Inside a three-story villa with a garden in what used to be Windmill Village—
Garp was cradling a newborn Luffy, gently rocking him in his arms, bursting into hearty laughter now and then.
Little Luffy wasn't scared at all. In fact, he giggled with his mouth wide open, reaching out his tiny hands toward Garp's face.
Sitting on the couch, Mayor Slap scolded disapprovingly, "Be careful! Don't go dropping Luffy on the floor!"
"Bwahaha! Even if I did, he'd be fine. He's my grandson, after all!"
Garp stuck out his tongue and made all sorts of silly faces to amuse the baby.
"Dragon, aren't you going to say something to him?"
Mayor Slap sighed and turned toward the man sitting silently across from him—Luffy's father.
"It's fine," said Dragon flatly. "In a few days, he'll be sent to Marineford to be raised under Vice Admiral Tsuru."
To Dragon, it was Luffy's mother who had been the true love of his life.
But she had died from childbirth before he and Garp had even arrived.
The grief in Dragon's heart was deep, and his attitude toward Luffy… was understandably distant.
Deep down, he even harbored a trace of resentment toward the child—believing that Luffy's birth had taken her life.
Coincidentally, the World Government had contacted him out of the blue and suggested placing Luffy into foster care in Marineford.
Dragon saw no reason to refuse.
He decided not to trouble Mayor Slap and the others with raising the boy.
Garp didn't object either.
His sole focus now was ensuring that Luffy would grow up to be an exceptional Marine officer.
Of course, had the World Government not intervened, based on the personalities of both father and son…
Luffy would almost certainly have stayed here in Windmill City.
But there was someone important behind the scenes who would never allow that to happen.
"Well, that's fine. Ace is already four now—they could be playmates."
Garp chuckled as he cradled Luffy in his arms.
"I see…" Mayor Slap sounded disappointed. He had genuinely looked forward to raising the boy himself.
Because his grandson had grown up and wasn't nearly as adorable as he used to be.
"So, are you two leaving today or tomorrow?"
"Hmm…"
Garp exchanged a look with Dragon before replying, "Today. With the help of the 'White Dragon', we can make it back to Marineford before dinner."
"I still wish you two would stay the night—share a meal with everyone in Windmill Town," Mayor Slap said with a long sigh as he stood up.
"After all, even though we couldn't do much during Luffy's birth—what with the new World Hospital in town—everyone gathered outside the delivery room to pray for him. And… we all cried together too."
Garp and Dragon exchanged another glance.
Father and son could both see the hesitation in each other's eyes.
"…Alright then—"
Just as Garp was about to nod in agreement—
Both he and Dragon, still seated on the couch, suddenly snapped their heads upward toward the ceiling.
At that moment, high above the Goa Kingdom—
What had once been a boundless expanse of clear blue sky—
Was now overshadowed by a colossal black battleship, roughly 500 meters long, descending through the clouds.
Its hull was studded with laser cannons of various sizes, and on both flanks, a menacing green skull wearing a bright orange hat was painted.
The ship tore through a massive cumulus cloud as it slowly descended.
Below, people from both the inner and outer city—nobles, civilians, police officers, doctors, even schoolchildren on the playground—began to notice the looming figure above.
But their expressions only showed curiosity or surprise.
Most simply assumed it was the latest flying warship developed by the World Government.
No one imagined it could be an alien invasion.
Not until the ship's laser cannons began to glow with gathering green light.
Only then did someone's expression shift to horror.
Something's wrong!
[Zzrr-zzrr-zzrr-zzrr————!]
But by then… it was already too late.
Beams of eerie green light, thick and thin like a crude, tangled web, began raining down upon the capital of the Goa Kingdom and the surrounding Windmill City.
Beautiful buildings were reduced to rubble. Clean streets melted into magma.
Terrified civilians who didn't react in time were incinerated by the sweeping lasers.
The sky was filled with screams, explosions and death—
—in a matter of seconds, the entire kingdom was plunged into chaos.
Everyone was in shock.
