That night.
Garp, having landed in the kitchen, made do with what he could find and stuffed himself full.
Meanwhile, far away at Marineford, Kong, upon receiving the report, finally felt a massive weight lifted off his chest—and even ended up eating six more bowls of rice during his late-night snack.
The news quickly spread through Marine Headquarters.
The entire Marineford, after a moment of stunned disbelief, erupted into thunderous cheers.
Golden Lion Shiki—who had once brazenly stormed into Headquarters alone and later escaped from Impel Down—had long been a mark of humiliation for the Marines.
Nao's battle, without a doubt, washed away that shame, revitalized the entire Headquarters, and even boosted morale by a huge margin!
Of course, it wasn't just morale that skyrocketed. Nao's popularity among all the Marines also soared.
Because Nao had been stationed in the West Blue for a year, many new recruits who had just arrived at Headquarters weren't very familiar with him.
But now?
With this kind of legendary feat—and all the senior officers and veterans vouching for him like mad—those same new recruits instantly became his hardcore fanboys.
As for the young female Marines—well, the moment they saw his picture, their eyes turned into stars.
Some of the more obsessed ones… had even already imagined what they'd name their future children with Nao.
At the same time—
The World Economy News Paper, through some unknown method, had also obtained detailed insider information on the same day.
Under direct orders from President Morgans, the editorial team worked overtime, devoting the entire front page to this breaking story.
The original headline—
"Shichibukai Allen Defeated, All Forces Advance into the New World! Supernova Shanks Makes a Grand Appearance!"
—was unceremoniously shoved into some obscure corner of the paper.
As dawn broke—
Countless News Coo birds took flight, each carrying the freshly printed papers, scattering this world-shaking news across every corner of the seas...
...
On the Grand Line, G-6 Branch.
As dusk settled, smoke curled up from the homes in the residential area behind the fortress.
"Isn't this getting a bit ridiculous... hey, hey, hey…"
Shiryu squatted on a toilet, gripping a newspaper in one hand and a cigar in the other. Though he wasn't constipated, his expression looked as though he was.
"Sure, his past victories were impressive, but this one…"
He took a hard drag from his cigar, at a loss for words.
Damn it—that was the Golden Lion!
A pirate on the same level as the Pirate King Roger and Whitebeard—an absolute legend. And yet he was beaten by Nao?
That guy graduated just a little over a year ago, right?
Compared to that, here he was, still a Marine Captain, and the strongest pirate he'd ever beaten had a bounty of maybe seventy or eighty million at best...
The gap… was only getting wider.
Shiryu sighed in frustration. No matter how hard he chased, he probably wouldn't even catch a glimpse of that bastard's tail lights anymore…
"Shiryu!"
BANG BANG BANG—a loud knocking at the door, followed by a young woman's irritated voice:
"Still not done? I told you five minutes ago dinner was ready! Why are you still in the bathroom? Are you smoking again?!"
"Coming!"
Shiryu panicked, quickly stubbed out the cigar and flushed it, sprayed perfume all over the place, then clutched the newspaper as he opened the door.
Outside stood a young female medic, wearing an apron, arms crossed, giving him a suspicious up-and-down.
"Well, I saw a friend's name in the newspaper and got caught up reading… that's all…"
Shiryu swallowed nervously and laughed awkwardly.
"Really—I wasn't smoking. You can come in and smell for yourself if you want…"
"Who the hell wants to smell that?"
The girl rolled her eyes. "Don't let it happen again. Now hurry up and eat—your favorite one-minute steak is almost cold."
"Right away!"
Grinning ear to ear, Shiryu wrapped an arm around her slim waist and, amid her playful shoves, strode off toward the dining table.
But just as they walked a few steps—
Clink.
Something dropped to the floor.
They both instinctively looked down.
And froze.
It was… a silver, finely crafted lighter.
...
On the New World, Whole Cake Island.
After months of reconstruction, the once-ruined Cake Castle was starting to take shape again.
But all the treasures once stored there, and the paintings, jewelry, and collectibles beloved by Big Mom, were gone forever.
On an enormous sofa piled high with sweets, a mountain of flesh was gorging herself non-stop.
