"Insolence! Audacity beyond measure!"
" Elio is completely lawless, he actually dared to initiate a military coup!"
Holy Land, Hall of Power.
The Five Elders gathered, their faces grim and overcast.
Moments ago, the Fleet Admiral's office had relayed the latest intelligence: it was now confirmed that Marine Headquarters had fallen entirely under Elio's control.
This revelation sent shockwaves through the roomm, four of the Five Elders nearly erupted in fury.
And when they learned that not only was Headquarters compromised, but contact had been lost with many branch bases across the Four Blues and the Grand Line, even the last sliver of hope in their hearts vanished.
"I knew that Elio would eventually become a problem!"
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, the War god of Finances, looked around at his fellow Elders, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
"When Spandine first came to me about him, I already sensed the threat. That's why I ordered Judicial Island to investigate and prosecute him. I thought we were fast enough, but clearly, he'd already begun to bare his fangs in the shadows."
"Spandine?" Topman lifted his gaze. "Why would he come to you?"
"Just a power-hungry insect," Nusjuro sneered. "How he found me is irrelevant. What matters is what we do now. According to the latest reports from Kong, it's not just the three Admirals and numerous Vice Admirals who've chosen to back Elio. Personnel shifts are sweeping through many of our bases across the Blues and the Grand Line. Elio clearly intends to seize total control of the Marines from the top down!"
"If he dares stage a coup and seize command, then it's only a matter of time before he wields the Marines as a weapon against the World Government!"
"My suggestion: strike before his wings fully spread. Let Kong mobilize all military forces except the Marines and encircle Marineford! I'm confident, if we bring our full might to bear, the Marine soldiers will waver. No one wants to be branded a traitor for following Elio against the World Government!"
"Calm yourself, Etahnbaron," Topman said sternly, gesturing for silence. "This matter is of the utmost gravity. We must act with care."
"First, we must discern Elio's true intentions. If all he wants is the title of Fleet Admiral, then we let him have it. We replace Sengoku with him, make it official."
"Of course, that would only be a temporary concession. So long as he behaves and obeys orders from the Holy Land, we can slowly divide and weaken the Marines from within. And when the time is right, we'll arrest and execute him."
"Right now, his momentum is at its peak. Even if Kong leads a full-scale assault, even if we win, it'll be a pyrrhic victory, one that costs us dearly."
"And if a civil war erupts between Elio's Marines and our forces, the Grand Line will descend into unprecedented chaos. The pirates, the Four Emperors, the Revolutionary Army, they'll all seize the opportunity to strike. Some wavering member nations might even switch sides!"
"I disagree," Nasushirou stepped forward, voice low and firm. "That scenario assumes a drawn-out conflict. True, Elio has the support of the three Admirals, many Vice Admirals, and nearly ten thousand Marine soldiers. Kong alone can't suppress them quickly."
He paused, then raised his head sharply.
"But what if the God's Knights intervene? With a coup of this scale, Figarland Garling has every reason to act. If he leads the Holy Knights to Marineford and pins down the Admirals, the rest of the Marine leadership won't matter!"
"And Elio? He's just a Vice Admiral."
"Don't forget, we still have the CP divisions, especially CP9 under Rob Lucci. Lucci is the most ruthless and powerful assassin in CP9's history. They've been lying in wait in Water 7 and can strike as an elite vanguard."
"Speed is crucial. If we strike fast and kill Elio, the coup ends immediately. The Revolutionary Army, the Four Emperors, they won't have time to react. And even if they do, they'll find the situation back under our control. None of them would dare stir chaos then."
Topman fell into silence. The other three Elders looked to him, clearly leaning toward Nusjuros's strategy.
"No."
Suddenly, a sharp, piercing voice broke the tension.
The great doors of the Hall of Power swung open. A tall figure entered, immediately catching the Elders' attention.
Draped in a cloak that swept across the floor, their entire body hidden save for a pair of blood-red ripple eyes that glowed from beneath the hood, this being radiated an oppressive presence so suffocating that even the Five Elders, holders of the world's highest authority, scrambled to their feet and then dropped to their knees.
"Lord Imu!"
"You underestimate Elio."
Imu, still shrouded in their cloak, slowly walked past the kneeling Elders, stopping before the massive window that overlooked the Holy Land. Their back turned to the room, their voice was cold and steady.
"A battle erupted at Marine Headquarters recently. To be precise, a clash of Conqueror's Haki."
"And within one of those two bursts of Haki, I sensed something familiar... something very much like what Joy Boy once possessed."
The Five Elders turned pale, horror etched across their faces.
"You clearly don't understand Elio as well as you think," Imu continued, turning slightly, a chill flickering in their crimson ripple eyes.
"Have you all sat on your thrones too long? Grown too blind with age?"
The rebuke sent cold sweat dripping down the backs of the Elders. But before they could react, Imu's tone softened, just a little.
"This matter is no longer yours to meddle in. I will dispatch the Holy Knights to investigate personally."
"So long as Elio is not one of the D lineage, and has no ties to Joy Boy, then this so-called coup is just a changing of the guard, a new Fleet Admiral, nothing more."
Meanwhile...
Due to the sudden personnel shifts across numerous Marine bases in the Four Blues and the Grand Line, spies from all factions hidden in those branches immediately relayed the intelligence outward.
Even within Marine Headquarters, one crucial piece of encrypted information slipped through via a transponder snail, straight to the Revolutionary Army.
Grand Line, Revolutionary Headquarters, Baltigo Island.
Amid blizzards and biting cold, a Revolutionary Army officer gripped the intelligence file and sprinted toward a nearby command tent.
"Leader! Leader!"
The moment he burst in, breathless and pale, he shouted, "A top-secret message from Marine Headquarters, former Vice Admiral Elio launched a coup last night. As of this morning, he's seized full control!"
"Marine branches across the Four Blues and the Grand Line are undergoing an unprecedented purge. All base commanders have been replaced by Elio's personal loyalists!"
The tent fell into dead silence.
At the head of the table sat none other than Monkey D. Dragon, the Supreme Commander of the Revolutionary Army, labeled the most dangerous criminal in the world by the World Government after the last Reverie.
After a brief pause, Dragon, wearing his signature green cloak and bearing a jagged scar across his face, finally spoke, his voice low and disbelieving.
"Vice Admiral Elio...? That young officer who rose to prominence in the last few years? What is going on? A Vice Admiral dares to stage a coup, and succeeds? Has Marine Headquarters grown so feeble?"
The officer responded swiftly, "This message was sent directly by that person. There is no mistake."
"I understand." Dragon rose from his seat without hesitation.
"Notify the Five Armies. Keep close watch on every move the World Government makes. If they engage the Marines now under Elio's command, we move at once. This is our chance, to liberate as many nations as we can!"