The Vastness of the World, the Smallness of Man (3K)

"G54 Branch vessel has reached the target waters. No abnormalities at present."

"G53 Branch vessel is three nautical miles from the target waters. No abnormalities at present."

"G47 Branch vessel is nine nautical miles from the target waters. No abnormalities at present."

Reports were constantly being relayed across the ships. Brina stood on the deck, the sea wind nearly tearing open her blouse. The cape behind her snapped loudly in the gale, the word "Justice" surging in the wind.

Her hearing was exceptionally sharp. Even standing here, she could hear every exchange taking place inside.

"Colonel Brina, aren’t we moving closer yet?"

"Major General Robert of G54 Branch has already started urging us."

Corporal John approached from behind her, lowered his head, and reported nervously.

He had never expected the news of Eldorado to spread so quickly. He should have only passed it on to a few nearby pirate crews…

Yet now, several Marine branches had deployed at once, sending out a total of eight warships. Other than the legendary Buster Call, this was already a rarely seen large-scale Marine operation.

More than ten high-ranking Marine officers had joined the operation. Even a Great Pirate with a bounty nearing one hundred million would not warrant such a massive Marine response.

The only reasonable explanation was that the Marines had also received some sort of order and wanted to seize the rumored Eldorado.

Brina seemed not to have heard John. She elegantly held a ladies’ cigarette between her fingers, but the wind was so strong that it was nearly burned out before she had even taken a puff.

"Colonel Brina, we…"

The woman abruptly turned around and glared viciously at John. That look made it almost impossible for him to connect her with the beautiful female superior he usually saw at the base.

"Shut up, marine soldier!"

"If you want to die, jump overboard yourself. This ship cannot move!"

Brina was in an extremely bad mood. That damned monster had actually started seeing himself as a god.

She clicked her tongue inwardly. People like that were the most troublesome to work with.

Ordinary pirates either sought money, power, or women. There was always some way to satisfy them.

As long as people had desires, they could be manipulated.

But how was she supposed to satisfy a madman who truly saw himself as a god?

Even if she suppressed all abnormal information from these waters, even if she constantly drove pirates and merchant ships into this area, even if she did far more than that, he would only think it was what a "believer" like her ought to offer.

And that ridiculous god had never granted her anything.

Brina had long been deeply dissatisfied with Enel, but she feared his strength. That Logia-type Devil Fruit was something she believed even ordinary Marine Vice Admirals would struggle to handle.

But once Marine Admirals or Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals became involved, Eldorado would likely have nothing to do with her anymore.

That was why Brina had always tolerated him, using him to get rid of the branch’s star marine soldier, Corey, as well as Major Lucido, who had never gotten along with her.

Brina coldly watched ship after ship arrive in the target waters, the corners of her mouth curling up.

Since this evil god never bestowed anything, she could only use his savagery to secure a little future for herself.

Crack!

John shuddered and turned to look. Under the cloudless sky, a blue-white bolt of lightning suddenly fell from nowhere. In an instant, the G54 Branch warship exploded with a deafening blast, then split in two and began to sink.

"This…"

John opened his mouth, but he had no idea what to say.

Crack!

Another bolt of lightning fell, and another Marine ship exploded.

Thunderbolts continued to descend from the sky, while miserable cries echoed from the Marine vessels.

Standing far away, John stared blankly as terrifying bolts of lightning nearly as large as warships rained down one after another. The predetermined gathering point had turned into hell in an instant.

From the wreckage of the G54 Branch ship, he saw a black speck shoot into the air, constantly changing direction midair. That was probably Major General Robert. He had mastered some of the secret techniques known as the Six Powers and possessed astonishing physical abilities. It was said he could kill a Sea King with one punch and had once captured a Great Pirate with a bounty of eighty-eight million by himself.

But in the next moment, accompanied by the slightly delayed crack of thunder—

The black speck of a figure fell from the sky. Before he even reached the sea, most of his body turned into black ash and vanished.

John’s entire body trembled.

Major General Robert, who possessed the combat strength to stand against ten thousand men, had been blasted to death just like that?

Back home, John had been selected during the Marine recruitment process because of his excellent marksmanship. Afterward, he had been drafted into a Marine branch on the Grand Line.

At first, John had believed that with his precise shooting, he would surely accomplish great things.

But after the unit’s entrance assessment, his overall abilities ranked near the bottom. In the end, he had been assigned to the mailroom, a logistics position.

He had personally watched the people assigned to field units. Nearly every one of them was far taller and heavier than him. Any one of them could throw a punch with the force of several hundred pounds.

Yet all of them had been eclipsed by a young marine soldier named Corey.

Whether it was running speed, strength, fighting skill, or shooting accuracy, that man far surpassed ordinary people.

Corey had been unanimously favored by the branch commanders and strongly recommended for training at Marine Headquarters.

And yet, it was said that someone like him had performed extremely ordinarily at Headquarters.

To John, the vastness of the world lay in the countless people who emerged after layer upon layer of selection.

No matter how dazzling you were in your hometown—whether you were one in dozens, one in a thousand, or even one in ten thousand among geniuses and elites—you would always encounter people far beyond you.