Had the pirates evolved to the point they could command flying battleships now?!
"H-How could this be…" Tanjiro held the little girl tightly, eyes wide with disbelief as he stared up at the black warship still firing down endless streams of green light.
"Mama! Mama! Please save my mama!"
Lis screamed, her eyes red with tears.
A laser beam had just struck her house right before her eyes—
—and her mother had still been inside the kitchen, making seafood yakisoba!
"Leave it to me!"
Tanjiro immediately drew his Nichirin Blade, cradled the girl in his arms, and dashed straight into the burning wreckage of the collapsed house.
Right now—
He didn't dare leave the child alone for even a moment.
...
Up in the sky, the black warship began deploying dozens of small carrier ships.
There weren't many—maybe thirty in total—
—but as they landed, they released hundreds of grotesque figures, all clad in matching uniforms:
Alien space pirates.
Each one bore a twisted grin as they slaughtered fleeing citizens with laser rifles or cold steel weapons, cutting down anyone in sight.
However, before long, the local police and royal army troops began to push back.
But they lacked automatic firearms with high destructive power—
—so many of them died mid-charge.
Even so, their solid physique allowed them to move with agility, and with superior numbers, the battle gradually turned into a brutal close-quarters melee.
The space pirates hadn't expected this planet to have so many warriors.
Only a handful among them—those skilled in close combat or possessing certain superhuman abilities—were able to resist the attacks of these green-clad warriors wielding long blades and conjuring elemental illusions.
Fortunately, these sword-wielding fighters didn't seem well adapted to laser weaponry; a single shot from a laser gun was often enough to kill them.
The same applied to the armored, spear-bearing soldiers with their ancient-looking formations.
Though physically strong and able to swing their weapons with great power, they fell in droves under the sustained bombardment from above and the searing laser beams fired from the skies.
[Crash!!]
Just as the Goa Kingdom plunged into chaos—
—the world seemed to change in an instant.
First, the light around everyone dimmed; then, a roaring gale and massive waves swept across the nation.
At that moment, Tanjiro was carrying little Lis on his back—still wailing uncontrollably after losing her mother.
He continued unleashing Sun Breathing techniques, cutting down space pirates one after another.
But as the windstorm rushed past him, his eyes lit up with joy.
He recognized this faint green-tinted wind.
He had seen it many times before—back on the Sabaody Archipelago.
"It's Minister Dragon! He's here too!"
Tanjiro looked up—
—and was stunned to see that the sky was now completely covered by a dense layer of green wind currents.
No matter how many green laser blasts the black warship rained down, they couldn't break through the barrier and reach the ground.
The pressure on the police officers and royal soldiers battling the space pirates dropped significantly.
[BOOM!!!]
Suddenly—
A thunderous explosion shook the entire Goa Kingdom, drowning out every other sound.
A moment later—
Tanjiro and many others saw the front half of the massive black warship—the very one that had already taken countless lives—collapse inward like a crumpled can.
Then, in a deafening blast, the entire vessel was hurled toward the ocean beyond the island.
That ship was nearly 500 meters long—a true metal giant!
It was only then that people noticed a dark silhouette high in the sky.
It streaked across the heavens like a bolt of black lightning, chasing after the collapsing warship.
Sonic booms exploded in rapid succession wherever it passed.
...
At the same time, the World Government was receiving urgent reports from across the globe.
Because it wasn't just the Moon and the Goa Kingdom in the East Blue that were attacked by space pirates.
The North Blue, South Blue, West Blue, the first and second halves of the Grand Line, even cities on the Red Line—all were under siege by these black warships.
Faced with such a sudden and overwhelming crisis—
—the Army Headquarters, Air Force Headquarters, and Marine Headquarters across the Starfish World all activated their emergency alarms.
The Public Security Bureau and Cipher Pol were mobilized simultaneously.
...
"Gravity Blade: Fierce Tiger!"
Above Marineford, a furious shout rang out from Issho.
Purple-black gravitational energy twisted massive swaths of space itself.
