In a corner of the North Blue, the sky was a dreary, leaden gray, as if drawn onto paper with a pencil. Snowflakes drifted down from the heavens.
A pirate ship drifted slowly on the vast sea.
The captain of this ship, "Boxer" Box—who had a bounty of twenty-four million Berries—kicked a pirate on the backside. "What are you staring at! If you delay my important business of joining the Calamity Company, I'll crush your head!"
"Yes, Captain!"
The young pirate instantly stood at attention and hastily pulled the ropes to adjust the sails.
"Damn it, now the whole world is spreading Roa's name! It makes me lose face!"
Box stomped heavily on the ship's rail, his tone laced with irritation. "But that guy really has something going on; he's got the World Government completely distraught! Well then, I'll reluctantly join his command and become a high-ranking executive!"
He turned back to his subordinates. "Lads, when I become a big executive, I'll seal you guys as little executives for fun!"
"Long live the Captain!"
"Hahaha, Roa has conquered I don't know how many countries, Captain, maybe you can even become a king!"
"If the Captain is king, then we are, of course, the ministers, right?"
The entire ship was filled with a joyful atmosphere.
Everyone firmly believed that they would receive attention from the Calamity Company and were destined to follow their captain to accomplish great things under Roa's command.
What a joke; their captain was a great pirate with a bounty of over twenty million! He was a person of some standing even in the North Blue!
"Forget about being king for now. The first thing I'll do when I become an executive,"
Box grew more and more excited, "is change ships! I'm sick of this lousy ship! The Calamity Company's flying ships are excellent!!"
The great pirate with a bounty of over twenty million was lost in this beautiful fantasy, even beginning to plan where to erect his statue on the future great ship.
Just then, the ship rocked slightly.
"Damn it, who's steering the rudder?"
Box, abruptly pulled back to reality, cursed and turned around.
The helmsman poked his head out, aggrieved. "I didn't touch the rudder..."
The ship began to inexplicably tilt. Dishes and glasses in the ship's mess hall suddenly clattered and smashed on the floor.
"What the hell is going on!"
Box furiously grabbed a rope. "Is it a current?"
He leaned over the ship's railing to look out. The seawater had suddenly turned black, like spilled ink.
Hm?
No!
Something—
The answer came as a gigantic wave crash.
A mountainous black shadow breached the water. Blue-black scales shimmered with wet light beneath the gray sky. The shadow it cast alone covered the entire ship.
The deck instantly fell silent.
Everyone stood with their mouths agape, staring at the head, larger than the ship itself, and those indifferent yellow eyes.
The next second.
"A Sea King!!"
Screams instantly filled the entire deck.
Box's mind was blank.
The most terrifying thing he had ever seen in his life was a Marine warship.
This thing in front of him... was completely beyond his comprehension!
A Sea King... was this the kind of creature the Calamity Company controlled?
Calamity King, Roa, was that guy perhaps even more terrifying than he imagined?
The Sea King slowly shifted its gaze, its indifferent eyes quietly observing the pirates.
"Run!"
Someone yelled, and the pirates instinctively tried to flee.
But where could they run?
This was the sea, the domain of the Sea Kings!
The colossal beast opened its mouth.
It wasn't a mouth; it was an abyss.
And now, the abyss descended upon the ship.
"Wait..."
Box's legs were trembling. He flailed his arms in vain, screaming hysterically, "Are you a Sea King controlled by Roa? We're on the same side! We're also here to join—"
The abyss swallowed his final words.
Before being completely consumed by the darkness, he actually felt a strange sense of comfort.
Was this Sea King sent by Roa to kill him?
He thought vaguely.
That Roa guy... he really showed me respect.
Unnoticed, the Boxer Pirates vanished without a trace.
Roa was still unaware that, due to one of his commands, he had lost a valuable high-ranking executive.
However, the plight of this pirate crew was not an isolated incident. In large parts of the West Blue and North Blue, the Sea Kings had begun to stir.
These deep-sea behemoths were furiously attacking every vessel within sight.
Whether pirate ships, merchant ships, cruise liners, or Marine warships—all vessels sailing the open sea were being assaulted by the Sea Kings.
An unprecedented Calamity instantly descended upon these two seas, and an indescribable fear spread further.
West Blue, Irusia Kingdom.
On the coast, the Chancellor, who was temporarily acting as head of state after the royal family was annihilated, trembled as he watched the sight on the distant sea.
