"Mo, you can't do this. You're a man destined for great things. How can you be so depraved? You can't do this."
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. This is just the calm before the storm. We're all waiting for a chance, a chance for us to explode. But we can't let them have their way, or it'll be troublesome if they notice something." He pulled Xiao Yu into his arms and then flipped his hand to take out an old-fashioned bronze mirror, muttering to himself, "It's time for you to show yourselves."
He channeled a wisp of Devil Fruit power into the bronze mirror, and after about three seconds, the mirror emitted a soft light. "I am Dark Night. I want all of your Anbu to mobilize and, based on the Kagebu's intelligence, assassinate all the evil Celestial Dragons, Marines, and World Government personnel. Be careful. I don't expect you to kill many people; just create enough trouble for them. After all, it's not time to really start yet. Do you understand?"
“Shadow understands!” a soft voice said, and then the mirror went dark.
With a flick of his wrist, Mo Mo put away the bronze mirror, tightened his embrace around the lovely woman, and kissed her luscious red lips. Instantly, the small hot spring pool rippled with waves.
Today, the world, like a pool, is beginning to churn with waves, as if foreshadowing the uneasy undercurrents stirring beneath the surface.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 37: A Great Battle Is Imminent
The next day, Mo Mo received a message he had been waiting for: "Portgas D. Ace, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, was defeated by Blackbeard, who defected from the crew. He is now imprisoned in Impel Down and will be publicly executed in Marineford in three days."
"The old era is about to pass away, and a new era is about to begin. Who will stand out in this turbulent era and become the protagonist of the times?"
"Heroes rise and fall with the times, once you enter the martial world, time flies. Others laugh at my madness, but I laugh at their ignorance. Xiao Yu, from today onwards, the world will be in turmoil. Stay on this island; as long as you don't leave, you'll be safe. Here, drip a drop of blood on it, and you'll understand. I'm leaving." Mo Mo casually tossed a small silver token to Xiao Yu and departed.
Mo Mo was in such a hurry to leave because he suddenly remembered something: he had kidnapped Boa Hancock, the Pirate Empress. How could Luffy infiltrate Impel Down then? Mo Mo didn't believe that another empress would come to his aid, because he had even sealed off Amazon Lily, so Kuma couldn't send Luffy flying there again, and therefore couldn't get help from Amazon Lily. Moreover, Mo Mo hadn't heard of any empress among the Seven Warlords of the Sea; all the current Seven Warlords were men.
"That's right! Amazon Lily is sealed off, so Luffy definitely can't get in. Since he can't get in, that means Luffy can't meet that beautiful, sexy, and cute Margaret. In other words, Margaret is currently without a master. Tsk tsk tsk, it's such a waste that so many pretty girls are in yuri relationships. I might as well take them all. But we still need to find Luffy quickly, otherwise it would be a real sin if we saved Ace but Luffy died."
"brush!"
In the revolutionary army camp, a sunny, handsome boy with a friendly older brother smile appeared out of nowhere.
"Halt! Who are you? How dare you trespass on Revolutionary Army territory?"
With a loud shout, Mo Mo was quickly surrounded by the revolutionary soldiers, forming a magnificent three-layered encirclement.
Momo nodded with satisfaction as he watched the Revolutionary Army quickly gather and surround him in an orderly manner. "As expected of the elite among the Revolutionary Army who can fight against the World Government, such reaction speed and adaptability give me more confidence in the next plan."
Seeing that the Revolutionary Army had surrounded him but hadn't made a move, Mo Mo remained still, merely slightly releasing his aura before standing there quietly with a smile. After a stalemate of about a minute, the dense crowd quickly parted to make way, and a man whose face was covered in strange symbols walked out from the parted path to Mo Mo.
"Why did you come? Are you worried about me? Don't worry, I can definitely do what I promised." Clearly, Long was a little angry.
"I didn't come here for that. I just wanted to ask where Luffy is right now. After all, this is my own fault, and I don't have the habit of shifting blame."
"Huh? Blame? What kind of blame are you going to take? But Luffy should be in Impel Down by now."
