One Piece: Surrounded at Marineford? Just kidding!

The air in the meeting room froze.

This is the heart of the Revolutionary Army headquarters, now deathly silent like a grave.

The bluish-gray smoke was the only living thing, coiling around everyone's eyebrows and eyes like a snake.

Bello Beatty sat on one side of the long table.

"If it's really as Mr. Chenye speculates..."

"With the Five Elders personally at the front lines, plus an unknown number of Marine Admirals, what kind of Buster Call fleet could so easily wipe out an island...?"

She paused, her gaze sweeping over all her companions, her voice dry and crackling.

"This is not an encirclement. This is a war. A world war against a scientist."

The moment those words landed, the room temperature dropped a few degrees.

Lindbergh across from him took off his goggles.

A layer of white mist on his glasses was the trace of his cold sweat evaporating.

He pulled out a greasy rag and mechanically wiped the lenses, his movements stiff like a rusty toy.

"From a technical standpoint, this is a doomed situation."

Lindbergh's voice was soft, yet carried a desperate rationality.

"Future Island's defense system is world-class, but it's just a piece of paper in the face of this lineup. If the Five Elders truly gain supreme authority over the 'Seraphim,' the island's strongest defensive force will instantly turn against them and become a killing machine."

He put his goggles back on, and his small eyes behind the lenses were completely dark.

"In this situation, even if our entire Revolutionary Army were to come out and try to bring Vegapunk out of Egghead Island intact... I've calculated that the success rate is less than 10%."

Less than 10%.

This number struck like a heavy hammer, hitting everyone in the heart.

Monkey D. Dragon, who hadn't spoken a word, was standing in front of the huge sea chart.

His back was broad and steady, like a mountain.

But the veins on his hands, which were supporting him on the table, were bulging, and his fingertips were digging deep into the wood.

The dragon's face was so gloomy it looked like it could be wrung out of water.

Those deep eyes were fixed on the coordinates representing "Future Island - Egghead Island" on the New World route.

The red dot, in his eyes, transformed into a massive blood-red vortex, devouring everything around it.

"and……"

The dragon spoke, its voice hoarse as if sandpaper were rubbing against its throat.

"Luffy and his crew are over there."

Upon hearing this name, everyone present noticed the twitch at the corner of Longan's eye.

That's not the composure of a leader.

That was a father's instinct, an uncontrollable pain.

"Having just gone through the meat grinder-like battle of Wano Country, the Straw Hat crew is definitely not at their peak right now."

The dragon's gaze was somewhat unfocused as it saw, through the sea chart, the grinning boy wearing a straw hat.

"Faced with this doomed situation, even if he is Nika, even if he is one of the new Four Emperors... his chances of survival are slim."

Those are the Five Elders.

A monster that ruled the world for eight hundred years.

They descended from their pedestals and crushed ants; the terror of this kind of dimensional reduction attack is enough to suffocate any powerful being.

The meeting room fell silent once again.

An emotion called despair is spreading wildly.

At this moment of extreme oppression, the dragon's chest heaved violently.

When he looked up again, the pain in his eyes had been replaced by an iron will.

He turned around abruptly, his gaze sweeping over everyone else and landing directly on the person at the end of the long table.

The man who remained strangely relaxed from beginning to end, as if watching a play—Chen Ye.

"But no matter how difficult it is, even if the success rate is zero, we must take action."

The dragon's voice was no longer hoarse, but filled with the murderous aura of clashing swords and galloping horses.

"Whether it's for the 'Spark' in Vegapunk's hands, or for...my own selfish reasons."

When it came to the word "selfish motives," he made no attempt to hide it, his frankness was truly moving.

"The Revolutionary Army cannot stand idly by. If we don't even dare to take this step, if we can't even protect our allies and loved ones, what are we talking about in overthrowing the World Government? What are we talking about in the dawn?"

Long's words struck like a heavy hammer, making everyone's hearts tremble.

All eyes were on Chen Ye.

They are waiting.

We await the final verdict from this "prophet".

Chen Ye sat in a high-backed chair, his posture languid.

