Early the next morning, News Coo spread headlines across the world:
"World-Shaking Incident! Former Warlord of the Sea, 'Crimson Mist Ritter,' Slaughters Celestial Dragon! The King of a New Era!"
"Did you hear? Lord Ritter killed a Celestial Dragon."
"Are you insane?! Don't say that out loud even mentioning them is dangerous."
"Now that's a real man... I'm heading out to sea!"
As everyone knows, when a bunch of men get together, one of them is bound to come up with a wild idea. One man threw down his hoe and shouted to the others working beside him,
"Brothers! Are you content living a life of mediocrity? A lifetime of being exploited by those so-called nobles?!"
(Just like the ancient cry: "Why should lords and nobles be born to rule?")
And so, another wave of pirate fever swept across the world.
"Fleet Admiral Kong Disciplined But No One Seems to Care."
In a tavern somewhere in the New World, Shanks gripped the newspaper with trembling fingers.
"Ritter... Are you starting your journey too? Still as crazy as ever, huh."
Let's wait for hope to arrive.
(If Ritter heard that, he'd definitely scoff:
"Wait? You wait. I'll give him a bit of time if he doesn't live up to my standards, I'll handle it myself. Don't give me that fate-and-prophecy crap. I'm a young man from the New World only the people and the cause can test me.")
Elsewhere, Whitebeard tossed the newspaper aside and laughed,
"Gurararara! Roger's crewmates just keep getting more interesting. Boys! Feast tonight!"
Meanwhile, what was our protagonist up to?
Ritter stared at a photo of himself standing beneath a blood moon, wreathed in scarlet mist.
He grumbled at the exaggeration but carefully rolled up his wanted poster and tucked it into his coat pocket.
So what was next?
The main quest:
Set sail for Water 7.
Time to get the Blumarine Jackson back on the seas and make it the strongest ship in the world.
The World Government had arrived earlier than expected the Five Elders were practically praying for his death.
Three CP0 warships had already sealed off the sea. Every agent onboard wore the same blank expression, staring silently at Ritter.
Ritter:
"White suits and little sunglasses? Damn, you're putting on more of a show than I am."
"Target located!" the lead CP0 agent shouted, raising a Den Den Mushi.
"Reporting to Mary Geo—"
His voice was cut off.
You're trying to outplay me? You die. Never try to outplay me.
Scarlet mist slithered like a living creature up the ship's hull, smothering all sound.
Ritter stepped on the last agent still twitching on the deck, the edge of his black greatsword resting lightly against the man's throat.
He glanced down and took the Den Den Mushi from the agent's limp hand.
"Not good enough, Five Elders. Can't you send someone tougher?"
Then he crushed the snail without waiting for a response.
After mocking the Five Elders, Ritter returned to Water 7.
"Yo, Captain, 'bout time you came back," said Moria with a wide grin. His hulking frame leaned against the mast, fingers crackling with black-armament Haki.
Perona hovered above, twirling her little parasol, ghosts floating lazily around her.
"You took so long, I was this close to dying of boredom~"
Laboon let out a deep rumble. His tiny top hat tilted slightly, but his eyes were sharper than ever. Looks like everyone had been training seriously.
Ritter scanned the three of them, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"Looks like none of you slacked off."
"Hehihihihi, slacked off?" Moria raised his hand. Shadows spilled out like a tidal wave, covering the entire deck.
"Right now, I can take on a Vice Admiral one-on-one."
Ritter immediately shot back,
"Great. Then go beat Garp."
Moria froze awkwardly.
Perona floated closer, lowering her voice conspiratorially.
"Moria-sama's actually gotten strong. A bounty hunter tried to sneak up on us a few days ago he dragged the guy into his shadow and beat the crap out of him."
Laboon let out a proud "WOO!" and smacked the sea with his tail, sending up a massive water column. Before the droplets even landed, he shattered them with a sonic roar into a fine mist.
Ritter raised an eyebrow.
"Not bad."
He patted Laboon's head.
"Very nice work, Laboon."
To Ritter, Moria had always been somewhat underwhelming in raw combat strength, especially since he relied heavily on a zombie army. But now, his fighting style had evolved completely.
The past few days at sea had made one thing clear his crew had grown.
One night, a World Government recon ship crept toward Water 7, hoping to track the Blumarine Jackson's movements.
Moria stood at the bow, grinning.
"Hehihihi, perfect time to test my new trick."
He leapt into the air. His shadow lashed out like a monstrous claw, tearing through the sea and latching onto the warship. The CP0 agents on board screamed as their own shadows were ripped from their bodies, freezing them in place.
"Shadow Bind: Execution."
Moria clenched his fist. The stolen shadows turned into blades, slicing down the mast. He weaved through the deck like a specter, punching through cannon emplacements with armament-coated fists.
The fight ended in a flash. The CP0 agents didn't even get a signal out.
Standing atop the final collapsed agent, Moria sneered.
"Tell the World Government next time, send someone worthwhile."
The next morning, Ritter was petting Laboon's head when he decided to finally fulfill an old promise.
He pulled out the Eternal Pose for Jaya Island.
Any sharp reader should already know where this is headed.
That's right Jaya lies in the first half of the Grand Line (Paradise), and it's the gateway to the Sky Islands.
"Set sail, everyone!"
"OHHHHHHHH!"
Ritter and his crew were sleeping soundly. The same couldn't be said for the Navy.
Fleet Admiral Kong had already signaled his intent to hand over his position to Sengoku, who was now handling most naval affairs as acting Fleet Admiral.
"The Blumarine Jackson?"
A broad hand slapped the newspaper onto his desk, shattering the wooden surface. Beside it lay a half-broken door courtesy of Garp, who had kicked it open during his visit.
"Hey Sengoku, looks like that brat Ritter's finally setting out. And he's sailing with a modified Oro Jackson! Ahahaha, he's got guts, that one!"
But Sengoku wasn't laughing. He snatched the rice crackers from Garp's hand and growled,
"Garp, could you be serious for once?! That attack humiliated us!"
Vice Admiral Tsuru gently pressed down on Sengoku's trembling arm. Her glasses caught the light as she stared at the new bounty posters for Ritter and Moria.
"The bigger problem is this pairing. A Shadow-Shadow Fruit user paired with a swordsman who can control blood mist and now they've got the fastest ship in the world..."
Suddenly, the temperature in the office spiked.
Akainu's magma-coated fist reduced the newspaper to ashes.
"A pirate's still a pirate. I don't care what he names his ship. Tom must be arrested."
"Scary~" Kizaru drawled from the window, beams of light flickering at his fingertips.
"You really shouldn't do that, Sakazuki. That'd piss off Ritter... and that guy's crazy, y'know."
Aokiji's iced coffee left frost on the table.
"I'll go, Fleet Admiral. I'll bring Ritter to justice and defend the Navy's honor. That's my burning spirit of youth."
Garp burst out laughing.
"Well said, Kuzan."
"Thank you, Garp-san."
Sengoku mulled over the situation. Ritter's bounty was high, yes but Kaido and Big Mom posed even greater threats.
"Very well, Kuzan, you'll go. Kong has already submitted your promotion to Admiral. The Five Elders are bound to approve it soon. The seas are far from peaceful, and the Navy needs more power to keep balance."
Sending an Admiral wasn't just about catching Ritter. It was also to shut the World Government up.
(And let's be honest even sending all three Admirals doesn't guarantee capturing him. This isn't about defeating him this is capturing him. In One Piece, any strong character who wants to escape usually does. It's a shounen story, after all when the flames of passion ignite, no one backs down.)
The Navy's "Big Three" Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru didn't actually dislike Ritter. Compared to the pirates who plunder, pillage, and burn, Ritter was... tolerable.
As for the Celestial Dragons? The Navy didn't really care.
(Aside from those dogs that serve them, of course but it's clear the Navy's Big Three aren't among them.)
—————————————————————————————————————————————————
Hooked already? Let me know what grabbed you leave a review and fuel the journey forward! and if we hit every 250 Power Stones, a bonus chapter drops!
Things are just heating up. Read ahead in Unbound Evolutionand stay ahead of the crowd.
[email protected]/_tey
Change @ to a.