Hearing Dragon's words, Mo Mo seemed somewhat surprised. Only three days had passed since Luffy and his crew wreaked havoc on the Sabaody Archipelago. Logically, Luffy should have been sent to some island by Kuma, so why was he in Impel Down? "Could Kuma have just sent Luffy directly to Impel Down?" Mo Mo thought maliciously.
"Then I won't disturb you any longer. A storm is brewing. I've done what I could. As for whether it will succeed, that's up to you. Dragon, I hope that none of you will be absent when that day comes." With that, he vanished.
"Chief Dolange, who is that person?" a high-ranking revolutionary officer asked Dolange, and then the others followed suit.
"Him? He is an extremely mysterious person, an enigmatic man, and possesses enigmatic strength. Although I don't know what he wants, I am certain that he will bring a glimmer of hope to this corrupt world, and you have already enjoyed too many benefits he has brought." Dolanger scanned the various cadres in the crowd.
"Could it be that those fruits and those training methods were all..."
Dolange did not answer the cadre's question. "A new era is coming, but it will not come on its own. It will be brought about by our struggle. Prepare yourselves. War will be coming soon."
Behind the massive Gate of Justice, a young boy stood atop the highest point of Impel Down. "It's truly magnificent. I wonder how many resources were used to build such a huge gate. I wonder if the Navy would go crazy if I smashed it? I'm really looking forward to it. But it's so big, it won't be easy to smash. But that won't stop me."
The young man simply flipped his hand and produced a token covered in mysterious patterns from thin air. The patterns on the token were intricate and enigmatic, seemingly capable of drawing one's soul into them. He tossed the token in front of him, and it stood firmly in the air. Then, the young man's hands moved swiftly, forming strange hand seals. After a moment, he stopped the hand seals, and the token remained suspended in the air.
The token in front of the boy flashed and then disappeared, before shooting towards the enormous Gate of Justice.
"There are still three days before Ace's public execution. In those three days, the power quietly gathered by the array will be enough to blast down this door of justice. Now it's time to get down to business. We can't let Luffy rescue Ace directly. Of course, we also need to ensure that Luffy can participate in the Marineford War safely. Tsk tsk, I really am destined to be a busybody."
"Oh right, there are still three days left. Domino, the deputy warden inside, seems pretty good. She's even got a uniform fetish. Let's hide with her for the next three days. After all, she's not very strong, and she's a beauty."
Meanwhile, Impel Down was in complete chaos. Luffy was much stronger than in the original story. Even in his normal form, he was almost as strong as Gear Second in the original story. However, when Mo Mo entered Impel Down, he found that the situation was not as he had imagined.
Because Luffy's strength had increased considerably, their progress downwards was not as difficult as in the original story. They pushed their way through to the third level before being slightly stopped. When they reached the Scorching Hell, even though Luffy's strength had increased significantly, he was still blocked by Magellan and, just like in the original story, was deeply poisoned. Meanwhile, when Momo arrived at Domino's monitoring room, Luffy and his crew had already reached the sixth level.
"Oh, we're almost at the sixth floor already. That's fast. But the other side isn't slow either. They've already taken Ace up the elevator. Not bad, not bad. They deserve praise. I've decided to take a few people with me and set up a prison to hold those despicable villains from different worlds. They'll be fed horses and chopped wood during the day and steamed or braised at night. That's settled then."
At this moment, many villains in the myriad realms shivered for no apparent reason, as if something bad had happened.
However, when Mo Mo saw Luffy and his crew clearly, he was instantly stunned. "Holy crap, isn't that Sanji? How come he's with Luffy in Impel Down?"
What Mo Mo saw next made him feel the deep malice of this world, and finally made him understand why Luffy still entered Impel Down even without the Empress. It was because Sanji, who was with Luffy, was also a Devil Fruit user, and he had the Devil Fruit that he had always dreamed of: the Clear-Clear Fruit.
Who is Sanji? An excellent chef, a gentleman, but most memorable is his womanizing nature. Now, fate has granted this ultimate pervert, who, even without the ability to become invisible, still manages to peep into the girls' bathroom, the power he's always dreamed of. Now, would any girl dare to take a bath where Sanji is? Although he usually just looks and doesn't actually touch her.
