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After the Summit War, another epic-scale war had begun.
The Four Emperors, rulers of the second half of the Grand Line, each commanded vast territories and terrifying forces. The nations and powers of the New World were mostly affiliated with one of these four.
Any move made by an Emperor meant that a monstrous war machine had begun to turn its gears.
And now!
After the Summit War, the man who had absorbed the remnants of the former Emperor Whitebeard's crew, who had brought two Warlords—the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock and the Knight of the Sea Jinbe—under his command... the Emperor hailed as the Strongest of them all—
—Sky Sovereign Rowen.
Had declared war on the alliance of two other Emperors: Kaido of the Beasts and Big Mom!
Three of the Four Emperors were now engaged in an all-out war in the New World—a war of a scale never before seen since the establishment of the Four Emperor system.
The New World was instantly plunged into terrifying flames of war.
However, a war between three Emperor crews couldn't begin with a decisive final battle. Both sides began to mobilize their forces, dispatching subordinate crews and troops to clash in various sea regions across the New World.
The war was still in its initial stages—the Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet, the Beasts Pirates, and the Big Mom Pirates all chose battlefields in neutral sea zones and islands.
These territories, previously able to eke out a precarious existence outside the Emperors' domains, were now completely engulfed in the fires of a three-way war.
Before the might of the Emperors, these regions had no power to resist, becoming mere battlegrounds.
All three sides continuously poured in forces, each suffering losses.
Once one side's forces fell into a significant disadvantage, the Emperors who initiated the war would finally make their move.
The three Emperors themselves were the key to deciding the outcome of this war.
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New World. On an uninhabited island.
This was the temporary base of the only Emperor not yet embroiled in the war—the Red Hair Pirates.
"What a mess... To start a war on this scale," Benn Beckman exhaled a puff of smoke.
As the second-in-command of an Emperor crew, Beckman knew very well how terrifying a clash between Emperors would be.
Moreover, this wasn't one Emperor against another.
It was Sky Sovereign declaring war on 'two' Emperors simultaneously!
Numerous sea regions in the New World were inevitably being engulfed in the horrifying flames of war.
"Big Mom and Kaido... couldn't wait for Luffy and the others to fully mature," Shanks commented, looking at the intelligence reports in his hand, a crimson-black light flashing in his eyes.
After the Summit War, this had become a common consensus throughout the New World.
During the Summit War, more than Sky Sovereign Rowen's personal strength, what terrified the other two Emperors, Kaido and Big Mom, was the horrifying potential displayed by the Straw Hat Pirates.
Once that crew fully matured, even a combined alliance of the other two Emperors wouldn't stand a chance.
Thus, their alliance—was something the Red Hair Pirates had long anticipated.
After all, Shanks himself had been an apprentice on the Roger Pirates' ship. He knew about the God Valley Incident and the old Rocks Pirates.
Big Mom and Kaido had once been on the same ship—Rocks's ship. Though they later had a falling out, for them to form a pirate alliance based on this connection when facing a threat was a matter of course.
The only thing the Red Hair Pirates had not anticipated was:
Sky Sovereign Rowen is insane...
Without any hesitation, without giving the world any time to breathe, he immediately launched an all-out war against Kaido and Big Mom.
Now, the only territory in the New World not affected by the flames of war was theirs.
"The Navy has dispatched more observation ships. Looks like they're starting to move too," Yasopp, Usopp's father, reported.
The Navy always dispatched observation ships to monitor the movements of the Four Emperors. But normally, they wouldn't so blatantly increase the number of ships; they would usually be disguised—
—To do so now could only mean the Navy was very concerned about the Red Hair Pirates' movements...
"Well, it is a war between three Emperors. Once both sides suffer heavy casualties, the Navy won't miss this opportunity," Benn Beckman, the Red Hair Pirates' strategist, commented, not surprised at all.
