Somewhere in Paradise
The Blackbeard Pirates were having a party.
They were no longer a small crew hiding in the shadows.
They were now official Warlords of the Sea. After Blackbeard had defeated Ace on Banaro Island, and made his demand to the World Government. They have been in negotiations with World government for last several days. The World Government who was eager to capture the son of the Pirate King had finally agreed after many rounds of negotiations.
"Zehahahahaha" Blackbeard roared his mouth full of cherry pie. "It is a beginning of the new age"
Lafitte the elegant navigator tapped his cane on the deck, holding up the todays newspaper. "It would seem this new age is getting more crowded, Captain," he said with a sly smile.
Blackbeard took the paper and his eyes seeing the picture of "Umi."
He read the headline and his laughter grew even louder which can be heard in the entire ship.
"UMI? THE HERO OF THE NORTH BLUE?" he bellowed. "Zehahahaha....What a joke. The World Government is getting better at telling stories. They build a fake hero to make the sheeps feel safe."
Burgess stopped wrestling the sea king and stomped over. "Wiiihahaha! A hero?"
"Let me fight him. I will crush this 'Umi' and show the world who's really strong"
Blackbeard waved a his hand and said "Don't be a fool, Burgess. This isn't about strength. This is about control." He pointed a thick finger at the paper.
"They want the world to look at this shiny new hero. They want everyone to be scared of Dragon. While everyone is looking one way… we," he smiled, his missing teeth making him look even more sinister, "can move the other way."
He saw the lie instantly.
He knew the World Government can not to be trusted.
This Umi was just a piece in their game. But to Blackbeard this was a good thing. A world in chaos was a world full of opportunities.
"Let them have their hero," Blackbeard chuckled and taking a huge gulp of rum. "Let them hunt their revolutionaries. It's all just a big show to distract everyone from the real prize. When they focus on the revolutionaries we will be playing our own game. Our dream is just getting started. Zehahahahaha....ZEhahahahahahahaha...."
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Aboard the Moby Dick , The New World
The deck of the great white ship was not filled with laughter.
A sad empty quiet had settled over the Whitebeard Pirates.
It had been seven days since anyone had heard from Ace. Seven days of silence since they got any messages from Ace.
Whitebeard sat in his giant throne-like chair. Yesterday he had fight with "Red-haired Shanks" because of ace. He suggested to the Whitebeard that he should stop Ace from going after Blackbeard, When Whitebeard heard this he got angry and said 'You are 100 years early to tell me what to do and what not' and then both stated fighting after few exchanging moves both party decided to Ceasefire.
But today he is worried he did not get any update from ace in last 7 days.
He was not drinking. He was just staring out at the sea, his face like a stone mask. His sons and his commanders stood around him and their faces full of worry.
"Still nothing, Marco?" Whitebeard said with his voice low and heavy.
Marco the Phoenix shook his head with his grim face. "We've tried to find him, Pops. No one has seen him since he left for Banaro Island. It's like he just… vanished."
"That's not like Ace," said Jozu "the diamond" one of whitebeard pirate commander, his massive arms crossed. "Even if he was in trouble he would have found a way to send a message."
The worry was like a thick fog and making it hard to breathe for everyone on the ship. Ace was strong and one of their best.
Just then a News Coo landed on the railing, dropping the todays paper. A crewmate picked it up and his eyes went wide with a shock.
"Pops…" he said, his voice trembling. "You need to see this."
Marco took the paper and read the headline out loud.
THE HERO OF THE NORTH BLUE, AGENT 'UMI' SAVES FOUR KINGDOMS FROM THE TERROR AND EVIL OF THE REVOLUTIONARY ARMY!
For a moment there was just confusion.
"What is this nonsense?" one of the commanders growled. "The World Government is just making up stories to make Dragon look bad. This has nothing to do with us."
But Whitebeard knew better. His wise old eyes stared at the newspaper, but he wasn't just reading the words.
He was reading the between the lines of this newspaper.
"They're making a lot of noise recently first Germa Kingdom and now this," Whitebeard said.
