In the New World, in a certain non-affiliated nation, lay a dilapidated city.
Sakazuki, dressed in plain clothes, walked with a frown through the rundown streets. The houses lining the roads weren't even proper buildings, just shabby shacks. Gaunt, sallow-faced people lived in these shacks, and as he walked, he rarely saw a smile on their faces. The only laughter he heard occasionally came from young children running in the streets, still too young to understand what hardship was.
Though Sakazuki wore only a simple floral shirt and shorts, he stood out remarkably here. Some people, seeing him, quickly hid inside their shacks, peeking out timidly from behind tattered curtains. Others quietly followed behind him, their eyes full of greed.
"Zephyr-sensei," Sakazuki's frown deepened, almost enough to kill a mosquito. He was truly bewildered and couldn't help but ask, "What exactly are we doing?"
Walking ahead of him was his most respected teacher, Zephyr—not only his mentor who taught him everything, but also his like-minded comrade. However, recently, or more precisely, ever since their last encounter with Roa, Zephyr-sensei had seemed off. He no longer hunted those despicable pirates; instead, he led Sakazuki to country after country, walking through the streets of city after city. Affiliated nations, non-affiliated nations; rich, poor; strong, weak—they had seen many different kinds of countries in a short span of time.
"Sakazuki, why do you think this country has become like this?" Zephyr, also in plain clothes, asked.
"Because of pirates, of course!" Sakazuki replied without hesitation. "How could hyena-like pirates possibly spare a country unprotected by the Marines?" Many non-affiliated nations faced this very problem. Without Marine protection, if they lacked sufficient strength themselves, the entire country often became a haven for criminals.
"Then what do you think," Zephyr raised his right hand and pointed to the children fighting over a piece of bread in the street ahead, "they will become when they grow up?"
Sakazuki paused. He looked back. "Probably, they'll become like this." Behind them was a group of vicious-looking ruffians with red eyes.
"Yes, either thugs or pirates." Zephyr's voice grew somber, his teeth clenched, and his words laced with resentment. "What future can there be in countries like this?"
What exactly is Zephyr-sensei trying to say? Sakazuki wondered, as he grabbed a ruffian and threw him, instantly knocking down all the others like bowling pins.
"There are too many countries like this, Sakazuki!" Zephyr clenched his fists, his face flushed with an inexplicable rage. "Too many children grow up to become either thugs or pirates!"
Sakazuki paused. He seemed to understand something. Because there were so many such children, pirates would be an endless supply! Then, how should these countries be eliminated? There are too many of them, aren't there? Sakazuki wondered if they should just use Dyna Stones to blow them up one by one.
Zephyr's chest heaved violently. He was filled with anger, but he didn't know how to vent it. Non-affiliated nations were like this, but even affiliated nations weren't much better. The annual Heavenly Tribute they had to pay was a heavy burden. Zephyr had also visited several affiliated nations recently, and the lives of the common people there were equally miserable. Poverty often bred crime. It wasn't about moral cultivation; it was simply the instinct for survival. If one couldn't survive under order and law, then of course, they would have no choice but to take desperate risks. Zephyr felt immense pain, because what that damned scum Roa said seemed to be true. Was it really the World Government's fault?
Just then, "Hm?" Sakazuki caught a newspaper that fell from the sky. After a quick glance, his face drastically changed. "Zephyr-sensei! That brat Dragon seems to be involved with the Flevance remnants!"
At Marine Headquarters.
"Garp! Your damned son!" The Fleet Admiral threw the newspaper in his hand at the man on the sofa opposite him.
"Hahahaha, I knew that kid was being secretive lately; he must be up to something!" Garp, the Marine Hero, had cold sweat trickling down his forehead, his smile incredibly forced.
"You can't tell me you don't know what the Flevance people have been doing in the North Blue for the past year, can you? Their reputation is already in the gutter!" The Fleet Admiral rubbed his forehead, his face twisted. "And now your son, the son of a Marine Hero, is involved with them! Where does that leave the Marines' face?!"