"Shanks... Sky Sovereign's Haki back then... You sensed some of it, didn't you?" Beckman suddenly asked, looking at Shanks.
"Yeah... Though the war was over when we arrived, even from that great distance, I still felt that horrifying Haki... That Haki... was above mine... and above the Captain's," Shanks's expression turned grim.
The only one Shanks would call 'Captain' on these seas—was the deceased Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.
"He reached a completely new level... What a scary man," Beckman sighed.
"But, facing the combined might of two Emperors, even Sky Sovereign won't have it easy. Not to mention, the Navy will intervene at the opportune moment. Akainu won't miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance," Beckman's expression grew serious.
"Relax. I won't sit by and watch the Navy extinguish all the flames of piracy. When the time comes, we will go and mediate the war," Shanks stated, his remaining right hand gripping his sword, Gryphon.
"That's not what I mean." Benn Beckman's eyes were sharp.
"Hm?" Shanks, and the other Red Hair commanders, all looked towards Beckman.
"The one who started this war—was Sky Sovereign, the 'Ultimate Human'—Do you really think a man who has repeatedly outmaneuvered Sengoku and Tsuru wouldn't have anticipated this?" Beckman exhaled a puff of smoke.
"You mean... he has a way to deal with the Big Mom Pirates, the Beasts Pirates, and even the Navy, who could intervene at any time? How is that possible?" Shanks's eyes narrowed.
Sky Sovereign was strong. He knew that much. Even from a distance, Shanks had sensed the terror of that man's Haki.
It was stronger than his, stronger than Captain Roger's. It was a Haki on a completely new level, one that could only be compared to the legendary Sun God of 800 years ago, Joy Boy.
Combined with his status as the world's strongest Devil Fruit user, the man's combat power had broken through the known limits of this sea.
Even two Emperors allied against him might not guarantee a victory.
BUT...
If the Navy intervened, the situation would be completely different.
After the Summit War's World Military Draft, the Navy's combat strength, far from decreasing, had actually increased.
Though Aokiji was killed by Sky Sovereign, losing one Admiral-level combatant, they had supplemented with two new Admirals, Fujitora and Ryokugyu.
The former Fleet Admiral Sengoku had also become Inspector General, not retiring from the Navy system.
The Navy's Admiral-level or higher combatants had increased from the original five to six!
Under such circumstances, even Sky Sovereign couldn't handle such a terrifying combination of forces. Once his battle with Kaido and Big Mom consumed too much of his strength—if the Navy intervened, it could lead to unpredictable losses.
Shanks's plan was to step in at that moment to prevent it.
But now Beckman was telling him that Sky Sovereign might be able to handle Big Mom, Kaido, AND the Navy all at once??
WHAT A JOKE!
As strong as Sky Sovereign was, the only other person in his forces who could be called Admiral-level was Luffy.
As for Rayleigh—Shanks knew his former vice-captain's personality. His intervention at the Summit War didn't mean he had come out of retirement.
No matter how strong Sky Sovereign was, he couldn't possibly deal with two Emperors and six Admiral-level or higher Marine combatants at the same time...
"Logically, it's impossible. But that man has always acted in mysterious and unpredictable ways," Benn Beckman exhaled a puff of smoke.
"Is this the mutual respect between two wise men?" Shanks smiled.
"To be compared to an Ultimate Human... should I be honored?" Beckman chuckled.
"Well then, we shall wait and see. But we still need to make necessary preparations. If the situation changes, we set sail immediately to mediate!" Shanks issued his captain's orders.
The Red Hair Pirates also began to mobilize.
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Marine Headquarters!
BAAANG!
The door to the Fleet Admiral's office was violently slammed open.
For the office of the Navy's supreme commander—especially the office of the iron-fisted and prideful Akainu—to be entered so rudely, there could only be one reason: the situation was extremely urgent and shocking.
"What happened?" Akainu, smoking a cigar, frowned.
He, too, understood this. In a time of all-out war between three Emperors, he wouldn't sweat the small stuff.
