The moment Fenric saw the man with the moss-green hair in front of him, he immediately recognized who it was.
Roronoa Zoro.
Zoro, here? Does that mean the timeline has reached the part where Luffy and his crew first arrive at Sabaody? Fenric thought quickly. If that's the case, then the "Celestial Dragon" incident should be about to happen… and once that explodes, the World Government will definitely intervene. Admiral Kizaru will come hunting the Supernovas on this island.
He frowned slightly. Judging by the time, Ace has already been captured by Blackbeard. And because of Ace's imprisonment, the great event—Marineford War—must be approaching soon.
While Fenric pondered, Zoro stepped closer.
"Hey, old man," Zoro called out, "did you hear some kind of noise coming from the coast just now?"
Fenric lifted his head slightly, studying the swordsman before him. Clearly, Zoro must have heard the commotion from the tsunami earlier. Probably got drawn here after wandering off, as usual.
"There's nothing on the beach. Didn't hear a thing," Fenric lied smoothly.
Zoro scratched his head, puzzled. "Huh? Maybe I imagined it… Whatever. I'd better find Luffy first."
"Thanks, old man!"
With that, he picked a random direction and ran off—utterly confident despite his hopeless sense of direction.
Fenric didn't bother to stop him. In his eyes, Zoro at this point in the story was still just a small fry.
What I need to know now is my mission…
The Trident in his possession gave him no small amount of confidence. With it in hand, Fenric wasn't just roaming around the One Piece world—he was untouchable, at least when it came to survival.
The Admirals, the Four Emperors… yes, they were monstrously strong.
But as long as the battlefield was the sea, Fenric had nothing to fear.
After all, nearly all of those powerhouses were Devil Fruit users. And Devil Fruit users were abandoned by the ocean—helpless ducks on water.
The Trident was their natural counter. Anyone foolish enough to fight Fenric at sea would be walking straight into their grave.
Meanwhile, in another corner of the island, several Samsara players had gathered, sharing the latest information they'd uncovered.
"I just heard that Sengoku actually stepped down as Fleet Admiral seven years ago."
"I heard the same. Word is, Shura's Mundo killed a Celestial Dragon at Marine Headquarters. The World Government went into a rage, but since they couldn't catch him for years, Sengoku was forced to take the blame and resign."
"This… this is all fallout from Great God Shura's actions? But when we left the last dungeon, things were still normal. Why are we stuck in his mess this time?"
"Yeah, it's weird. His influence shouldn't have anything to do with us—so why are we dragged into it?"
"Maybe Shura's influence was just too massive. Anyone who ran with him last time probably got pulled into the same altered timeline."
"Damn it. Doesn't that mean we're flying blind here?"
"Not entirely. From what I've heard, the biggest changes are in the Navy."
"Lucky for us the Navy camp guys ran off earlier. Otherwise, if they showed up only to find their Fleet Admiral had been replaced, they'd be spitting blood right now."
"Speaking of which, if Sengoku stepped down, then who's the new Admiral?"
"It's Akainu. The 'Red Dog.' The guy's a hardliner—his ruthless nature and the Celestial Dragon incident won him the World Government's full support. So they handed him the top seat."
One Samsara clicked his tongue. "And that means he's even harsher on pirates, right?"
"Exactly. Remember the Seven Warlords of the Sea? There used to be seven. Now there are only five. Akainu personally crushed two of them not long ago. Their seats are still empty."
"Damn. So Shura's chaos really does affect us."
"What about the Admirals? With Akainu promoted, who filled the gap?"
"They say it's that blind old man people talked about online—the one nicknamed Fujitora. The other two Admirals stayed the same."
"Great. Just great. My head hurts already. Should've skipped this round instead of following after Shura."
"Shut it. Weren't you the one who said maybe we could bask in his glory if we stuck around?"
"Tch. Don't remind me."
"Alright, enough whining. Our mission is clear: we need to form a pirate crew. For now, stay away from Marine Headquarters. Once we reach the New World, we'll start recruiting."
"Right. The more strong allies we can pull in, the higher our evaluation."
The group nodded in agreement and began preparing.
Similar conversations were taking place across the island.
The twenty Samsara players left in this dungeon were quickly realizing that this wasn't the same One Piece world they'd known before. The timeline itself had shifted—warped by the overwhelming influence of Shura.
None of them could complain. They could only accept it.