued warnings to nearby nations, telling them to prepare for typhoons and tsunamis and begin disaster response preparations.

"Egghead Island has already lifted entirely into the air and is flying deeper into the New World. All the Seraphim have been transferred to Headquarters as well."

His voice paused briefly before he took a deep breath.

"Bullet and Enel are already in position."

Gazing out at the world shrouded in endless darkness, Sakazuki lowered his hand and rested it against the fortress wall. A faint smile appeared on his face and his tone became unusually light.

"Good... very good..."

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