Chapter 113: Paramount War
"...I couldn't even save... a single comrade...!!!!"
For Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat crew he leads, that day was the day they came to realize their own weakness.
On their way to Fish-Man Island, the crew stopped at the Sabaody Archipelago. In order to rescue Camie, the mermaid they had befriended, they headed to the Human Auction House. There, Luffy punched a Celestial Dragon who had harmed Hatchan, a fish-man and their friend. Following that, they encountered âDark Kingâ Silvers Rayleigh, the former first mate of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, and asked him to coat their ship.
However, the crew couldnât survive the three days it would take for the coating to finish.
Admiral Kizaru arrived in response to the Celestial Dragon being injured. Alongside him came the Science Combat Squad Captain Sentomaru and the governmentâs human weapons, the Pacifistas.
"Let us never meet again... Farewell."
Then, by the hand of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the âTyrantâ Bartholomew Kuma... the crew was completely torn apart.
ââ But that didnât mean they were dead.
Thanks to Kumaâs Paw-Paw Fruit powers, each of the Straw Hat crew members was sent flying to a different location.
The true reason behind this was still unknown to them.
Thus, each of them began searchingâdesperately and aloneâfor a way to reunite with their comrades.
But even then, Luffy was about to get caught in yet another storm.
The island he was sent to was Amazon Lily, the island of women ruled by the warrior tribe âKuja.â
It was a land forbidden to men, isolated from the world, ruled by Boa Hancockâthe âPirate Empress,â captain of the Kuja Pirates, and one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Because the island lay within the âCalm Belt,â people from outside rarely ever arrived.
But even an island cut off from the world cannot escape a storm large enough to shake the world itself.
ââ One week remained until the public execution of Portgas D. Ace, Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Right now... this country is...!! Protected by your title as a 'Warlord of the Sea,' you know."
In a chamber of Kuja Castle, where generations of Amazon Lily's emperors had lived, the old woman known as Elder Nyon urged the current empress, Boa Hancock.
Hancock had accepted the summons of the Seven Warlordsâa gathering of power meant to oppose the invading Whitebeard Pirates, who were expected to come to retrieve "Fire Fist" Ace. However, she refused to board the Marine warship sent to retrieve her. Instead, she used her Love-Love Fruit powers to turn nearly all of the Marines into stone, then returned as if nothing had happened.
If she refused the summons, her title as Warlord would be revoked, and the full force of Marine Headquarters would descend upon Amazon Lily. The Calm Beltâs natural defenses meant nothing to Marine warships lined with Seastone on their hulls.
In short, if she left the Warlords, someone else would need to protect themâsomething Elder Nyon feared.
"If you lose your title, youâll return to being just another pirate nation, and disaster will strike!!! To avoid that, we must... declare our connection to themâthe ones weâve been secretly cooperating with!!! Do you understand that!!?"
"...You're just afraid, aren't you?"
But Hancock flatly refused her advice.
She would not be controlled by anyone. She would not take orders. Especially not from the World Government.
So, the only ones whose orders she listened to were a certain pirate crew she reluctantly allied with. Even they had told her that whether she joined the upcoming war or not was up to her. Given that freedom, there was no way Hancockâwho despised the Governmentâwould choose to join.
So, Hancock threw out Elder Nyon, went to wash off the fatigue of her travels, and entered the bath.
ââ But that marked the beginning of the storm.
The man who suddenly crashed through the ceiling during her bath was none other than Monkey D. Luffy, who had already made contact with the islandâs inhabitants after being flung there.
He had charged into the tallest building, looking for a pirate ship to take him back to Sabaody, and accidentally saw the one thing Hancock absolutely didnât want anyone to seeâher back.
Because of that, Luffy was sentenced to the "Duel to the Death" known as âCombatâ by the Gorgon Sistersâmiddle sister Sandersonia and youngest sister Marigold.
Luffy struggled against their mysterious power, âHaki,â and one of the three women who had protected himâMargueriteâwas nearly shattered in her petrified form.
"I told you to knock it off already, didnât I!!!!"
ââ But in that moment, Luffy instinctively unleashed âConquerorâs Hakiâ and stopped them.
"Aside from our elder sister and that person... Iâve never seen anyone else use this...!!!"
Sandersonia said. To the Gorgon Sisters, only four people were known to wield Conquerorâs Haki.
