"Doflamingo, things are already moving in the North Blue. Countries are racing to recruit pirates. And—"
"Germa too, right? Festa."
"Yeah. Requests are flooding in nonstop."
"War will break out soon."
"Yeah. The North Blue will split in two... no, that's not quite right. It'll shatter into pieces—a war so massive everything falls apart."
North Blue, Kingdom of Karna—a World Government member nation. The Celestial Dragons requisitioned food supplies and slaughtered numerous civilians.
Following this sudden catastrophic news, reports of Celestial Dragon atrocities from multiple countries rapidly became headlines spreading across the region—no, across the entire world.
"Nations in these waters are secretly gathering bounty hunters and pirates behind the scenes."
"To resist the World Government? Or as raiders to plunder tribute?"
"That part's fine. The problem is the speed. If it spreads this fast, things won't go according to the original plan."
If this were a battle between member nations and non-member nations, the situation might have achieved some balance.
But the reality is political attacks using underhanded tactics—nothing more than member nations sabotaging each other.
Navy forces—former Navy personnel and pirates—exploiting this chaos to skillfully win over non-member nations, secure territory as strongholds, and rise as a unified power.
And revolutionary forces springing up everywhere, driven by rage against kings willing to sacrifice their people to survive.
Even with the skills of Buena Festa, known as the Festival Organizer, the situation has become so complex that accurately grasping it all is nearly impossible—flames of war ready to ignite in every direction.
In some places, they already have.
"It doesn't matter. This will only make the government hunger for military power even more. Power to silence those who stand in their way."
On the usual tattered sofa in the usual run-down bar, the sunglasses-wearing pirate laughs. "Fuffuffuffu."
"But Mister, there's a problem. The Warlord system will likely change form. Major revisions will be necessary."
"Naturally. That's precisely why powerful pirates have become something they desperately crave."
"...Pirates who'll do as they're told for the right price are more convenient for the government than Marines who act on justice."
"Exactly. Fuffuffu...!"
No executives are present at the moment.
They've headed to nearby member nations thrown into chaos by rebellion.
To pose as rebel soldiers and openly—yet secretly—abduct royalty and soldiers who'd fetch high prices as slaves.
"First, we gather money. The World Government can't stop this tide. If so, they'll want to keep transactions and plunder behind the scenes as much as possible."
"In this situation, they'll prioritize their own greed over resolving the crisis?"
"That's what Celestial Dragons do. Fu... fufufu..."
The pirate laughs.
Donquixote Doflamingo erupts into loud laughter.
"That's exactly why! That's exactly why this man appeared in the world!"
Buena Festa silently watches this roaring laughter—something even veteran executives have never heard before.
"The world has heard his voice!"
A knife raised high.
Nothing special—a cheap table knife.
Still covered in meat grease and sauce from the meal, he wipes the blade on his tattered jacket and pins the wanted poster to the table.
"The world knows this man!"
The man pinned down is a pirate everyone in the Donquixote Pirates knows.
Some mock him—a fool playing saint.
Some are wary—the pirate the Golden Lion took notice of.
Some show respect—an extraordinary figure who became one of the world's great pirates.
"From now on, the world will revolve around this man! His movements will move the world itself!!"
More than anyone, the man who leads this pirate crew acknowledges this man most of all.
Enough to want to kill him with his own hands.
"That's why we don't need to hold back anymore!!"
A Den Den Mushi sits before the table.
Already connected to somewhere, a voice leaks from it.
"When the Festival Organizer contacted me, I wondered what to think, but..."
A voice no executive knows—no one except Doflamingo and Festa.
"Interesting! This is definitely interesting!"
"—You're sure about this!? Joker!"
"Yeah."
"I can investigate everything about this man!?"
"However you like."
"I can toy with him and spread it around as I please!?"
"As you wish..."
"From here on, this world—yes—"
"It's your live stage...!!"
At the declaration from Doflamingo—the pirate calling himself Joker and hiding his real name—the man on the other end of the Den Den Mushi bursts into laughter.
"GWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
South Blue, Sorbet Kingdom.