In the end, Luffy and his crew failed to rescue Ace in Impel Down. Magellan, having finished his handover with the Marines, also returned. A fierce battle ensued, and the Revolutionary Army's high-ranking officer, Lightning, was poisoned. Finally, Luffy and Ivankov were no match for Magellan's ultimate attack, the Poison Giant Soldier - Hell's Judgment, and were blasted out of Impel Down. They were rescued by a group of whale sharks summoned by Jinbe, and eventually boarded a Marine warship to chase after Ace, who was being taken to the execution platform.
"Perfect! You escaped perfectly, and I successfully completed my mission. I even gained a few subordinates along the way. Not bad, not bad. Next is the world-renowned battle. Success or failure hinges on this. Dragon, I have entrusted all my trump cards to you. I hope you will not disappoint me."
They fled amidst the gunfire of naval warships, only to be blocked by the Gates of Justice. Just as they were at their wits' end and filled with despair, the Gates of Justice slowly opened. As they cheered and escaped, Shping revealed his agreement with von Clay and told them the truth.
It turns out that Bon Clay stayed behind to carry out this mission, which was practically a death sentence, so that Luffy and his crew could escape safely. He disguised himself as Magellan, the warden of Impel Down, opened the Gate of Justice to let Luffy and his crew pass through safely, and then closed the Gate of Justice to block the pursuers.
Luffy: "Bonson, Bonson, the door's closing. We're leaving." Then, accompanied by a snapping sound, Luffy shouted out a heartfelt thank you, "Thank you!"
"Brother Feng, thank you!"
"Thanks!"
With shouts of pain and cries of gratitude, a tearful von Clay finally broke down in tears, yelling, "Little Straw Hat! Little Straw Hat! You must rescue your big brother! You can definitely rescue your big brother!"
"I couldn't bear to watch anymore, it's so touching! You really moved me, so I've made a decision!"
"boom"
Mo Mo suddenly appeared and kicked Bon Clay away. Bon Clay flew two meters and then disappeared. A roar came from Luffy's ship, and it fell silent instantly. When Bon Clay emerged from the broken planks covering his body, the entire ship erupted in a deafening cheer.
Goodbye, little Luffy, have a safe journey!
Mo Mo stood quietly atop the Gate of Justice, estimating that Luffy and his crew should be close to Marineford by now. A smirk played on his lips, and with a swift movement of his hands, he vanished from the Gate of Justice in a flash. Just five minutes after Mo Mo left, the Gate of Justice in Impel Down began to collapse rapidly.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in Marineford was heavy. The Navy had formed its strongest formation and was ready to face Whitebeard's arrival for the grandest battle in the history of the Navy and pirates.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 38 The Arrival of a New Era
In Marineford, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense as Ace was led to the execution platform. The news that Sengoku announced next filled the world with panic: Portgas D. Ace was the son of Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, and a sinful bloodline left behind by the Pirate King, so he had to be executed.
The world was instantly gripped by fear. Sengoku then revealed that they had already discovered this fact and that Whitebeard was attempting to groom Ace to become the next Pirate King, a claim Ace vehemently denied. Just then, the gates of justice at Marineford slowly opened.
In an instant, the atmosphere froze, the flags fell limp and stopped flying, and the massive Marineford fell silent, with only the sound of the waves.
A dozen seconds later, the navy on the lookout tower spotted the distant fleet and sounded the alarm. Then the flags began to fly again, and with the alarms blaring, the navy quickly went into battle mode. However, strangely, the navy did not spot Whitebeard's pirate ships, and Whitebeard's subordinates were mostly behind the pirate fleet.
Without Whitebeard's appearance as in the original work, the pirate fleet charged directly towards Marineford under heavy fire. Just as the pirate fleet entered the Navy's firing range, a sudden change occurred. The entire Marineford shook, and then a giant wave nearly fifty meters high rose up and blocked the pirate fleet's path. The pirate fleet, like infantrymen huddled behind a tank, followed the giant wave forward.
"We can't let the pirates land so easily."
