At the entrance of the base.
Moria walked towards the conference room, looking left and right.
As if recalling something, he looked at the soldier leading the way:
"You are in the Sabaody Archipelago."
"Have you heard the name Absalom, Marine?"
"I'm looking for my companion."
The two soldiers leading the way did not speak, they simply led Moria forward.
Moria scoffed:
"How dare you ignore me, you..."
After turning a corner.
The two soldiers in front suddenly stopped:
"We're here."
With that, they stepped aside.
Moria looked up ahead:
"Hmm?"
At the entrance to the conference hall in the distance.
The new Fleet Admiral Sakazuki stood at the entrance, holding something.
Beside him, several Shichibukai stood obediently not far away.
Moria had a bad feeling, and stopped, not daring to proceed.
He subtly mobilized his ability, just about to speak.
He saw Sakazuki opposite him casually throw the object in his hand.
The object was not large, but thrown with Armament Haki, one could clearly feel its might.
Moria's eyes narrowed, unsure of the new Fleet Admiral's intentions.
However, his hand moved quickly, black shadows wrapping around his arm, forming a shadow shield.
*Pat!*
He raised his hand slightly and caught it.
The impact of Armament Haki struck, his body shook slightly, but he was unharmed.
However, the small box thrown by Sakazuki exploded under the impact.
The head of a pink-haired girl with twin tails rolled to the ground...
Moria stared at the head, his mind a blank.
His pupils contracted, and his mouth opened in disbelief:
"Ah... ah..."
He couldn't utter a complete sentence.
*Splat!*
Something hot seemed to pierce through his body... Moria looked down.
"Magma Dog..."
Sakazuki appeared out of nowhere, his magma arm piercing through his chest, but Moria didn't care about that... he just wanted to know...
"You... you did this to Perona..."
*Splat!*
Below, Sakazuki pulled out his bloodied arm, and Moria knelt on the ground uncontrollably... but he still stared intently at Sakazuki.
Sakazuki's voice was devoid of emotion:
"Can't see?"
Moria's body trembled with rage:
"You actually...!!!"
He mobilized his ability, the shadows beneath him expanding, and stood up, ready to unleash his power.
*Bang!*
A gunshot rang out, and a bullet pierced Moria's eye.
At the same time, the Shadow Dancer that appeared from his mobilized ability behind him shattered...
Moria felt his body weakening...
"Seastone..."
His body fell limply...
Seeing Moria breathing his last...
Carol appeared at some unknown time, leading a few soldiers...
----------
Sakazuki returned to the conference hall and looked at the remaining three:
"Now everyone is here."
"The meeting begins."
Sakazuki's indifferent voice made the three instinctively tremble and sit up straight...
Although Sakazuki's cruelty, methods, and strength were well-known.
But two Shichibukai, who were his equals, were so easily killed...
An uncontrollable fear gripped their hearts. It was too terrifying...
It was as if he hadn't killed two Shichibukai, but two ordinary small pirates...
After all, Moria's bounty was as high as 320 million, higher than everyone present.
Yet he died so dramatically, like an ant, unable to even resist...
The three dared not show any slackness... they waited respectfully for Sakazuki to speak.
Sakazuki ignored their thoughts and continued:
"The entrance to the New World is now blocked."
"Fish-Man Island no longer needs to be guarded long-term."
"Jinbe, you will lead the Sun Pirates and cooperate with the Kuja Pirates."
"Hunt pirates near the Sabaody Archipelago."
"To alleviate the pressure on the Marine branch on Sabaody Archipelago."
Jinbe and Granny Goodnight stood up together:
"Old man understands."
"Old woman understands."
Sakazuki nodded slightly and gestured downwards with his hand, indicating they should sit:
"As for Crocodile."
"The Baroque Works organization will expand its scale."
"Establish branches at the entrances of all seven routes of the Grand Line."
"Hunt pirates, record their information, and hand it over to the Marine branch."
Crocodile's heart sank.
All his funds were currently being used for the Utopia Project...
And Whiskey Peak, where Baroque Works was located, was only one of the routes. If he had to establish seven... then the Utopia Project would have to be forcibly stopped.
After playing the hero for years, his plan was about to succeed... and now...
"This..."
Sakazuki glanced at Crocodile:
"You can go accompany those two now."
Crocodile's mind jolted:
"No problem."
"Leave it to me."
A faint sweat appeared on his forehead... What good was money if his life was gone?
Sakazuki let out a light laugh:
"Very good..."
----------
Outside the Sabaody Archipelago.
A warship slowly sailed away, heading towards the Devil Triangle.
In the temporary Fleet Admiral's office.
Sakazuki leaned back in his chair:
"How is the evacuation of the New World citizens going?"
Carol nodded and said:
"It's proceeding steadily and orderly."
"Since the announcement of the decisive battle against pirates and the detonation of Fas Island (one of the endpoint islands),"
"Many citizens within Marine jurisdiction want to flee the New World."
"Sot has already begun transporting them using aerial fleets."
"Currently, there aren't many places, so they can only be temporarily housed on sparsely populated islands and desolate islands."
"As for the citizens under the Four Emperors' command, although they are also terrified, they cannot escape at all."
"This time, they have been very coordinated, blocking all ports directly."
"In the latter half of the New World, the only ships that can appear at sea are pirate ships."
Sakazuki grunted:
"Transport as many as you can."
"Try to transport them to the Red Line continent on the other side."
"Where are the dispatched warships?"
Carol flipped through the latest records:
"All summoned warships have arrived at the Devil Triangle."
