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Marineford. The Fleet Admiral's Office.
"Bwahahahaha! I'M GOING TO FLATTEN THAT BRAT ARTHUR INTO A PANCAKE!"
Garp was practically vibrating with excitement. He couldn't wait to find Arthur, pound him into dust, free his son and grandson from the Thunder God's shadow, and finally bring some peace back to the seas.
When he had lost his strength, he had accepted it with his usual carefree attitude. He was Garp the Hero, power or no power. But now that it had returned—now that it was greater than ever—he remembered just how good it felt to be invincible.
He willed his body to shrink. The obsidian skin faded, the furnace-like heat radiating from his pores cooled, and the temperature in the office slowly returned to normal.
The vitality he had burned away years ago was fully restored. In fact, he felt stronger than he had in his prime.
Sure, eating a Devil Fruit gave him a weakness to seawater, but he didn't care. Since when did a true powerhouse die just because they couldn't swim? At worst, he'd just stay on the boat. It wasn't a big deal.
CLACK!
The heavy double doors were thrown open.
A crowd of high-ranking Marines flooded into the room, drawn by the commotion.
The three Admirals—Akainu, Aokiji, Kizaru. The two Admiral candidates—Momousagi and Chaton. Chief Instructor Zephyr. And a dozen Vice Admirals currently stationed at headquarters.
Along with Garp, Sengoku, and Tsuru, the office was suddenly packed with the greatest military power on the planet.
"My, my," Aokiji drawled, strolling in with his hands in his pockets. "I thought Marineford was being invaded again. Turns out it was just Mr. Garp letting off some steam? …Cool."
"Fleet Admiral, what's the emergency?" Chaton waddled in, a toothpick clamped in his teeth, looking annoyed. "I was in the middle of planning a surprise for Gion! My 70th proposal—I really felt like she was going to say yes this time!"
WHAM!
Before he could finish, Momousagi planted a boot in his backside, sending him stumbling.
"Ahem! Quiet down, all of you," Sengoku coughed sternly. He tossed a file onto his desk, his expression grim.
"There haven't been any major incidents involving the pirates lately. The New World is quiet. Too quiet. Whitebeard, Kaido, Big Mom, and the Thunder Emperor… it's been months, and there hasn't been a single skirmish between them. It's inconceivable."
"Isn't peace a good thing?" Kizaru adjusted his sunglasses, looking bored. "Less paperwork for us."
"It is the silence that is worrying," Tsuru said, her arms crossed, her voice sharp and analytical. "Whitebeard is fine; he guards his territory and doesn't seek conquest. But Kaido, Arthur, and Big Mom? They are ambitious. If they stop fighting each other, it means they are taking time to digest their gains. They are consolidating their rule, building their armies. That is the worst-case scenario for the Navy."
If the pirates were constantly at war, bleeding each other dry, the Navy was happy to sit back and watch.
But if they stabilized? If the populations under their control accepted their rule and began churning out soldiers and resources for the pirate fleets? That was a nightmare.
The pirates needed to bleed.
Sengoku looked at Aokiji and Kizaru. "How is the Warlord Project progressing? Do we have any candidates?"
"Hmph!"
Akainu, who had been silent until now, let out a noise of pure disgust. He turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.
Zephyr, his face darkened with sorrow and anger, hesitated for a moment before following him.
One refused to compromise with evil; the other held a blood feud against all pirates. Neither could stomach the idea of the Seven Warlords system.
"What can we do?" Kizaru shrugged, clearly having put zero effort into the assignment. "The legends of the old era are either dead or retired. Anyone with a name in the New World has already bent the knee to the Four Emperors. There's no one left."
"The rookies are… disappointing," Aokiji said, scratching his head and yawning. "They need time to grow. Right now, none of them have the reputation to intimidate the seas. Well… there are two decent options."
He held up two fingers.
"'Hawkeye' Mihawk. A swordsman obsessed with reaching the pinnacle of the blade. Rumor has it he once challenged the Golden Lion. And 'Tyrant' Bartholomew Kuma. He's a pirate, but he slaughters other pirates without mercy."
"That's it."
"Kuma is a Revolutionary cadre," Sengoku said, rubbing his temples. He thought for a moment, then slammed his hand on the desk. "Garp! You're bored, aren't you? Go find this Hawkeye and bring him in."
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The New World. Aboard the Flying Fortress.
The palace hall was bright and spacious. Pirates lined the tables, raising toasts, while musicians played a lively, raucous tune.
On the highest throne, the Golden Lion and the Thunder Emperor sat facing each other, drinking like old friends.
"So that's the truth of it," Shiki murmured, a mixture of heartache and relief on his face. "Roger was dying. He turned himself in… he used his own life as kindling to start a new era. Even in death, he wanted to change the world, to ensure history would never forget him."
It was just like the man he had acknowledged. The Navy hadn't caught him; Roger had played them. He had died to stir the winds and clouds.
"And you?" Arthur asked, reading Shiki like a book. "Roger pulled off something that shook the world. Are you content to live in his shadow, Shiki?"
Shiki had always competed with Roger. He admired him, yes, but he needed to beat him.
If Roger was the jewel of the previous era, how could Shiki accept being a footnote?
"He changed the world? Then I'll turn it upside down!" Shiki stood up. His eyes were cold as ice, burning with a resolve to burn everything to ash, himself included.
Since Roger's death, he had lost his reason to live. He had been a walking corpse, drifting without direction. But now…
The World Government.
He would be the first man in history to launch a solo invasion of the Holy Land.
"Jieahahaha! It's time to show these soft, fanboy brats of the new era what real pirate terror looks like!"
The Golden Lion's aura exploded outward, swallowing the mountains and rivers. The sleeping lion had finally woken up.
"Roger played the Navy in front of the whole world! I can't let him outdo me… I want the news of my return to spread to every corner of the ocean!"
"Then let's make it a spectacle," Arthur said, downing his drink in a single gulp. He raised his empty glass in a toast. "Leak the news that you're attacking the World Government. Let them prepare. It'll be more fun that way."
A sneak attack from the sky was boring.
What Arthur wanted was a grand stage. He wanted Shiki to die in a blaze of glory so bright it would blind the world. He wanted everyone to watch the last legend of the old era exit the stage.
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