With his immense power, striking looks, and overwhelming influence, Daren was born to be the center of attention. After the recent Shichibuk
With his immense power, striking looks, and overwhelming influence, Daren was born to be the center of attention.
After the recent Shichibukai Appointment Ceremony, every move he made in the banquet hall drew the eyes of the entire room.
As he walked up to Douglas Bullet—the so-called strongest Shichibukai—all eyes turned toward the two of them.
Several reporters even edged closer, ears perked for gossip.
Everyone knew that Vice Admiral Daren and Douglas Bullet, the "Demon Heir," had deep and bitter history.
Back when Bullet had just set sail, Rogers Daren, newly promoted to Commodore at the time, had joined forces with Sakazuki and nearly taken him down.
Later, a fleet led by Vice Admiral Daren had even launched a Buster Call against Bullet.
The grudges between them were too many to count.
And yet, now—
When the reporters heard what Daren asked, they froze.
"He just... asked outright?"
"Would he even answer that?"
"There's no way..."
"..."
Douglas Bullet had once been a member of the Roger Pirates.
It made sense that Vice Admiral Daren would try to get intel about the crew's movements through him—
But wasn't that question a little too direct?
Bullet, who had been feasting without care, suddenly paused.
He glanced at Daren coldly, then muttered,
"...Probably searching for clues. Heading to the final island, I'd guess."
Crack!
Every reporter eavesdropping felt like they'd just been struck by lightning.
Their jaws nearly hit the floor.
"He said it..."
"Not a moment's hesitation…
"What the hell..."
"What does this even mean?"
They immediately started whispering to each other, then quickly snapped back to action and scrambled to jot everything down.
Clues…
The final island...
"Then do you know where they are now?"
Daren took out a fresh cigar and passed it to Bullet.
Bullet accepted it, bit down, lit it, and shook his head.
"You didn't forget I already left the Roger Pirates, did you?"
He suddenly gave a fierce grin.
"And even if you did know... so what? You still can't beat Captain Roger."
Daren blew a smoke ring, grinning.
"The Marines don't just have me, you know."
Bullet's expression stiffened.
He remembered that moment from the ceremony—Daren, Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Borsalino lined up together.
He clenched his teeth.
"Sometimes I feel like you Marines are worse than pirates!"
Daren chuckled, then remembered something else.
"By the way, that thing I mentioned to you before... Kaidou. Did you go find him?"
Find Kaidou?
The reporters around them leaned in again.
Bullet's eyes lit up with intensity as he locked his gaze on Daren.
"At first, I thought you were messing with me. But damn... it was real!"
Daren laughed aloud.
No wonder Bullet's strength had grown so much since their last encounter—
He had actually followed Daren's "advice" and gone to Kaidou-sensei for a little extra "training."
Real?
What's real?
What would anyone even do by going to Kaidou?
The reporters were lost, completely baffled.
Watching the two of them grinning at each other in cryptic silence only made it worse—
It was driving them insane.
They wanted to pry their mouths open just to find out what all this meant.
Bang!!
Just then—
The heavy banquet hall doors were suddenly thrown open.
A messenger burst in, face pale and gasping for breath.
"Re-reporting, Admiral Sengoku! Something major has happened!"
The messenger's face was filled with shock, and his words instantly froze the lively atmosphere in the banquet hall.
"The Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates have formed an alliance... and declared war on the Roger Pirates!"
"They've already clashed once—the fighting was so intense, it flattened an entire island!"
"At the same time, the Whitebeard Pirates, who've been quiet until now, suddenly made a move... Their flagship, the Moby Dick, is heading toward the site of the battle, though their exact objective is still unclear!"
"Based on the intelligence we intercepted, all signs point to one conclusion—these four great pirate crews are likely to wage a decisive battle on the Miracle Island in the New World!"
As the words fell, everyone in the hall went pale.
The four great pirate forces of the New World... were going to war!?
Kaidou and Big Mom had teamed up against Roger!?
Several reporters gasped audibly.
The music playing through the banquet hall stopped.
A crushing silence filled the air.
Sengoku's face darkened sharply, his mind racing.
"...The Poneglyph."
Tsuru's voice came in a low whisper beside him.
Sengoku's body tensed.
He understood instantly.
Big Mom and Kaidou—
They must be trying to seize the Poneglyph from Roger, to stop him from reaching the final island on the Grand Line!
"Members of the press, I'm afraid today's banquet must end here."
With the situation clear, Sengoku's eyes flashed with firm resolve.
He raised his head and announced loudly,
"The New World's balance has shifted. We'll have to invite you again another day. Please understand."
He waved his hand.
Moments later, a squad of grim-faced Marines marched in and began "escorting" every reporter out of the room.
Once the hall had been fully cleared of outsiders, Sengoku gave his order in a low voice,
"Notify all Marine high command. One minute from now—everyone is to report to my office."
With that, he and Staff Officer Tsuru turned and strode swiftly out of the hall.
The other Marine officers followed, each of them exuding a sharp and deadly aura.
Left behind, the assembled Shichibukai each wore different expressions, their eyes flashing with strange and dangerous light.
"War's coming... Now things are getting interesting."
Bullet cracked his knuckles, a grim grin twisting his lips.
"Kishishishi... Four of the Great Pirate Crews moving at once? Looks like the Marines have a real problem on their hands."
Moria let out a shrill laugh.
"Even Whitebeard's lost his patience?"
Crocodile stared down at his golden hook, a spark of heat in his eyes.
"Then this might be the clash of the world's strongest powers..."
In Mihawk's usually calm eyes, a sharp gleam suddenly flared.
"Fufufufu... So it's finally starting..."
Doflamingo held his face with one hand and let out a chilling grin.
"There's only one throne in the sky. This is the battle for supremacy in the New World—"
"The victor will be written into the history of this sea."
"And as for us, the Shichibukai... what stance will we take?"
"Fufufufu..."
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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