With a cry of "Ice Age!", the surging waves stopped in front of Crescent Bay and froze into icebergs. Just as the marines were cheering and marveling at the admiral's power, the icebergs suddenly collapsed, and the pirate fleet behind them took advantage of the situation to attack Marineford. Although some pirate ships were sunk along the way, nearly fifty pirate ships still managed to reach the shore, and a chaotic battle broke out instantly.
Just then, bad news came from Impel Down: the Gate of Justice in front of Impel Down had collapsed, and the seawater was flooding in, putting the prison in imminent danger. To make matters worse, the prisoners in the prison had been released and were fighting a fierce battle with the prison guards. They were barely holding on. Upon receiving the news, the general-level combatants who were originally sent to Marineford to provide support have now rushed to Impel Down to help.
Upon receiving the news, Sengoku's hair stood on end. "One white-bearded man is troublesome enough, and now there's the Demon Emperor Momo lurking in Impel Down. Although the other three emperors are still facing off in the New World, once the battle reaches a stalemate, these wolves might turn around and bite us hard!"
Fortunately, Sengoku was unaware that the remaining three emperors had already been persuaded by Momo to agree to assist the Revolutionary Army in attacking Mary Geoise, the headquarters of the World Government, while Whitebeard was fighting the Navy. It was a good thing Sengoku didn't know, otherwise he might have fainted from fright.
"Tsk tsk tsk, the great battle has begun here. Dragon, I wonder how things are going on your end?"
"What! Mary Geoise is facing a full-scale attack by the Revolutionary Army. Three of the Five Emperors, Shanks, Kaido, and Charlotte Linlin, have also appeared in Mary Geoise. Have you seen Demon Emperor Momo? If I'm not mistaken, this incident should be... though it may not necessarily be his doing."
"As expected of the Warring States of Buddha, you guessed it right away. But it's a pity there's no reward. Tsk tsk! Now is not the time for me to go out. The vanguard has been almost wiped out. It's an honor for you scum and villains to contribute to the arrival of the new era. Now it's time for the main character to make his appearance."
The battle ended in less than half an hour. After all, they were just some scum who were wanted for burning, killing, and looting. Their fighting ability was really nothing, but they were still very good as cannon fodder. At least we could send them to their deaths with a clear conscience.
Just as the Marines were celebrating their initial victory and preparing to attack Whitebeard's subordinate pirate crews in the rear, a strange sound came from the sea. Then, a huge column of water shot out of the bay, and with it emerged a giant ship with a prow shaped like a whale's head. After the giant ship appeared, the sea continued to churn, and then two more giant ships of the same size emerged from the sea. The giant ship with its prow facing the execution platform had a different prow than the other two; it was white, while the other two were gray.
"Moby Dick!"
"Whitebeard has appeared!!!"
For a moment, all was silent, but then came the sound of "clang, clang, clang" from the white-bearded whale ship. About ten seconds later, the white-bearded man stood at the bow.
"Ace, my son, are you alright?"
Upon hearing this greeting, Ace, whose eyes had been clouded with sadness, instantly burst into tears.
While watching the anime, I found it touching and felt a great pity for Ace's death. But when I experienced it firsthand, I realized that reality was even more touching and real than the anime. Seeing Ace crying his eyes out, Mo Mo's heart twitched slightly. Mo Mo thought that if he hadn't shown enough strength back then, he probably would have been knocked off Whitebeard's ship when he told Whitebeard about the plan. If he had been weaker, he might have been killed by Whitebeard.
Momo's plan was indeed cruel to some, but it was actually very simple: to use the great war caused by the Navy's public execution of Ace to draw as much of the Navy and World Government's power as possible to Marineford. Meanwhile, Dragon would lead all the forces Momo had secretly cultivated over the years, along with Shanks and the others, to attack the Holy Land of Mary Geoise. To this end, Momo restored Whitebeard and Pluton to their peak strength and spread the news. In the past few days, Momo had been loitering around Marineford. Even more ruthless, Momo also spread the news that Dragon and high-ranking officers of the Revolutionary Army were on their way to Marineford. Thus, Marineford was now truly a gathering place for admirals. Just now, Momo used his divine sense to scan Marineford and discovered that in addition to the three admirals from the original series, there were five more admiral-level figures hidden in the Navy.
