One day later.
On the main island of the Four Leaf Kingdom, smoke and flames filled the air above the royal capital.
The flag of the Four Leaf Kingdom had been torn down.
In its place, the banner of the Goa Kingdom now fluttered proudly above the city walls.
The Royal Guard, along with the nobles and officials of Goa Kingdom, spread the news across the islands:
The Four Leaf Kingdom had officially been merged into the Goa Kingdom.
The invasion was swift and decisive.
Almost the entire royal family and nobility of the Four Leaf Kingdom had been captured by Victor Shaw in a single strike.
King Slock, ruler of the Four Leaf Kingdom, had been completely caught off guard.
When he realized the enemy who had invaded his land was none other than their neighboring Goa Kingdom, his face went pale.
Unacceptable.
He had even sent wedding gifts for Princess Sally and Victor Shaw, and tribute for Victor's coronation ceremony just weeks ago.
How could this young king this newly crowned monarch dare to invade them?
Even if the Four Leaf Kingdom wasn't among the 50 nations attending the World Conference, it was still an Allied Nation of the World Government!
Victor sat calmly upon the throne inside the conquered palace, his expression indifferent as he gazed down at the defeated royals.
"I'll give you two choices."
"One: Peacefully merge into the Goa Kingdom. I'll grant you a ducal title and preserve your name."
"Two: You all disappear."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Then, King Slock exploded in fury.
"Impossible! I am the rightful King of the Four Leaf Kingdom!"
"I will report this to the World Government! I will bring this before the Gorosei!"
Behind him, his trembling nobles and kneeling relatives looked equally horrified.
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"Then you've chosen option two."
"I won't kill you."
"I sentence you to exile."
Before the stunned eyes of everyone present, Victor raised his hand and activated his Time Domain.
With a soft hum, the air shimmered then, in an instant, King Slock and over a dozen royal family members vanished.
Banished into the void space, with no set duration.
Perhaps Victor would destroy them later.
Or perhaps, decades from now, they would be released… into a world where no one remembered who they were.
The nobles and officials of the Four Leaf Kingdom fell into a panic.
Seeing the royal family disappear like phantoms, they immediately fell to their knees, shouting their surrender, desperate to avoid being erased themselves.
"We surrender! We pledge allegiance to the Goa Kingdom!"
"Long live King Victor! Please, have mercy!"
Even Eric and Van Auger, who had witnessed battles all across East Blue, broke into a cold sweat.
This was their first time seeing Victor's Devil Fruit ability in action.
He hadn't even moved.
He had merely spoken and the royals were gone.
There was no explosion. No scream. No blood.
Just silence… and empty space.
Even these elite mercenaries had no idea how it had happened.
But one thing was certain now:
Victor Shaw wasn't just some lucky young king.
He was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
…
On the way.
They had heard the stories.
The rumors whispered through the Goa Kingdom's Royal Guard about how Victor Shaw had single-handedly slaughtered five hundred Royal Guards.
But only now, after seeing it with their own eyes, did Eric begin to understand:
This king… was far from simple.
Just earlier, Eric had unleashed a flurry of wind blades using his Sickle-Sickle Fruit, cutting down swathes of Four Leaf Kingdom's Royal Guard, thinking he could show off perhaps even intimidate this so-called pretty-boy king.
But now?
Now it seemed that Victor's strength was not one bit weaker than his own.
And unlike Eric, Victor hadn't even needed to lift a blade.
Meanwhile, Van Auger continued watching Victor from behind his tinted lenses.
His gaze flickered thoughtfully.
He had originally intended to leave East Blue soon step into the Grand Line as a bounty hunter or even as a pirate.
But now… things might change.
In Victor's eyes, he saw something dangerous.
Not just ambition, but control. Ruthless, unwavering control.
He knew it instinctively.
There would be no leaving this king's grasp so easily.
…
Victor gave new orders, delegating control of the conquered territory to the young nobles and officials from the Goa Kingdom.
They were to immediately secure Four Leaf Kingdom, announce its formal annexation, and report the change to the World Government.
From now on, the kingdom would be reclassified as the Four Leaf Archipelago, flying the flag of the Goa Empire.
Back in the royal capital, Princess Sally was stunned.
She hadn't expected Victor to conquer a whole kingdom in just two days.
It was… almost too easy.
But in Goa Kingdom, the reaction was explosive.
The moment news of the annexation spread, the entire kingdom burst into motion.
Nobles scrambled to curry favor. Ministers polished their uniforms. Royal Guard commanders began preparing security plans.
Everyone was eager.
This was the glory of empire and they wanted a share of it.
…
Meanwhile, Victor's next target was already in sight:
Marine Branch 153, stationed in Shells Town, located within the newly claimed Four Leaf Archipelago.
Three battleships of the Goa Kingdom's fleet immediately set sail.
Their heading? The heart of the Marine base within former Four Leaf territory.
"Y-Your Majesty…" one of the ministers on board stammered, pale with fear.
"Do we really have to… arrest Captain Morgan?"
"Even if we are an Allied Nation, we cannot just attack a Marine base!"
