"Shocking! The Former Strongest Marine Vice Admiral Has Defected!"
"The Marine Future Star Who Killed a Celestial Dragon—It Was Him?!"
"The Rocks Pirates Gain Another Major Force! Pirate 'Rampaging' Fite Roldy !"
"Justice's Lament! A Comrade Turned Enemy—Bounty: 940,000,000 Berries!"
Newspapers flooded every corner of the world.
Early in the morning, civilians who had just crawled out of bed were still rubbing sleep from their eyes. But the moment they saw the headlines, all drowsiness vanished. Shockwaves rippled through their hearts.
The rising star of the Marines had become a pirate.
If this hadn't been published by the World Economy News Paper, they would have cursed those damned reporters on the spot.
A small number of sharp-minded readers sensed that things weren't so simple. Roldy 's future had been limitless—why would he suddenly abandon everything to become a pirate?
What could piracy possibly offer him?
Naturally, those with keen instincts focused on one phrase:
Celestial Dragon.
Marine HeadquartersMarineford
Bang!
Inside the conference room, Fleet Admiral Kong smashed the table before him into splinters with a single punch.
His face was dark with fury. Newspapers lay scattered across the floor. Around the room sat the upper echelon of Marine Headquarters, including Admiral Sengoku. Without exception, their expressions were grim.
"That brat Roldy …! He actually dared to do it!"
Kong ground his teeth audibly.
Since Roldy 's defection to the pirates, Marine Headquarters had been placed under unprecedented pressure. All the resources and political capital invested in him had gone up in smoke.
The reporters had swarmed like sharks scenting blood. The heroic public image the Marines had painstakingly crafted for Roldy had backfired violently. The press hounded them without mercy.
Worse still was the World Government's accountability review.
The death of a Celestial Dragon and Roldy 's betrayal had enraged the Five Elders. They had directed their fury entirely at the Marines, unanimously declaring that lax Marine supervision had led to this catastrophic incident.
Kong knew full well this was a calculated political trial—a familiar tactic used by the World Government to test the loyalty of its subordinates. But he had no grounds to refute them. He could only grit his teeth and accept the criticism.
The punishment imposed by the World Government:
A 30% reduction in Marine Headquarters' military budget.
It was a devastating blow.
Even before this, funding had already been stretched thin. Now, with nearly a third slashed away, it was like cutting directly into the artery of Marine operations.
How could he not be furious?
At last, Kong turned his gaze toward a figure sitting silently nearby—like a corpse drained of its soul.
Admiral Zephyr.
Since returning, his former student had remained like this, as if something essential had been torn out of him. Kong felt a trace of pain at the sight.
But he was also deeply angered by Zephyr's actions.
"Zephyr!"
Kong roared.
The volume meant nothing. Zephyr didn't even lift his head.
"Do you have nothing to say to me?"
Kong laughed in frustration.
Only then did Zephyr slowly raise his head to meet his mentor's gaze.
The bloodshot eyes made Kong swallow the reprimand that had risen to his lips. Everyone in the room focused on the teacher and student.
After a long silence, Zephyr spoke in a hoarse voice.
"For this mission, I am willing to bear full responsibility. Fleet Admiral Kong… I hereby formally request to resign from my position as Admiral."
The words fell.
The conference room grew so quiet that even heartbeats seemed audible.
Whether from the moderate faction or the hardliners, all stared at Zephyr in disbelief.
A legendary figure who had set the record for the fastest promotion to Marine Admiral in history—
And now, less than a year into the role—
He was resigning?
"You—!"
Kong's face flushed red.
This outcome was even worse than he had imagined.
Zephyr's strength was unquestionable—an authentic Admiral-level powerhouse. For both public and private reasons, Kong could not allow this.
In the end, gritting his teeth, Kong issued his decision:
Admiral Zephyr would be temporarily stripped of all operational authority and ordered to remain at Marine Headquarters for one month of leave.
This was the Fleet Admiral's answer to the World Government.
Zephyr's actions could not be concealed from their watchful eyes. Compared to what might have happened, this punishment was already lenient.
In other words—
For one month, Zephyr was to go nowhere. He would remain at headquarters, reflect on himself, and recover.
"Fleet Admiral, our top priority now should be how to respond to the traitor Fite Roldy . We all know his strength and potential. Having left with the Golden Lion, it's highly likely he'll join the Rocks Pirates. If that's the case…"
A new round of discussion began in the conference room.
But whatever conclusions they reached—
They no longer concerned Roldy .
New WorldPirate Stronghold — Hachinosu (Pirate Island)
This was the base of the sea's overlord, Rocks D. Xebec, and his Rocks Pirates.
More than 30,000 elite pirates resided across the island. No fewer than a hundred pirate ships filled its surrounding waters.
If Marineford was the sacred ground of Justice—
Then Hachinosu was paradise for sin.
At the shoreline, two pirate ships slowly docked.
One bore the figurehead of a mighty lion—the ship of the Golden Lion, Shiki.
The other carried a white whale prow—the vessel of the First Division Commander of the Rocks Pirates, Edward Newgate, the man later known as Whitebeard.
Roldy 's defection had caused a global uproar, and the Rocks Pirates had responded in kind. Newgate had been dispatched to rendezvous with Shiki.
One was hailed as invincible in aerial combat.
The other, unmatched in naval warfare.
Together, they feared not even three Admiral-level opponents.
Though in truth, Newgate had arrived slightly late, only crossing paths with Shiki on his return voyage.
"Oh? Captain Shiki's back! That defector Marine from the papers is here too, right?"
"Yehahahaha! Where is he? Let that so-called Marine brat get out here—I wanna see him myself!"
"Over 940 million Berries for a first bounty? Heh, the Marines sure didn't hold back!"
Unlike the disciplined Marines, these pirates embodied chaos itself.
Shiki and Newgate stepped off their ships, their respective division members following behind. Pirates craned their necks, eager to see what the much-hyped former Marine Vice Admiral looked like.
"Where's the kid? Still sleeping in his cabin?"
Newgate—his blond hair flowing, towering at 6.66 meters—took a swig of rum and glanced at Shiki.
"Jihahahaha! A sudden reversal like that's hard for anyone to process. But don't worry—that brat's no fragile weakling."
As Shiki spoke, he seemed to sense something.
Turning his head—
He saw Roldy finally step out from the cabin.
He still wore the bloodstained white suit. The tie was gone.
His appearance hadn't changed.
But the feeling he gave off was entirely different.
If before he had been a high-spirited Marine prodigy—
Now he had shed his youth and stepped fully into adulthood, crossing the most critical threshold.
His face bore no visible emotion.
A faint but unmistakable aura of Conqueror's Haki emanated from him.
The ordinary pirates felt their hearts tighten. Their earlier scorn vanished instantly.
They suddenly remembered—
To pirates, this man was no hero.
He was a devil.
The number of pirates he had personally sent to their graves wasn't in the tens of thousands—
But it was certainly in the several thousands.
"Gurararara! The brat's got presence, I'll give him that. Roldy … Looks like Hachinosu's about to get lively."
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