The smile on Garp's face finally vanished. The usually high-spirited man now looked somewhat dejected. Dragon, you brat...
Seeing his expression, Kong couldn't bear to reprimand him further. He sighed. "The most important thing now is to quickly find Dragon and figure out what happened!"
"I'll go to the North Blue!" Garp immediately stood up.
But just then, the Den Den Mushi on Kong's desk suddenly rang. The Fleet Admiral frowned slightly and answered the call.
"Brother Kong, it's me." Zephyr's voice came from the other end. "I saw the newspaper. I'm in the seas near the North Blue now. Let me go. I'll bring Dragon back."
The Fleet Admiral paused, instinctively looking up at Garp. Then he nodded. "Alright." After all, Dragon was Garp's beloved son. It was best to let him avoid any conflict of interest.
So, in a certain sea area of the New World, the Marine guerrilla unit set off for the North Blue. Zephyr stood at the bow of the large ship, his Justice coat flapping fiercely in the wind. Flevance, huh? Let me see with my own eyes how the World Government treats the nations under its command.
In the North Blue.
Dragon put down the newspaper. He took a deep breath, then tore off the cloak he used to conceal his identity. "So fast?"
"Are you really the son of that Marine Hero?" Dr. Trafalgar still found it hard to believe. Why would the future star of the Marines get involved with people like them?
"He is him, and I am me," Dragon said calmly, showing little emotional fluctuation. He knew that since he had started to act, his identity would eventually be exposed. Since things had come to this, he would try to distance himself from the old man as much as possible.
"We need to act quickly. The Marines should already be on their way to arrest me!"
"Huh?" Dr. Trafalgar opened his mouth, unsure what to say. This outsider seemed even more concerned about their affairs than they were.
In a certain sea area of the New World, inside a palace on the back of a giant snail.
Roa closed the newspaper, satisfied. In that case, Dragon will be too busy to bother with me. Perhaps this could even accelerate the birth of the Revolutionary Army. Whether that group could overthrow the World Government was debatable, but they were certainly top-notch at stirring up trouble. Exciting.
The great snail fleet continued its magnificent return towards the latter half of the New World, but in reality, Roa didn't know where to go next. He wouldn't be returning to Wano Country anytime soon. He decided to just wander around that sea area for a while, exploring and having fun.
Just then, "Hm?" Roa, lounging in a deck chair and basking in the sun, suddenly pushed up his sunglasses and sharply looked towards a certain direction to his right front.
"Boss!" At that moment, Judge came running over. "A battle is taking place on the sea at two o'clock! It seems to be a ship from the Flying Pirates!"
"Oh?" Roa raised an eyebrow. The Flying Pirates were currently the largest pirate group in the world, but their main area of activity was usually in the middle to latter half of the New World. What were they doing here? Roa grew curious.
"Let's go take a look. Uncle Shiki is a dear friend of mine. If his subordinates are in trouble, of course, I have to help out."
And so, their giant snail quickly left the fleet, heading directly towards the sea battle not far away.
On the nearby sea, several Flying Pirates ships were present. On these ships, a battle—no, a massacre—was underway!
"Wahahaha!" Piercing screams echoed through the sky. A red blur swept past a pirate, and then his upper body suddenly flew into the air; he had been cut in half. A red shadow weaved back and forth across the decks of several ships. Every time it passed, it left a red sword light, and a group of pirates would have their limbs flying and blood splattering.
"Damn it! Why is this happening to us?!" A pirate covered in Haki had cold sweat dripping from his forehead. "Why did he pick us?!" This was too unlucky!
"No need to fret," the red shadow stopped on the mast of the pirate ship, a low, ominous voice slowly emerging, carrying a peculiar, strangely elegant emphasis. "You are not the beginning, nor will you be the end. All members of the Flying Pirates must die."
"Damn it!" The Haki-clad pirate gritted his teeth, looking up at the man standing on the mast. "Raid! Don't get too arrogant! When Admiral Shiki arrives, you'll be nothing but a stray dog again!"
