Chapter 204: Emperors of the Sea
Several hours after the naval battle between the Flying Pirates and the Marine fleet came to an end on Sea Calendar 1513, December 28th, on the eve of the World Military Draft.
Countless News Coos carried the news of the major events that had occurred in the depths of the New World to the entire world.
In one country, town, and village after another, many citizens saw the newspaper, with its enlarged, bolded font:
[The Uncrowned Rulers of the Grand Line's Second Half are Born! The Chaotic, Smoke-Filled New World Welcomes the Emperors Who Now Reign Supreme!]
For a moment, the faces of people all over the world changed, and the panic in their hearts grew ever stronger.
"What's going on?!"
"Pirates are... being called Emperors now? What in the world are the Marines doing?!" An old man, covered in gunshot wounds and with graying hair, his eyes instantly turning red, his hands trembling.
"..."
"How ridiculous! Mere filthy, lowly thieves are being called Emperors! This is a clear insult to us, the true emperors who hold the lives of thousands of commoners in our hands!" A voice like this came from within a magnificent palace, high on a city wall, trying to conceal its own fear.
"..."
But in addition to their panic, a trace of curiosity rose in their hearts, compelling them to temporarily suppress their fear and continue reading.
Soon, the series of major events that had recently occurred was presented completely before their eyes.
[The World's Strongest Pirate Crew, the Whitebeard Pirates, were defeated in a clash with the new era's greatest masterpiece, the Archangel Pirates! Casualties exceed tens of thousands, half of the division commanders were killed in action, and several other commanders, as well as Whitebeard himself, are missing!]
[The Big Mom Pirates, acting as a third party, intervened on the battlefield. Their captain, Charlotte Linlin, was defeated and captured, and her other powerful executives all surrendered!]
[As the powerhouse who single-handedly defeated Whitebeard and Big Mom, Archangel Louis is now considered by many on the sea to be the World's Strongest Man.]
[The World Government has announced the cancellation of the 100 million Berri reward for reporting the sighting of a Lunarian.]
[The world's top-tier Logia Devil Fruit user has appeared on the sea! They engaged in a fierce battle with the Strongest Creature off the coast of Wano Country and left at their leisure after achieving their objective!]
[The Giant Prince Loki encountered the rookie Red Hair Pirates in the depths of the New World. After a fierce battle, he was forcefully repelled by the Red Hair Pirates!]
[The two leaders of the Flying Pirates appeared with high profiles in the sea area surrounding the battle between Whitebeard and the Archangel. They engaged in a fierce battle with a Marine fleet led by Marine Hero Garp and former Admiral Zephyr, winning a great victory!]
[With this, the Flying Pirates have officially announced their revival. The Pirate Admiral, Golden Lion Shiki, who was as famous as Whitebeard and Gol D. Roger, once again reigns over the seas.]
[The three pirate captains who possess famous reputations, extremely vast power, and individual military might at the pinnacle—"Archangel" Louis, "Kaido of the Beasts," and "Golden Lion" Shiki—are now called by all in the New World...
...Emperors of the Sea!!]
[With this, the three peaks of the Great Pirate Era have been born. They stand tall in the New World, reigning supreme over the seas!]
"..."
The prosperous, bustling streets seemed to have hit a pause button. The originally noisy environment now became deathly silent.
After a long while, one by one, the citizens stiffly turned their heads and looked at each other, who were similarly frozen in place, seeing the terror in each other's eyes.
Sabaody Archipelago - Shakky's Rip-off Bar.
The right hand of the Pirate King, "Dark King" Rayleigh, sat quietly at the bar. He picked up the newspaper with one hand, and with the other, he held a glass, gently swirling the golden liquid. The bright light shone, reflecting a faint white glare off his glasses, making it impossible to see the look in his eyes.
A faint smoke wafted over the bar. Shakky, with her short black hair and spider-patterned top, slowly exhaled a puff of smoke. "Whitebeard and Big Mom were both defeated by Louis's hand? The young people nowadays are truly terrifying."
To this, Rayleigh returned from his thoughts. He looked up at the wooden ceiling, his eyes flashing with the glorious days of the past, unable to suppress his emotion. "Whitebeard and his pirate crew, who have held the name of 'strongest' since the Rocks era, have been defeated just like that..."
"The race that has been suppressed and persecuted by the World Government for eight hundred years has given birth to an unprecedented monster. In the future, the World Government's days are going to get harder and harder..."
Rayleigh took a sip of his drink. He recalled the things he had seen on Elbaf and Laugh Tale and sighed.
In the first half of the Grand Line, before the Red Line.
Aboard a sailing ship flying the flag of the Sun Pirates, one after another, fish-men looked at the newspaper in their hands, a storm raging in their eyes, their bodies visibly beginning to tremble in terror.
Soon, a fish-man, clutching the newspaper tightly, shouted and ran straight for the cabin. "Boss Jinbe, this is bad!! Something's happened to the Whitebeard Pirates!"
"Something's happened to the Whitebeard Pirates?" Jinbe, who was inside the cabin flipping through the East Blue reports he had gotten from the Marines, heard him. He shot up from his chair, hurriedly ran to the door, and opened it. Then, with the speed of a thunderclap, he snatched the newspaper from his subordinate's hands, his brow furrowed as he began to read.
However, the moment he opened the paper, Jinbe froze on the spot. A dense sweat, like rain, appeared on his forehead, streaming down his cheeks. His eyes were wide, his pupils trembling violently.