This World Government member nation ruled by a king notorious as a "Celestial Dragon lapdog" was currently under attack by a certain force.
In addition to offering tributes to the Celestial Dragons, the king had enacted a foolish policy to reduce the regular Heavenly Tribute—declaring the southern half of the kingdom outside national territory—and a powerful group backing those who opposed him had now seized and liberated the prison holding many rebels.
"Hee-haw! You're safe-chable! Kuma! Ginny!"
"Big Bro! Thanks, you saved us!"
"Iwa-chan!? It's been a while, but... why are you here?"
An armed force that began making headlines around the same time as the Buster Call on Ohara.
The organization that rose as a military force built on a group calling themselves the Freedom Fighters is now called the "Revolutionary Army."
"While you were captured, the world changed dramatically-chable!"
"A certain pirate attacked the Holy Land causing tremendous damage. Because of that, many Celestial Dragons descended to the seas and committed every atrocity imaginable across various locations."
Before the gentle-looking man over six meters tall called Kuma—standing out among the rebels against the foolish King Bekori—appears a similarly large man with a tattoo on his face, extending his hand.
"You are... I've seen you in the newspapers. From the Freedom Fighters, if I recall..."
"That's right. We've since changed our name to the Revolutionary Army."
The man called Big Bro or Iwa-chan—man... woman... person—freed Kuma from his shackles. Still kneeling, Kuma takes the tattooed man Dragon's hand.
"One of those leading the army that's decided to rebel against this world."
"...That phrasing suggests there are others..."
"Yes, there are."
When Kuma catches Dragon's wording and asks, he answers immediately.
"Perhaps he didn't desire such radical change, but..."
Dragon's gaze naturally drifts somewhere distant.
Toward the sea faintly visible in the distance, and beyond even that.
Far, far away, across the Calm Belt, beyond the Grand Line, across yet another belt to a different sea.
West Blue.
The Sea of Pirates that was approaching the same peace enjoyed by the East Blue, symbol of tranquility.
"Dragon-san, we have a problem!"
The moment the large-faced man... woman... person called Iwa-chan opens their mouth, a soldier's shout from outside interrupts.
"What is it? We received reports that King Bekori barricaded himself in the castle."
The root cause of this crisis in many ways.
King Bekori, puppet of the Celestial Dragons, gathered soldiers and adopted a siege strategy.
The Revolutionary Army judged they had the forces but still lacked the manpower to suppress him, so their tactical objective was to force him to rescind the national division policy.
To that end, the Revolutionary Army mobilized all forces to surround the royal castle.
"Yeah! He's still holed up, but now ships are coming from the sea! At least twenty vessels or more!"
"Navy warships?"
"No, different!"
"Pirates! Probably crews that finished raiding nearby countries and now plan to plunder everything here!!"
"More keep gathering! What do we do!?"
The Revolutionary Army decided to fight the World Government's—and by extension, the Celestial Dragons'—tyranny and drag them down, but having just risen, they lack both manpower and the funds to support it.
They too, seeking to change the era, were being tossed about by its rapid currents.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
"Mihawk, you'll join the advance force that went to Superior with our main force and handle regional suppression."
"Understood."
"Hancock, lead the First Fleet to suppress Base 46. Report when you've secured everything. Depending on the situation, you may need to assist with Superior's suppression."
"Hmm, I have no objections. Anything else? ...If not, Sonia and the others are preparing for departure, so let me go check on them."
Though somewhat settled, she's probably distracted by Kuro's situation.
Hancock rushes toward the port at a rare half-run when Daz calls out somewhat hastily.
"Wait, Hancock."
"Mm?"
"No. Before departure, I'd like to borrow Galdino for a bit."
Hancock looks momentarily caught off guard but immediately glances at the glasses-wearing man with a "3" hairstyle behind her.
The man who's become known to not just the First Fleet but other crew members and townspeople as "Mr. 3" or "Brother 3" in peacetime needlessly flashes his glasses and nods in affirmation.
Mihawk judges this doesn't concern him and leaves the room with Hancock and Chris, heading to the port.