The countless green laser beams fired from above were immediately bent off-course, redirected away from Marineford and into the surrounding sea.
The enemy warship was caught in the gravitational field—
—emitting groans of straining metal as it was visibly crushed and contorted into a massive black spiral.
"Too heavy-handed… Hopefully there's something left intact to study," murmured Sengoku at the top of the great Fortress of Justice, his white robes fluttering as he gazed at the battlefield with a grave expression.
Like everyone else—
—he hadn't imagined that the Starfish World could ever be attacked on its own soil.
The worst part was that Marine Headquarters currently had no Admirals stationed.
Sengoku himself had been preparing to intervene personally—until Issho beat him to it.
Thankfully, this 'Admiral candidate' had proven himself to be extremely reliable.
"Seems we should go ahead and officially promote Issho to Admiral," Sengoku muttered.
At least this invasion wasn't without its benefits.
It would serve as a solid justification for Issho's full promotion.
...
Meanwhile, in the New World—
The country 'chosen' by the space pirates in the second half of the Grand Line turned out to be none other than Totland, the kingdom of Charlotte Linlin.
Above Whole Cake Island—
Another black battleship was wildly firing green laser beams across the sky.
Houses made entirely of food were being obliterated in clusters. Smoke and flames rose everywhere, and the stench of burning sugar filled the air.
"Candy Armor Shield!!"
At that moment, Perospero—eldest son of Big Mom and the de facto ruler of Totland—furiously swung his pink candy cane.
Immediately, every kind of colorful candy on the island shot into the sky.
In the blink of an eye, a multi-colored candy barrier formed above the island, shielding it from the incoming lasers.
But in the next instant—
As wave after wave of lasers rained down, cracks—some small, some large—began to appear in the candy layer.
Perospero's expression turned grim.
Not only was Charlotte Linlin absent from the island, but most of their top fighters had been recruited into the military or police forces by the World Government.
Right now, he was effectively the strongest person left on the island.
But clearly, with his current strength, not only could he not shoot down the alien warship—
He was struggling just to keep Whole Cake Island intact.
"What do I do… What do I do…"
Perospero was frantically using his Devil Fruit powers, conjuring more candy to patch up the failing shield, muttering to himself in a panic.
"Mama, hurry back!!"
Just as things were reaching a critical point, residents from all over Totland's various islands, the Homies soldiers, and even some of Linlin's weaker or younger children—
—watched in stunned silence as a colossal pillar of fire erupted from the earth, piercing the sky and slamming directly into the side of the black battleship's armor.
Seconds later—
The entire alien ship was consumed and melted through by the terrifying blaze.
"If Big Mom isn't here… then I'll protect her kingdom in her place!"
Moments later—
A mighty azure dragon soared over Whole Cake Island, majestic and awe-inspiring.
"Kaido!!!"
Perospero shouted the name with overwhelming joy.
...
Teigu World.
Inside the Noah's Ark of the Gate-Gate Dimension, Imu stared coldly at the holoprojections showing the chaos across the Starfish World.
Though the screens showed that many of the black battleships were being taken down one by one by powerful defenders—
—their attacks had still inflicted considerable casualties and devastation.
The icy killing intent in Imu's heart was practically crystallizing into frost.
"Tell them to let at least one of the ships get away."
Imu suddenly turned and gave the order to the golden Den-Den Mushi beside him.
"…Huh?"
On the other end, one of the Five Elders froze for a moment, not understanding the command—
—but still responded without hesitation, "Understood, Lord Imu!"
Imu didn't reply.
Expressionless, he brought up the Star Map.
Then, with a flick of his fingers, he tapped on several battleships—ones that still seemed likely to escape.
He wanted to know where these space pirates had come from.
As long as they remained within the Starfish World's galactic zone—
the star map could track the warships he had marked in real time.
From there, the only remaining questions were:
How to reach them… and how to strike.
Preparations for interstellar defense and countermeasures had to begin immediately.
This would be escalated into a top-tier military operation.
The World Government had been caught completely off guard this time—
But it would not happen again.
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