Though surprised at first, they continued the battle, thinking Luffy couldnât control it consciously. But once Luffy powered up with âGear 2,â the tide of battle began to shift slightly in his favor.
Thrown off balance, Sandersonia nearly fell into a pit of spikes.
But as her clothes caught fire due to Marigoldâs accidental attack, it was Luffy who used his body to hide her back in place of the burnt garments.
And from there, everything changed.
The Gorgon Sisters, movedânot exactly out of gratitudeâoffered to grant Luffy one wish, while also trying to expose his true intentions. Would he choose his own goal, or the lives of those three he barely knew?
But without hesitation, Luffy chose to save Marguerite and the others, bowing his head before Hancock.
Shocked by his selflessness, and disarmed of their hostility, the sisters invited him to Kuja Castle and asked him where he had seen that symbol on her back.
Luffy, unaware, mistook it for the tattoo on his fish-man friend Hatchan's body.
Then Elder Nyon arrived and revealed what was written in the newspaperâthat Luffy had recently punched a Celestial Dragon.
Upon hearing this, they were speechless.
"To risk his life... fear no gods... and challenge the 'Heavens'... someone like that...!!"
"'Someone like that'?"
And then Hancock told him everything.
The arrogance and self-satisfaction from before had vanished. Her face pale, sweat dripping down her skin.
"We three sisters... long ago... were slaves to the 'World Nobles'...!!!"
"!!?"
Luffy was shocked to learn the sisters had once been slaves.
What followed was a recounting of a horrific past.
As children, they were abducted by human traffickers and suffered cruelty at the hands of the Celestial Dragonsâthe first "men" they had ever seen.
Even recalling it caused Sandersonia to scream and clutch her head from the trauma. The three of them had thought only of death back then.
And yet, they were still here. They had been saved.
"ââBut one night, four years later, a shocking incident shook the World Government. No one ever defies the Celestial Dragonsâthatâs the iron rule of the world."
Yes. No one opposes the Celestial Dragons.
To defy a god is a sin itself. Thatâs the world they live in.
Howeverââ
"In that world, one climbed the 'Red Line' with his bare hands... and another led an army into the Holy Land using a mysterious power."
Hancock recalled the day of their rescueâand the bloodshed.
She remembered the faces of the two people who had saved them, and revealed their names to Luffyâboth of whom were great benefactors.
"The first was... the adventurer Fisher Tiger, who would later lead the Sun Pirates. He fought to liberate slaves from the city where many fish-men were oppressed..."
ăRun!! Never get caught again!!ă
His voice and image flashed back.
But remembering him naturally brought up the other.
Someone who looked the same then as they do now.
"The other... is the Vice Governor of the 'Beasts Pirates,' one of the Four Emperors... the great pirate known as 'The Phantom Beast Nue.'"
"! One of the Four Emperors... huh?"
Luffy responded, vaguely recognizing the name, but couldnât quite place it. Unaware, Hancock continued.
"I still donât know his true motivesânot even now, thirteen years later... But they rampaged through the Holy Land. Though Tiger hated humans as a race, he freed thousands of slaves from every species without discrimination... And Nue-san, too, ordered her subordinates to free the slaves... while she, herself... slaughtered those Celestial Dragons... and showed that sight to all who were in the Holy Land."
ăLook, everyoneâs watching youď˝âĄ They probably never imagined theyâd get to see you die like thisď˝!! Ahahahaha!!ă
The Celestial Dragons were being directly subjected to fear, agonyâand deathâat the hands of the most terrifying creature in the world.
Because they were enemies she bore a grudge against, no pity welled up. But... the fear toward Nue was unmistakably strong.
Still, even as the Holy Land was engulfed in flames by Nue and Tiger, the women had fled for their lives just like the other slaves.
Thatâs exactly why Hancock and the others owed a debt to Nue and Tiger. So much so, in fact, that they still remained in contact with the former.
As for the latter, after the incident, he had formed the âSun Piratesâ in order to shelter and protect both fish-men and mermaids who had been slaves. He engraved the symbol of the sun on everyoneâs bodies, whether slave or not, to cover up the mark of slavery. That is why the Sun Pirates' symbol resembles that of the slaves.
Hancock and her sisters, once enslaved, now refused to be ruled by anyone. If the truth about their slave mark was revealed, they would no longer be allowed to remain on the island.
So they let down their guard for no one, deceived the nation, and trusted nobody.
