Chapter 430: A Painful Lesson and Roger's Goal
The Whitebeard Pirates now only had territory on just over forty islands remaining.
It could be said they returned to their pre-liberation state overnight.
The overall atmosphere was very low.
Even Newgate was wrapped in bandages.
Neither John nor Silver Axe were opponents that could be easily dealt with.
Although he repelled them, he also paid a price.
For the Whitebeard Pirates, this war was cruel, and the losses were heavy.
Powerful enemies used their strength to completely awaken them.
To participate in the current hegemony of the Great Sea, they were not yet qualified.
In the war, Whitebeard's strength was useless.
Newgate didn't lose, but they did, finding it impossible to resist.
Without Whitebeard, they were like fledglings left to be bullied.
The heavy losses.
.
.
how many familiar companions were buried in the Great Sea, died in the war, some whose corpses couldn't even be found.
They needed some time to regroup.
This battle also proved that even among Top-Tier Pirate Crews, there were gaps.
The Flying Pirates and the Roger Pirates were in the First Tier.
The John Pirates, Wang Zhi Pirate Crew, and Silver Axe Pirates were in the Third Tier.
As for the Tyrant Dragon Pirates, Demon King Pirates, and Whitebeard Pirates, they were in the Third Tier.
Perhaps the overall strength gap wasn't large, but ultimately, results spoke louder.
As for the Beast Pirates and Big Mom Pirates, who didn't participate in the war, they weren't included in this classification.
The Beast Pirates didn't intervene in this war.
Having occupied the Mozartelt Kingdom, the Beast Pirates had already entered a phase of rapid development.
Meanwhile, the Big Mom Pirates had been calm for many years.
Compared to other factions, the Big Mom Pirates had a stable environment for development.
Among the many Pirate Factions, the amount of territory they occupied was second only to the Flying Pirates.
The West was the Red Line, the East was the Pluto Pirates, and the South was expanded by "King of Monsters" Typhon, serving as a barrier.
The natural geographical advantage and surrounding environment allowed the Big Mom Pirates to avoid the worries of war and develop peacefully.
The development of the Big Mom Pirates inherently required the accumulation of time.
What remained constant was that the strength of the Big Mom Pirates was continuously increasing.
The Marines also didn't intervene in this war.
And they had no such intention.
Following the previous case of the Heavenly Tribute theft.
Before and after the Great Battle erupted in the Southern Sea Area of the New World, the Marines and World Government were constantly busy figuring out how to safely escort the Heavenly Tribute to the Holy Land Mariejois.
To protect the Heavenly Tribute, the Marines and World Government dispatched most of their Combatant Strength.
Including two monsters who graduated from the Elite Training Camp, Sakazuki and Borsalino.
As for Kuzan, he hadn't graduated yet.
His previous experience was merely training, but he unexpectedly almost faced a life-threatening danger.
After all, Byrnndi World's Dynamite Rock was simply too sudden.
After the war ended, Kuzan returned to Marine Headquarters to continue his advanced studies under Zephyr.
Coupled with the heavy losses the Marines suffered in the West Blue, they simply couldn't spare the strength to deal with Pirates.
Even if they had acted, it wouldn't have had much influence and would have only alerted the enemy.
Now, they could only watch the Pirates in the New World fight among themselves.
The New World after the war fell into a long-awaited calm.
Although it was still chaotic, with factions fighting each other fiercely, the Great Powers that had been pressing down on many Pirates had quieted down.
The various factions that participated in the war all needed a period of stable development.
They originally thought this year would pass peacefully, allowing them to have a good year.
It was at this moment that a major event occurred in the northern Former Half of the New World, within the territory belonging to the Big Mom Pirates.
The Roger Pirates' Oro Jackson secretly infiltrated the Big Mom Pirates' territory.
"Are you sure? That Linlin has a Road Poneglyph in her hands?"
Roger stood at the Ship's Bow, looking out at the Great Sea.
Totto Land (Wan Guo) at that time hadn't had its sea area specially modified yet and still looked sparkling.
"Yes, this is information obtained from the Underworld. It should be correct. It was once in Rocks' Treasury. After the Rocks Pirates disbanded, Rocks' Treasury was divided among the Division Captains, and that Road Poneglyph fell into Charlotte Linlin's hands."
Rayleigh nodded in confirmation from the side.
"This time, we might have to cause a big stir. It's quite a headache," Roger said, rubbing the back of his head, yet a smile appeared on his face.
They had found quite a few Poneglyphs, but he hadn't seen a Road Poneglyph yet.
Roger's intuition told him that the Road Poneglyph was very important to him.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, Roger turned towards the distant Sea Surface, then looked up at the Sky.
"What's happening?"
Seeing Roger like this, Rayleigh was a bit surprised.
He followed Roger's gaze but saw nothing.
"Haha! Looks like we've been discovered."
Roger looked a bit embarrassed and couldn't help but exclaim, "Linlin's territory is really heavily guarded."
"Since we've been discovered, there's nothing we can do about it."
Rayleigh had long been aware of the peculiarity of Roger's Observation Haki.
Although he didn't know where the Big Mom Pirates' informants were hidden, their upcoming operation certainly wouldn't be peaceful.
The white clouds in the Sky, each hiding a face, were actually Cloud Homies disguised as ordinary clouds, helping the Big Mom Pirates monitor the situation in the surrounding Sea Area.
And beneath the Sea Surface, schools of fish were constantly patrolling the Great Sea.
After discovering these outsiders, they quickly relayed the message.
This message was immediately transmitted to the Big Mom Pirates' Base Camp, Cake Island.
"The Roger Pirates, what are they here for?"
Typhon furrowed his brow.
To welcome the arrival of the new year, the Big Mom Pirates were also holding a Banquet.
For the Big Mom Pirates, this was considered an important event, second only to the Tea Party and Mama's weddings and birthdays.
To celebrate the new year, Typhon also left Monster Paradise and returned to Cake Island a week early.
He didn't expect to receive such news.
This was a beautiful family hall.
The surrounding decorations and walls were painted with vibrant colors.
Most members of the Charlotte Family were gathered here.
Katakuri, Oven, and others who had grown up, exhibited considerable Combatant Strength, and begun helping the Big Mom Pirates expand their territory.
Six-year-old Cassius, possessing the Bloodline of the Three-Eyed Tribe, born with a third eye, a Logia Type Aurora-Aurora Fruit User.
Seven-year-old Lucifer, possessing the Bloodline of the Lunarian Tribe, a Mythical Zoan Human-Human Fruit: Fallen Angel Form User.
Linlin could be said to have had the greatest gains at God Valley.
Relying on a massive number of Homies to help her collect treasure, the value of the treasure she obtained exceeded a hundred billion.
Coupled with her many years of accumulation and the treasure she acquired from dividing the Rocks Pirates' Treasury, one can imagine how vast Linlin's hidden treasure was.
This was an advantage other Great Pirates didn't have.
Even after giving Kaido a Mythical Zoan, she still had astonishing gains.
The Big Mom Pirates had a bright future and strong competitiveness, but it required time.
Although the Big Mom Pirates had been very peaceful these past years and had no need for war, they were rapidly expanding their influence in the Underworld through marriage alliances with various factions.
Gaining the support of various factions.
This was the Big Mom Pirates' method of development.
(end of chapter)