At the same time, over a hundred chefs were rotating in and out, continuously delivering freshly made desserts.
In a hallway nearby, two figures looked on from afar, faces filled with worry.
"Can't you try talking to Mama, Katakuri?! You're the only one she'll still listen to!"
Perospero, the eldest son, lowered his voice and grumbled to his brother:
"It's been half a year!
Mama's rampant gluttony hasn't stopped once in all this time.
Her lucid moments are growing fewer and farther between.
Her weight has more than doubled…"
"At this rate, what will become of Totto Land's future? Do you not care at all?"
"...There's nothing I can do."
Katakuri sighed. Staring at the massive, writhing form of their mother, he spoke softly:
"Brother… you've been married before. You should understand the emotions between men and women better than I do, right?"
"You already know what Mama's real problem is.
Unless the root cause is addressed, no amount of reasoning will help."
Root cause…
Perospero fell silent.
Of course he knew what "root cause" meant.
Ever since the disaster of the wedding, Mama's mental state had become unstable.
Sometimes she would gnash her teeth in hatred at the mere mention of Nao…
Other times, they'd find her in her bedroom, clutching his photo, eyes filled with obsession, laughing maniacally…
It got to the point where none of them dared mention that man's name in her presence.
"There's only one solution—capture Nao again!"
Perospero stamped his foot, growling:
"There's no way he won't enter the New World sooner or later.
When he does, I'll bring Smoothie, Cracker, Snack, and Oven—we'll go all out and make that bastard suffer!"
"…" Katakuri turned and gave his brother a strange look.
"What?"
"You haven't read today's newspaper yet, have you, Brother?"
Katakuri sighed and pulled out a folded newspaper from his coat.
"Once you've read this… I wonder if you'll still be so confident."
What's he talking about?
Perospero took the newspaper curiously. But as soon as he glanced at the headline, his jaw dropped.
Eyes bulged.
"Eh—EH—EEEHHH?!"
He shrieked, "No way!! This can't be real! That Nao… even the Golden Lion couldn't beat him???"
"Could you… keep it down?"
Before Katakuri could finish, a fierce gust of wind swept past.
Perospero blinked, turning his head—
Too late.
He was suddenly lifted off the ground by the collar.
"Oi… Perospero…"
A face twisted like a demon's loomed in front of him.
As the eldest son trembled violently, a deep and eerie voice spoke:
"Just now… did you say something… about that man?"
...
On the Grand Line.
A fog-covered, remote sea.
Five enormous pirate ships had been sliced into dozens of pieces, their wreckage drifting across the water.
The sea echoed with screams and wails as pirates struggled to survive.
"Is this the power of a gereat swordsman…?"
"Whose sword slash was that?!"
"The ships! Where are our ships?!"
…
On the damaged bow deck, a man with a buzz cut and a body full of thick hair like a gorilla was trembling as he took off his captain's hat and struggled to crawl into the cabin.
But just then, a low, calm voice rang out: "Where… are you planning to go?"
The gorilla man with the buzz cut's pupils shrank. He trembled and turned his head, looking up at the figure walking towards him step by step as if he were looking at a demon.
It was a young man in a wine-red patterned shirt with a beard and a black top hat. In his hand, he held a broad, cross-shaped greatsword.
But what was most striking were his sharp, yellow, hawk-like eyes.
Just a single accidental glance at them would make a person's heart palpitate and feel an invisible sense of pressure.
"G-G-G-Great Swordsman… H-Hawk-Eye… Mihawk!"
The buzz-cut gorilla man gritted his teeth and said with a look of grief and anger:
"I, Ichiro Kondo the 'Giant Gorilla,' have been on the Grand Line for half a year and have earned a bounty of eighty million Berries, but I never remember offending you in the past six months. Why do you want to kill us all?!"
This was a question he still couldn't figure out.
Just ten minutes ago, he and his crew had been laughing and eating hot pot, singing songs…
They'd seen someone far off, rowing a tiny boat through the fog with a sword, and had even made fun of the "idiot" by clapping and making up jokes.
Then—boom—their six ships were all cut in half at once.