"Tsk tsk tsk, the World Government really has a deep foundation, it actually hides so many powerful figures."
"Rayleigh, I have good news for you, or maybe bad news."
"Oh? Tell me about it."
"I discovered that there are five admiral-level fighters hidden in the Navy. With five more admirals here, things will be much easier for Dragon and the others. However, among them, one has an unusually steady aura and seems to be connected to the earth, so he should be an earth-type Devil Fruit user; another seems to have a strange suction force, and there are occasional flashes of electricity, so he should be an electromagnetic type; there is also a woman with rather long ears, and it is not yet possible to tell what kind of animal she is; the other two men are not Devil Fruit users. In order not to be restricted, I will rescue Ace first, and you guys hold Sengoku and the others back for a while."
Rayleigh nodded solemnly.
Upon receiving Mo Mo's telepathic message, Whitebeard slammed his greatsword aside, clenched his fists, stretched his arms slightly forward, and then slammed them back, shattering the very space around him. With Whitebeard's action, the entire Marineford shook, and then, to the horrified gaze of the Marines, Marineford was engulfed by a tsunami that seemed to pierce the sky.
Seeing Marineford about to be destroyed by the tsunami, Aokiji leaped into the air and unleashed his ultimate move, "Ice Age." However, the current Whitebeard is not the Whitebeard whose fighting power began to decline in the original series. With Momo's help, the current Whitebeard is even stronger than at his peak in the original series. After all, one's understanding of one's Devil Fruit ability does not decline with the decline of power; on the contrary, it only becomes more profound.
Therefore, Aokiji's sure-fire move failed. Only the area where Aokiji's icy power directly touched the towering waves was frozen, and it was still being disintegrated. Even though Aokiji had tried his best, he could not freeze the tsunami.
It wasn't that Aokiji was too weak; rather, the tsunami had already formed, and Whitebeard didn't need to worry about it. He simply used the tremors to repeatedly shatter the frozen seawater that Aokiji had trapped. This was much easier for Whitebeard than for Aokiji, especially since Whitebeard was already several levels stronger than an Admiral.
Just as Marineford was about to be destroyed by the tsunami, Aokiji was still unable to freeze it. Even Sengoku could not remain calm. Finally, Kizaru made his move, transforming into his elemental form and delivering a light-speed kick right in front of Whitebeard.
Even with Whitebeard's immense strength, he dared not underestimate Aokiji and finally stopped trying to break Aokiji's ice. Aokiji then seized the opportunity to successfully freeze the tsunami. By the time Aokiji froze the tsunami, it was no more than 100 meters away from Marineford, and Kizaru had already been knocked back by Whitebeard's punch.
Just as Kizaru attacked Whitebeard and Aokiji froze the tsunami, Mo Mo suddenly made his move. Silently, Mo Mo appeared on the execution platform, waved his hand to unlock the Seastone shackles binding Ace, and then grabbed Ace. By the time Sengoku reacted, Mo Mo had already returned to Whitebeard's ship. On his way back, Mo Mo also stomped hard on Akainu, causing the cross-legged Akainu to fall face-first into the mud.
Akainu looked at Momo supporting Ace on the Moby Dick, and then thought about how Ace had inexplicably fallen so hard. He instantly understood what had happened. Then he thought about how Momo had attacked him when he was still a vice admiral. With old and new grudges mixed together, his eyes instantly turned red.
"brush"
Akainu used Shave to get directly in front of the Moby Dick, and then, with red eyes, unleashed a powerful blast of fire at Moby Dick.
Looking at the giant lava fist made of magma, Mo Mo smiled slightly. "A few years ago, I was able to severely injure you and leave you on the verge of death in Ohara with a single move. Although I don't know how you survived, I can still deal with you in just one move today."
Absolute zero
Mo Mo stretched out a finger and poked the giant lava hand that had already crashed in front of him, as if what he saw was not a powerful fist, but a bubble that could be burst with a single poke.