Chapter 110 Broadcast Begins, The Rhythm of War!
At Sabaody Archipelago's Bubble Plaza, a large crowd had already gathered in front of the massive broadcast screen.
While Bane and his companions had spent time at Marine Headquarters, the rookie pirates he had hoped to encounter on Sabaody Archipelago had now all converged here.
The Surgeon of Death, Trafalgar Law, leaned against the wall of a small building with his crewmates nearby.
His face wore a somewhat cynical smile, but that expression instantly darkened when his gaze swept across one of the split screens on the broadcast. Pain and hatred flashed through his eyes.
That particular screen was showing footage of the front lines—the Warlords of the Sea.
Most people's attention was drawn to the world's most beautiful woman among the Warlords—the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock. People in the plaza occasionally praised her beauty.
But Trafalgar Law didn't spare even a glance at this so-called most beautiful woman. His gaze was locked deadly onto the most flamboyantly dressed figure among the Warlords.
Heavenly Demon Donquixote Doflamingo.
The man wore a pink flamingo feather coat with orange sunglasses, his lips curved in a wicked smile. His lower half was clad in tight pants and pointed shoes, his stance incredibly arrogant. From his expression, he seemed to greatly anticipate this war.
"No matter what price I have to pay, I will kill you... Doflamingo!" Trafalgar Law swore in his heart.
Elsewhere, at a high-end restaurant with an excellent view of the broadcast screen through its windows, the red-haired Eustass Kid sat in this prime location.
A savage smile played at his lips, his eyes also filled with anticipation as he said: "What perfect timing! No matter who wins or loses this war, the New World will become a new battlefield. And this is exactly our moment to shine. If Whitebeard dies, won't that Emperor position be freed up for me?"
"Kid, it's better not to get your hopes up too much. The Navy isn't eliminating an Emperor just to make way for a new one. Perhaps their next strategic focus will be returning to the New World," his masked companion Killer said quietly.
It had to be said, this guy had some insight.
The Navy's strategic focus would indeed return to the New World after many years following this event.
While these pirates discussed the impending war, they failed to notice that among the bustling crowd, several individuals were constantly identifying targets and recording them in notebooks.
"Captain Eustass Kid has been spotted—he's in this Bubble Restaurant. Philet, go check the lawless zone's port to confirm if their ship is there. If it is, keep close watch. This guy is specifically requested by Boss Bane."
"Surgeon of Death Trafalgar Law is also over there. That's tricky—their ship is a submarine. But let's keep an eye on him anyway."
"Jewelry Bonney hasn't been spotted, but their pirate ship did appear at the lawless zone's port a couple days ago. Let's keep searching."
"There's also that guy called Urouge. A few days ago, Boss Bane personally called to instruct us to add that guy to our priority surveillance targets. Really don't know what kind of luck that Urouge stumbled into."
Indeed, these people searching for targets in the crowd were the subordinates Bane had left on Sabaody Archipelago. Some of them had already established Baroque Works intelligence posts on the archipelago during this period.
The leader of this intelligence team was named Wox. While secretly directing his subordinates, he also continuously scanned the area. Normally, he wouldn't dare so openly observe so many pirate targets, but the current situation was different—with this sea of people, nothing would be exposed.
Just as he shifted his gaze to the rooftop of a small building, he froze completely. Cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead, his eyes filled with fear and shock.
"Boss? What's wrong?" A subordinate seemed to notice something was off with his leader and quickly asked.
"Quick—urgent intelligence! That's the Dark King! That's the Dark King! Get this information to Boss Bane immediately!" Wox quickly averted his gaze, not daring to look in that direction again, speaking in a suppressed voice.
Indeed, on that building's rooftop, he had seen a figure that shocked him—the legendary right hand of the Pirate King, Dark King Silvers Rayleigh!
On the rooftop, Rayleigh seemed to sense something. His gaze swept across the crowd below, but he made no additional moves or reactions, continuing to sit leisurely on the rooftop watching the broadcast screen.
It had to be said, Rayleigh was truly impressive. Despite his age and somewhat slovenly dress, his bearing was genuinely distinguished. His silver hair fell to his shoulders, he wore plain glasses, and even the wrinkles on his face seemed masculine and charismatic. Even wearing flip-flops couldn't diminish his carefree elegance.
"Why didn't you sell yourself to human traffickers today?" a voice came from behind Rayleigh.
It was Shakky, the biggest intelligence broker on Sabaody Archipelago, and also the former-former empress of Amazon Lily, the previous captain of the Kuja Pirates.
Of course, she and Rayleigh were also old lovers.
"Today an old friend might be departing, so I wanted to come watch," Rayleigh smiled.
"Are you so certain Whitebeard will lose?" Shakky asked quietly upon hearing this.
"Sengoku is also an old friend," Rayleigh shrugged.
In the original story, Rayleigh had complex feelings while watching the broadcast—after all, his captain's son was kneeling on that execution platform. But since that guy had become part of the Whitebeard Pirates, Rayleigh couldn't interfere.
But now, he was truly relaxed, completely in a spectator's mindset, even somewhat anticipating the war's swift beginning.
"Oh my, the three Marine Admirals are making their entrance," Shakky suddenly said, looking at the broadcast screen.
Indeed, on one of the split screens, the Navy's three Admirals had appeared, walking toward the elevated platform with three chairs.
Soon, Borsalino, Sakazuki, and Kuzan took their seats one by one in the chairs that had long been prepared for them.
As the three Admirals—proclaimed as the World Government's ultimate fighting force—took their seats, many civilians cheered outright. Clearly, the three Admirals enjoyed considerable popular support.
However, Kuzan's sitting posture was somewhat different from the others, not as arrogant as the other two, with his legs not propped up.
After the three Admirals were seated, another broadcast screen showed changes. The gates of the Fortress of Justice opened, and Fleet Admiral Sengoku appeared majestically in the broadcast, accompanied by a man in a black suit—Bane.
"Is that him? The man called the catalyst of war?" Shakky's gaze merely glanced at Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral, before focusing all her attention on Bane.
With the Whitebeard Pirates' bounty hunt before and the World Government's propaganda campaign after, even though Bane hadn't caused any major incidents recently, few people worldwide didn't recognize his face!
Many people across the seas called him the "Catalyst of War."
Even numerous conspiracy theory supporters believed that this war between the Navy and the Whitebeard Pirates was single-handedly orchestrated by this man named Bane!
Under countless watching eyes, Bane and Fleet Admiral Sengoku walked together, ascending the high steps of the execution platform.
Behind them, two executioners led with seastone shackles and chains, escorting a figure who followed closely.
That figure was naturally the main character of this execution—Marshall D. Teach.
***
30+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces