On the beach, a sentry peeked out from behind a hidden corner.
He saw only the warship motionless on the sea, with soldiers vaguely running about on deck.
Turning to the captain not far away, he said:
"Boss, that warship is stopped at sea."
"Did they discover something?"
The captain of the Brady Pirate Group frowned:
"Impossible, that guy Iron Bird just fled back."
"And we've been ambushing here since this morning, how could we be exposed."
"Let's wait a bit longer."
The sentry continued to monitor:
"Yes!"
On the other side.
The captain of the Iron Bird Pirate Group, bandaged, hid behind a house.
Captains from several other pirate groups jeered:
"Hahahaha."
"What happened to you, Iron Bird?"
"Weren't you mighty yesterday? Only one ship left out of three."
"You'd better prepare the payment for this operation."
"That warship belongs to us now."
The captain of the Iron Bird Pirate Group's face was grim:
"No problem."
"As long as we deal with these Marines, there will be no shortage of treasure for you."
Although he disdained these people, times had changed. They, who had been so proud yesterday, had encountered Doberman's warship after only half a day's sail, were directly crippled, fled back here, and sought help from those they usually looked down upon...
With the great enemy at the gates, the surface was passable, but both sides were contemplating how to deal with each other afterward...
Suddenly, his subordinate shouted:
"Boss! They seem to be firing!"
Iron Bird frowned, firing? Why was there no sound of cannon fire?
He moved to peek and saw something emitting white smoke arcing through the air, landing on the beach not far ahead.
The missile that landed on the beach flickered with lightning a few times...
BOOM—!!!!
Current surged, followed by a mushroom cloud tens of meters high.
The entire island trembled...
On the warship.
Doberman's Kenbunshoku Haki instantly sensed no living beings.
He lowered his telescope and said indifferently:
"Land."
------------
New World, Doan Island.
Port within the territory of Hael Nock, one of the Four Emperors.
The crew of the Red-Haired Pirates had just completed their resupply.
Jesus Burgess shouted down from the crow's nest:
"Hey—"
"Boss—"
"That crazy woman is chasing us again!!!"
Shanks looked a bit weary:
"So soon!"
"Didn't we already lose her."
Beckman chuckled beside him:
"But we also rested on this island for a few days."
Shanks sighed, then looked up with a brilliant smile:
"Yaroudomo (Lads)!"
"Run away!!!"
In the distance.....
A ship bearing the Big Mom Pirates' flag was speeding away.....
Not long after, with the intrusion of Charlotte Linlin.
Hael Nock could not stand idly by and joined the battle.
The three-way battle eventually concluded with Charlotte Linlin retreating under the combined efforts of the other two.
After the battle.
The Steam Pirates and the Red-Haired Pirates formed an alliance.
The calls for the birth of a new Emperor in the New World grew louder...
-----------
Meanwhile.
The revolutionary army leader, Dragon, was awakened by Sabo to the realization of how popular he was.
Under his reputation and command, the Revolutionary Army had actually stopped expanding and began to meticulously divide territories for unified deployment.
Dragon, slightly relieved, then made a grand move.
Instead of roughly dividing into four armies (East, West, South, North) and a Fifth Army for the Grand Line, he divided the territory into dozens of regions based on their central locations.
Each region was to be uniformly led by a general of the Revolutionary Army.
The leaders of these dozens of regions would then report directly to the Revolutionary Army's Commander-in-Chief, Dragon.
This not only suppressed the unevenly developed bases but also centralized power.
While secretly collecting intelligence on bases with ulterior motives, they were also preparing for battle, making it difficult for anyone to notice anything unusual.
No one knew that while Dragon was preparing to strike externally...
He was also preparing to cut into the internal flesh...
----------
Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
In a white palace.
The tall, thin Five Elders looked at the secret report detailing the Revolutionary Army's major actions:
"What is going on."
"What is Sengoku doing? He hasn't made any move even when it's come to this."
Due to the Revolutionary Army's significant restructuring of regions and the reassignment of all regional leaders and bases, most of the previously collected intelligence had become obsolete, hence their anger...
The Five Elder with the sword snorted:
"Ungrateful wretches."
"Are they sticking to that ridiculous bottom line?"
"Send Kong to find him."
"If we delay any longer, this intelligence will be wasted paper too."
----------
Navy Headquarters, Marineford.
Kong returned here without any prior notice. Some soldiers at the port recognized Kong.
They wanted to step forward to salute, but seeing Kong's stern expression, they hesitated.
Before Sengoku could be notified, Kong had already used Soru to fly towards the Marshal's office atop the fortress.
*Crash—*
The sound of a wooden door opening.
Sengoku looked up in confusion and, upon seeing the person who arrived, immediately stood up:
"Marshal Kong, why have you come?"
Kong looked at Sengoku, frowning, then closed the wooden door and sat on the sofa:
"What exactly is going on, Sengoku."
"With such a major move by the Revolutionary Army, there's been no reaction."
Sengoku was somewhat helpless:
"The government's order was to monitor them closely."
"So..."
Kong let out a cold snort:
"Do you think I'm an idiot?"
"I want the truth."
"As the dignified Fleet Admiral, you wouldn't move without the government's orders?"
Staring sternly at Sengoku, Sengoku knew that Marshal Kong was truly angry... He sighed slightly.
He extended his Kenbunshoku Haki, then said with a wry smile:
"The leader of the Revolutionary Army is Dragon..."
Kong's brow furrowed:
"What about Dragon? Of course, I know Dragon is the leader of the Revolutionary Army."
Sengoku smiled bitterly:
"Garp...."
Kong's brow furrowed:
"Garp... Dragon... Garp..."
His eyes suddenly widened:
"You mean!!!!"
Sengoku nodded:
"That's right...."
Kong's face turned red... with anger...
"Dragon... I should have known... Where is that bastard Garp!!!"
Sengoku said helplessly:
"He's already run off..."
Marshal Kong, unable to vent his anger, could only turn to Sengoku:
"Never mind Dragon or not."
"Now, issue an order to launch an attack on the Revolutionary Army."
"The Five Elders are already very unhappy. If we delay any further, all the intelligence the government has painstakingly gathered will be wasted."
Sengoku looked conflicted, closing his eyes:
"Marshal... Those people are not pirates."
Kong froze abruptly, paused for a long time, and said:
"This is a government order..."
Sengoku looked at Marshal Kong, and after a long silence... he nodded...
He also felt completely disappointed in the government...
---------
Time flies...
Under their peculiar individual developments, the three overt factions finally broke the peace.
The Navy's branches within the Four Seas abandoned their pursuit of pirates and, for a long time under Sengoku's command, struck down verified Revolutionary Army branches.
The Revolutionary Army, passively attacked, did not retaliate and, under Dragon's command, accumulated strength. Shortly thereafter, during the World Conference, they directly initiated a World Revolution.
The conflict between the two sides erupted suddenly... sweeping across the entire world.
The pirates also did not remain idle. In the New World, the captain of the Red-Haired Pirates, Shanks, ascended to become the fourth Emperor with a single arm, simultaneously earning the title of the World's Greatest Swordsman.