An island in the New World.
Tiger held a Den Den Mushi, his voice carrying a rare nervousness. "Lord Roa, it's been a long time since we last spoke. It is truly wonderful that you are still safe and sound."
A slight laugh, then a hearty one, came from the other end of the line. "Haha, Tiger, you've become quite the smooth talker. Have the years finally smoothed out your sharp edges?"
Tiger wordlessly twitched the corner of his mouth.
Circumstances dictate action. In front of a monster like you, there are few people left in the world who can stand tall and speak their minds.
Half the world has been turned upside down by you. The New World is once again in your hands, and the North Blue and West Blue are already in chaos.
Fish-Man Island simply cannot withstand your wrath.
It was a relief to finally get in touch. Otherwise, it was terrifying to imagine what kind of catastrophe Fish-Man Island would face after the war ended.
But the one who delivered the Den Den Mushi must be from the World Economy News Paper, right? Does that guy, Morgans, who revels in chaos, have a connection with Lord Roa?
"So, Tiger, you still haven't answered my question."
The young voice on the other end of the Den Den Mushi still carried a warm smile. "Is Fish-Man Island prepared to give me an answer?"
"Honestly, I heard that while it was forced by circumstances, the Deep Sea Logistics Company has been cooperating very happily with the World Government for the past two decades."
"My loyal subordinate, Umit, even went bankrupt because of your competition."
Twenty years ago, when the Calamity Company retreated from the seas, not everyone left.
At least two of Roa's capable subordinates, Umit the Shipping King and Du Feld the Loan Shark King, did not follow.
The reason was simple: they would be utterly worthless if they left the sea.
All of their industries were on the ocean.
If they lost those businesses, wouldn't they be unable to contribute to the Boss when he finally returned?
So, they fearfully chose to stay on the sea. Predictably, it wasn't long before the World Government's retaliation arrived.
Their relationship with the Calamity Company was clear to anyone with a modicum of information on the sea.
Even though Golden Lion Shiki, Kaido, and others took special care of them because of Roa, the World Government only needed to use a few commercial tactics to completely bankrupt Du Feld and Umit's companies.
The two were utterly defeated and retreated from the world, both having passed away a few years ago due to lingering resentment.
In Umit's case, his logistics company's early bankruptcy was largely due to the competition from Fish-Man Island's Deep Sea Logistics Company.
After all, the efficiency of the two parties' transportation services was not even comparable.
"We are also very sorry about President Umit,"
Tiger quickly apologized. "But we were helpless at the time. Refusing the World Government's demands would have brought immense disaster to all of Fish-Man Island."
"So, it's an apology. But Tiger, mere words don't seem very sincere."
"..."
Tiger's body stiffened abruptly.
"People always say the world isn't black and white, but sometimes you have to choose between two options, don't you?"
Tiger took a deep breath.
Roa was right. Now that he was back, Fish-Man Island had to make a choice.
"Oh, and one more thing,"
The voice on the other end became slightly more interested. "Tell me, Tiger, what has happened on Fish-Man Island over the years? I hear Neptune has become the King of the Ryugu Kingdom?"
The topic shifted so quickly?
But since Roa wanted to know, Tiger naturally couldn't refuse.
So, he began to tell the story of Fish-Man Island over the past two decades.
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Roa listened quite attentively.
In this timeline, Fish-Man Island was not protected by the Whitebeard Pirates.
Because the Deep Sea Logistics Company had started cooperating with the World Government early on, Jinbe had already become one of the Warlords of the Sea more than twenty years ago.
It should be said that the World Government actually treated Fish-Man Island quite well, as they had become valuable and were no longer just potential slaves.
Of course, Fish-Man Island didn't know whether there were still Fish-Men and Merfolk slaves in Mariejois. They only knew that every year, quite a few Merfolk and Fish-Men still went missing.
In short, this was how Fish-Man Island had been for the past two decades.
Then came the family situation of Neptune, which Roa was most concerned about.
Queen Otohime was still alive. She had even attended the Reverie with Neptune.
That wasn't important, though. What was important was that their daughter, Princess Shirahoshi, was now twelve years old.
Hearing this, Roa's lips curled up instantly.
It seemed that after the battle with the World Government was over, he would have to make a trip to Fish-Man Island.
Not long after, in the West Blue.
A steel ship soared through the sky above a certain stretch of ocean.
The sea below was turbulent and surging, with fragments of ships constantly floating on the waves.
The Navy's seagull flag, soaked in seawater, was sinking helplessly into the deep sea.
The Navy soldiers who had miraculously survived were screaming and wailing, only to be futilely swallowed by the surging, tumultuous water.
A slaughter had just taken place here.
"Hahahaha! How satisfying!"
On the side of the steel ship's deck up in the sky, Capone Bege laughed heartily while observing the scene on the sea below with binoculars.
"They thought abandoning the base temporarily would let them escape our pursuit? What a bunch of idiots! They seriously underestimated my Old Man's intelligence network!"
Behind him, Moria nodded silently.
It had to be said that Bege's father had indeed been thriving in the West Blue for decades.
He had built a huge network of interests across this vast sea area.
Other things aside, his intelligence network was quite astonishing.
Even these Navy forces, who abandoned their base and fled to the sea, couldn't escape that network.
"Let's go. To the next country."
Moria spoke faintly.
"We've used up more than half the energy,"
Bege turned around. "Let's temporarily enable the weather-manipulation mode. We need to save some for emergencies."
The sailing speed of this ship was astonishingly fast; it took little time to travel between the West Blue and the New World.
But high speed was built on the foundation of high consumption.
Purely relying on its own energy reserves, the ship's maximum combat radius was about two thousand kilometers. This meant it could sail to a place two thousand kilometers away to fight and then return.
A very impressive distance.
But in the face of the vast West Blue, it was still too short.
Therefore.
The ship now switched modes. The clouds enveloping the large ship grew denser. The stern turbojet thrusters shut down, and the strong winds began to blow, gently pushing the entire ship forward.
The scholars recruited from Weatheria had replicated the technology used to create the small sky islands onto these large ships.
This was the Weather Mode.
In this state, the ship could not only change the weather within a certain range but, more critically, could slowly float forward in the sky with almost no energy consumption.
Thus, the ship, which had brought infinite fear to this sea area, slowly headed toward another country in the next sea region.
Although the speed was much slower than the normal mode, it was still faster than sea-going ships. Before long, the ship had approached the target affiliated country.
However, just as they were preparing to descend and deploy their assassins.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A rumbling sound began to rise from below.
Giant cannonballs soared into the sky, wrapped in the force of wind and thunder, and slammed directly toward the steel ship.
"What?"
Bege, who was looking down from the deck, suddenly changed his expression.
"We were discovered! And, this kind of firepower!!"
They were still ten thousand meters up in the sky, yet these cannonballs could already reach them!
This was absolutely not the standard of weaponry the West Blue should possess!
"It's the World Government's reinforcements!"
Moria, beside him, instantly made a judgment.
At the same time, the shadow beneath his feet shot up, taking the shape of his body, and then leaped off the deck.
"Shadow Bats!"
The robust shadow instantly transformed into countless black bats, beating their wings to meet the cannonballs hurtling upward.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions instantly blossomed into a dazzling flower of flames in the sky.
The intense air current even caused the enormous steel ship to vibrate constantly.
"I see it! It's a ship!"
Bege, observing from the deck, spotted a ship—an oversized battleship docked at the country's port.
"Hmm?"
Bege frowned, holding the binoculars. "Are those... Giants?"
Down below, on the deck of that large ship.
One after another, colossal figures with horns on their heads and wings on their backs, standing sixty to seventy meters tall, were hoisting similarly massive cannons and continuously firing at the ship in the sky.
"Hahahaha! I really did wait for you!"
On the bow of the large ship, which resembled a small island, an old man with a black cape, dressed in a military uniform, and possessing a muscular build, laughed heartily while looking up.
