Whitebeard's smile instantly froze.
The hand holding the sake bowl trembled violently, spilling amber-colored sake that splattered onto his chest, though he didn't notice.
The next moment, Whitebeard snatched the newspaper from Marco's hand like lightning, and upon seeing its contents, Whitebeard's face became incredibly serious.
The Day of Divine Fall! Half of Mariejois turned to scorched earth! World Nobles' blood flowed like rivers! The most heinous criminal in history, Griffin D. Wade, emerges!
There were two accompanying pictures: one was a photograph of the Holy Land Mariejois's architectural complex in its former glory, and the other showed Mariejois filled with ruins and broken walls.
'Urgent report!
Last night, a night destined to be remembered by history, the Holy Land Mariejois, symbolizing the pinnacle of world power, suffered an unprecedented devastating blow!
More than half of the architectural complex was completely destroyed, and the descendants of the creators—the World Nobles, Celestial Dragons—suffered heavy casualties. The exact numbers are still being compiled, but according to reliable sources, the number of World Nobles killed far exceeds that of the God Valley incident… Who is it? Who dared to commit such a monstrous crime! Who is it? Who possesses such terrifying power!
The World Government issued an emergency bounty order this morning, pointing all fingers at this man who appeared out of nowhere, Griffin D. Wade, and he was crowned by the World Government with the title "Most Heinous Criminal in History"!
His ruthlessness, terrifying power, and clear objectives are in no way inferior to the Pirate King Gol D. Roger!
Roger's death ushered in a new era, and the "Night of Divine Fall" created by Wade held the grandest opening ceremony for this newly begun era.
What drastic changes will the balance of the sea undergo because of this? How will the World Government respond to this unprecedented challenge? How will the navy pursue this "Divine Adversary"?
This newspaper will continue to follow subsequent developments, bringing you first-hand reports!'
After reading the news report, Whitebeard's gaze fixed on Wade's bounty poster. Although they looked nothing alike, for some reason, he vaguely seemed to see Rocks' shadow in him.
Because they were too similar.
Rocks gained his notoriety back then by breaking into Mariejois and killing an Admiral.
This kid named Wade is even more impressive, directly destroying half of Mariejois right after his debut.
It's predictable that Wade will become a major headache for the World Government, just like Rocks back then, or even more so.
Suddenly, Whitebeard seemed to remember something, his gaze turning to Marshall D. Teach, who sat in the corner with a serious expression, his thoughts drifting far away.
Seeing his father lost in thought, Marco sighed, "This guy bold. He actually dared to attack Mariejois alone, and he even escaped. Have you ever seen him before, Dad?"
Whitebeard took a deep breath, shook his head. "Never seen him, but he is definitely the most terrifying newcomer."
Wano Country, Flower Capital.
Four years ago, the Wano Country Shogun, Kozuki Sukiyaki, was framed by Orochi, who then began to wield the power of the Wano Country Shogun and gradually gained a foothold with Kaido's help.
Everything was going well, but who knew that Kozuki Oden would return a year ago.
Kozuki Oden clashed with Orochi until Kaido intervened, threatening Kozuki Oden with a large number of hostages to make him comply.
Oden was also quite eccentric; he actually agreed to Orochi's conditions: to perform a naked dance once a week in exchange for the lives of 100 hostages, until Orochi finished building a ship and left five years later.
Now it is Kozuki Oden's second year of dancing, and the public has already started calling Kozuki Oden "Prince of Fools."
On the castle tower, Kaido was drinking sake with Orochi, enjoying Kozuki Oden's eye-watering dance.
"What a fool, he wouldn't really think we'd leave here, would he?"
Kaido sneered dismissively. "Isn't this great? If he were persistent, he would cause us a lot of trouble."
"Gufufufu~ That's true. Come on, come on, with Oden entertaining us, let's drink, drink!"
Just then, the Beasts Pirates' second-in-command, King the Conflagration, walked up to Kaido and handed him a newspaper.
Kaido glanced at King, said nothing more, and directly opened the newspaper to read it. The moment he saw the headline, Kaido spat out the sake in his mouth.
"Worororo~ If the name wasn't different, I would have thought it was Captain Rocks! He's truly a reckless guy, but what a pity…"
Totto Land.
"Mamamamama… What a powerful man he is…" Looking at Wayne's picture on the bounty poster, Charlotte Linlin, who was still a sexy beauty at the time, felt a surge of desire to have children with him.
Commonly known as 'eggs controlling the brain.'
Charlotte Linlin firmly believed that her union with Wayne would surely give birth to an offspring stronger than Katakuri.
East Blue, Windmill Village Party's Bar.
Pfft! A customer sprayed all the beer he had just drunk onto the newspaper. "Five billion?! Attacked the Holy Land?! Killed a Celestial Dragon?! Hey, haven't you noticed that this 'Wade' looks like Wayne…"
The bar instantly erupted, with discussions of shock, fear, and disbelief almost tearing through the roof.
Because not long ago, a brother and sister moved here. Although the brother was named Wayne, they looked too similar, and he had been missing for several days.
"It couldn't have been him, could it?"
"It might just be a coincidence. The world is so big; there are always people who look similar."
South Blue, a certain bar.
"Oh my god! The Holy Land is destroyed?!" An old fisherman trembled, pointing at the photo of Mariejois's ruins in the newspaper, his cloudy eyes filled with horror. "Can those high-and-mighty 'gods' also die?"
The Red Haired youth next to him stared at Wade's bounty poster, his eyes gleaming with light. "Divine Adversary? That's amazing! It makes me want to become a pirate too."
"Eustass, you definitely won't have a chance in this lifetime, but maybe your son will become a great pirate someday?"
West Blue, Ohara Island, the archaeological holy land.
Young Robin, who was fostered with her uncle by her mother, listened to the adults around her discussing. At only six years old, she quietly activated her Hana Hana no Mi to pick up a newspaper someone had thrown on the ground, and softly read its contents: "The most heinous criminal in history, Griffin D. Wade…"
"So the World Nobles aren't gods after all? They bleed, and they can die too…"
Mariejois, Room of Flowers.
"Imu-sama, that's how the situation unfolded…"
After listening to the Gorosei's account, Imu couldn't help but recall Rocks, the man who broke into the this very room many years ago; he seemed to have said similar words.
"I understand. I want you to find him at all costs and erase him from this world."