And when Hancock confessed and laid bare her emotions, Luffy didnât ridicule her or care at all that she hated the Celestial Dragons.
Having gained her favor, Luffy was to be sent to the Sabaody Archipelago the next morningâbut when he slipped away from the islandâs party with Margaret and headed to Elder Nyonâs house, he learned something shocking.
"âThe Seven Warlordsâ and âNavy Headquartersâ...!!? Theyâre gonna fight the âWhitebeard Piratesâ!?! What the hellâs gonna happen!!?"
That was the current state of the world.
The fact that Hancock was one of the Seven Warlords. And that the governmentâs military force, including the Seven Warlords, was going to war with one of the Four Emperorsâthe Whitebeard Piratesâwas enough to startle even Luffy.
But what truly shocked and unhinged him⌠was the reason behind the war.
"âWhitebeardâ is a man who never forgives a comradeâs death. And knowing that... they still went ahead and announced the âpublic executionâ of Whitebeardâs brilliant subordinate, Portgas D. Ace...!!!"
It was a pirate named âBlackbeardâ who joined the Seven Warlords by offering Aceâs capture as his bargaining chip.
The fact that the World Government had used Aceâs capture to finally make their move was staggering.
Even those with no connection to any of it would be shockedâbut for Luffy, the impact was on another level. Because âAceâ wasââ
"Heâs my brotherâŚâŚâŚâŚ!!! Ace is my big brother!!!"
"!!?"
Yes... Luffy and Ace had exchanged sake cups as kids and become sworn brothers.
If nothing was done, Ace might be executed.
If âWhitebeardâ won, Ace could be savedââbut if not, Ace would die.
The public execution was set for six days later. It would take place on the island of âMarineford,â home of Navy Headquarters.
Everything would be over before Luffy even reached Sabaody Archipelago.
Moreover, getting to Aceâheld in the great prison âImpel Downââwas impossible through conventional means.
There was a special sea current called the âTarai Currentâ connecting the three major government institutions, but the âGates of Justiceâ placed at each entrance prevented anyone from entering. To make matters worse, Impel Down itself was located in the Calm Belt, an area no pirate could ever reach.
But that didnât matter to Luffy. What mattered was... if he did nothing, Ace might die.
Ace had his own adventures. For Luffy, the younger and weaker brother, helping Ace was something that deeply conflicted himââ
"I wanna go save Ace!!!"
With gratitude toward his crew, he clearly stated his resolve.
But it was a thorny path. The scale of the war was beyond imagination. A lone pirate like Luffy would likely be able to do nothing.
Hearing Luffyâs resolve, Elder Nyon told him the path with even the slightest chance of success. Going to Marineford was suicide. Rescuing a prisoner protected by the Seven Warlords and Navy Admirals was beyond difficultâflat-out impossible.
Thus, the only remaining path was to go to Impel Down, where a slim possibility still existed. But to get there, the only route was to board a Navy ship by having Hancock respond to the mandatory Warlord summons.
That, too, was a long shot. Hancock wasnât the type to kindly listen to othersâ pleas in the first place.
ButââStraw Hat Luffyâs outrageous luck came through.
"You!! Could you ride the Navy ship and take me to the âprisonâ where Ace is being held!!!"
"If that is what you wishââthen I... shall go wherever you ask"
"!!!"
"The Snake Princess!!! Has decided to go to the governmentâs stronghold!!!"
"Thereâs a saying in the East Blue⌠âLove is always!! Like a hurricaneâ!!!"
The illness that had once afflicted Hancock... was known as âlovesickness.â And the object of that love was Luffy.
And so, Hancock agreed to Luffyâs request, conditionally accepted the Seven Warlordsâ mandatory summons, and set off for the worldâs greatest prisonââImpel Down.â
ââHowever, Hancock had one lingering concern.
(This war... will not end easily. Luffy may not be participating in it... no, I mustnât tell him. It will only distract him.)
It was about the movements of certain individuals that had been reported in advance. Hancock hesitated, wondering if she should tell Luffy. But now was not the timeâhe needed to focus solely on rescuing his brother. She decided it was best not to mention it.
There were four days left until Impel Down. Six days left until the public execution. That was their time limit.
If the worst came to pass, she would even ask them for help to save Luffy and his brother. For Luffyâs sake, Hancock quietly steeled her resolve.
The most significant reason why a âYonkoâ can remain a âYonkoâ is due to the overwhelming strength of the Yonko themselves.
This applies to âWhitebeardâ as wellâhowever, the reason why âWhitebeardâ is often cited as the most formidable among the Yonko has much to do with his own unique power.
"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!?"
"A tsunamiâŚ!!!"
"Reportâblgh!! Ahâdo something about the ship!!!"
"Aaaaahhhhhhh~~~!!!"
Twenty-three Navy ships had been monitoring the Whitebeard Piratesâ main vessel, the Moby Dick.
All of them were simultaneously sunk by a sudden, massive tsunami.
Of course, the New World is a sea where mysterious phenomenaâunthinkable in other seasâoccur all the time.
But this tsunami was no act of nature. It had been caused by the hand of the âStrongest Pirate.â
"Oyaji. Looks like all the warships are down."
"ââYeah. Now our movements wonât be detected⌠Letâs move while we can."
"Yeah!!"
On the deck of the Moby Dick, 14 of the 16 division commanders directly under Whitebeard had gathered, making preparations and planning a war to rescue their âfamily.â
Naturally, at the center of it all stood the giant man who had just used the Devil Fruit known to possess the power to destroy the worldâthe Gura Gura no Miâto trigger a âseaquakeâ and sink all the warships with a tsunami.
ăCaptain of the âWhitebeard Pirates,â âWhitebeardâ Edward Newgate. Bounty: 5,046,000,000 berriesă
A legendary man who once rivaled the âPirate Kingâ Gol D. Roger.
With Roger gone, he was the pirate considered closest to the Pirate Kingâs throne.
âŚBut even he was already a 72-year-old man. His body was connected to multiple medical devices, and his condition was only barely managed day to day through medication. Ailing and aged.
Yet his strength still did not disgrace the title of Yonko.
Naturally, he had declined from the peak of his primeâwhere he had been universally called the strongest without questionâand even his sons who had known him for years recognized this.
Still, to the average pirate, his strength hadnât waned in the slightest. Encountering him would be enough to make them abandon all hope of survival.
ââOf course, how other Yonko saw him was another matter. No, he had definitely declined, and even âWhitebeardâ himself was fully aware of that.
Even so, abandoning a son was never an option for him. He was a man who held âhonorâ sacred, never forgiving the death of a comrade.
That is precisely why he became a legend.
The Whitebeard Pirates and even their allies admired such a man.
"Oyaji!! That Musashi girlâŚ!!"
"!! âŚI seeâŚ"
And among those who admired Whitebeard were many outcasts.
But even among them, one individual stood out as an extreme case.
The report that came from Marco, the 1st division commander, was about something that person had doneâand it was enough to darken Whitebeardâs expression.
That person was a girl who had been aboard the ship as a guest of the Whitebeard Pirates for several years, and had been close with Ace.
The Whitebeard Pirates had half-recognized her as one of their ownââalthough officially, due to her origins and personality, she was treated merely as a guestââthatâs who she was.
ââImpel Down, LEVEL 6âŚâEternal Hell.â
A phantom floor that officially did not exist.
The lowest level of the great prison, where only legendary criminals were keptâthose who had committed atrocities so grotesque, or had caused incidents so inconvenient for the World Government, they were never even reported in the news.
And currently, the most important prisoner in that level was none other than the 2nd division commander of the Whitebeard PiratesââFire Fist Ace.â
"I wouldâve given my life to stop this war!!! Huff⌠I wanted to rescue you, Ace-sanâŚ!!!"
"âŚJinbei⌠thatâs enough. It just hurts nowâŚâŚâŚâŚ!!!"
But Ace wasnât the only one in that cell. Sharing the same cell with him were the Warlord of the Sea, âKnight of the Seaâ Jinbeiâwho had staunchly opposed the war and rampaged through Mary GeoiseâandâŚ
"Truly⌠to think I of all people would failâŚ!!! Ace⌠Iâm sorry⌠If only I had saved you⌠no, if Iâd just stepped in to stop Blackbeard in the first placeâŚ"
"âŚMusashi⌠this is my fault⌠not yours⌠and yet, you ended up captured tooâŚ"
Yes, there was a small girl named Musashi in that cellâbearing two horns on her head.