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The Smoking Ruins of Germa Kingdom , The North Blue
Charlotte Perospero, the eldest son of Big Mom licked his lips with his long tongue. "Perorin," he chuckled. "Finally. After more than eight days of sailing… I have found it."
His ship the Queen Mama Chanter floated beside a series of giant snail-shaped platforms.
This was what left of the Germa Kingdom. It was a dark and smoking ruin.
He pulled out a Den Den Mushi and called his mother. "MAMAMAMA!" Big Mom's excited voice screeched from the snail.
"Perospero Did you find it? Did you find my Germa technology?"
"Yes Mama," Perospero said with a proud grin. "It is all here. The kingdom is destroyed just like the papers said. I am about to go there and see what treasures we can find for you. Perorin."
"GOOD, FIND EVERYTHING" Big Mom said. "I WANT THOSE CLONING MACHINES. I WANT THEIR FANCY SUITS."
Perospero stepped off from his ship to onto the cold and metal ground of Germa. "Now then," he said to himself. "Let's see what trash the revolutionaries left behind for us…"
The moment his foot touched the metal platform a tiny almost invisible red light blinked once under a piece of rubble.
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(Flashback)
More than week ago, Imu stood on the same platform.
The ruins were still fresh. Shamrock was loading the last of the Vinsmoke's technology onto their bags.
Imu carefully placed a 'Big black orb' given to him by Saturn into a crack in the metal floor.
It was a sensory bomb designed to detonate when it sensed the life force of anyone stepping near it.
Gunko watched him with a confused. "Imu-sama, do we really need to do this?" she asked. "There is only trash left. Everything valuable has been taken away by us."
When Imu heard this a cold knowing smile touched his lips.
"Indeed," he said, his voice a quiet whisper. "Gunko… one man's trash is another man's treasure"
(End Of Flashback)
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BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A massive world-shattering explosion erupted from the very center of the Germa Kingdom.
The entire floating nation was engulfed in a ball of white-hot fire. The blast was so powerful it sent a tidal wave rushing out across the Sea of the North Blue rocking Perospero's ship violently.
Back in Totto Land, Big Mom was still connected to the Den Den Mushi. She had heard Prospero's confident voice and then a deafening sound of blast that made the snail's eyes bulge.
Then, silence.
"Perospero?" she said. "PEROSPERO....WHAT HAPPENED?"
There was no answer.
Miles away in the middle of a burning sea, Perospero was screaming. He was on the floating rubble of the Germa Kingdom.
He had been at the very center of the explosion. His entire vision became Blurry. When he could finally see again he looked down.
His right arm from the elbow down was gone. And His left leg was gone from the knee.
They had been vaporized.
"GAAAAAAAHHH" he screamed with a sound of pure agony.
But he was a veteran of Big Mom's crew. He did not panic.
He used his Candy-Candy Fruit power. Thick hardening candy syrup coming out from his body, covering the bleeding from his arm and leg and stopping the bleeding. And a temporary replacements for his lost organs.
The sweet smell of candy mixed with the horrible smell of burned blood.
He fumbled in his pocket with his shaking candy hand and pulled out a second smaller Den Den Mushi.
He called his mother again.
"Mama…" he gasped, his voice weak and full of pain. "It… it was a trap… The whole thing was a trap…"
Big Mom, who had been about to go on a rampage stopped. "A trap? What are you talking about, Perospero?"
"The World Government… they lied…" Perospero choked out. "They did this… Get me out of here… Call Brulee… tell her to open a mirror… I am..." He could not even speak anymore collapsing onto the floating rubble of the Germa Kingdom.
Big Mom stood in her room as she gripped the Den Den Mushi tightly.
She looked at the today's newspaper on her table.
The smiling face of the hero "Umi" seemed to be mocking her.
They had lied. They had destroyed Germa. They had taken the technology. And then they had set a trap knowing that someone will come for it.
And they had nearly killed her eldest son.
A low dangerous growl started in her throat. Her eyes turned red.
"WORLD… GOVERNMENT…" she yelled, her voice so full of rage that it cracked the windows of her chateau.
"UMI…YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS...I WILL… KILL.....YOU"