Still drunk, Kondo realized in horror—
The rising star of the last few months—Dracule Mihawk—was standing on his ship.
Staring at him like he was already dead.
How could this make sense?
Even in his drunken haze, he never imagined that rowboat guy was actually Mihawk.
"…"
Mihawk looked down at the prostrate, despairing man.
He was silent for a moment.
Then he spoke quietly:
"You don't need to know. Just go peacefully as a fool."
In the next second, his black blade swung, and a cloud of blood mist scattered. The corpse on the ground was cut in two.
After sheathing his sword, Mihawk noticed a brand new newspaper inside the corpse's coat. He bent down and picked it up.
He glanced at the pirates struggling and screaming in the sea around him and shook his head slightly.
He had no intention of a massacre. He turned around, leaped from the bow, and floated back to his small boat, which looked like a coffin lid.
The small boat sailed away in the wind, with wails and screams of despair behind him.
But Mihawk never looked back.
He crossed his legs elegantly and unfolded the newspaper.
"…Hm?"
After only a quick glance, he was stunned and froze in place.
"He even beat that Golden Lion…"
After a long pause, Mihawk finally came to his senses.
He looked at the familiar face on the front page and gave a bitter chuckle:
"…As expected of Nao-san.
So even in our duel… the strength you showed me… was just the tip of the iceberg."
And to think—
He had once foolishly believed that, in their final exchange, Nao had gotten serious, and gone all out just to show the difference in power.
Now it was obvious—
Nao had just been playing games with a child.
How utterly humiliating.
"…He's grown even more distant."
As rain began to fall, Mihawk looked up at the sky.
He seemed to want to peer through the clouds and glimpse Marineford, beneath the Red Line.
Could he really catch up to that man?
For a moment, his gaze wavered—regret, admiration, despair—all flashed across his mind.
But eventually—
All those thoughts dissipated.
His eyes became sharp again—like a hawk.
"That day will come…"
Mihawk gently ran his fingers over the hilt of Yoru and whispered:
"The title of World's Greatest Swordsman… I'll claim it, Nao-san."
"Next time we meet… I won't lose again!"
BOOM.
The rain was falling harder, and thunder and lightning began to flash in the sky.
Driven by the waves, Mihawk's tiny boat sailed deeper into the fog…
...
On the Sabaody Archipelago.
In a bustling, lawless port—
"You said it was 100,000 berries! Why is it 150,000 now?!"
"You trying to rip us off, you old bastard?!"
"Yeah, so what if I am? What, you gonna cry about it?"
Lucky Roux and Yasopp were haggling and arguing fiercely with the coating craftsman old man.
And Shanks, squatting on a rock, blankly put down the newspaper in his hand, his expression more awkward than if he had seen Buggy become the Pirate King…
...
In Mary Geoise, the Holy Land.
In the top floor office of the World Government, the warm afternoon sun shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
In front of the windows, five elders, each with a different build and appearance, stood or sat, looking at the documents in their hands, their expressions varied.
They were the elite leaders of the World Nobles and the rulers of the World Government responsible for political affairs—the Five Elders.
The atmosphere of silence lasted for a while.
"Have you all read the battle report just sent by Marine Headquarters?"
The elder in a kimono with a cursed sword in his arms was the first to break the silence.
"Yes."
The Five Elders member with the flat hat and a fluffy white beard put down the document in his hand and said leisurely, "They defended Impel Down and defeated the Golden Lion… They saved us from a huge calamity. What a remarkable young man…"
"Indeed, a remarkable achievement."
"Especially since he's only twenty years old…"
"…This kind of talent is rare, not just in the history of the elite camp, but in the entire history of the world."
The other Five Elders also nodded in agreement.
In their hearts, they had reached a consensus on Nao's evaluation. If it were to be summarized, it would be that this young man had a boundless future and was, at the very least, a candidate for the position of Fleet Admiral…
"When an Admiral position becomes vacant in the future, we might want to prioritize this child."
The kimono-clad Five Elders member got up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. Looking at the magnificent Holy Land below, his eyes were deep:
"I have a feeling that this young man may not only become a pillar and leader of the Marines in the future, but this terrible Great Pirate Era will also end at his hands…"