The vast expanse of the Sabaody Archipelago—now half reduced to rubble.
Such devastation had never occurred before.
It was proof of just how intense the battle that had taken place here must have been.
"Disembark!"
Snapping out of their brief shock, the Vice Admirals leading the fleet were the first to step onto the shattered remains of the archipelago.
They needed to assess the situation immediately.
Troops from over a dozen Marine battleships began disembarking and moving onto the mangrove islands.
But with each step they took on the broken land, an oppressive weight settled deeper in their hearts.
In this boundless sea, the more monsters that rose among the pirates, the further peace would slip from the world's grasp.
The Marines who landed began to investigate the scene.
And it didn't take long before they discovered Vice Admiral Garp—gravely wounded and collapsed.
A living Marine legend—defeated, just like that.
Though none wanted to believe it, the truth lay bare before their eyes.
Soon after finding Garp, the Marines located three more: Rayleigh, Gaban, and Sol—former members of the Roger Pirates—all of them critically injured and lying amidst the wreckage.
Another ten minutes passed.
Eventually, they managed to find a single witness, and through him, gleaned fragments of the events that had unfolded.
"Douglas Bullet… the Demon Heir. He's always been one of the most dangerous inmates in Impel Down's Level 6. Now that he's returned to the seas, there are likely only a handful who could possibly stop him."
As the picture began to take shape, the Vice Admirals on scene wore increasingly grim expressions.
"The witness also said Bullet didn't walk away unscathed. He was seriously wounded. Maybe we should—"
"You're thinking of giving chase?"
"Yes. This could be our chance!"
"Chance? You clearly know nothing of Bullet's strength. Numbers mean nothing against that man."
A Vice Admiral's eyes darkened under his cap, his voice cold. "Even injured, the outcome wouldn't change. Unless we had an Admiral present… we'd be walking into a slaughter."
"..."
Silence blanketed the battlefield like a funeral shroud.
Moments later, someone muttered, "A monster like that… how was he ever captured in the first place?"
"The Buster Call."
"What?"
"Twenty-two years ago, a Buster Call was issued just to capture Bullet alone. The operation was led by both Vice Admiral Garp and Inspector Sengoku."
"Yeah… I've heard some of the old vets at HQ talk about that. Said it was a brutal fight. If Garp and Sengoku hadn't led the charge themselves, Bullet might've wiped out the entire Buster Call fleet."
"Even with them present… the fleet suffered enormous losses."
"And according to some, Bullet wasn't even defeated by them—he just collapsed from exhaustion."
"That can't be true!"
"It's ancient history now. What good does it do to know every detail?"
An older Vice Admiral's expression grew solemn. "What we need to do now is reassess the threat level of the 'Demon Heir.' He's in his prime now…"
"..."
...
Marine Headquarters – Inspector General's Office.
"Declaring war on both Big Mom and Kaido… I never imagined Maude would go this far."
Sengoku, hair now completely white, sat quietly on the couch, holding the day's headline newspaper in hand.
Opposite him, Vice Admiral Tsuru gave a small nod, her calm gaze resting on the same paper.
The front page was printed double-sided—both sides filled with sensational content.
Whether it was praise or veiled condemnation of Maude, it was hard to say.
"It's not the first outrageous thing he's done."
Tsuru took a sip of tea, her voice steady.
Sengoku knew what she was referring to—Maude's murder of a Celestial Dragon.
He said nothing, simply set the paper down in silence.
Bacardi Maude…
That name now loomed above every major power in the world like a storm cloud.
"What a headache of a man."
Sengoku rubbed his temple with a sigh.
Tsuru glanced at him, expression unreadable. "The one who should be getting a headache now… is the current Fleet Admiral."
"You're right about that."
Sengoku blinked, then gave a wry smile as he raised his teacup.
Even though he was no longer Fleet Admiral, that didn't mean the weight on his mind had lessened.
Knock knock.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in."
Sengoku looked toward the door.
Creak—
It opened slowly.
A Marine officer with rugged features stepped inside, holding a few sheets of paper.
"Inspector Sengoku, Advisor Tsuru."
He snapped a salute to the two veterans.
"What is it?"
Sengoku frowned at the documents in the officer's hand. His current post was mostly ceremonial—news rarely came directly to him.
The officer instinctively raised the papers, voice low and heavy. "It's Vice Admiral Garp… he's been hurt."
"!?"
Both Tsuru and Sengoku stiffened in shock.
...
The disaster at the Sabaody Archipelago hadn't yet gone public—
But the news from Dressrosa had already spread across the entire world in half a day.
"Bacardi Maude again…"
—At a certain pirate den in the New World—
Inside a dingy tavern, a drunken old pirate stared wide-eyed at the newspaper spread out across the table.
Soup stains and spilled alcohol had soaked the paper's corners, but he didn't even notice. His eyes were locked on the front page photo and headline.
"Old John, your eyeballs are about to pop out."
Someone at a neighboring table snickered.
A few rugged-looking men were chuckling as they watched John's dumbfounded expression.
John finally tore his gaze from the newspaper and looked toward his companions, asking hoarsely, "You guys haven't seen today's headline?"
"Nope. Bet it's just another Maude story."
"That guy even killed a Celestial Dragon. Whatever crazy thing he's done now, I'm not surprised anymore."
"Come to think of it, nearly every headline recently has been about Bacardi Maude."
"Tell me about it…"
"Nothing new anymore."
The men chatted, unconcerned.
John casually tossed the damp newspaper their way.
One of the men instinctively reached out and caught it.
"Hm?"
He opened it, giving it a casual glance.
A moment later, his eyes began to bulge.
Shock spread across his face.
"Oi… what's with that look?"
The others at his table turned to him in confusion.
Just moments ago, he'd confidently declared that nothing Maude did could surprise him.
Now, he looked just like John—like his eyeballs were about to leap from his skull.
"He… he's declared war on two Emperors… at the same time…"
He turned his stiff neck toward his friends, his bulging eyes filled with disbelief.
"What?!"
"You mean Bacardi Maude declared war on two Yonko?! Which ones?!"
"Give me that paper—now!"
Everyone at the table gasped in unison, snatching the newspaper from the man's hands. Several heads huddled together, their eyes scanning the headline at lightning speed.
At the nearby table, Old John finally managed to calm down. He glanced at the man who had just teased him, shook his head slightly, then picked up a bottle of booze and took several deep swigs.
One minute later—
The men at the next table had finished reading the headline. Each of them wore an expression like they'd seen a ghost.
"Holy crap! That guy's a total freak!!!"
"He just took down Smoothie, one of Big Mom's top Sweet Commanders, and now he's defeated one of the All-Stars from the Beasts Pirates… The Maude Pirates are seriously going head-to-head with both Big Mom and Kaido!"
"How does he even have the guts to do something like that? We're talking about two of the Four Emperors!!"
"Did you forget what he pulled not long ago? The guy attacked Mary Geoise and killed a Celestial Dragon. Compared to that, this is tame."
"True… but still, it's insane…"
"And let's not forget—he completely wiped out the rising Blackbeard Pirates, and humiliated the Whitebeard Pirates again in the process."
"I don't get it… With the power the Maude Pirates have now, all they'd need to do is steadily take over the Whitebeard territories. Becoming one of the new Four Emperors would just be a matter of time. So why is he still picking fights with Big Mom and Kaido?"
"You know… now that you say it, that is strange."
"What the hell is that man thinking?"
"Wait, wait—how long has the Maude Pirates even been in the New World?"
"…Huh?"
The bar suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
Everyone drawn in by the conversation stopped talking.
After a long pause, someone finally said in a hushed voice, "…Less than two months?"
"…"
"…"
"…"
More silence followed.
"For the past ten years, countless hot-headed Supernovas have tried to challenge the Four Emperors… Every single one of them failed."
"They either died miserably or ended up serving under an Emperor."
"But the Maude Pirates… They've only been in the New World for two months, and they've already done all this!"
"That man… he's terrifying…"
"Hey, say what you want, but why are you kneeling on your chair?"
"Because I freaking feel like it, alright?!"
