The news birds of the World Economic Journal delivered today's urgently printed newspapers to every corner of the sea.
The "reporter birds" swiftly dispatched to the Calm Belt had captured enough rare and invaluable footage.
Thus, the news report titled "The Collapse of the World's Greatest Prison..." was supplemented with numerous additional images.
Beyond "Impel Down Submerged by Seawater," the front page featured another striking solo photograph of Golden Lion II—
Sunlight poured down, with water droplets and bubbles refracting a dazzling spectrum of colors. Against the sky soared the figure of a man resembling a great golden bird, his face bearing an untamed, roguish grin brimming with wild defiance.
Even through the static image of a newspaper, one could almost hear his unrestrained laughter echoing.
"Golden Lion II"!
This was how the World Economic Journal's headline addressed the man.
Somewhere in the Grand Line, a lone boat drifted across the undulating waves.
Hawkeye Mihawk sat alone on his signature coffin-shaped vessel, aimlessly carried by the ocean's currents.
"Impel Down destroyed... No wonder Morgans rushed to print this breaking news!"
Hawkeye Mihawk held the freshly delivered newspaper in his hand, his sharp eyes fixed on the man gracing the front page.
More precisely, he was scrutinizing the two swords gripped in the golden-haired man's hands.
Sharp eyes, sharp blades.
"Indeed, they are [Cherry Ten] and [Withered Tree]!"
The world's greatest Sword Master instantly recognized the names of the two legendary blades in the man's possession.
"Golden Lion II... A worthy opponent to watch."
Recently, Hawkeye Mihawk had been tending to his farm on Kuraigana Island, occasionally amusing himself with the baboons.
But first came "White Dragon," followed by "Whitebeard Jr."
These two newcomers, rising like comets, had piqued his interest.
Of White Dragon, Hawkeye Mihawk's impression was: a newly appointed Royal Seven Warlord of the Sea, armed with a sword—possibly a swordsman.
Mildly intriguing, but not enough to stir him.
Yet the sudden emergence of Whitebeard Jr. had immediately spurred Hawkeye Mihawk to set sail.
Recognized by the world as the "Greatest Sword Master," Hawkeye Mihawk had long harbored a desire to measure the gap between himself and the "World's Strongest Man"—Whitebeard Edward Newgate, captain of the Whitebeard Pirates.
But while challenging Whitebeard himself was out of the question, sparring with "Whitebeard Jr." might not be.
With this thought, Hawkeye Mihawk left Kuraigana Island aboard his lone boat, seeking a worthy duel.
Now, after just a few days at sea, another opponent had emerged—one even more deserving of his attention.
Golden Lion II!
As the era's foremost Sword Master, Hawkeye Mihawk took keen interest in all formidable swordsmen across the seas.
Whether they belonged to the current age or eras past, he had studied them all.
In the bygone era, the Pirate King Roger, Whitebeard Edward Newgate, Golden Lion Shiki, and the Lone Red Patrick Redfield... were all masters of swordsmanship.
But unfortunately.
By the time Hawkeye Mihawk rose to fame across the seas.
These great pirates of the old era.
Some had died—publicly executed by the World Government.
Some were alive but might as well be dead—imprisoned in Impel Down by the World Government.
Some were of unknown status—rumored to have escaped from Impel Down but unheard of for over a decade.
And some... had become Pirate Emperors of the New World.
Hawkeye Mihawk longed for more formidable swordsmen.
Ever since that fool Red Hair lost an arm in the East Blue.
Hawkeye Mihawk had never encountered another opponent who could pique his interest.
Now, he had one.
"Golden Lion II, wielding Cherry Ten and Withered Tree! This is definitely a worthy opponent!"
Hawkeye Mihawk folded the newspaper, glanced around, and roughly determined his bearings.
"Impel Down in the Calm Belt? I might as well go take a look."
...
Just as Hawkeye Mihawk decided to set off for the Calm Belt.
Deep within the Calm Belt, on the island of Amazon Lily, the Kingdom of Women.
Boa Hancock, the current ruler of Amazon Lily, was resting in her palace.
A short figure suddenly barged into the palace.
Boa Hancock opened her eyes and fixed her gaze on the intruder.
"Granny Nyon! This is my private chamber. What are you doing here?"
"I was once the Empress of Amazon Lily too."
Granny Nyon, the former empress of Amazon Lily, Fire Flower, held up a newspaper in her hand.
"I can go anywhere on this island."
"That history is ancient. Your era ended long ago..."
Boa Hancock closed her eyes, ignoring Fire Flower, and casually ordered the female guards nearby.
"Throw her out!"
"Wait! Snake Princess!"
Fire Flower hurriedly raised the newspaper in her hand.
"This is an urgent report published today in the World Economic Journal! It concerns the survival of our kingdom!"
"The fate of Amazon Lily is none of your concern, Fire Flower!"
Boa Hancock impatiently opened her eyes, her sharp gaze cutting into Fire Flower like a blade.
"You were once the Nine Snake Empress, but you're also a traitor who abandoned your country and fled overseas!
"The only reason you're allowed back here is because of the mercy of the previous Empress!
"Guards, throw her out!"
At Hancock's command, the Amazon warriors surrounding them moved to apprehend the "former empress."
"Snake Princess! Your Majesty!"
Fire Flower, using her small stature, swiftly weaved through the crowd as she shouted.
"This report says a pirate has already invaded the Calm Belt! He even destroyed Impel Down!
"Amazon Lily isn't far from Impel Down.
"If he can destroy Impel Down, he can destroy our island too!"
Hancock finally heard something worth her attention.
"Salome, bring me that newspaper from Granny Nyon."
The spotted python coiled behind the Snake Princess swiftly slithered forward, flicking its tongue as it approached Granny Nyon, snatched the newspaper from her hands, and delivered it to Hancock.
"Impel Down has been submerged by seawater..."
Hancock swiftly scanned the headlines, her gaze finally settling on the golden-haired man in the photograph.
"Golden Lion II?"
"Granny Nyon! Who is this man? Didn't you know the original Golden Lion?"
"The Golden Lion I knew was Golden Lion Shiki, not this young brat."
Fire Flower, once a member of the Rocks Pirates, was naturally acquainted with Golden Lion Shiki.
"However, this boy bears a striking resemblance to Shiki, and he possesses both [Cherry Ten] and [Withered Tree]."
"Judging by the massive tsunami that nearly drowned Impel Down, he likely also has the power of the [Float-Float Fruit]!"
"Calling him 'Golden Lion II' is no exaggeration."
The [Float-Float Fruit]!
Hancock furrowed her delicate brows.
The unintentional display of vulnerability in her expression made Fire Flower's heart race, nearly petrifying her on the spot.
'Damn it! The Snake Princess's charm is too overwhelming!'
Fire Flower bit her lip hard, drawing blood to snap herself out of it, narrowly avoiding the humiliation of being turned to stone.
"Snake Princess! You are the current ruler of Amazon Lily!"
Suppressing her pain and desire, Fire Flower shouted at Hancock.
"You should use your power to protect your country and its people!"
"Enough!"
Hancock snapped back to reality, tilting her slender neck arrogantly to look down at Fire Flower.
"Even if I fail to protect this nation and it perishes, everyone will forgive me!"
"Because... I am simply too beautiful!"
In the end, Fire Flower was expelled from the Empress's palace.
Hancock reclined against her pet python, Salome, still clutching the newspaper.
"Golden Lion II, the [Float-Float Fruit]..."
"Even if you dare invade Amazon Lily, this Empress will not fear you in the slightest!"
"The reason I became the Nine Snake Empress is precisely because my strength is unmatched!"
...
Paradise, Alabasta, Rainbase.
Sand Crocodile had also received the news.