ăSelf-proclaimed Vice-Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates 2nd Division, âMad Beast Musashi.â Bounty: 534,000,000 berriesă
"Hahaha⌠donât worry about itâŚ!! Torture like thisâI am quite used to itâŚ!! Doesnât affect me at allâŚ!! More importantly⌠Iâm thinking of a way to get you out. So just hang in there a bit longerâŚ"
"âŚMusashiâŚ"
The girl, chained and covered in blood, still smiled. Years ago, she had been one of Aceâs companions when he first challenged the Whitebeard Pirates.
To save Ace, she had single-handedly attacked the naval fleet escorting himâfive ships totalâsinking two before being captured.
Even then, she escaped once and launched an assault on Impel Down itself, sinking about three more ships, before being captured again and imprisoned in the same cell as Ace and Jinbei, in the lowest level.
But still not giving up, she now used her head, trying to find a way to escape and save Ace. Her tenacity weighed heavily on Ace, filling him with guilt.
He felt that perhaps⌠he really wasnât worth saving after all.
"âŚYeah. Thatâs right⌠I still havenât given up either⌠I believe in âmiraclesâ and âchancesââŚ!!!"
"âŚâŚâŚâŚ!!!"
But it wasnât just Musashi who hadnât given upâJinbei hadnât either. Knowing Musashiâs origins, his feelings were complicated, but Jinbei believed the sins of the parent should not be visited upon the child. He harbored no ill will toward Musashi.
"Kuhahaha⌠Looks like things are gettinâ pretty interesting outside⌠Seems like there ainât a better chance than this to take down âWhitebeardââŚ!!! Even I canât help gettinâ excitedâŚ!!!"
"âŚâŚ!! You bastardâŚ!!!"
"Youâre saying youâre gonna take Oyajiâs headâŚ!?"
"Not just meâŚ!!"
Hearing the conversation, the prisoners of LEVEL 6 stirred.
Kill Whitebeard, take his head, end Whitebeardâs era, watch that bastard dieâit all came out of their mouths fearlessly as they began to riot.
"Musashi⌠Jinbei⌠âFire FistââŚ!! Remember this wellâŚ!! There are countless âsilver medalistsâ in this sea who shed bitter tears simply because they couldnât defeat âWhitebeardâ or âRogerââŚ!!! Kuhahahaha!!!"
"âŚHmph⌠A washed-up former Warlord sure likes to barkâŚ"
ââThirty-three hours remained until Aceâs public execution.
Musashi, for Aceâs sake, never gave up and kept thinking of the next move.
But the situation would take an unexpected turn.
Thanks to a visit from one of the Seven Warlords of the SeaâBoa Hancock.
"!? (HancockâŚ!? Why is she hereâŚâŚâŚâŚ Could it be⌠by father or motherâs ordersâŚ?)"
"âŚ! (Thatâs⌠MusashiâŚ!! Why is she imprisoned hereâŚ!? Do Nue and the others know about thisâŚ?)"
When they met during the visitation for Ace, both women, familiar with each other, showed a flicker of emotion. But they could not react or greet one another. There was supposed to be no connection or relationship between the two.
So Hancock limited herself to a single glance and quickly concluded her conversation while the prisoners and guards cowered in fear of Warden Magellanâs poison. Hearing what she said, Ace then relayed it to Jinbei and Musashi.
"ââMy brotherâŚ!! âŚHeâs hereâŚâŚâŚâŚ!!!"
"!? âStraw Hat Luffyâ isâŚ!?"
"......You're talking about that Straw Hat kid you always mention...!! Reckless..."
Yesâthanks to Hancockâs guidance, Monkey D. Luffy had successfully infiltrated Impel Down and was now descending deeper and deeper into hell.
"YEAHHHH~~~!!! Took down the hell-beast!!!"
Impel Down, LEVEL 3: "Hunger Hell."
A place where fierce criminals with bounties over 50 million berries gathered. It was here that Luffy, after recruiting the imprisoned Buggy, Mr. 3, and Mr. 2, had just defeated the jailer beast Minotaurus.
The fact that there was now one intruder and three escapees was already known to Chief Warden Magellan, every officer, and even the Marines outside.
ââAnd Musashi had sensed this development, however faintly.
"âŚDonât come, LuffyâŚ!!!"
"âŚâŚâŚâŚ(No doubt about it. I can feel strong presences and several others moving from above... Magellan must have mobilized with the guards. Hannyabal and the jailer beasts too. If Straw Hat Luffy somehow manages to reach this level and unlock the cell, it wonât be too hard to escape with three people... but escaping from Magellan and making it all the way here...)"