Bege likely departed already.
After receiving their allocated share from the war spoils, the Bege Family headed to the jointly developed hidden port to organize and store supplies and defend against stray pirates trying to occupy it.
After all, that island houses many fishmen who, while battle-hardened elites, would fetch high prices.
Defense is naturally important for the Mafia, and controlling his own people matters to Bege, so once the general policy was decided, he immediately made rounds everywhere.
Only Tesoro, who was waiting for internal affairs documents, and the civil official Tesoro personally recruited to help him remain.
"—Hmm. So, Vice Governor. You kept me behind, which means you have something to discuss, but what's the issue-kane?"
"...If the other executives heard about this, I'm not sure how they'd take it. I wanted to hear your opinions first."
"Given the current situation, concerns would involve organizational management or its maintenance, I suppose."
The golden-haired little girl—the girl Galdino once tried to sell as a political attack against the Navy—brings tea to the three of them.
Understanding that her birth village willingly sold her out, she's one of those trying to fit into the Black Cat—or rather, Mopchi.
"Yeah. This concerns events after we capture Superior, but..."
"—Could we indirectly support revolutionary forces showing organized movements?"
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
(Never thought I'd sail the New World without experiencing Paradise...)
We couldn't remain indefinitely on that island where Navy or World Government personnel would likely be dispatched.
We secured the coated pirate ship Hina's group discovered, loaded necessary supplies including food, and immediately departed.
"We should leave here quickly. If we stay too long, the pirates who owned this ship will come to reclaim it."
Following Hina's advice, our departure was somewhat rushed. About thirty minutes after sailing, once we adjusted to navigation, we finally learned the reason.
"I see... so the pirates who owned this ship were..."
"Yes. Kidnappers. Or rather, mermaid kidnappers, it seems."
Deep in the ship's hold sat an excessively sturdy large cage. When Hina's group moved to seize the ship, over a dozen mermaids were imprisoned inside.
Most were released once we'd sailed far enough from the island to be safe.
According to Hina, they all feared humans.
She judged that forcibly detaining them would lead nowhere good, and I agree.
More importantly—
"Lilin, was it? You'll guide us, I hear..."
"Yeah. ...You don't yell or feel unpleasant..."
Only one person offered to guide us when we mentioned wanting to reach Fishman Island.
Bluish streaks peek through her brilliantly golden hair like highlights.
To the pirate crew, she was probably the star attraction.
"And Hina said. You defeated the bad guy who caught me."
"...I did?"
"You kicked him flying hard. That 55-million-berry bounty among those you trampled. He's a human trafficking specialist. The ship had his mark on the sail before we replaced it."
"...Hard to believe someone with that level of skill could catch mermaids."
"Those types are persistent and sneaky. They probably observed her movements from when they first targeted her, set traps, and whatnot."
"I see."
We've beaten plenty of slavers ourselves, but in the Black Cat's case, we mostly raided collection points after victims were already gathered for sale, so we only partially understand their methods.
(In terms of their tactics, Hina definitely has more knowledge.)
"That's why this coated ship is especially trustworthy. Being on this New World side means it obviously passed through Fishman Island, and it's been heavily used."
Which means it's made multiple trips to Fishman Island and claimed numerous victims...
Well, nothing to be done about that now.
(I wonder if the fishman I saved at the Holy Land escaped safely...)
Didn't Fisher Tiger jump off and escape in the original... with some kind of... depiction... I think?
Damn, things are getting hazy.
If he's safe, he might have escaped to Fishman Island. If he remembers me, depending on circumstances, he might become an ally.
(Considering the future, the more fishmen on friendly terms with the Black Cat, the better.)
Really, I can't help wishing Hack or... at least someone from the pioneer team were here.
Fishman Island is already Whitebeard's territory. There's a chance it's completely unaffected by the chaos.
In that case, I'd like to meet influential members of fishman society and lay groundwork for eventually connecting routes after properly entering the Grand Line.
...I'd like to... but...
"Sorry to make you recall unpleasant things, but when were you captured?"
"...A little while ago."
"I-I see. Could you tell me in days, if possible?"
She doesn't show much emotion when speaking, so I initially thought she'd been treated terribly, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
This mermaid Lilin simply speaks this way—it's her nature.
She tilts her head blankly, counting on her fingers for a full three seconds while recalling.
"More than ten days... probably."
"Probably."
"Counting times I slept and ate... yeah."
Ah, right.
She couldn't be kept visible, and locked in a prison without sunlight, one's sense of a day would quickly distort.
But... more than ten days...
Even before the Black Cat crew and I fought.
(Even if something happened on Fishman Island, I should assume she can't inform us of the situation.)
"Hina, has the lookout discovered nothing so far?"
"That's right. If they spot an island or ship, Colonel Wired instructed them to report."
"Figures..."
It's remarkably quiet.
Honestly, I expected to encounter pirate ships or Navy vessels right after departure.
(We're intercepting every communication we can to gather information, and there's definitely chaos breaking out everywhere.)
Within an hour of sailing, we intercepted three distress calls to the Navy.
Pirates—or rather, raiders—have explosively increased everywhere in recent days.
Whether they're true pirates is debatable, but plunderers have definitely multiplied.
If so, the Navy should dispatch ships, and pirate crews valuing reputation would certainly send forces to check their territories.
(So I was hoping to encounter Whitebeard's ship around here for reassurance.)
According to Lilin, who dove into the sea, we'll reach a good diving point from the New World side in about three days.
Meaning we're already quite close to Fishman Island.
Did Whitebeard already send forces?
Or does stationed strength already exist there?
...Both are possible.
The Fishman Island I know is only the state after Whitebeard's death, two years later at that.
(If Lilin continues cooperating, we can make contact without leaving a bad impression, but...)
Well now, what state will Fishman Island be in?
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
Shamrock—the hastily constructed port town for pirates in the Mopchi Kingdom, still expanding.
Not long ago, besides the port and warehouses, this town had little more than a small tavern, shops, defensive watchtowers, pirate and gang salons, and residences.
Now it's transforming into a town beautiful enough to be called the "Azure Town."
Large waterways wind throughout—doubling as passages for fishmen who live here or occasionally work as porters or food stall operators.
Initially just dug channels, they've now transformed, roads included, into beautiful white cobblestone.
Though somewhat imposing, the watchtower doubling as a port lighthouse and its surroundings bristle with cannons, fully prepared against raiders from the sea.
Most who once labored on the island the pirate called Golden Lion brought to West Blue now settled in this town, building homes, establishing shops and workshops to support their lives, expanding the town.
"Nyu~~. Building a fishman town?"
"Yeah. Father and Tesoro-san figured things would get bad otherwise."
At a takoyaki stall in front of the port—a small landmark of Shamrock—the octopus fishman proprietor Hachi (Hacchan) and a Bege Family member who's a regular customer discuss while eating takoyaki.
"True, the number of fishmen living here has been gradually increasing, but..."
"Coexistence between fishmen and humans sounds nice, but... you know?"
"Nyu~~. It'll probably be difficult after all."
Though he's an octopus eating octopus, the Mafia man internally questions whether that's acceptable, but Hachi eats his self-made takoyaki unconcerned, using his multiple other arms to write in a notepad.
"Since coming here, I've really understood—humans inevitably focus on appearances. And... even though the people here never directly harmed us..."
"Fishman history is a history of human persecution."
"Nyu. That's why some can't stay calm around humans. ...There are many like that on the hidden island too."
Hachi recently visited the hidden island—right after the war between the Black Cat Pirates and the Navy.
"When I checked on everyone the other day, they were all working hard, with fields and orchards spreading everywhere."
"That's a good thing, isn't it? Even a Mafia punk like me can say honest work is best for people."
"Well, that's true, but... I happened to overhear why they're working so hard..."
Hachi has become a Shamrock resident.
He has a fair number of fishman friends, including his childhood friend training as a royal guard candidate, and he's made human friends like the man he's talking to.
