"Stop shouting."
"Monka and your men are now my captives."
Victor Shaw strode up to Clo and, with a sharp snap, locked an explosive slave collar around his neck.
"Bind him."
Victor gave a calm order to the guards standing behind him.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
A large squad of royal guards surged forward, seized Clo, shackled him, and carried him away like a sack of potatoes.
Only then did Kaya, Merry, and the others emerge from the mansion in a panic.
"Your butler is actually the pirate Kuro of a Hundred Plans."
"I now suspect you of harboring a pirate. What do you have to say for yourselves?"
Before Kaya could even ask about Clo, Victor landed a crushing accusation without hesitation.
An explanation?
There was no such thing as giving an explanation.
Only the king had the right to demand answers. The rest could only obey.
"How dare you speak out of turn! The man standing before you is His Majesty Victor Shaw, King of the Goa Empire!"
"Kneel down and answer the question properly!"
A Goa Empire official barked at Kaya and Merry.
Shaken and pale, Kaya and Merry immediately collapsed to their knees.
"Your Majesty, please forgive us! We truly didn't know that Butler Crabatelle was a pirate!"
Merry cried out in panic, while Kaya's face was frozen in disbelief.
The kind, gentle Crabatelle... a pirate?
"Since you're unwell, I'll let you off this once."
"Once you've recovered, report to the capital of the Goa Empire. My princess is in need of some personal attendants."
Victor spoke in a casual tone, then turned and left without pursuing the matter further.
He had more urgent matters to handle like conquering the Moonlight Kingdom. He couldn't waste time on a wealthy village girl.
Once the Moonlight Kingdom fell, a single royal decree would be enough.
Kaya would be summoned to the royal palace without question.
Such overwhelming authority!
Kaya and Merry were left speechless as the squad of guards and bounty hunters followed Victor Shaw away with relaxed, practiced steps.
"...It's okay, Miss Kaya."
Merry exhaled, feeling as if he'd narrowly escaped death.
The glares from those officials and guards had nearly scared him out of his wits.
"Once you've recovered... he said to report to the Goa Empire?"
"Was he talking about me?"
Kaya looked completely bewildered, turning to Merry for confirmation.
"It sounds like Princess Sally De Cannette needs female attendants, Miss."
Merry answered cautiously. Even he hadn't expected a king to recruit someone like Kaya especially when she was bedridden.
"Attendant...?"
Kaya frowned slightly.
What if she didn't want to leave Syrup Village?
But right now, there was nothing she could do.
They couldn't possibly defy a king.
Back at the port, Victor and his group found no sign of Usopp.
That coward had probably found a hole to crawl into long ago.
"Set sail for the Moonlight Kingdom's capital."
Victor didn't waste a moment. He had to claim these kingdoms before the neighboring nations or the World Government could react.
Even Vinsmoke Judge had managed to conquer four allied states in the North Blue and execute four kings in record time.
There was no reason Victor Shaw couldn't take down four minor kingdoms in the comparatively weak East Blue.
Besides, the local navy branch leaders were all rotten to the core.
Each one was worse than the last self-serving colonels who lied to their superiors and crushed the common people beneath their boots.
"Yes, sir!"
Four warships sailed from the shores of Syrup Village, their sails filled with wind as they headed straight for the capital of the Moonlight Kingdom.
Half a day passed...
Zangao, along with the former slave brothers known as the Siamese Cat and Spotted Cat, joined forces with Eric, Van Auger, and others as an elite strike team. Together, they launched a fierce assault on Moonlight King City.
Once again, the royal family of the Moonlight Kingdom put up a desperate resistance but ultimately, they were exiled by King Victor Shaw.
Soon, word of Victor's actions spread like wildfire. Soldiers and bounty hunters alike began calling him "The Exiled King."
During his campaign, Victor discovered a small island within the Moonlight Kingdom's territory Frost Moon Island.
The name caught his eye.
To his surprise, this island was the very same Shimotsuki Village that both Usopp and Zoro hailed from.
But Victor didn't have time to detour. The war for domination was still underway.
Three more days passed.
