Chapter 314: The Battle Cry of the Multitude

"Eight hundred years ago?!"

It was common knowledge that the history of eight centuries past was a void the World Government had spent fortunes concealing; even former Fleet Admiral Sengoku knew nothing of what had transpired.

"Commander Kong, what is this about? What truly is this Sky-Burying Dark Tempest, and where did you hear of it?" Sengoku pressed urgently.

"Cyborg" Kong cast a glance over the surrounding crowd. Seeing that the Five Elders made no move to silence him, he continued, "In truth, it is merely a rumor I caught wind of long ago."

"It is said that eight hundred years ago, shortly before the founding of the World Government, a colossal cataclysm occurred that nearly annihilated the entire world."

"The casualties of that disaster accounted for nearly one-fifth of the global population. It stands as the greatest single loss of life in recorded history."

"One-fifth?!"

Eyes widened across the plaza in utter disbelief. Some had initially dismissed the talk as myth, only to realize the sheer horror of what "one-fifth of the entire world" truly meant.

How many millions of souls had perished in that apocalyptic calamity?!

High above, the four brothers had already ascended into the upper atmosphere. With their acute sensory perception, they naturally discerned the terrifying nature of the dense dark fog saturating the sky.

The countless black filaments condensing from the mist harbored an apocalyptic tier of destructive force.

Given their sheer density, if they were allowed to rain down, not a single square inch of Mary Geoise would remain intact—the entire plateau would be reduced to utter ruin.

The four brothers cared nothing for the fate of the Holy Land itself, yet countless allies and comrades were gathered on the plaza below.

Sabo, in particular, knew that over half the forces present belonged to the Revolutionary Army. Permitting these black threads to fall would yield unthinkable casualties.

"Look up! There's someone in the sky!"

Someone in the crowd spotted the silhouettes of the four brothers.

"It's the Legendary Four Brothers! Why are they up there?!"

"What are they planning to do?"

The more the crowd heard Kong describe the terrors of the Sky-Burying Dark Tempest, the deeper their unease grew.

Seeing the Five Elders make no attempt to deny the claims, wearing expressions tinged with melancholy and resignation, made the reality painfully obvious: that ancient calamity was directly connected to the mysterious entity hovering in the sky.

What unsettled them most was the impenetrable black fog blotting out the firmament; their hearts involuntarily connected it to the legendary Sky-Burying Dark Tempest.

A wave of dread washed over every soul present.

"Wait! If it's them, they might actually pull it off!" A sudden light flashed in Belo Betty's eyes.

The Legendary Four Brothers!

That title had echoed across the seas for years—it was the very definition of this era.

If the era following Roger belonged to Whitebeard, then the era after Whitebeard belonged unequivocally to the Legendary Four Brothers.

Ever since the Paramount War two years ago, the four brothers had stood at the center of the world's stage.

Perhaps each had carved out his own renown before that day, but from that moment onward, what the world recognized was four brothers bound by unbreakable brotherhood.

Sabo! Betty called out in her heart.

If it's you four, you can definitely do it! Go! The Legendary Four Brothers are already living legends!

With you four up there, even if that really is the mythical Sky-Burying Dark Tempest, what is there to fear...?

"She's right! Even if that woman is summoning the Sky-Burying Dark Tempest, so what?" The soldiers suddenly realized that Drake and his brothers had been trading blows with that monster on equal footing all along.

"Weren't the four brothers just fighting her to a standstill moments ago?"

They had simply been spooked by the ancient legend, temporarily losing sight of reality.

Realization dawned upon the crowd one after another. Indeed, they had witnessed the four brothers holding their own against that terrifying entity with their own eyes.

Even if that woman commanded such apocalyptic might, defeat was far from certain!

"Go get 'em, Legendary Four Brothers!" a Marine soldier in Weitian's ranks shouted, raising his arm high.

The Revolutionary Army snapped out of their stupor as well, raising their voices in a thunderous roar: "Our Revolutionary Army's Chief of Staff, Sabo, is up there with them!"

"Let's cheer for the Chief of Staff—no, let's cheer for the Legendary Four Brothers!"

"With their strength, there's no way they'll lose!"

In an instant, the entire battlefield erupted into a roaring fervor once more.

"Charge, Legendary Four Brothers!"

"The Chief of Staff will beat that woman until she can't fight back!"

"Damn right! Did you even need to say that?!"

Waves of battle cries echoed across the Holy Land.

Luffy furrowed his brow, glancing down at Drake and the others. "What are those guys down there yelling about? Why did it suddenly get so loud?"

"Luffy, don't let your guard down. We're making our move!" Drake's eyes were deadly serious as he pushed his power to its absolute peak.

"Right!" Luffy responded instantly, setting his stance on high alert.

High above, the black filaments had nearly finished condensing; the arrow was notched on the bow, ready to fly.

"You fools honestly believe they can stop the Sky-Burying Dark Tempest? How naive!" one of the Five Elders scoffed coldly.

"The Sky-Burying Dark Tempest harbors destructive power capable of annihilating entire worlds."

"You think the ancient cataclysm was merely a legend? It is historical fact!"

"Because the power of the Sky-Burying Dark Tempest itself... far exceeds any natural disaster!"

"Those four youths possess remarkable strength, but hoping to block the Sky-Burying Dark Tempest is pure delusion!"

KABOOM!

Just then, a violent impact shook the ground as a heavy object crashed down directly in front of the Five Elders, kicking up a thick cloud of dust and debris.

"What is that?!"

The Five Elders recoiled in shock.

Suddenly, a calm, resolute voice drifted through the haze:

"Nine Mountains and Eight Seas make one world, a thousand worlds form a Small Thousand World, multiplied by three... there is nothing I cannot cut!"

"If you are a god of death wielding an immortal body, then I am an Asura who embodies wrath and malice!"

"Demonic aura and death gods were natural enemies to begin with..."

"Who's there?!" an Elder roared in fury.

As the dust settled, a silhouette emerged slowly from the haze.

Purple light gleamed in his eyes. A blade was gripped in each hand, with a third held firmly between his teeth. That distinctive Three-Sword Style belonged to none other than the Straw Hat Pirates' combatant—Roronoa Zoro!

"Gold One!" The Five Elders stared in horror at the fallen figure wearing a golden mask sprawled before them.

"Gold One" was the codename of the masked operative; once inducted into that elite, clandestine unit, their original names were stripped away, replaced solely by numbers.

"Luffy... will never lose!" Zoro declared, standing at the vanguard of the Straw Hat crew as his gaze locked onto the Five Elders.

The expressions of the Five Elders darkened with every passing second. None of them had imagined that the ultimate trump cards cultivated and concealed by the World Government for centuries would be so easily dismantled.

To think that Gold One had been defeated by Zoro defied everything they knew to be possible.

All that talk of bottomless ancient heritage amounted to absolutely nothing!

"Zoro!" Chopper stared at Zoro with wide, bulging eyes, his tongue tripping over itself. "Y-Y-You... your..."

"What is it?" Zoro asked, puzzled.

After stuttering for several seconds, Chopper finally blurted out, "Your eye!"

"Oh, that? While I was fighting earlier, it somehow just healed up on its own," Zoro said, waving his hand dismissively.

"It's nothing worth stressing over."

"NOTHING WORTH STRESSING OVER?!" The Straw Hat crew collectively erupted in disbelief.

How the hell can you call something like that a minor detail?!