…
Victor's command sent shockwaves through the fleet.
Even Eric and Van Auger hardened mercenaries who had seen their share of violence were stunned.
He wasn't just conquering Allied Nations.
He was about to strike a Marine base.
The Goa Kingdom's own nobles and soldiers began to panic.
Had their king gone mad?
He was going to arrest a Marine captain?
Was he insane?
"Captain Morgan of Marine Branch 153 conspired with pirates. He used fake pirate corpses to gain promotions and wealth and abused civilians under his command."
"If Marineford refuses to deal with this corruption," Victor Shaw declared, "then I will."
"Besides… the Four Leaf Kingdom is already part of the Goa Kingdom. That makes Branch 153 my territory, and Morgan my responsibility."
Victor waved his hand with finality.
He had made up his mind.
He would use the scandal involving Captain Morgan and Klock the pirate to stir up trouble with Marineford not too much, just enough.
All he needed was a plausible excuse for the annexation of Four Leaf Kingdom.
The World Government might ignore internal conflicts between Allied Nations, but it was still good politics to offer a reason to preserve appearances and avoid stepping too far out of line.
And conveniently, Morgan and Klock made perfect targets.
"They're enemies of the kingdom," Victor said coldly. "And that's all that matters."
He wasn't truly interested in the petty corruption between Morgan and Klock.
What he wanted was to use it to justify expanding Goa Kingdom's reach and to set the stage for his next conquest.
"After we're done with Morgan," Victor added, "we'll move straight to Syrup Village in the neighboring Moonlight Kingdom."
"Capture Kuro of a Hundred Plans. He conspired with Morgan to fake his own death."
If possible, Victor intended to drag the Moonlight Kingdom into the conflict, using Kuro's presence as justification.
Those two small kingdoms Four Leaf and Moonlight would be the first stepping stones of the Goa Empire.
Watching this bold declaration, Van Auger, Eric, and all the attending nobles, officials, and Royal Guards stood frozen.
Completely speechless.
Was this mad king really planning to conquer multiple kingdoms and arrest a Marine captain within days of setting sail?
…
A few hours later
The fleet sailed from the Four Leaf Kingdom's capital and arrived at Shells Town, a small island hosting Marine Branch 153.
The sudden approach of three massive royal battleships alarmed the Marines stationed there.
At first, some thought it was a pirate attack.
But upon spotting the Goa Kingdom's flag, they hesitated.
The banner was well known in the East Blue wealthy, noble, and connected to the World Government.
The Marines allowed the fleet to dock.
Even Captain Morgan, whose brutal and tyrannical behavior had become infamous, was forced to appear at the harbor with his subordinates:
Lieutenant Commander Ripper, Lieutenant Roronoa, and a formation of Marine soldiers.
They came to welcome the King of Goa or so they thought.
But what happened next caught everyone off guard.
Standing tall atop the lead battleship, Victor Shaw raised his voice:
"Morgan, you colluded with Kuro of a Hundred Plans, faked his death so he could escape, and presented the corpse of a false pirate named Klock to get promoted!"
"You've ruled Shells Town with cruelty and corruption, abusing its people."
"By the authority of the King of Goa, I hereby place you under arrest."
"Also since Four Leaf Kingdom has now merged into Goa Kingdom Shells Town is my territory."
"All Marines, clear the way."
His voice thundered across the port.
The Marines below were stunned into silence.
"What…? Kuro of a Hundred Plans faked his death?"
Lieutenant Commander Ripper stood frozen, staring at Captain Morgan with disbelief.
"Four Leaf Kingdom merged into Goa Kingdom?! Since when?!"
Lieutenant Roronoa and several Marines began murmuring in confusion.
They had no idea.
How had something so massive occurred without a single notice to their base?
"You bastard!" Captain Morgan roared, face flushed with rage.
"I'm a Marine Captain, in charge of Branch 153! What gives you the right to judge me?!"
Victor's declaration had struck a nerve.
Morgan's mind spiraled into chaos, fragments of memory surfacing bits and pieces of what had happened with Klock, the pirate he had used for his own advancement.
Now that it was being exposed in public, his carefully built facade was unraveling.
Then it happened.
A razor-sharp wind blade tore through the air, headed straight for Morgan.
The Marines gasped.
They couldn't believe what they were seeing.
Goa Kingdom forces had just attacked the Marines openly and without hesitation!
"You dare attack the Marines?! You're all criminals! Open fire! Annihilate them!"
Morgan raised his giant axe, trying to intercept the incoming wind blade.
But it was too fast.
In one instant shing!
Several deep, bloody gashes appeared across Morgan's chest and arms. He staggered back, eyes wide in pain and disbelief.
Whirlwind Eric had struck with zero hesitation.
And then Van Auger moved.
Bang. Bang. Bang!
Three perfectly placed shots rang out.
Each bullet struck Morgan with surgical precision two in the legs, one in the shoulder.
The corrupt captain collapsed to the ground, his axe clattering beside him.
The Royal Guard of Goa Kingdom stepped forward, forming a wall between their king and the stunned Marines.