Thanks to her naturally strong Observation Haki, Musashi could sense the movement of presences far above and deduced that Magellan and his officers were now taking action. In order to escape with Ace from here, the handcuffs and the cell were obstacles that had to be removed.
The best option for that was to have Luffy, who was likely outside, find some way to do it. However, the odds of Luffy defeating Magellanâor even fleeing from him and reaching this levelâwere extremely slim.
Perhaps she should instead pin her hopes on the strange presence she felt from the upper floorsâneither man nor woman. Realizing she could now only rely on others, Musashi clenched her teeth in frustration.
â32 hours until Ace's public execution.
In the seas of the New World, the incident occurred.
"âŚâŚâŚâŚ"
The name of the ship sailing through the raging waters was the Red Force. The flag it flew bore a skull marked with three scars.
It was the emblem of the "Red-Haired Pirates," one of the infamous Four Emperors ruling the New World.
On the deck stood the famed executives. Unlike the other Four Emperors, they didnât boast massive numbers of crew or subordinates, but their bounties averaged higher, forming a well-balanced and formidable pirate crew.
Though the organization was constantly growing, the phrase "elite few" suited them more than any of the other Four Emperors.
And leading those renowned executives from the deck, gazing toward the distant sky, stood a man with red hair. Three scars over his left eye. A one-armed man missing his left armâhe was known as one of the Four Emperors, a man said to be uncontrollable if angered.
ă"Captain of the Red-Haired Pirates, Red-Haired Shanks" â Bounty: 4,048,900,000 Berriesă
"âŚâŚDid you see it?"
"Yeah. There's a hell of a lot of them."
"The number⌠easily over a thousand⌠damn, what a ridiculous ability, as usual."
With his sharp eyes, Red-Haired Shanks sensed through the cloudsâstill invisible to the naked eyeâusing Observation Haki. He asked his long-time comrades, the executives beside him. The capable first mate, Benn Beckman, nodded, while Yasopp, a master sniper with the epithet "Chaser," also sensed the presence on the distant horizon with his refined Observation Haki and voiced the number, gritting his teeth. Taking on that many was nothing short of a hassle.
"Boss!! We got a call on the Den Den Mushi!!"
"Itâs here⌠hand it over."
A chubby man holding a bone-in meat, also a capable combatant and executive named Lucky Roux, reported that a call had come through the Den Den Mushi in Shanksâ possession. Shanks took the call with a stern expression, unfazed.
"ââItâs me."
ăAh, hellooo~! Itâs me, the idol of the New World~ă
The voice came through the Den Den Mushi. A girlâs voice, you could sayâcute, even.
But Shanks and his executives knew full well just how troublesome this girl was. How malicious, too.
Thatâs why he responded with a sharp voice. Shanksâ expression and tone, infused with Haki, were enough to make the newer members of the Red-Haired Pirates break into a sweat. The deck was tenseâbecause of who they were dealing with.
"What do you want?"
ăWhat do I want? â Fufu, ahahahaâŚ!! Thatâs my line, donât you think?ă
"âŚâŚWhat are you talking about?"
Shanks asked the caller for her purposeâonly to be met with a cryptic, amused laugh.
He questioned her meaning, but her tone dropped slightly, just a little lower than before.
ăDonât play dumb. You sensed our movements in advance and tried to stop usâthat was you, wasnât it?ă
"! âŚI see⌠so you noticed."
ăOf course I did. Who do you think I am?ă
"I know. I know all too well⌠âNue, the Beastly Phantom.â"
Shanks spoke her name. The newer crewmates swallowed hard. âSo it really was that "beast."
That name, the elder sister-figure of the monster Kaido, was one known to all in the New World. There were more than a few Red-Haired Pirates who had once wandered into the Beast Piratesâ territory and paid for it. Even if one didnât see her in person, entering her territory made her threat very clear.
And to Shanks and his executive crew, the Beast Pirates held unpleasant memories. Even as a fellow Emperor, they couldnât afford to let their guard down. Both Shanks and Nue voiced their mutual awareness of each otherâs intel and exchanged thinly veiled insults.
ăItâs been four years since you became an Emperor. Youâve been skulking around trying to weaken our growing forces all this timeâwe saw through it from the start.ă
"I see. So, did you catch the rat that was running around?"
