"Yes, sir!" Vice Admiral Ghost Spider saluted crisply and quickly turned to leave.
Meanwhile, beyond the World Government and Navy Headquarters, powerful pirates familiar with the Red-Haired Pirates were also discussing the recent incident with great interest.
On a remote and obscure island, a rugged, brawny middle-aged man sat under a tree with a bottle of liquor in hand. He had several missing teeth, dense body hair, dark skin, and messy black hair tied under a bandana. Two necklaces hung from his neck, bracelets adorned his wrists, and every one of his ten fingers bore a different jeweled ring. Most striking of all were the three flintlock pistols hanging from his left hip. As he read the newspaper, he burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahaha! This guy's got some nerve. Looks like he's eaten a pretty powerful Devil Fruit. He'd better hope he doesn't cross paths with me—hahaha!"
"Captain Marshall D. Teach, sir! We've spotted a merchant vessel up ahead. It's being escorted by a Navy warship. Should we take them?" a pirate ran up and asked respectfully.
Teach, also known as Blackbeard, narrowed his eyes and grinned. "Take the merchant ship. As for the warship—sink it! Hahahaha!"
Far away, on an island made entirely of towering cakes and creamy frosting, sat a massive woman dressed in a flowing pink dress, her plump frame towering over everyone. Her thick lips were coated in lipstick, and she wore light purple eye shadow. A pirate hat sat atop her head as she devoured a decadent cake.
This fearsome woman was none other than Charlotte Linlin, better known as Big Mom, one of the reigning Emperors of the Sea.
"Mother," said a thin man beside her, wearing a top hat adorned with lollipops. His nose and tongue were both unnaturally long, and he held a candy-striped cane. This was Charlotte Perospero, her eldest son and one of the 34 ministers in the Charlotte Family—specifically, the Minister of Candy.
"A powerful new pirate has emerged in the East Blue. He actually defeated the Red-Haired Pirates led by Shanks!"
"Mamama~ma! Shanks is that weak now? What an embarrassment to the New World! If that brat dares to set foot here, I'll teach him a proper lesson! And these cakes—there's not nearly enough! Get me more, now!"
"Yes, Mama! I'll get more cakes immediately!" Perospero saw his mother's rage building and turned to flee at once.
Meanwhile, on a horned island shaped like a demonic beast, deep within a massive cave, another fearsome man sat chugging beer. Towering, muscular, and shirtless, he had long black hair cascading over his shoulders, a pair of long, curved horns on his head, and a long mustache that resembled dragon whiskers. A tattoo of dragon scales covered his left arm. His abdomen bore an X-shaped scar, and he wore loose-fitting green trousers secured with a traditional rope belt. Draped in a purple fur cape, he exuded the terrifying aura of a living demon.
This was Kaido, the so-called Beast King, another of the Four Emperors of the Sea.
"Hmph. Defeated Shanks, did he? Looks like there's another death-seeking lunatic in the New World. But it doesn't matter. Once my artificial Devil Fruit army is complete, the whole world will kneel before me!"
He downed the rest of his beer, then hurled the bowl to the ground and let out a mighty dragon's roar. The sound echoed across the island, and every person who heard it trembled instinctively in fear.
On the deck of a massive pirate ship with a whale figurehead, a burly, imposing man sat solemnly. His face bore a crescent-shaped white mustache, and he wore a white pirate cap. Despite his powerful frame, his body was clearly in poor health—he was hooked up to countless IVs, with an oxygen tube running under his nose. Behind him stood more than ten young women dressed in pink nurse uniforms—not crew members, but part of his personal medical team.
This was Edward Newgate, also known as Whitebeard, another Emperor of the Sea. He was once considered the man closest to becoming the Pirate King and, following Gol D. Roger's death, was widely recognized as the strongest man in the world.
He possessed the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit with world-destroying power according to Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Even his weapon, the mighty Murakumogiri, was one of the 12 Supreme Grade Swords.
But now, Edward Newgate was in his twilight years. After countless battles and the inevitable decline of age, his health had significantly deteriorated. Despite this, the Whitebeard Pirates remained the most feared crew in the New World—and the one the World Government dreaded the most.
"Old man, there's an interesting rookie out there. Want me to go meet him?" asked a laid-back man standing before him. He had dark brown skin and a pineapple-like tuft of green hair. His eyelids drooped constantly, and he wore a half-buttoned white-gray shirt, revealing a cross tattoo on his chest. A blue sash wrapped around his waist, adorned with a dangling golden ornament.
This was Marco the Phoenix, Whitebeard's First Division Commander. Thanks to his Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit—the Phoenix Fruit—he was widely considered the second-strongest member of the crew.
"Don't rush," Whitebeard replied. "If that brat's really after the New World's treasures, we'll cross paths soon enough. But what baffles me… what the hell is Shanks doing?"
He narrowed his eyes, his tone growing grim.
"To lose an arm in the weak East Blue, and now be defeated by some no-name punk? It's disgraceful."
"He might be a no-name," Marco said with a sly grin, "but I bet you're already familiar with at least one of his crewmates…"