Before officially setting sail to conquer the Blue Sea, a massive amount of preparation was required.
They needed to transfer long-voyage provisions onto the new 360-meter flagship and determine who would remain behind to guard their sanctuary in the clouds.
Although York could theoretically return to Skypiea at any moment using Stussy's Mirror World, he couldn't always be on standby. They needed a capable ruler to hold the throne.
After a brief council, Gloriosa voluntarily chose to stay behind.
Her reasoning was simple: she didn't feel comfortable entrusting Skypiea—the first territory York had ever conquered—to anyone else. As a former Empress of Amazon Lily, she possessed extensive experience in kingdom management. In fact, whenever York was busy training or experimenting, she was already the one handling the daily administrative affairs of the sky.
Gloriosa's proactive sacrifice deeply touched York.
He was, after all, a normal man. Even if he planned to expand his harem as an Emperor of the Sea, he wasn't a soulless machine. He naturally developed deep, varying degrees of affection for his partners, and Gloriosa was his first.
Looking at her in the quiet of their shrine, York felt a powerful, primal urge to give her his first child.
However... after much agonizing deliberation, he suppressed the idea.
'The tragedy of God Valley is a clear warning,' York thought grimly. 'If Xebec hadn't been forced into a corner because his family faced mortal danger, I would probably still be sailing under his flag. A child right now isn't a legacy; it's a fatal weakness.'
Unable to make Gloriosa a mother just yet, York compensated by spending the final few nights entirely with her, fiercely enjoying their time together as a couple.
In the blink of an eye, the day of departure arrived.
York gently kissed Gloriosa's forehead and waved goodbye to little Teach. At only three years old, Teach was too young for the brutal front lines of the Blue Sea. Plus, with the two-year-old Enel running around, the toddlers could be playmates and wouldn't be lonely under the care of the sky-dwellers.
In contrast, York brought both 10-year-old Kuma and 14-year-old Ginny onto the ship. They were old enough to begin their practical combat experience.
Including the kids, the core members of the Crimson Harvest Pirates setting sail were: York, Shakky, Stussy, Kaido, Dragon, Ivankov, Ginny, and Kuma.
A grand total of eight people.
Eight people attempting to manually operate a super-giant galleon with a length of 360 meters was a physical impossibility.
Fortunately, this crew consisted almost entirely of monsters. Kaido's Flame Clouds lifted the massive hull, while Dragon's Wind-Wind Fruit provided absolute, perfectly tailored propulsion for the colossal sails. All the crew actually needed to manage was steering the rudder and keeping watch.
Even so, eight people on a ship the size of a moving castle felt incredibly empty. They needed a crew.
To avoid exposing Skypiea's location, Kaido and Dragon maneuvered the flying ship in a massive, wide loop over the ocean before finally touching down on the Blue Sea. They then sailed normally toward their first target: Jaya Island, located directly beneath the sky currents.
The enormous, dragon-headed Treasure Ship approached the lawless port of Mock Town. Its mountain-like silhouette cast a massive shadow over the docks, making it difficult to tell if the ship or the island was larger.
A massive swarm of pirates—stranded in Mock Town because their Log Poses were stubbornly pointing up at the sky—gathered at the port to gawk at the behemoth.
"What a massive ship!!"
"Which Pirate Emperor does that belong to?!"
"Look at the flag on the mainmast... it's a skull surrounded by golden wheat on a blood-red background!"
The pirates' confusion was quickly dispelled.
Standing at the very peak of the ship's carved dragon figurehead, a man radiating an intimidating, holy white light looked down upon the scum of Mock Town.
York held a small Transponder Snail to his mouth. His voice boomed across the entire island through the ship's massive acoustic Dials.
"I am Atlas D. York! And I am currently recruiting!!"
"Anyone who wants to sail under my flag, step forward now!!"
For a second, there was dead silence. Then, Mock Town erupted into thunderous, earth-shaking cheers.
"It's York! The Lord of Corruption!!"
"It's really him! The man who vaporized Water 7! The pirate with the highest bounty in the world!!"
After verifying the face at the bow against the 4.5 Billion Berry wanted posters stuffed in their pockets, the pirates went into an absolute frenzy.
"I want to board!!"
"Take us with you!!"
"Captain York! Let us join the crew!!"
The pirates of Jaya scrambled over each other like rats fleeing a sinking ship. Some didn't even wait for the flagship to dock; they immediately set sail on their own dinghies and sloops, rowing frantically alongside the massive hull and begging for rope ladders to be thrown down.
York accepted them all without hesitation. His current goal was sheer, overwhelming numbers to populate his Grand Fleet. Quality control and discipline could come later.
The chaotic boarding event lasted from morning until the late afternoon. Thousands of pirates swarmed the lower decks.
Finally, when the initial frenzy died down, York raised the Transponder Snail again.
"Are there no more pirates who wish to join my ranks?"
Silence answered him.
There were still several scattered pirate crews remaining in Mock Town. These pirates were either too arrogant to serve under another captain, or they were already subordinate crews affiliated with other powerful New World syndicates. Therefore, they ignored York's second call, watching the flagship warily from the town's taverns.
York closed his eyes. His advanced Observation Haki pulsed, instantly sweeping across the entirety of Jaya. The island wasn't large; he could easily sense every single heartbeat hiding in the jungle and the town.
After confirming exactly who had refused his invitation, York's lips curled into a ferocious, bloodthirsty grin.
He raised his hand and pointed down at the town, issuing his first official Captain's order to his newly formed Grand Fleet.
"Plunder Jaya clean!! Slaughter every single pirate on this island who refused to board my ship!!"
The eyes of the thousands of pirates who had just joined the Crimson Harvest instantly gleamed with a vicious, greedy light. It was a loyalty test, and they were eager to pass.
Meanwhile, the faces of the holdouts in Mock Town drained of color.
"Lord of Corruption! You can't do this!!" a captain screamed from the docks. "We are a subordinate crew of the Golden Lion! Do you want to make an enemy of Shiki?!"
BOOM!!
Pushed by a sudden, violent gale from Dragon, the 360-meter flagship surged forward, directly crushing the pirate ships still docked at the pier into splinters. The massive bow crashed onto the shoreline, shattering the stone docks.
"KILL!!!" York roared.
Thousands of newly recruited pirates poured over the railings, leaping from the ship like a waterfall of blades and bullets.
A brutal, merciless pirate war immediately swept across the entirety of Jaya Island.
Several hours later, as the sun began to set, the screaming finally stopped.
Every single pirate on Jaya who had been unwilling to submit to York was utterly annihilated. Their ships were sunk, and all the resources, weapons, and wealth on the island were plundered and piled into a massive mountain on the beach.
This pile even included the hidden stashes that the newly recruited pirates had tried to keep from their old captains; they voluntarily donated it all to prove their loyalty to their new God.
Looking at the towering pile of treasure and supplies, York made his next move.
He and his core cadres took absolutely nothing from the gold. York ordered the entire mountain of wealth to be distributed equally among every single new crew member who had shed blood for him today.
At the same time, all the rum, meat, and supplies plundered from Mock Town were used to host a colossal bonfire feast on the shoreline.
"Eat as much as you can! Drink until you pass out! Whatever is left over gets loaded into the holds!" York commanded, raising a massive tankard.
"WOOOOOOOO!!!"
A lively, roaring feast illuminated the blood-stained shores of Jaya Island. The Crimson Harvest Pirates had officially declared to the world that, starting from this island of outlaws, a terrifying new legend of the sea had begun.
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