Holy Land Mary Geoise, Council Chamber
The Five Elders, still fuming after their call with Vane, sat in a tense silence. Their anger simmered beneath the surface. There was no way to vent it—no way to undo the humiliation.
"He must be eliminated! That wretched brat should not exist in this world."
"He's become a monster. Like the others in the New World, he's clawing his way to the top."
"And yet, we can't touch him..."
"So what, we just sit back and wait? Let him keep growing? Let him become a threat to our very foundation?"
"There's little else we can do..."
Their voices were bitter, heavy with frustration. Though filled with rage, they were powerless. Their ancient authority meant nothing in this era of chaos.
The old man with a cane muttered grimly, "Don't forget—we have a traitor among the Celestial Dragons."
"Right. I nearly overlooked that."
"How do we identify the traitor?"
"First, we inform Im-sama," the old man replied, voice weary.
---
The world was in upheaval again. Only a day had passed since Vane left Whole Cake Island.
You can't hide a fire with paper. The news erupted like wildfire across the world.
It was the most explosive headline of the month—the third major report involving Vane—and easily the most shocking of them all.
The first time, he killed two Celestial Dragons on Sabaody Archipelago, committing an unthinkable act. Despite being hunted by the World Nobles, he remained free and unscathed.
The second was when Vane defeated Admiral Akainu. Rumors claimed he possessed dual Devil Fruits, and the world trembled. Many called it the most terrifying news since Shanks rose to become a Yonko.
But now, this third event outshined them all.
According to reports, Vane had landed on Whole Cake Island, clashed with the Big Mom Pirates, and fought Big Mom herself through the entire afternoon. The result: Charlotte Linlin, Emperor of the Sea, was defeated and left mentally unstable. Her crew was devastated.
The world was stunned. No one wanted to believe it—but they had no choice.
The strongest woman alive had fallen.
That meant Vane, the Fire Sword, now stood toe-to-toe with the Four Emperors. Speculation ran wild. Was he planning to challenge each Emperor one by one? Was Kaido next? Whitebeard? Shanks?
No one knew—but the world believed he would challenge them all.
---
Marine Headquarters – Fleet Admiral's Office
Smack!
Sengoku slammed a newspaper onto his desk. Vane's face was on the front page, larger than life.
"If pictures could kill, he'd have died a hundred times already," he muttered.
But rage was all Sengoku had left.
Vane was deep in the New World, and the Marines couldn't reach him. They didn't even know where he was. All they could do was watch as he continued to rise.
The New World wasn't theirs. Only a narrow stretch near the Red Line—close to Mary Geoise—remained under Marine control. The rest was a chaotic sea of lawless power.
The first half of the Grand Line already stretched their forces to the limit. Pirates outnumbered the Navy by hundreds of thousands, and more were born every day. The Navy didn't have the manpower to maintain control.
The truth was simple: the Navy didn't have the strength to suppress the era of great pirates. Even their top officers couldn't match the overwhelming power of today's monsters.
---
"What do we do now?" Garp asked.
Vice Admiral Tsuru responded grimly, "The balance is breaking. Things will spiral into deeper chaos. He's too young—and that gives people the illusion that the Yonko are easy targets. It'll feed the arrogance of lesser pirates."
And she was right. Already, several rising stars—Supernovas like Eustass Kid—were setting their sights on Vane.
Most Supernovas were older than Vane. If he could achieve this, why couldn't they?
That's the delusion of the young—they've never encountered true power, so they think they're invincible.
They're wrong. At least for now.
---
"The destruction on Whole Cake Island looked like hell itself."
Vane was once again the subject of endless meetings.
---
Dressrosa – Palace of Doflamingo
Doflamingo, stunned by Katakuri's defeat, was still trying to process it all. The thought that Vane used the Sweet Commander as leverage was terrifying—and genius.
Then, more news. Big Mom had been defeated.
Whole Cake Island was always full of journalists. Big Mom's Totto Land was a unique territory—an actual nation she ruled as queen. Kaido held Wano, and Whitebeard's domain was his fleet. Among the Emperors, only Red-Haired Shanks roamed without a defined base, making him the most mysterious.
Of them all, Whitebeard was still considered the most dangerous—Roger's equal, the world's strongest man.
Kaido was a monster, yes. But Big Mom? She ruled over civilians.
Still, she fell.
---
"Well then, having someone like him as an ally... even if I suffer a bit, it's no loss at all."
"Baaa baaa..."
"The era of the fifth monster begins."
To Doflamingo, monsters meant legends like Whitebeard.
---
Wano Country – Underground Cavern
"Linlin was defeated?"
Kaido roared, hurling a massive sake barrel across the chamber. His underlings froze.
No one knew if he was furious or amused—when Kaido was angry, he took it out on his own men.
Jack, Queen, and King stood in silence. As the calamities of the Beasts Pirates, they feared only one man—Kaido.
Three ancient Zoan types. Two dragons. One mammoth. Together, they were more dangerous than the Charlotte family.
Kaido was worse than all of them combined.
"Linlin," he growled—his personal name for Big Mom.
"What kind of twisted friendship did those two even have?"
"I'm not happy."
"If you could take her down... can you take me down too?"
The "you" in Kaido's voice referred to Vane.
Kaido, the suicidal Emperor, longed for death. He'd never succeeded. The only man to ever wound him was Kozuki Oden.
No one else had ever cracked his skin.
Over ten meters tall—even sitting, Kaido towered above the calamities.
"You brat."
"I want to meet you."
His thunderous voice echoed through the cavern and beyond.
"Kaido, you lunatic! Hahaha..."
Orochi laughed as he entered the chamber.
---
Moby Dick – Whitebeard's Flagship
The ship was alive with excitement.
"Gurara... I didn't expect the brat to come this far!" Whitebeard laughed.
"He's one of a kind."
"Is he as strong as his old man?" someone asked.
"No way. Pops is invincible," Ace replied with a grin.
"The age of the young is here," Whitebeard said, smiling.
---
Red-Haired Pirates –
Even Shanks was stunned.
"He's reached the peak of the world... and he's only fifteen."
"Shanks didn't make it this far until his forties."
"So... do you think Shanks is next on his list?"
"Why him?"
"Because Shanks looks like the gentlest among the Emperors."
Everyone paused. It was true. Red Hair had the kindest face among the Yonko—but that didn't mean he was weak.
"Maybe he thinks Shanks is the easiest to fight."
Shanks smiled as he studied the paper. "I'm kind of nervous. Look at the damage on Whole Cake Island. Do you think a human could really do that?"
He was joking. There wasn't even a trace of fear in his voice.
"It's terrifying," someone replied. "Whatever Big Mom was, he's just as dangerous."
"He's not even sixteen..."
---
Vane and his crew, unaware of the chaos they'd caused, sailed on.
The storm he'd stirred was global.
His bounty had soared to 2 billion Berries—a staggering figure. Only the Emperors had such high numbers, and they had built reputations over decades.
Vane had done it with just two companions.
July 26th, 1519 on the Sea Calendar.
From this day on, Vane was officially known as the Fifth Emperor.
A pirate powerful enough to stand alone against any of the Yonko—
—and shake the Great Pirate Era to its core.
---
Okay so, in this fanfiction, Luffy set out to sea in the year 1520.
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