"Come on! The Thorns of Love are waiting for you!"
In the sky.
"It's the Demon Giant Unit!"
Bege's voice suddenly rose. "The World Government actually sent them out!"
"What!"
The giant evil spirits from Elbaf, who were chatting idly on the deck, instantly sprang up after hearing Bege's words. Their movements were much more agile than their aged appearance suggested.
The elderly men and women from Elbaf were all gnashing their teeth.
"Are those the children controlled by the World Government?"
"Let's descend quickly! Lord Moria! Lord Bege! Capture all those children!"
"That's right! Let the Boss restore them to normal, too!"
"No!"
Moria refused without hesitation. "The Demon Giants never act alone. We must first test their true strength."
"Fire back!"
Thus, dense dark clouds spread out, and simultaneously, the cannon bays beneath the large ship opened one after another, revealing cold, thick cannon barrels.
Crack!
Brilliant lightning descended from the sky.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Giant cannonballs, like meteors, smashed down.
Below, on the large ship.
"Hahahaha! How exaggerated! Should I say, as expected of that monster, Roa?"
The man in the military uniform, named Shepherd Sormarz, laughed heartily. "He can even build a ship like that!"
"But don't underestimate my love!"
Thick thorns grew out from the ship's deck, instantly shooting into the air.
The surface of these thick, sharp-thorned vines was coated with a layer of black Haki, interweaving in mid-air to form giant thorn tentacles.
These thorn tentacles whipped like massive whips, easily destroying all the descending lightning and cannonballs.
"Expert!"
Moria and Bege spoke in unison.
This was absolutely not something an ordinary person could do.
"The ability to control thorns?"
Moria mused. "Definitely not a high-ranking Navy officer!"
Having been a Warlord of the Sea for so many years, he was quite familiar with the high command of Navy Headquarters.
"Then it must be the World Government!"
Bege asked suspiciously. "A Holy Knight?"
"Who knows!"
Moria smirked. "We'll find out if we go down and see!"
"Hey, Moria?"
Bege was startled. "Don't be reckless. If they really are Holy Knights, they'll call for backup!"
Although the combat power on their ship was strong, they still had no chance of winning against Holy Knights who would call for reinforcements.
"Stop looking down on me, kid,"
Moria's smile broadened. "With my ability, who can stop me if I want to escape!"
"This ship is definitely not an isolated case. The World Government must have sent more ships to intercept us. We need to figure out what's going on first!"
"Besides, I'm very pissed off right now!"
As he spoke, Moria leaped downward. "Widen the distance! Wait for me to return!"
"You bastard!"
Bege gnashed his teeth, but he also noticed the shadow Moria had left on the deck.
He was right. As long as the shadow remained on the ship, no one could stop Moria from escaping. He could return in an instant.
"Ascend! I want to see how high their cannonballs can fly! Also, don't stop the counter-attack!"
The steel ship continued to climb.
Meanwhile, the wind whistled past Moria's ears. His sharp eyes were fixed solely on the man at the bow of the large ship below.
With that attire, neither Navy nor CP, is he truly a Holy Knight?
"Hahahaha! Look who it is!"
On the deck, Sormarz looked up, all smiles. "Isn't this the traitor to the Government?"
"You ran back to be a dog for that guy Roa, and now you still dare to bark at your former master?"
Thick thorns extended from the deck beneath his feet, instantly sweeping toward Moria.
"Heeheeheehee!!"
Moria smirked, furiously swinging the scissors in his hand, instantly severing all the thorns coming at him. "Do you think the so-called Holy Knights aren't dogs?"
"You, whose lives are held in the hand of a certain person, are nothing but house pets with collars around your necks!"
"Insolence!!"
Sormarz instantly turned red with fury. "Daring to offend the divine, you shall die!!"
"Heeheeheehee! Then come and try!"
He really is a Holy Knight?
If so, before he calls for backup, Moria wanted to thoroughly experience the power of a Holy Knight!
And, at the same time, vent the resentment that had been building up in his heart for so long!
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