"They are awaiting orders."
Sakazuki stood up and looked out the window:
"How much longer until we arrive?"
Carol said:
"At full speed, it should be about three days."
Sakazuki nodded:
"Full speed ahead."
----------
Grand Line, a remote island.
Inside the town's only casino.
Unlike the usual liveliness, everyone was now gathered around a gambling table.
On the table, the chips on both sides were piled high.
One person's eyes were bloodshot... he pushed all the piled-up chips onto the table...
"I bet on white!"
Why were his eyes bloodshot? Because all the chips piled up by the person opposite him were won from him...
The blind old man opposite revealed a slight smile:
"Such courage, sir."
"In that case..."
He pushed out the pile of chips in front of him as well:
"I bet on black."
The dealer swallowed and pressed the bell:
*Ding-ding~*
"Bets closed!"
Then, a roulette wheel began to spin slowly... countless hearts leaped into their throats...
The wheel slowed down... the red-eyed man opposite looked incredulous...
"Black 17!"
"Black wins!!!"
The blind old man smiled:
"It seems my luck is better."
The red-eyed man opposite, having lost everything, flipped the table:
"Impossible!"
"You cheat...!!!"
He lunged forward, intending to grab the blind old man by the neck...
*Bang!*
He was pressed to the ground, unable to get up.
Everyone looked at the calm blind old man with some fear... a Devil Fruit user!
The blind old man got up and turned towards the dealer:
"Please exchange these chips for me."
The dealer trembled when the blind old man spoke to him:
"Yes... yes!!!"
He quickly exchanged the cash and saw the troublemaker off...
In remote waters, Devil Fruit users represented impunity... demonic existences... there weren't so many good people...
Outside the casino.
The blind old man walked out with a backpack full of Beli.
Feeling the warm sun, he revealed a smile:
"With this... the travel expenses will be enough."
"Justice that gambles the future of the entire world... to completely eliminate all pirates."
"What spirit that is."
"I must experience it firsthand..."
----------
Kurogashi Island.
Marine recruitment center.
A dense crowd filled the small space.
If there weren't various restrictions, there would have been even more people... but even so... the number of people was overwhelming.
There were even old men with gray hair, lying about being only 30 years old, wanting to enlist and kill pirates, and were forcibly removed by soldiers...
Isaac watched this comical scene and snorted:
"Madness..."
However, in his mind, he didn't know what to think...
As he walked...
In front of the Marine recruitment center.
"Name"
"Isaac."
"Age."
"29."
"Why are you joining the Hai..."
"..."
Evening.
Isaac walked out of the Marine base in a daze, having completed all the preparations for enlistment.
He looked at the document bag in his hand.
*Slap!*
He slapped himself:
"What am I doing..."
He wanted to tear up the document bag, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
On the cover, the four words "Conscripted Enlistment"...
Why were they so hard to let go of...
He vaguely felt an immense honor...
His excited heart could not be calmed...
"Damn it..."
Although he outwardly resisted, looking at the four characters, his lips couldn't help but curl up...
"I'll keep it for now..."
He carefully put it away and went home.
A few days later.
On the warship about to depart, people on the shore bid a reluctant farewell to their children.
It was unknown if they would return alive after this separation.
But to support Fleet Admiral Sakazuki in eliminating all pirates, even death was acceptable.
If it weren't for the age restrictions... half the people on this island would have enlisted...
In this atmosphere, even Isaac, who had left without telling anyone, quietly wiped away a tear... recalling his mother and sister...
Sweet childhood memories, a happy family, his father's embrace, his mother's arms, his adorable sister...
How had he become such a scoundrel...
"Pirates..."
"Pirates..."
Suddenly, in an instant, he understood many things...
"It's all the pirates..."
His fists clenched, if there were no pirates...
His father wouldn't have died, his mother wouldn't have gone mad, their family wouldn't have broken apart like this, and their country wouldn't have become so weak... and all of this... was because of the pirates' momentary whims...
He understood the meaning of Fleet Admiral Sakazuki's words...
"They view slaughter as righteousness."
"For a word dispute, to avenge so-called companions, they slaughter countries and destroy islands."
"They wantonly destroy everything in the world, calling it adventure."
"They fearlessly provoke the Marines and the government, calling it freedom."
These pirates' momentary pleasure was their endless suffering... orphans and widows of thousands of households on an island... their shattered futures...
The warship began to blow its whistle and slowly started to move. Isaac snapped back to reality:
"Kill all pirates..."
His gaze was firmer than ever...
"Isaac!!!"
A woman in a long dress ran over quickly, pushing through the crowd.
Isaac froze, his hands gripping the railing tightly:
"Eriya!"
That was his sister...
Eriya pushed through the crowd and ran to the edge of the platform, throwing something with all her might.
Isaac didn't have time to see what it was, and lunged forward, almost falling off, but was fortunately caught by two new recruit companions behind him.
Eriya cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted loudly:
"This is Father's medal!"
"Wear it! You must come back alive!!!"
"Your mother and I are waiting for you!!!"
Isaac trembled, tears welling up in his eyes:
"Okay!!!"
The warship slowly sailed away from the island.
The ship, carrying the hopes of the island's people, set sail towards an unknown direction...
Not just here.
This scene was playing out on Marine recruitment islands all over the world.
These new recruits, without extraordinary talent, were just the most common people in the world.
But what they carried was the hope of the most people in the world... to eliminate all pirates...
No one knew that...
Carrying these hopes... in the end...
Most of them sacrificed themselves on that island...
They never took a step back until death...