The wreckage of ships still drifted on the water—it was a Marine fleet that had come to resupply in the country.
But just now, right before his eyes, they had been utterly shattered.
The giant beast that destroyed everything slowly descended back beneath the surface.
"It's over,"
The high official, whose beard was already gray, felt his body go limp, nearly collapsing onto the ground. "No one can escape this now!"
"Roa, does that monster want to turn the entire West Blue into hell!"
North Blue, Brandy Kingdom.
Boom!!
The entire island where this country was located trembled.
This was because, near the country's coast, beneath the sea, a behemoth over a thousand meters long was slamming its head into the island's foundation.
Its terrifying size, combined with its unparalleled strength, immediately shattered the island's bedrock, causing a violent earthquake across the entire island.
"Help! They, they want to destroy this island!!"
"The end of the world is coming! This island is going to sink!"
"Surrender quickly! How can we possibly resist that monster, Roa!"
Accompanied by flying News Coos, emotions like fear and despair immediately spread across the West Blue and North Blue.
In this situation, the news published by the World Government about crushing one of Roa's fleets instantly became a roadside triviality, entirely ignored.
People all over the world feared only one thing: Did Roa only control the Sea Kings of the West Blue and North Blue?
If not—
The first half of the Grand Line, a certain sea region in the Paradise.
Whitebeard sighed, looking at the newspaper.
Good thing we left when we did, otherwise, we'd be in big trouble now.
Still in the North Blue.
This was a secluded island not even recorded on any sea chart.
It was the headquarters of the Revolutionary Army.
On the island's coast, a group of the Revolutionary Army's high-ranking members gathered.
Everyone gazed with solemn expressions at the seemingly calm sea ahead.
Though their eyes couldn't see, their Observation Haki perceived everything clearly.
Beneath the calm surface, massive creatures were slowly swimming, as if patrolling the area.
"This is bad, bad, bad!!"
The large-faced man, Ivankov, shrieked. "Even we are trapped on this island!"
"What exactly is going on?"
The young, golden-haired man, Revolutionary Army executive Sabo, looked anxious. "How did Roa do it? Not one or two, not dozens, not even hundreds—how is he controlling so many Sea Kings!!"
The scale of this deep-sea Calamity was not limited to just a few countries!
It covered the vast sea areas of the West Blue and North Blue, encompassing hundreds of nations, both affiliated and non-affiliated with the World Government.
The number of mobilized Sea Kings was immeasurable, roughly estimated to be in the thousands!
And this only counted the Sea Kings besieging individual countries! There must be many more Sea Kings patrolling the outer seas!
What did this imply?
It meant that with a single command from Roa, countless countries in these two seas would instantly suffer devastating strikes.
"Who knows!"
The speaker was another young executive, wearing a fluffy, spotted hat and sporting a small goatee. His expression was equally grave.
"Even Fish-Men can communicate with sea beasts, but Sea Kings shouldn't be included in that!"
"It's because of an Ancient Weapon!"
A gust of wind descended from the sky, coalescing into the figure of Dragon next to the group.
As his moss-green cloak fluttered, the man who commanded the Revolutionary Army spoke with immense gravity. "It's because Roa obtained an Ancient Weapon!!"
He had learned this news from Zephyr.
After the Sea Kings began their massive mobilization, the Marines were also stunned. This was an unprecedentedly terrifying situation, even for the massive organization that had been established for eight hundred years.
So, the Marine brass immediately contacted the Five Elders, wanting to know what the current situation was.
And thus, they received the news that Roa had acquired the Ancient Weapon Poseidon.
"An Ancient Weapon!!"
The big-headed man, Ivankov, shrieked. "The legendary Ancient Weapon capable of destroying the world?"
"..."
Dragon remained silent, gritting his teeth tightly.
Calm down!
The situation was already impossibly bad, but it called for even greater calm.
All the nations of the West Blue and North Blue had fallen silent. Not a single country dared to openly resist the Pirate Alliance anymore.
After all, Sea Kings truly do eat people.
What should be done?
How could this crisis possibly be resolved?
The most direct and complete solution was, of course, to take Poseidon away from Roa.
But they didn't even know what Poseidon's true form looked like, so how could they talk about taking it away?
Not to mention, the sheer difficulty of trying to take it from Roa.
Dragon felt that the situation could not be allowed to deteriorate any further.
Something had to be done.
But what?
Dragon was at a loss.