"Impel Down was destroyed? The ability to manipulate seawater? Golden Lion II?"
Sand Crocodile wasn't particularly interested in the incident.
What caught his attention more was Douglas Bullet, who had been imprisoned in Impel Down.
After all, they had been evenly matched rivals in their younger days...
He just wondered if that bastard Douglas Bullet had survived.
"Golden Lion II..."
Sand Crocodile glanced at the solo photo in the report and snorted.
"Are the remnants of the Rocks Pirates making a comeback?"
He soon tossed the newspaper aside.
Lately, he had loosened his grip on Baroque Works, focusing more on regaining his former strength.
He was on the verge of sensing [Haki]...
Just as Sand Crocodile prepared to resume his training, a subordinate contacted him via Den Den Mushi.
"Mr. 0, the 'Whitebeard III' Edward Weevil you previously asked us to locate has been spotted by our men!"
Whitebeard III, Edward Weevil.
His bounty poster had been circulating for some time now.
However, since the Marines lacked a clear photograph of Edward Weevil, the wanted poster featured only a highly abstract... hand-drawn illustration.
When the Marine Headquarters' strategy department drafted this wanted poster, they referenced the fleeting appearance of "Edward Teach" from their previous encounter at Marine Headquarters.
It was known that the "Edward Teach" who had appeared at Marine Headquarters back then carried an abstract charm—something along the lines of "imitating Whitebeard, aspiring to be Whitebeard, yet falling short of Weevil."
Now, the Marine strategy department manually drew the wanted poster based on this initial, abstract version of Edward Teach... making Edward Weevil's wanted poster even more abstract.
Thus, even though this plump man sported the same white mustache as Whitebeard and Whitebeard Jr., most simply dismissed him as a clown...
Even the members of the Whitebeard Pirates paid little attention to this "Edward Weevil."
In fact, many pirates believed that the Marine Headquarters, following the World Government's lead and after issuing a bounty for "Whitebeard Jr. Edward Teach," had now posted another for "Whitebeard III Edward Weevil"... purely to spite the Whitebeard Pirates.
Due to the overly abstract nature of the wanted poster, Edward Weevil's bounty failed to make even the slightest ripple across the seas.
However, Sand Crocodile, who had already received a warning from Storm, knew that a "Whitebeard III" truly existed out there.
So, in recent times, Crocodile had been dispatching agents from Baroque Works to gather intelligence on Edward Weevil across the East Blue, Paradise, and the South Blue.
After some time, Baroque Works finally uncovered information about Edward Weevil!
Crocodile immediately pushed the matter of "Golden Lion II" to the back of his mind.
"Where is this 'Whitebeard III' now?"
"East Blue!"
...
Paradise, the Devil's Triangle, Thriller Bark.
"Kishishishi..."
Gekko Moriah, his body wrapped in bandages, let out a strange laugh as he held the newspaper in his hands.
"Impel Down was destroyed! What a waste of all those prisoners...
"They should have been turned into zombies by me! But..."
Recalling the four powerful shadows he had recently collected, Moriah burst into laughter once more.
"Kishishishi! The shadows of those four giants are incredibly strong!"
"Kaido! One day, I will return to Wano Country and have my revenge on you!"
Ten thousand meters beneath the sea, Fish-Man Island.
The Knight of the Sea, Jinbei, who had returned to his homeland, also received today's newspaper.
"Golden Lion II, the man who destroyed Impel Down... Old Man Whitebeard would surely be interested in this news, wouldn't he?"
New World, Dressrosa.
Still recovering from his injuries, Doflamingo was handed the day's newspaper by Sugar.
"What's with all these newspapers lately?"
Doflamingo couldn't shake the feeling that his brain had been rattled by Kaido of the Beasts' club.
"First Whitebeard Jr., then Golden Lion II... Are monsters popping up in droves now?"
After scanning the newspaper, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Fufufufu... The Five Elders must be tearing their hair out over this news, don't you think?"