And now, this powerful Marine branch major general, who had also trained at Headquarters and mastered the Six Powers, had died helplessly beneath falling lightning without even seeing his enemy’s face.

That chilling, powerless feeling nearly made John collapse.

Click.

Brina lit another cigarette, turned around, and swept her foot out. The tremendous force instantly sent John flying.

She had long recognized the vastness of the world. This was a world ruled by monsters through absolute violence.

Was One Piece Roger called One Piece because he had successfully circumnavigated the Grand Line?

No. It was because circumnavigating the Grand Line represented the terrifying power he possessed, power that completely surpassed nearly every pirate crew!

The Four Emperors, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, even the Marines…

Not a single organization ruled without relying on pure violence to enforce its authority.

This world… was rotten to the core.

Brina lowered her eyelids, feeling no sorrow whatsoever for the deaths of her colleagues.

She entered the command room. By now, the Marine Soldiers inside had all gone pale from what they had witnessed. Seven Marine warships from different branches, along with nearly a thousand Marine Soldiers and more than ten officers of colonel rank or above, had all been reduced to dust in that thunderstorm.

The communications room still echoed with the calls sent by those Marine Soldiers before they died.

"Help!"

"G47 requesting help!"

"G53…"

"Ah!"

The nightmare-like scene made even these Marine Soldiers, who were accustomed to the brutality of pirates, feel their own insignificance.

Brina flung aside the man seated before the internal Den Den Mushi. He crashed onto the rear deck with a cry of pain, while Brina calmly picked up the receiver.

"Hello, this is Colonel Brina, commander of G51 Branch on the Grand Line, contacting Marine Headquarters."

"We have suffered a powerful attack five nautical miles southeast of Skuld Island. Other than our branch, the Marines from the other branches… have all perished!"

"Requesting Headquarters support!"

The Den Den Mushi’s expression turned shocked as well. Clearly, even Marine Headquarters found the horrific news hard to believe.

A moment later, the Den Den Mushi’s expression changed, and a deep voice emerged from it.

"This is Marine Headquarters. Sakazuki speaking."

Brina straightened at once. She had not expected Admiral Akainu himself to take the call, and she instinctively stood even straighter as she immediately said,

"Yes, reporting the situation on site now."

"We arrived at the designated gathering area at the appointed time, but an intense thunderstorm suddenly appeared in the sky. Branch Major General Robert took to the air to search for the enemy, but was immediately killed. The other ships were also destroyed by lightning one after another within half a minute. Only our branch vessel, which was on the outskirts, managed to escape."

"The enemy is suspected to be a Logia-type Devil Fruit Ability User!"

Without hesitation, Brina abandoned that stingy god.

Bzzzt—

An unusual burst of electrical noise suddenly came from the Den Den Mushi.

Brina’s pupils shrank. Before she could speak, a new voice came from the Den Den Mushi.

"Brina, you truly are not a devout believer."

At that moment, Brina felt a chill shoot from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.

This guy…

They were more than twenty nautical miles away from that island!

And how had he managed to interfere with a Den Den Mushi that could only handle two-way communication?!

The bizarre nature of Enel’s ability and its abnormally vast range made Brina’s heart sink continuously.

"You’re the one who attacked the branch Marine Soldiers?"

Sakazuki’s voice was low, like a volcano about to erupt.

But Enel merely burst into laughter.

"Yahahahaha, attacked?"

"That was punishment for disrespecting a god, mortal."

At Marine Headquarters, Sakazuki’s expression darkened. He had seen plenty of people become swollen with arrogance after obtaining a decent Devil Fruit, but this lunatic who truly believed himself to be a god still infuriated him.

"Colonel Brina, retreat. Headquarters will handle this matter."

Sakazuki gave the order coldly, then cut off the communication.

But Brina’s entire body had gone rigid.

She wanted to hang up, but blue-white currents suddenly emerged from the Den Den Mushi out of thin air, flickering strand after strand.

Brina was terrified. Seeing this, John almost instinctively turned and fled toward the side of the ship, where lifeboats had been prepared for escape.

The receiver in Brina’s hand began to move through the air on its own.

Enel’s voice continued to ring out.

"Brina, bring your soldiers to the island and meet me."

"I think I would be very interested in learning what arrangements Sakazuki has made. Yahahahaha…"

His laughter echoed through the cabin like muffled thunder.

At that moment, a figure resembling a flamingo streaked through the clouds at high speed.

Crack!

As thunder exploded, Doflamingo suddenly froze in midair. Intense lightning descended from the sky, and he raised his head as his entire body turned pitch-black.

At the same time, within the temple, Enel slowly sat upright.

He could sense that his Divine Judgment had not injured the other party very much.

This was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

Was this the so-called… Haki?!

On the outskirts of the waters where the large number of warships had sunk, a small skiff glided lightly across the sea. Bai Cangshu watched the lightning collide with the fiery-red figure in the sky, the smile on his face growing more pronounced.

He looked toward the only warship that had not sunk, pressed down with his hand, and the skiff immediately headed in that direction.