The only piece of information was that Roa had begun investigating something in the North Blue. Could this be a breakthrough?
At the top of the Red Line, inside the massive ship beneath the Eve Tree.
"The situation has become even more difficult."
The Four Elders were holding another meeting. The wild boar, Warcury, was expressionless. "The pirates' expansion has indeed stopped, but the actions of the Sea Kings have nullified all our efforts!"
"The entire West Blue and North Blue, and even the whole world, is shrouded in shadow. Affiliated countries in other regions are constantly sending us messages, asking when we can quell this Calamity. They, too, are terrified!"
"As for the West Blue and North Blue, many affiliated countries are even showing a strong inclination to surrender to Roa!"
"That's simple,"
The sand worm, Peter, interjected. "Have the God's Knights visit those countries and tell them that the World Government's methods for dealing with traitors will not be more lenient than Roa's."
"But that's not enough. Merely stabilizing the situation isn't enough; we need a decisive battle!"
The sword-wielding Nusjuro said solemnly. "A decisive battle that can demonstrate the government's authority!"
"But Roa probably won't give us that chance!"
Figarland Garling, the moon-headed Elder, said, "They've consistently avoided fighting."
"Roa is crazy, but not reckless. After realizing that mere fleets couldn't handle the God's Knights, he immediately chose to retreat and let the Sea Kings act in their stead!"
Yes, where can we find an opportunity?
The God's Knights' teleportation was indeed troublesome, but the pirates also came and went without a trace, especially now that the Sea Kings had blockaded the West Blue and North Blue, making investigation impossible.
Damn it!
Can't that Roa guy just walk into our trap?
Enies Lobby.
Alongside Marine Headquarters and Impel Down, it was one of the three major institutions under the World Government.
Of course, that was a description from decades ago.
As far back as twenty years ago, the former Marine Headquarters was destroyed, and Impel Down vanished completely.
Young people on the sea today have never even heard of the concept of the Three Great Institutions.
In fact, with the disappearance of Impel Down, Enies Lobby's already ceremonial judicial function was largely defunct.
The current purpose of this island was singular: to serve as the headquarters for CP9, the World Government's intelligence agency.
Inside the Tower of Justice, which floated in a strange posture over a gigantic hole at the center of the island.
"It's great; I envy Lucci and the others,"
A plump, somewhat cute-looking man sprawled lazily on the sofa. "CP0! Special agents directly under the Celestial Dragons! I wish I could be transferred there too!"
"With your Dōriki value of only seven hundred?"
A man with wild pink hair, dressed like a Noh actor, huddled in the corner and spoke lazily. "Lucci, Kaku, and Jabra were always different from us."
"But it's truly unimaginable,"
The speaker was a golden-haired woman. She wore a black, tight-fitting suit dress, a look that was both seductive and somewhat ascetic. The golden-rimmed glasses perched on her nose were a particularly attractive detail.
"That the Government could be pushed to this extent by a group of pirates, with even CP0 suffering heavy losses, forcing them to promote Lucci and the others to replenish their strength. Calamity Roa, what a terrifying individual."
"So, why haven't I been promoted!!"
Loudly complaining was a purple-haired man, sitting in front of the office's floor-to-ceiling window, shouting angrily. "I'm the commanding officer of CP9! That ungrateful Lucci, he couldn't even put in a good word for me up there!"
"Perhaps it's because,"
A man whose hair resembled a pair of bull horns slowly spoke, "the higher-ups need genuine combat power, not a commanding officer."
"Hey! Blueno! What did you just say, you bastard!"
The purple-haired man, CP9's highest commander, Spandam, roared furiously. "You really don't respect me! Kalifa! Punish him for me!"
"I apologize, Commander,"
The woman pushed up her golden-rimmed glasses. "That's sexual harassment."
"Huh?"
Spandam was becoming frantic.
Damn it, now that Lucci the bastard is gone, these scoundrels are even harder to manage!
Fortunately, just then, someone suddenly appeared and broke his embarrassment.
The floor-to-ceiling window behind Spandam was suddenly smashed open.
Along with shattering glass, a figure flew in.
Then, very unfortunately, Spandam was hit directly, serving as a human speed bump. The sickening, grating sound of bones breaking was heard while he was still airborne.
"Boss told me to find someone named Blueno. Which one is it?"
The newcomer retracted his black wings, and flames blazed intensely behind his head. "Step forward now."
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