The Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
The burly Five Elders angrily slammed the newspaper in their hands:
"Bastards, they won't rest even in death."
"Damn D."
"This is troublesome now."
The sword-wielding Elder wiped his blade, saying,
"Anger is useless, we should focus on how to resolve this."
"Otherwise, if Lord Im blames us..."
The Elder holding his cane spoke,
"Begin the purge of Roger Pirates personnel immediately."
"Simultaneously, release the news of Rayleigh's death and Shiki's imprisonment."
"Divert public attention."
"Minimize the impact of this incident."
"As for what happens next..."
"We'll take it one step at a time."
"Seconded."
"Seconded."
"Seconded."......
They could not have foreseen the impact of the "Great Treasure," and by the time they realized it, it would be irreversible.....
----
The Grand Line, Alabasta.
Inside the royal palace, the young king Nefertari Cobra, holding the newspaper, broke out in a cold sweat:
"A terrifying era is about to be born."
With his foresight, he could already envision the turbulent seas and brutal bloodshed of the future.
----
The Grand Line, Enies Lobby.
Before the gates, two vice admirals loudly read the newspaper.
Deceived into guarding the gate while searching for their leader, the two giants squatted and looked down at the Marine officers.
"There will be more pirates, Oimo."
The fat giant Oimo chuckled,
"They won't be able to attack here anyway."
"Hahahahaha."
----
The Grand Line, Little Garden.
The volcanic group on the island suddenly erupted with thick smoke....
Then the earth began to shake violently!
Two giants, over twenty meters tall, wielding weapons, charged at each other.
Clang!
Their shields met each other's weapons.
A massive shockwave erupted from their center, spreading outwards, even causing ripples on the sea surface.....
"For glory!!!" x2
Boom—!!!
----
Gaya Island, Monkey’s Island Exploration Alliance.
Years passed, and the grown-up Cricket had formed his own exploration alliance.
He explored the treasures of the sea, while also working to clear his ancestors' names.
"Brother Cricket! Roger left treasure and died!!"
"The legendary Great Treasure!"
"This is truly amazing!!!"
A young subordinate, an exploration enthusiast, rushed over with a newspaper.
Cricket put down the chart in his hand, took the newspaper, and smiled,
"It's quite romantic, isn't it?"
"Treasure and exploration."
"Hahahaha."
----
The Grand Line, a secret government training base.
"Ha!"
"Ha!"
The future members of CP9, though still children, were trained here from a young age.....
As they punched, the instructor sternly said,
"To execute Justice!"
"You must become stronger!"
The young Rob Lucci punched with more effort, the small pigeon on his hat bobbing.
"Ha!"
"Ha!"
----
Somewhere, an unknown small mountain village.
A robust middle-aged woman looked at her newborn son.
With a crude face and curly eyebrows unbecoming of an infant, the woman burst into tears:
"How can this be!"
"A cursed infant is born!"
"This is the curse of the Pirate Era!!!"
This infant was the sketch on Sanji's later wanted poster... Duval.
----
The Grand Line, Calm Belt, Amazon Lily.
The young Boa sisters gathered together.
Boa Sandersonia, with her green hair, questioned,
"The Great Pirate Era?"
"Can everyone become a pirate?"
The young Boa Hancock said seriously,
"It is said that if you don't become a strong warrior, you cannot join a pirate crew!"
Her two younger sisters looked surprised:
"Eh!" x2
----
The Grand Line, Impel Down.
The sixth level, the Infinite Hell.
As news of Roger's demise spread, the prison erupted.
"The Pirate King left the Great Treasure and died!"
"The era of pirates has begun!"
"I want to go back outside right now! Damn it!!!"
"A new era!"
"An era... belonging to pirates!!!"
"I want to sail to the Sea of Origin!"
"Let me out quickly!"
In a solitary cell.
Shiki lay sprawled on the ground.
His legs were shackled with solid seastone chains.
Ignoring the commotion outside, he gazed blankly at the ceiling:
"Roger... why did you die?"
"What new era?"
"Utterly boring..."
"Pirates are the rulers of the sea."
"One day I will make you all understand....."
----
East Blue, a Marine branch.
Late at night, in a dormitory.
Several soldiers with burning eyes looked at their superior, who had just hung up the Den Den Mushi.
The robust soldier holding the Den Den Mushi took a deep breath, a smile uncontrollably spreading across his face.
"It's finally our turn, time to purge these worms."
The soldiers all became excited, it was finally starting.....
Such actions were being systematically carried out at branches across the world.....
----
New World, the Steam Pirates.
The members of the Steam Pirates gathered, each with a newspaper before them.
The headline read "Roger Pirates Annihilated, Shiki Imprisoned."
The image was divided into three parts: a photo of Roger being pierced, Rayleigh's dismembered body, and Shiki being escorted by Marines....
The subordinates murmured among themselves.
"Hiss!"
"This..."
"When did the Marines get this strong?"
"It's terrifying."
"But... Shiki is imprisoned."
"Then his territory..."
"Don't rush, wait for the captain's orders."
Helle Nock, smoking a cigar, narrowed his eyes as he looked at the newspaper.
He found it hard to believe, but Rayleigh's body and Shiki's photo were undeniably there.
Once bitten, twice shy...
After a moment, a panicked subordinate rushed in:
"Captain!"
"Shiki has indeed been captured!"
"In the past few days, his territory has been rapidly taken over by the Marines."
Helle Nock took a puff of his cigar,
"Do you know who is leading them?"
The subordinate stammered,
"Based on the traces left at the scene... it's... it's Sakazuki."
He shuddered, that name was a taboo.
Helle Nock's Conqueror's Haki erupted:
"That bastard....."
Panting breaths of anger filled the air.
After a while, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath,
"Abandon the plan for Shiki's territory."
"Attack Fish-Man Island."
"The Marines won't bother with that mess on Fish-Man Island."
"As long as we control that place, we can slowly recover the losses from these past years."
The many officers were invigorated:
"Yes!!!"
----
New World, an unknown deserted island.
Two groups gathered here.
Charlotte Linlin's unique laughter rang out,
"Mamamamama!"
"Sakazuki, you Marines have overstepped your bounds!"