Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
A towering man with a mountain-shaped hairstyle and matching beard, muscles bulging across his powerful frame, roared furiously into a Den Den Mushi.
"What did you say?! It's already been seven days and you still haven't found a single trace of the Sky Pirates?!"
On the other end was clearly a younger, nervous Marine. Under the deafening voice of Fleet Admiral Kong, his panic was palpable.
"S-Sorry, Fleet Admiral Kong! But... none of our agents stationed across the Grand Line islands have found any signs of them landing. The Marine patrols at sea haven't picked up anything either..."
"Useless! Keep searching! Send more personnel—whatever it takes, I want them found!"
Kong slammed the Den Den Mushi shut, his expression dark.
Roger's public execution, meant to suppress pirate activity and boost the authority of the World Government and Marines, had completely backfired. Roger's final words—along with the Sky Pirates' captain Yemu challenging the World Government and Marines right before the crowd—had stirred the entire world into chaos.
And now, even the death of the Celestial Dragons was becoming harder to suppress. The World Government's prestige, and the Navy's along with it, was plummeting to an all-time low.
Just then, a hurried knock sounded at the door.
"Come in."
A man with a mohawk stepped in, a sword at his waist and a stack of documents in hand.
"What is it, Rear Admiral Momonga?"
Just from Momonga's grim expression, Kong could already tell—it wasn't good.
Momonga gave a firm nod and placed the documents on the desk.
"These are reports from the Four Seas and the major bases across the Grand Line over the past few days. In just seven days, pirate activity has surged to dozens of times the normal levels. Our forces are completely overwhelmed. The situation in the New World is even worse. It looks like the pirates there have reached some sort of agreement—every single Marine base has come under attack. Zephyr-sensei and Vice Admiral Akainu are barely holding out. They've requested immediate backup from headquarters."
Bang!
Kong slammed his fist down, shattering the desk into splinters.
"Those bastards... Are Sengoku and Garp back yet?"
"If all goes well, they'll arrive at headquarters in a week."
"One week?! Dammit! Rear Admiral Momonga, what about those warships the Science Division was developing? Are they ready?"
Momonga paused for a second, then nodded.
"Yes, but testing in the Calm Belt isn't complete yet—"
"Forget the tests. Take the warships and cut through the Calm Belt to pick them up. Give four to Sengoku and Garp. Have them take a force to the New World and support Zephyr and Akainu. Then assign one each to Kuzan and Kizaru and send them to the Four Seas—wherever support is needed. Finally, hand the remaining four to our Vice Admirals at headquarters and send them to Tsuru. They'll stay back and defend the Grand Line. We cannot let the pirates run wild."
"Understood. I'll issue the orders immediately."
"Good. And someone bring me a new desk..."
After Momonga left, Kong sank heavily into his chair. Before long, a group of Marines brought in a replacement desk. Once everything was settled, Kong felt slightly calmer and pulled out a Den Den Mushi from his coat.
"Kong... is something the matter?"
"The situation is deteriorating fast. I need the World Government's support."
"Kong, are you telling us that after only seven days, the Navy is already losing control of the seas? Has the Navy really fallen this far?"
"You can interpret it however you want. But if you want to salvage what remains, you'll support me."
"...What do you need?"
"I need full support from the CP system—and if necessary, CP0 agents as well."
"That's impossible. CP0's mission is to protect the Celestial Dragons."
"Then CP1 through CP9 must cooperate fully with the Navy."
"That's acceptable. I'll have Spandine get in touch with you."
"I also want support from the Army. And... if possible, I propose holding the Reverie early."
"Don't push it, Kong. Do you understand what calling the Reverie early means?"
"I do. But if we don't act now, it may be too late. You've seen the intel too, haven't you?"
"...I'll order the Army to cooperate. As for the Reverie, we'll consider it. What's the status of those two Sky Pirates—the ones who dared defy the World Government and killed a Celestial Dragon?"
"We've lost track of them."
"...Kong, if the Navy keeps failing like this, perhaps it's time we consider appointing a new Fleet Admiral."
"That's your decision. But right now, either work with me—or watch the world burn."
Gururururu...
The Den Den Mushi line went dead, leaving the room in utter silence.
Only a long, weary sigh remained.
"Where is this world headed..."
…
The sun shone brightly over the sea...
On the deck of the Twin Goddesses, Flare and Baby-5 were in the middle of intense training under Yemu's guidance.
After observing them for seven days, Yemu was pleasantly surprised. While neither Flare nor Baby-5 were anywhere near combat-ready yet, they both had solid foundational qualities.
Flare, perhaps thanks to her father being a chef, had always eaten well growing up. Her physical condition was excellent, and the demands of culinary training—things like arm strength, wrist control, and precision with knives—had given her a surprisingly capable physique.
Her Devil Fruit, the Ryōri Ryōri no Mi, also held great potential.
Through careful observation over the past few days, Yemu had come to understand its abilities. In essence, it resembled a more limited version of Baby-5's Buki Buki no Mi. Flare could transform her hands into any cooking tool—knives, hammers, pots, ladles, spatulas, and more.
However, her transformations were restricted to cold weapons and limited to her hands only. Unlike Baby-5, she couldn't generate firearms or large-scale weaponry.
Still, what stood out was something peculiar: Flare seemed to have a natural resistance to fire—likely a trait tied to her Devil Fruit.
After confirming this, Yemu decided to guide her in developing a unique form of culinary martial arts—anchored in her Devil Fruit powers and enhanced with techniques from the Marines' Rokushiki, swordsmanship, and even Fish-Man Karate.
As for Baby-5, her physical strength was lacking—likely due to early malnutrition. But she was still young, and with proper nutrition, she could recover. What impressed Yemu the most was her maturity. Perhaps due to her past, Baby-5 was unusually disciplined; not once had she complained during training. Every task Yemu set, she completed to the letter.
In this regard, she outshone Flare by a wide margin.
Given the nature of her Buki Buki no Mi, Yemu planned to guide Baby-5 toward becoming the crew's sniper. Her training had been heavily focused in that direction from the start.
Of course, training didn't stop with Flare and Baby-5. Yemu, Enel, and Tiger continued to hone their own skills as well.
Yemu and Enel stuck to their existing regimens but also began learning Fish-Man Karate from Tiger. As expected from a technique unique to the Fish-Man race, it was on par with the Marines' Rokushiki in both depth and power.
Many of its techniques offered new insights, and both Yemu and Enel felt their strength growing steadily.
Meanwhile, Tiger focused on Haki training. His natural strength and solid foundation gave him an edge, and within just seven days, he had already touched the threshold of Armament Haki. It wouldn't be long before he fully awakened it—Observation Haki wasn't far behind either.
And so, with everyone working together in unified training, two weeks passed quietly...
At last, they arrived at their first destination: the Drum Kingdom...