"F-Fleet Admiral! There's a video you must see immediately! It was sent by our Marine undercover agent in the Beasts Pirates, X Drake!" The Marine HQ officer was drenched in cold sweat, his eyes filled with terror.
"HMM???"
Veins began to bulge on Akainu's forehead.
X Drake. A Supernova from the same generation as Sky Sovereign. He was the only one who had immediately fled Sabaody upon learning of Rowen's arrival, successfully making it to the New World.
His true identity was a Marine spy.
His mission: infiltrate the Beasts Pirates. In truth, the Beasts Pirates were the only viable target. The Red Hair Pirates were an iron wall of comradeship. The Big Mom Pirates were a family of blood relatives. Infiltrating either was impossible. So, they had carefully selected Drake, even providing him with an Ancient Zoan fruit—the Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model: Allosaurus—to appeal to Kaido's tastes.
As expected, Drake was quickly valued and was recently promoted to one of the Tobiroppo, a position second only to the three All-Stars.
For Drake to send a video at such a critical time, and for it to cause this level of panic... it had to be something earth-shattering.
FWOOSH!
Akainu, draping his 'Justice' coat over his shoulders, strode towards the conference room.
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"Fleet Admiral!" Seeing Akainu arrive, the staff officers present all stood up. Kizaru was trimming his nails.
"The video?" Akainu asked the staff officers.
"Please see, Fleet Admiral." The staff officers swallowed hard and began the playback.
VMM!
The screen in the conference room began to play the video.
"Drake?" Akainu focused his attention. The video began with Drake adjusting the Image Transponder Snail.
BOOOOOOM!
A loud crash sounded.
BANG!
A giant elephant trunk smashed a building to pieces.
"Jack the Drought?? Wasn't he defeated by Straw Hat??" Akainu's pupils constricted sharply.
"We are here to meet on behalf of Kaido-sama, Jack-sama," Drake's voice interjected.
"Hmph! After locking me up for so long, you won't even let me blow off some steam??" Jack's roar echoed.
"How violent, Jack," a low voice sounded.
WHOOSH!
A mirror rippled, and two figures stepped out.
"The Big Mom Pirates... Mirror-Mirror Fruit user, Charlotte Brûlée... and—"
Akainu's eyes narrowed.
"Big Mom Pirates' second-in-command, one of the Sweet Three Generals, Charlotte Katakuri." Akainu frowned, looking at the other figure who emerged from the mirror.
"Why send this video? The Big Mom and Beasts Pirates are allies—a meeting between them is normal. The only strange thing is... how did Jack escape? And why wasn't his Devil Fruit plundered??" Akainu's brow furrowed.
The Mammoth Fruit was a very powerful Devil Fruit ability. Sky Sovereign had no reason not to plunder it...
"Fleet Admiral... the crucial part is coming up!" The staff officers' foreheads were beaded with cold sweat, their eyes filled with terror, as if they had seen the most horrifying thing.
FWOOSH!
"HMM???"
The screen suddenly filled with fire. Akainu's pupils constricted.
THAT ABILITY WAS!
"Thank you all for coming," A voice, chillingly familiar to the Navy, echoed from the screen.
The flames swirled, and a figure slowly solidified within them.
"Fire Fist! PORTGAS D. ACE??" Seeing this figure, Akainu's pupils constricted sharply.
The sinful bloodline of the Pirate King!
Not being able to execute this man during the Summit War was an eternal shame for the Navy. After the Summit War, this man became a lackey of Sky Sovereign Rowen. And some even called him the second-in-command of the Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet.
But the three Emperor crews they belonged to had already started an all-out war!
Katakuri... Jack the Drought... Fire Fist Ace!
Three Yonko Commander level figures from three warring Emperor crews... were meeting in secret in the New World?
Akainu's forehead was beaded with cold sweat.
WHAT WERE THESE EMPERORS PLANNING??
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