ăAhahaâŚ!! Acting like some sort of âbalancer,â are you? You sure are full of yourselfâŚâŚ!!!ă
With a slight provocation from Shanks, the atmosphere beyond the Den Den Mushi turned menacing. It was clear how much that irked her. The Red-Haired Pirates didnât know it, but for Nue to show such irritation was rare.
Indeed, the Red-Haired Pirates had been covertly harassing the Beast Pirates, aiming to hinder their expansion. Through indirect maneuvers that barely avoided escalating into actual skirmishes, and although the damage wasnât direct, having it continue for four years certainly delayed their growthâand frayed tempers.
Moreover, unlike the Beast or Big Mom Pirates, the Red-Haired Pirates didnât have a fixed base, making them harder to track than other Emperors. Even Nue, who inexplicably knew many things, didnât have much intel on them. Hence, the Beast Pirates bore a not-so-small grudge toward the Red-Haired Piratesânot overwhelming, but not insignificant either.
That said, the ones more afraid of that grudge were the low-ranking members of the Beast Pirates. They knew better than anyone how terrifying Kaido and Nue could be. The very idea of drawing their ire was horrifying. Normally, those two would try to turn strong opponents into subordinates instead of killing themâbut once angered, those they deemed true âenemiesâ rarely survived. One of those rare survivors⌠was Red-Haired Shanks.
ăâŚStill, Iâll give you credit for standing tall as an enemy. Itâs boring fighting weaklings all the timeâŚâŚ!!ă
"So⌠you are in the mood for a fight."
ăThatâs right.ă
Holding the Den Den Mushi, Shanks spoke as he watched flying objects emerging one after another from the distant clouds. The crew stirred. The UFOs themselves were one thing, but more than anything⌠it was the sheer number.
Red, blue, green, rainbow-coloredâeach UFO appeared to block the Red-Haired Piratesâ path.
ăRoughly 1,000 in total. Thatâs half the number of UFOs I can summon at once⌠and theyâre all here to deal with youâŚâŚ!!ă
"âŚâŚ!! âŚQuite the grand welcome."
ăYou can take it as a sign of respect. Of course, I donât think this alone will turn you into sea dust⌠but it will buy some timeâĄă
"!!"
A thousand UFOs created by Nueâs ability, filling the sky. Taking out each one wasnât hardâif you had enough strength.
But the UFOs flew through the air, making them hard to hit with cannons. Attack methods were limited.
And then there was the number. They wouldnât fall behind, but even the Red-Haired Pirates, one of the Four Emperors, would have to spend time.
And that was enough to delay their arrival.
ăAhahahahahaha!!! Just sit there and soak it in!! Tomorrow will be the greatest show ever!!! A world no one couldâve predicted⌠is about to begin!!!ă
"âŚâŚNueâŚâŚ!!"
"! Theyâre coming!!"
Over the Den Den Mushi, Nue made her grand declaration. At the same time, the UFOs launched an all-out attack on the Red-Haired Pirates.
Shanks called out her name with firm resolveâhis tone made it clear he would never allow this. Nue laughed in response.
ăFufu, if you want to stop me, be my guest. Weaklings or strongâeveryoneâs welcome⪠Feel free to join the party⪠âThough if youâre too late⌠there might not be many guests left!!ă
"âŚâŚWe wonât let that happen. Weâll stop you⌠no matter whatâŚâŚ!!!"
ăIâm counting on it. If you make it in time, Iâll give you the honor of facing me⥠âLater then.ă
Click. The Den Den Mushi cut off.
Shanks sensed how dire the situation truly was. He unleashed his Haki across his entire body, drew his sword, and gave the order to his crew.
"Take them down!! Push through at full speed while dealing with the UFOs!!!"
"OOOH!!!"
At their captainâs command, the crew responded, and the Red-Haired Pirates began their battle against the thousand UFOs filling the skies.
âAnd the story kicked into high gear.
"I'm going!!! To Navy Headquarters!!!"
"If I use my power... you and I can both get out of here. It's not a bad deal. There's something in it for both of us."
"Please, I'm begging you!!! Take me with you!!! I swear I'll be useful!!!"
"We meet again, 'Straw Hat Luffy'!! I, too, wish to save Ace!!! I can be a force to help you, so let me out of here!!!"
"Let's cause an unprecedented uncontainable ultra-panic here in Impel Down!!!"
"Woooooaaaahhhď˝ď˝!!!"