Moments later, the bar returned to its usual rowdy state.
But from that moment on, the name on everyone's lips was the same—the Maude Pirates.
And the name Bacardi Maude had been permanently carved into their minds.
Scenes like this were playing out all across the world.
Because of Maude, today was destined to be another day that shocked the world.
...
Somewhere in the New World, on a sun-drenched island…
Verdant fields stretched across the landscape, and a gentle breeze rustled the grass.
Scattered across the wide open plains were bizarrely shaped stones—some of which had been sculpted into stone busts.
If you looked closely, many of them bore a striking resemblance—about sixty or seventy percent—to Cavendish.
Near those statues stood a dashing man atop a boulder that had yet to suffer the chisel's bite. His golden hair danced in the wind.
He gripped a newspaper tightly in one hand, sorrow clouding his handsome face.
"Captain Cavendish…"
Below, a group of crew members holding carving tools looked up at their captain, concern etched into their expressions.
Cavendish slowly raised his head to the sky, teeth clenched.
"Maude, you bastard… What the hell do I have to do to surpass you?!"
Fwoosh—
The only reply was the soft wind drifting in from the distance.
"Damn it… I'm so jealous I could scream!!!"
With a fierce twist of his brow, Cavendish shredded the newspaper in his hand into confetti.
His crew looked at each other uneasily.
"…Are we going back to our 'old routine' again?"
"Old routine?"
One of them blinked in confusion.
The other leaned in and whispered, "Burning every newspaper with Maude's name on it…"
"…"
A brief silence.
"…I mean, maybe. But before that, we've still got about a month's work left if we want to finish sculpting all the rocks on this plain into statues of the Captain."
"Yeah. Hopefully by the time we're done, the Captain'll forget today's headline."
"…But then again, knowing Bacardi Maude, he'll probably pull off another earth-shattering feat by then…"
"…Yeah."
The crew fell silent once more.
Suddenly, Cavendish jumped down from the boulder, raised his sculpting tool high into the air, and declared:
"Listen up! Starting now, we're kicking things into high gear. I want this plain covered in statues of me within half a month!!!"
"Yes, sir!!"
The Beautiful Pirates straightened up, voices loud and proud in response to Cavendish's proclamation.
"Good! Now get to work!"
Satisfied, Cavendish nodded and wasted no time. With sculpting tool in hand, he began to chisel away at the stone before him.
Time passed slowly.
Half an hour later, Cavendish paused. He stared blankly at the half-finished bust in front of him.
…It looked a lot like Maude.
He rubbed his eyes and leaned in for a closer look.
Yep. Still looked like Maude.
"I…"
Cavendish abruptly shook his head and bolted toward another boulder.
This time, he carved with single-minded determination.
But when he finally finished—
…it still looked like Maude.
"I'm losing my damn mind…"
Cavendish slumped, staring in disbelief at the statue.
...
Elsewhere in the New World—at the Red-Haired Pirates' base…
Shanks sat casually on a coastal boulder, a newspaper folded in his hands.
Whooshhh—
Waves rolled in and crashed against the rock, bursting into white foam.
He didn't mind the seawater soaking his pants. His eyes stayed fixed on the endless horizon.
Tap. Tap.
Footsteps echoed behind him.
"Yo… Mihawk."
Without turning around, Shanks already knew who it was.
Hawkeye stepped up beside him, arms folded, glancing at the newspaper in Shanks' hand.
"…Don't tell me your sword hand's getting itchy?"
Shanks waved the paper a bit—Maude's face briefly flickered into view.
Mihawk didn't deny it. He gave a small nod.
"Haha…"
Shanks laughed heartily at the response.
With his usual calm, Mihawk asked, "I heard from Yasopp… Is it true Maude can help you regrow your arm?"
"…Yeah. That's true."
Shanks' smile faded, his gaze fixed firmly on the sea.
Far, far in the distance, a dark streak began to stretch across the sky.
Storm clouds.
The calm before the storm.
—————————
Want to read waaaay ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon —— patreon(.)com/EmperorGarus [remove the parentheses ( )]
NOTE: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon!