Inside the Fleet Admiral's office at Marineford, the air was heavy with silence.
Sengoku sat solemnly, his gaze lowered as he stared blankly at the maps of the Grand Line spread across his desk.
Beside him stood Vice Admiral Tsuru, her eyes filled with both confusion and a deep, strategic concern.
"Tsuru," Sengoku finally broke the silence, his voice carrying a barely detectable trace of anxiety.
"Whitebeard on Sabaody... I truly can't fathom his intentions behind this move."
Tsuru, her aged face a mask of deep concentration, narrowed her eyes.
"I can't understand him either," she said slowly.
"But we cannot allow this to escalate. A battle between two Emperor crews on the doorstep of the Holy Land... the consequences would be unimaginable. Those men bring chaos and destruction wherever they go. If a true conflict breaks out there, it is the innocent who will suffer."
*****
The news of nine dragons descending upon Sabaody spread like wildfire, eventually reaching the Red-Haired Pirates.
The moment the news bird dropped the paper, the lazy, peaceful atmosphere on the ship shattered.
"'Nine dragons?!'" Red-Haired Shanks stared at the report, his eyes so wide they seemed to pop from his head, his face a picture of pure, unadulterated disbelief.
"Are they mass-producing Devil Fruit users for free?!" he cursed, a raw mixture of frustrated resentment and grudging envy in his voice.
Benn Beckman took a slow, deliberate puff from his cigar, the smoke curling around his grizzled face.
A hint of cold disdain flashed in his eyes as he glanced at the report.
"Shanks, don't make a fuss. Vegapunk mastered this kind of technology years ago. What Ron is doing... these are just the immature failures." He tossed a heavy gold bar into a crate with a loud thud.
"On these seas," he said, his voice a low, serious rumble, "Truly mature Devil Fruit technology will never be allowed to exist."
Shanks frowned.
While Benn had a point, everything he had heard about the new ability users from the Whitebeard crew suggested they were anything but "failures."
"Boss, stop slacking off and start hauling the gold!" Lucky Roux grunted, straining to carry a massive crate of treasure from the iceberg they were currently plundering—the legendary lost treasure of the Happo Navy.
"Yeah, the Happo Navy really had a lot stashed away!" Yasopp marveled, staring at the literal mountain of gold before them.
Shanks stood on the deck, watching his crew work.
He picked up a single, heavy gold coin, but the gleaming metal brought him no joy.
Instead, it was like a mirror, reflecting the deep, inexpressible worry buried in his heart.
The Whitebeard Pirates' heaven-defying technology, Kaido's insane declaration of war, the restless Marines, and the shadowy work of Vegapunk...
it all felt like the final, ominous creaks and groans of an era on the verge of collapse.
"This age," Shanks murmured to the uncaring sea.
"Is coming to an end."
*****
The sun-drenched streets of Dressrosa were unusually quiet.
The usual swaggering presence of the Donquixote Family executives was conspicuously absent, leaving the city in a state of subtle, nervous unease.
Inside the royal palace, Bellamy walked a few paces behind the family's core members, his chin held just a little higher than usual.
He felt a new, unfamiliar surge of pride.
After all, he was the one who had facilitated the connection with the Whitebeard Pirates, brokering a deal between two of the world's most powerful forces.
He knew he had finally made a significant contribution, a glorious achievement that would define his pirate career.
As they approached the private chambers, Donquixote Doflamingo, without turning around, spoke with a commanding purr that sent a shiver down Bellamy's spine.
"Bellamy. From now on, you'll be following me."
.....
After Doflamingo retired to his chambers, the remaining executives turned their attention to Bellamy.
Trebol, his perpetually runny nose dripping, leaned in with a sticky, unsettling grin.
"Behehehe, I say, I say, Bellamy, how did you convince that lightning man?"
The others also looked on with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.
Bellamy, basking in the newfound attention, lowered his voice and said.
"It was simple. I 'infiltrated' their crew, learned their secrets. They're hunting the traitor Blackbeard, and I used that information to get my foot in the door. A stroke of luck, you could say."
"Infiltration?" Diamante chuckled, the sound a contemptuous sneer.
"You mean you got captured and they took pity on you."
Bellamy's face flushed, but he puffed out his chest, refusing to be cowed.
"Call it what you want. I'm the one who brokered a deal that gives our family access to Admiral-level Devil Fruits. An unprecedented achievement!"
"Isn't it just a transaction?" Baby-5 asked, genuinely curious.
"Hmph! Its not just a mere transaction!" Bellamy said, his eyes gleaming with triumph.
"With these fruits, our family's strength will increase dramatically! And when our strength increases..."
"…our underground business will be even more successful," Trebol finished, a greedy, knowing glint in his eye.
He could already see the new territories and rackets they could now control.
"Hehehehe, Bellamy," he said, patting him on the back with a sticky hand, "Doffy has high hopes for you. Don't let him down."
*****
Wano Country.
Onigashima was a hive of activity, the air thick with the smoke of forges and the clang of hammers on steel as the Beasts Pirates prepared for war.
King, the bandages now gone from his body, his Lunarian physiology having healed his grievous wounds at an impossible rate, put down a Den Den Mushi.
"Kaido-sama," he reported, his voice a calm, flat baritone.
"Intelligence confirms Whitebeard has reached Sabaody. It won't be long now."
"Oh?" Kaido looked up, a delighted, savage grin spreading across his face.
"WORORORORO!" his wild laughter erupted, shaking the very room.
He picked up a massive bowl of sake, drained it in one gulp, and smashed it to the floor.
"Since you're here, then hurry up and come to die!!!" he roared, his eyes flashing with a bloodthirsty, ecstatic light.
*****
On a desolate shore of a scrap island near Water 7, the going merry was in ruin.
The storm had been merciless.
Its proud, sheep figurehead was cracked, its sails were in tatters, and deep, ugly gashes ran the length of its hull.
It was a heartbreaking sight.
"┗|｀O′|┛Awoo~! Look what the Aqua Laguna washed up!" a boisterous voice declared.
Franky, the cyborg boss of the Franky Family, flanked by his subordinates, approached the wreck.
"This suuuuuuuuuper supper broken ship is worse than the garbage I usually find!" he scoffed, delivering an angry kick to the hull.
"This kind of rotten ship doesn't deserve to live! Watch super me tear it apart for scrap!"
Just as he was about to get to work, a commotion came from behind him.
"Boss Franky, there's a person over here!"
"There's one here too, and a raccoon dog! Think we can eat it?"
"Haha, and a piece of green seaweed with swords... wait... this is a person?!"
Franky's eyes landed on the straw hat hanging around the neck of the unconscious boy his men had found, and a flicker of recognition crossed his face.
These guys... he thought, they look a little familiar...
He then struck a dramatic pose, his arms clanging together.
"Guys! Today is our super lucky day! Forget the ship for now! Let's search these pirates for their treasure first! We have a base to rebuild!"
"Awoo! Listen to Boss Franky!"
"Hahaha, we're opening for business right after the storm!"
"Following the boss is the best choice! Rob their treasure!"