"Those guys are thinking about getting that island from the Governor."
"...Ahh... not borrowing the island from the Black Cat, but wanting it as their own island?"
"...Nyuu. They didn't say it outright, but yeah."
"So they're developing the island to be completely self-sufficient, to the point where they don't need Black Cat humans guarding it anymore?"
"...Probably."
"That's impossible."
To Hachi's uncertain tone, the black-suited, sunglasses-wearing quintessential Mafia man states flatly.
"I'll be honest—if not for the Black Cat connection, we'd have probably targeted them too. Fishmen fetch that much money."
In fact, with fairly stable income secured through Black Cat-related dealings lately, they're keeping quiet, but the Family from a while back would have definitely targeted them, the member man is certain.
He was one of those involved in raiding that fake smuggling ship dealing in Marine slaves, after all.
"We'd be targeted, huh."
"Yeah. Just the fact their location isn't known doesn't change that many fishmen being around here is already known... if fishmen try living on an island alone..."
"They'll end up chased around and forced to abandon the island."
"That's what I think. Besides, the reason this area is safe is because the Black Cat and our Father keep sinking suspicious ships looking for fishmen."
The Bege Family's main work is trade and defense.
Many Mafia groups want to establish footholds in Mopchi and its surrounding islands, which are showing signs of prosperity. Capone Bege focuses on obstructing them.
While securing profitable businesses in the current Black Cat territory.
"Well, I get it. More living space is needed for fishmen, but mixing them with humans in housing will cause trouble, right?"
"Yeah. So we're trying to prepare districts for fishmen, but we should hear from the fishmen who'll actually live there—that's what the higher-ups said."
"Nyu~~~. Then I'll gather the fishmen living around the port. It'll be easier if we summarize opinions somewhat rather than interviewing everyone one by one, right?"
"Yeah, sorry Hachi. That'd really help."
"Don't mention it. If you need proper documents, I'd like some time just in case..."
"Nah, handwritten signatures are fine—rough notes are enough. Heck, we could even gather the guys unloading cargo right now—"
Somehow, the two glanced toward the sea.
Really just casually, simply checking if any fishman acquaintances were among the ships docked at port or the transport routes leading to warehouses.
Both directed their gazes to the sea simultaneously, and simultaneously locked eyes with a face floating on the water surface.
"Nyu!?"
"? A fishman? Maybe someone from the hidden island..."
Reddish skin impossible for a human.
With nose and below submerged, the Mafia man couldn't immediately identify him, but he guessed fishman from the color.
"Hey, what's wrong? That's a port area—even for fishmen it's dangerous. Look, there's an emergency ramp over here, so come on up."
The man judged this an unfamiliar fishman and stood to guide him, tossing his takoyaki container into the stall's trash.
"No, he's not from the island!"
In contrast, Hachi stares wide-eyed and dumbfounded at the fishman.
"That's Sea Bream Boss... isn't that Tiger-san!? Why are you here!?"
An adventurer famous among fishmen.
The man who in a sense pioneered what the fishman pioneer team represents stood there.
The man—Fisher Tiger—keeps half his face above water while looking around the surroundings.
Confirming several fishmen and mermaids scattered throughout the port town where humans live—seeing them wearing no shackles or restraints—he finally swims to the ramp the Mafia man indicated and reveals himself.
"You're... Hachi, if I recall... Do you live here?"
"Y-yeah. I'm being looked after by pirates called the Black Cat and—that jacket, it's the Governor's—!?"
What Fisher Tiger holds is something anyone in this town sees every day—though seawater-soaked and somewhat tattered, the emblem is unmistakable.
The symbol of the crew that built and protects this town.
A three-clawed black cat.
"Sorry! This is sudden and confusing, but if this is truly a town where we can coexist, I have a request!"
"Please! Can you shelter everyone I brought!?"
The Mafia man mutters "Everyone?" while blinking in confusion at the sudden development.
As if hearing that voice.
From where Tiger was moments ago, numerous women and children—fishmen and mermaids—surface, anxiously surveying their surroundings.
***
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