The man was tall and thin, with white hair braided into two pigtails that hung over his shoulders. He wore a magenta shirt and blood-red trousers, black leather shoes with gold trim, and a wide, blood-red cloak with a checkered pattern inside. A blue rose adorned his left chest, and he held a slender, bat-handled umbrella. His eyebrows were crimson, a gold chain hung from his mouth, and a sinister smile played on his pale face. "You won't live to see that."
With that, the man, Barlorick Leffeld, casually flicked the blood from his umbrella, and then, like a bat, he swooped down.
"Eek!!" The pirate, who had just been making threats, shrieked. The one who could beat this monster into a stray dog was Admiral Shiki! It had nothing to do with them! To them, Patrick Redfield was still an utterly unbeatable monster! It's over; everyone's going to die here!
So how did this guy even find them? They had been dispatched to search for him, but instead, they had become his prey, their fleets being utterly crushed one after another!
Patrick Redfield's speed was astonishing; he was like a crimson afterimage. Before the pirate could even react, Patrick Redfield grabbed his neck.
"Whether it's you, or that bastard Shiki," Patrick Redfield's smile grew wider as he effortlessly lifted the pirate, "all of you must die!"
He had been quite frustrated, you see. He had been sailing peacefully alone in the New World. Others didn't bother him, and he wasn't interested in bothering them. He traveled around, enjoying the sights of the New World, occasionally slaughtering some foolish pirates and Marines for fun. Though solitary, his life was quite pleasant.
But a year ago, that mad dog Golden Lion Shiki suddenly came knocking. He spoke of joining forces, growing stronger, and creating new glory. Ultimately, he wanted Patrick Redfield to join his ranks. Patrick Redfield, known as "Red the Solitary," would never tolerate such a thing. He immediately fought fiercely with the Golden Lion. Then, as expected, he was beaten and forced to flee miserably. This was the first time Patrick Redfield realized the gap between him and the true top-tier powerhouses. Thankfully, although there was a power gap, it wasn't so despairing that he couldn't escape easily.
After that, seizing the opportunity when Wang Zhi counterattacked the Golden Lion, Patrick Redfield decisively launched his retaliation against the Flying Pirates, relentlessly attacking their rear. He truly enjoyed that period of slaughter. The Golden Lion was undeniably strong, but he, Wang Zhi, and Silver Axe were not to be trifled with, and even the strong Golden Lion couldn't fight on two fronts.
But the good times didn't last. Not long ago, the Golden Lion and Wang Zhi reached a historic reconciliation, and then, Patrick Redfield's hard times began. The Golden Lion personally led the chase against him. Patrick Redfield could only begin to move towards the front half of the New World. But he wasn't just moving; he was only one person, far stronger than the individual fleets the Flying Pirates sent after him. So, he ran while relentlessly counterattacking.
His right hand, gripping the pirate's neck, gradually tightened. Patrick Redfield gleefully savored the desperate expression on the man's face, which was turning purple. Let me see your next plans!
However, at that very moment, "Oh! Am I coming at a bad time?!" A somewhat surprised voice suddenly came from the side. "Should I say it's coincidental or not?"
The pirates on the ship, and Patrick Redfield, who was clutching the pirate's neck, instinctively turned their heads at the same time. They saw the giant snail slowly approaching, and the figure on its head.
The moment they clearly saw that figure, the Flying Pirates instantly burst into tears of excitement. "Lord Roa! Save us!!"
Roa didn't pay attention to the wailing of Uncle Shiki's pirates. He merely watched the white-haired man with interest. Barlorick Patrick Redfield, the legendary Red Earl. What a coincidence! As he gazed at Patrick Redfield, Patrick Redfield gazed back at him.
Just as Roa was about to smile and greet him, Patrick Redfield crushed the pirate's neck in his hand, then without hesitation, he shot towards Roa.
"It's you, isn't it, kid! The root of all this trouble!"
"Huh?"