The once densely packed and magnificent Marines Headquarters now lay in ruins, two-thirds of its buildings collapsed into rubble.
Even more shocking was the crimson continent itself, as if a layer had been peeled back, revealing the vivid red soil beneath. The surviving Marines had gathered on the remaining intact land, their faces etched with terror, as if they had witnessed something they would never forget.
Massive structures were buried in the earth, the ground shattered into pieces like the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake, a sight that sent shivers down one's spine.
"The Golden Lion has failed!!!"
Crocodile's words sent a jolt through the crowd, their hearts leaping into their throats.
On the ravaged continent, three figures stood. One was drenched in blood, panting heavily, his expression exhausted. The other two bore minor injuries, but nothing compared to his grievous wounds.
The three figures were none other than Golden Lion, Sengoku, and Garp.
Everyone watched the three figures motionless, yet they all knew the battle was over.
Golden Lion possessed immense power, but he couldn't withstand the combined assault of the Marines Headquarters' two strongest combatants. By this point, he was utterly exhausted, his strength completely drained.
"It ends here, Shiki!" Garp roared.
"Hahahaha! I, Golden Lion, have roamed the seas my entire life, yet I never imagined I'd be defeated by you lot today," he said, shaking his head and sighing deeply. He scanned the battlefield, finding his subordinates either dead or captured by the Marines.
"How amusing! Utterly amusing!"
"But I won't surrender so easily."
"Marines, if you have the guts, kill me now! Otherwise, I swear I'll return to wreak havoc another day!"
His voice rang out, powerful and resolute.
"Your chance is gone! You'll spend the rest of your days in Impel Down!"
Sengoku snorted coldly and stepped forward to shackle Golden Lion with seastone leg irons and chains.
Under Sengoku's movements, Golden Lion stood motionless, a disdainful smile on his face.
"Seastone, heh heh. Sengoku, Garp, nothing in this world can stop a pirate from returning to the sea. One day, I'll be back!"
Even captured, he roared defiantly, his voice echoing across the battlefield.
"Take him away! Send him to Impel Down!"
A squad of Marines rushed forward, hoisted Golden Lion onto their shoulders, and carefully carried him away.
"Finally, it's over!"
Sengoku surveyed the ruined Marine Headquarters, his head throbbing with a headache, yet he could only sigh in resignation.
"Hahaha! The Headquarters is completely ruined! Looks like we'll need a new base."
"Hmph! Don't gloat, Garp! Remember your position!" Sengoku snapped angrily.
"Isn't this great? We lost a Headquarters, but we captured the legendary pirate Shiki! That's a major victory! Hahaha!" Garp roared with carefree laughter.
"Don't forget the soldiers we lost! And Kizaru and Kuzan, their fates are still unknown!" Sengoku bellowed, his anger intensifying.
"Sigh... what a headache. How could that kid be so strong?"
"He's even harder to deal with than the Golden Lion," Garp muttered, scratching his head in frustration.
"Compared to the Golden Lion, I have a much better handle on dealing with him," Sengoku said, lifting his gaze to the sky, where Rojen and his crew stood atop the Jasper Gourd.
"Boy, come down here. Let's talk."
His voice wasn't loud, yet it effortlessly reached everyone's ears, sending a chill through their hearts.
"Looks like your luck isn't holding out after all," Zephyr's sigh echoed from within the Jasper Gourd.
Rojen's heart sank, understanding Zephyr's meaning all too well. He had initially calculated that the Golden Lion wouldn't fall so easily, giving them a chance to slip away unnoticed while the Marines were preoccupied.
He had meticulously planned every detail, even this escape, aiming to skirt the very edge of Marine Headquarters and slip away undetected. But despite all his calculations, fate had other plans, and they couldn't escape its grasp.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, we're quite busy, and I'm sure you are too. Let's part ways here, shall we?" Rojen called down with a sly smile, his eyes gleaming.
"Boy, you'd better come down here. After causing such a commotion, you can't possibly think you'll get away unscathed, can you?"
Garp let out a long sigh, his figure twisting in a blur.
In the next instant, the pupils of everyone on the Jasper Gourd contracted as a gale-force wind swept past. A massive figure had materialized at the gourd's mouth.
The Jasper Gourd was currently hovering over a hundred meters above the ground, yet this man had appeared before them in the blink of an eye.
"Garp," Rojen muttered, his heart sinking.
Against any of the three new-generation Admirals, Rojen was confident he could hold his own, even win, by harnessing the power of possession. But against this man, he had no such assurance.
The Hero of the Marines, a powerhouse who had fought his own grandfather to a standstill, was simply beyond his current capabilities.
Like the possessed figures he summoned, Garp stood at the pinnacle of power in this Pirate King world.
Even if Rojen summoned peak figures from other dimensions, the power lost during possession, which couldn't be inherited, would still leave him inferior to his opponents.
This was an immutable truth. He was not one of those possession powerhouses; he was himself, Rojen!
With 600 million remaining in his system balance, he could summon an incredibly powerful figure with luck. But facing the current situation, he lacked confidence.
"Want to talk? About your fate, and..." Garp glanced at the people on the gourd and sighed. "Your comrades!"
The words made Rojen's pupils contract sharply.
"Captain."
"What are you babbling about, you old geezer?!"
Jason and Crocodile erupted in fury the moment they heard Garp's words, launching immediate attacks.
But Garp simply dodged their strikes with two swift movements, then effortlessly knocked both men flat on the gourd with a single punch and kick.
"I believe Sengoku will give you a choice," Garp said, his gaze piercingly fixed on Rojen.
"You can either resist violently, leading to you and your companions being sent to Impel Down or executed."
"Or you can sacrifice yourself, allowing them to escape."
Rojen clenched his fists, his eyes locked on the middle-aged man before him.
He hesitated, the weight of the decision crushing his shoulders, making it hard to breathe.
Could the power of possession carve out a future? Could he bear the lives and freedom of his companions on his shoulders in this moment?
"Captain, don't listen to this old geezer! Let's fight them!"
"If we're going to die, we'll die together!"
"We'll live or die with you, Captain!"
Suddenly, Jason, Crocodile, and Trens' voices flooded his mind, instantly focusing his flickering thoughts.
Taking a deep breath, Rojen looked at Garp.
"Then let's talk."
(End Of This Chapter)
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