The neighboring Organ Kingdom was the next to fall under the boots of the Goa Empire's army.
Just like before, Victor exiled the Organ royal family without hesitation.
However, despite combing through Orange Town, he couldn't locate the Joker Pirates.
It appeared that Buggy ever blessed with the luck of a Conqueror had narrowly escaped disaster yet again.
By the end of the week, Victor Shaw had conquered three entire kingdoms.
The Goa Kingdom was in a frenzy.
From nobles to commoners, everyone was fired up. Officials from all ranks, bounty hunters, and even civilians began volunteering for the war effort to expand the empire's territory.
It didn't take long for the World Government to take notice of this aggressive conquest.
But by the time they began paying attention, the Goa fleet had already reached the shores of the Konomi Kingdom.
The justification? Supposedly, the Konomi Kingdom had disrespected King Victor and Princess Sally by offering only a paltry gift 100,000 in cash and 10,000 kilograms of oranges.
When the Goa Empire captured the Konomi royal capital, a certain naval officer began to panic.
Colonel Nezumi of the 16th Branch trembled with fear.
He immediately reported Victor Shaw's brutal behavior to Marine Headquarters.
Desperate, he hoped the Navy would intervene and stop the Goa Kingdom's rampant conquest.
More than anything, Nezumi feared that Victor might uncover his secret alliance with Arlong the fishman pirate.
After all, Colonel Morgan of the 153rd Branch had already been captured by Victor Shaw.
And now, Nezumi's own 16th Branch was in the crosshairs.
"Yes, yes! This tyrant from the Goa Kingdom has banished the kings of four nations already. People in the East Blue now call him The Exiled King!"
"He even arrested Colonel Morgan of the 153rd Branch without cause! He's trampling all over the Navy's dignity!"
"Wang no, Victor Shaw is completely lawless!"
"His reign of terror is just as savage as Vinsmoke Judge's 'Four Kingdom Slash' back in the North Blue!"
Colonel Nezumi practically screamed into his Den Den Mushi, painting Victor Shaw as a cruel tyrant and a pirate king in disguise.
Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters in Marineford...
Vice Admiral Garp was secretly munching on senbei in Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office when he heard the news.
The Goa Kingdom his homeland was now waging wars of expansion?
Garp's brow furrowed deeply.
"The hell is going on with this new king? Dragging my peaceful hometown into a mess like this?"
"What kind of Exiled King nonsense is that? I'll teach him a lesson with my Fist of Love!"
Fuming, Garp grabbed his Den Den Mushi and called the village chief of Windmill Village, Mr. Slab, to ask whether the war had spread that far.
Luckily, the peaceful Windmill Village remained untouched.
Even so, Garp's rage didn't cool.
"Sengoku! I'm heading back to the East Blue! I won't let our peaceful sea be turned into a battlefield!"
"And if that king really did capture a Marine officer, then I'm going to knock some sense into him myself!"
Garp spun around to storm out of the room.
"Hold it right there, Garp!"
Sengoku raised his voice.
"The Goa Kingdom officially submitted merger applications for those three kingdoms to the World Government!"
"And the Goa officials have already submitted complete evidence regarding Colonel Morgan and Kuro."
"Not only that before Nezumi's report came in, the Goa Kingdom had already provided documentation proving that Colonel Nezumi was shielding the Arlong Pirates!"
Sengoku rubbed his temples. The new king of Goa, Victor Shaw, had been methodical and thorough.
Everything was legally processed through the World Government.
From what Sengoku could tell, the Goa Kingdom had likely negotiated terms related to Heavenly Tribute Tenryuubito gold buying them temporary immunity.
That's why the World Government was standing back and letting Victor conquer freely.
To be honest, with the corruption caused by men like Morgan, Kuro, Nezumi, and Arlong, Sengoku almost wanted to thank Victor Shaw.
At least someone had cleared out the filth that the Navy had failed to handle.
At the same time, the famed reporter Morgans finally started taking the news seriously.
He ran a bold headline:
"The Exiled King: A New Tyrant Rises in the East!"
Victor Shaw was now being compared to the infamous Vinsmoke Judge.
The world was watching.