"Alright, boys!! Nowâs our best chance!!! If you want to breathe the outside air again, raise hell like your life depends on it!!! Kickoff time!!!!"
"Wooooahh!! Our savior!!! Captain Buggy!!!"
"Zehahahaha!! Just waiting here for death in this pitiful afterlife...!! How about it, you lot!! Why donât we have ourselves a little bloodbath in the cages!!! The survivors, Iâll take you out of here as my new crew!!!"
"...A war between 'Whitebeard' and the Navy, huh..."
"You're still alive...? The man once called 'Demonâs Heir'...!!!"
At Impel Down, the greatest prison break in history was about to unfold.
But just a few hours laterââa statement was broadcast to the entire world, leaving all ears in disbelief.
"Your father is!!! The 'Pirate King' Gol D. Roger!!!!"
"!!?"
The shocking truth that the Pirate King's bloodline had survived.
And what came nextââwere the pirates of the New World. The grand fleet under Whitebeard.
"Gurararara... How many decades has it been, Sengoku?"
A total of 47 ships and 50,000 men.
Leading 14 division commanders and famed subordinate pirates was... the man whose legend lives on to this day.
"My beloved sonââheâs safe, isnât he...!!!!"
One of the Four EmperorsâââWhitebeardâ Edward Newgate.
"Donât think youâve won just because your forces outnumber ours!! We might be the ones to meet our end here... that man..."
ââHe has the power to destroy the world!!!!
As the voice of Fleet Admiral Sengoku rang out, a massive tsunami approached.
Charging in was the Four Emperorsâ 'Whitebeard Pirates'. Standing against them were the 'Navy Headquarters' and the 'Seven Warlords of the Sea'.
The summit war, destined to change the era no matter who won or lostââbegan with key participants missing.
Thus, the true "Summit War" only began about an hour into the conflict.
With the arrival of the Impel Down escapees led by Straw Hat Luffy, and the governmentâs human weaponsâthe Pacifistas.
When the Transponder Snail visuals cut outââit happened at the exact moment when, originally, a subordinate was supposed to stab 'Whitebeard'.
"!!!"
Something massiveââfell from the sky.
"What the hell!? Where did that come from!!?"
"A monster...!!?"
The strong live... the weak die...!!!
Thatâs all there is to this world.
"Aaahhh... Guess... I just canât die after all...!!!"
"!!!"
"Th-thatâs...!!!"
"!!? No way!!"
The manââwas searching for a place to die.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku!! Reporting!!! From the left flank... i-itâs the ship of the 'Big Mom Pirates'!!!!"
"R-report!!! Multiple UFOs incoming from the sky!!! And... the 'Beasts Pirates'!!!!"
"Thereâs also a golden ship!!! Thatâs... n-no way... is that the 'Golden Lionâs'...!!!?"
"Whaââ!!?"
If you were to speak of him... he suffered seven defeats as a pirateââand was captured 23 times by either the Navy or enemy ships. He endured torture after torture, living on as a condemned man.
And now... he has "committed suicide". A rare suicide by jumping from the sky islandââthen threw himself into the heart of the war, hoping to die fighting an enemy that just might be able to kill him.
Let me say it again. A man, alone. Or perhaps with just one or two others, challenged the Navy and the Emperors, was captured 23 times. Tortured over 1,000 times. Sentenced to death 60 times.
Sometimes he was hanged, but the chains broke. Sometimes he was placed under the guillotine, but the blade shattered. He was even impaled, but the spears snapped... The number of giant prison ships he sank totals 18...!! In shortââ
"Itâs been a while... you old bastard Whitebeard...!!!"
No one could kill him...!!!
ââAnd that includes the man himself...!!
His hobby is suicide. The manâs name isââ
"Kaido...!!!"
One of the Four Emperorsââ'Kaido of the Beasts'
"If itâs one-on-one, Kaidoâs the guy"âpeople always say.
Land, sea, and air... of all living things in this world... he is called the Strongest Creature of them all...!!!
"Now then, itâs showtime⥠Pirate Whitebeard⪠Scarier than demonsâŤ... thatâs what that old nursery rhyme says. But are you really scarier than us...? The whole worldâs gonna find out!!!"
"Yeah... move it, you bastards!!! To tear down this boring world... weâre about to start the greatest war in the world!!!!"
ââAt this very moment, all 'fate' was shattered.
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