The rhythmic tapping of fingers on the armrest, "tap, tap, tap," was exceptionally clear in the deathly silence, each tap resonating with everyone's heartbeat.

A cryptic smile played at the corners of his lips.

There was no tension or fear in that smile; instead, it carried the excitement of a hunter seeing his prey fall into the net.

"Of course we must take action."

Chen Ye's voice broke the silence, clear and powerful.

"Dragon, your awareness is commendable. However, you've all misunderstood one thing."

He stood up, his black trench coat drawing a sharp arc.

He walked up to the sea chart, stood next to the dragon, and pressed a finger heavily on the location of the future island.

He applied force with his fingertips, his fingertips turning white, as if he wanted to press the nautical chart straight through.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It's a golden chance, a gift from heaven, to drag this behemoth of a world government into the mire and bleed it dry."

Chen Ye turned his head, his gaze sharp as lightning, sweeping across the entire room.

Everyone held their breath.

"The main characters on this stage are not just Luffy, nor just the World Government."

Chen Ye slashed his finger across the nautical chart, creating a crack.

"We will turn Future Island into a 'meat grinder' for the World Government, a tomb to bury their majesty. We will make it... our home ground!"

crazy.

This was the first thought that flashed through everyone's mind.

Turning the tables in a desperate situation with the Five Elders and generals all gathered? That's wishful thinking.

Long frowned, his reason preventing him from agreeing.

"But Mr. Chenye, the enemy's fighting strength is real. Besides the Five Elders and the Navy... Oh, right, what about that 'Knights of God'?"

The dragon's voice deepened, tinged with apprehension.

"If that old monster, Figaland Garin, also intervenes and brings his knights into the war, our current forces have absolutely no chance of winning. That is the Celestial Dragons' strongest shield and their sharpest spear."

The name "Knights of God" made Sabo and Lindbergh's faces turn deathly pale instantly.

That was a sword hanging over the heads of all the rebels, a nightmare more desperate than that of a general.

"The Knights of God?"

Chen Ye seemed to have heard a joke.

He shook his head, speaking in a relaxed tone as if he were discussing the weather.

"That...you don't need to worry about that old geezer, Garin Sei."

Why?

Long subconsciously pressed for an answer.

Chen Ye chuckled lightly, a playful glint in his eyes.

"Because the 'gift' I sent to Mary Geoise last time was a bit too heavy. That commander is probably still lying on his sickbed in Mary Geoise right now."

Chen Ye stretched.

"Although he didn't die, his foundation was severely damaged. He's like an old lion with a broken leg, unable to step out of his sacred ground except to rage helplessly in his den."

What?!

This news came like a bolt from the blue, leaving everyone stunned.

Karin was severely injured? The legendary Celestial Dragon's strongest fighter, who was like a god or demon, was unknowingly crippled by Chen Ye?

Sabo let out a sudden sigh of relief, and his shoulders, which had been as tense as stone, finally relaxed.

Lindbergh slumped dramatically in his chair, panting heavily.

"Great... As long as that old monster doesn't come, the pressure is reduced by at least half!"

But this brief respite didn't last long.

Chen Ye's smile vanished abruptly, his eyes sharp as knives, piercing the skin.

"Don't be too happy yet."

His voice turned cold, carrying a chilling edge.

"Although Korin can't come, it doesn't mean the Knights of God will be absent. Those people are the Celestial Dragons' mad dogs. How can a mad dog not bite when its master is threatened?"

Chen Ye walked to the window, turning his back to everyone.

"Even without Garin leading the team, the other members of the Knights of God are still a group of monsters with the strength of an admiral. Add to that the top assassins in CP0... Once the news of Vegapunk's defection is confirmed, they will definitely swarm in from all directions like sharks smelling blood."

He turned around abruptly, his voice echoing in the conference room.

"The Five Elders, the Marine Admirals, the Buster Call, the Knights of God, CP0... This is almost all the resources the World Government has been able to mobilize in the past eight hundred years. They are determined to eliminate all unstable factors."