"Pops..." A sad whisper subconsciously escaped his lips.
The terrible news from the Whitebeard Pirates made Jinbe's heart fill with grief, his eyes gradually...
Ever since the Great Pirate Era began, Fish-Man Island had been targeted by various ambitious people and human traffickers. During that nightmare period, many merfolk and fish-men were abducted, leading to countless tragedies. Until that day, when the Whitebeard Pirates landed on Fish-Man Island, hung up their flag, and declared that Fish-Man Island was their territory. From then on, many pirates and traffickers no longer dared to be so arrogant. The number of kidnappings was reduced by 99%. Fish-Man Island had survived under the flag of the World's Strongest Man.
Therefore, the entire Fish-Man Island owed Whitebeard a debt of gratitude. Everyone was extremely grateful to him.
But now, Jinbe was seeing the news that the Whitebeard Pirates had suffered heavy casualties, and that even his pops was missing.
And another cruel fact in the news left Jinbe, who was on his way to the East Blue to deal with the Arlong incident, at a loss, and utterly dejected.
"But..." Cold sweat streamed down his face. Jinbe's eyes were filled with an incomparable pain, his lips trembling. "Why... why was it you who was Whitebeard's opponent—"
The Archangel Pirates, who in the prophecy were supposed to lead the people of Fish-Man Island to live on the surface, had actually destroyed the Whitebeard Pirates, who had protected Fish-Man Island for so many years. This fact left Jinbe in unbearable pain, unable to accept it.
At the same time, on Fish-Man Island.
In the royal palace of the Ryugu Kingdom, Neptune sat in a daze on his throne, staring blankly at the newspaper the soldiers had brought down from the surface, his eyes filled with reminiscence.
"Father, what should we do?" In front of him, Fukaboshi, holding his trident, his long blue hair loose, asked tentatively.
His eldest son's call brought Neptune back to his senses. He first glanced at the Whitebeard Pirates' flag, then at Shirahoshi, who was in a state of confusion nearby.
After a long while, Neptune, his eyes bloodshot, blinked and spoke in a hoarse voice, saying something that shocked the royal family and the surrounding ministers and guards.
"Fukaboshi, from today on, you are the king of the Ryugu Kingdom."
"???"
"EHHH?!!" In the solemn and dignified royal palace, everyone was dumbfounded.
And Fukaboshi, who had been named as the successor, was completely stunned. "Father," he said subconsciously, "I'm not even 16 yet!"
The surrounding ministers heard him and all stepped forward to advise, "Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
"Your Majesty, Prince Fukaboshi is still too young! The Ryugu Kingdom still needs your guidance!"
"..."
To this, Neptune lowered his eyes, his tone becoming extremely deep. "Just announce it to the whole country!"
With that, Neptune left his throne and, under the bewildered gazes of his children, ministers, and guards, took down the pirate flag that was hanging in the hall. His entire being was shrouded in an incomparably desolate aura as he slowly walked into the darkness.
Neptune, caught between his friend of many years and the angel who would save his people in the future, was in torment. After thinking through the pain, Neptune finally chose to escape both his friendship and his responsibility. He chose to abdicate.
In the front of the crowd, Fukaboshi watched his father, who was carrying the Whitebeard Pirates' flag and wrapped in desolation, and instantly understood. His face became heavier, but he no longer said that he was too young or that he was powerless to manage Fish-Man Island.
"It's very painful to be caught in the middle, isn't it, Father—"
"It's alright, Father. Leave the rest to me!" Facing Neptune's gradually disappearing back, Fukaboshi clenched his fists and said these words.
Neptune's figure paused for a moment. "If there's anything you don't understand, come and find me."
After leaving this one sentence, Neptune's figure completely disappeared.
After he had disappeared into the shadows, Fukaboshi suppressed the anxiety and unease in his heart and quickly entered his new role. "Go to the Gyoncorde Plaza immediately! Take down the flag of the Whitebeard Pirates, replace it with the flag of the Archangel Pirates, and inform all the citizens of this!"
"Yes, sir!"
Seeing that Fukaboshi had barely managed to make a decision, the group of ministers could only obey.
After the ministers had left, Fukaboshi walked straight over to Shirahoshi and said in a deep voice, "Shirahoshi, you must contact Uta more often, do you understand?"
"Yes!" Shirahoshi, who vaguely understood what had happened, nodded vigorously. "I know, brother!"
In the depths of the New World, in the waters near Elbaf.
On the Red Force, which had many lightning-strike marks on it, a voice full of disbelief rang out.
"Why wasn't Shanks named an Emperor of the Sea with them?! Shanks repelled that Loki, who was as tall as a mountain and as strong as a monster! And even that's not enough to be called an Emperor?"
On the deck, a captain from an allied fleet, clutching a newspaper, complained with a furious expression.
Hearing this, Lucky Roux's motion of swallowing a large piece of meat on the bone paused. He recalled the giant figure with two horns on its head. "I remember Loki was several times larger than a normal giant, but he wasn't as tall as a mountain, right?"
To this, the allied captain replied, annoyed, "The point is that Shanks repelled Loki and didn't become an Emperor!"
Thud, thud. With a series of footsteps, Shanks, wearing a black cape and a saber at his waist, walked up the stairs and said with a laugh, "I only repelled that guy. I didn't defeat him. I'm still a long way from those people who are called Emperors!"