Hearing the Navy officer's report, the expressions of Sengoku and Garp completely changed.
"What did he just say? The Whitebeard Pirates, the Big Mom Pirates, and the Beasts Pirates? The three strongest pirate crews of the New World are here? All the emperors of the sea have gathered here? How is that possible?" People in the crowd burst into shocked cries as soon as they heard the report.
"All the emperors of the sea have gathered here. Is some earth-shattering event about to happen?"
"Isn't what's happening right now already a massive event? A clash between the Gray Nation, the Celestial Dragons, and the Navy. What could possibly be bigger than this?"
"Could it be an all-out war between the Four Emperors, the Navy, and the Celestial Dragons?"
The surrounding crowd erupted into frantic discussion.
"Heh heh heh, now this is interesting. Three of the New World's great pirate crews arriving together. What exactly is going to happen?" Doflamingo said in astonishment.
"Why would the Whitebeard Pirates, the Big Mom Pirates, and the Beasts Pirates all appear here at once? Rosinante, what did you do?" Sengoku demanded coldly as he stared at Rosinante.
Sengoku had received no intelligence whatsoever about the movements of Whitebeard and the others.
Why was that?
Under normal circumstances, with the World Government's intelligence network, any movement by the three great pirate crews of the New World should have been detected by the Navy and the World Government long ago.
That was how things used to be. But now, things were different.
As the storm of the Great Pirate Era continued to brew, the Navy had gradually lost control over the New World.
In recent times, under relentless pressure from pirates, especially the three great crews led by Whitebeard, the Navy had been driven out of the New World entirely. The balance of power on the seas was slowly collapsing.
It was precisely because of this situation that the Seven Warlords system would later come into existence.
During this period, the Navy was effectively blind to developments in the New World.
Although the World Government still maintained a small amount of influence there, that limited power was no longer sufficient to track the movements of the three great pirate crews.
"I'm someone who hates trouble more than anything," Rosinante said calmly. "That's why I didn't mind giving thirty percent of the City of Nightless's shares to the World Government if it meant avoiding trouble. But then I realized that even doing that wouldn't actually prevent trouble. So I took a trip to the New World, had a chat with Whitebeard and the others, and invited them to come here today to sign an agreement."
"You call us emperors of the sea, don't you? This is an agreement among emperors. I call it the Four Emperors Accord," Rosinante said lightly.
One month ago, Moria had delivered Ivankov… no, Elizabello II's shadow to Rosinante.
After fusing Elizabello II's shadow into his body, Rosinante finally understood the secret behind the King Punch.
Contrary to what Rosinante had initially believed, the King Punch was not a martial technique at all.
It was an innate ability Elizabello II was born with.
Elizabello II was a natural aberration. As his body warmed up, his cells would instinctively and continuously accumulate power, eventually releasing it in the form of that terrifyingly powerful King Punch.
This ability was unique to Elizabello II. Even if he wanted to pass it on, it was fundamentally impossible.
But after obtaining Elizabello II's shadow, Rosinante was able to personally experience the operational process of the King Punch.
Relying on his powerful Observation Haki and his own direct sensations, Rosinante gradually grasped some of the mysteries behind the King Punch.
Because the King Punch was an innate ability, something born of nature rather than cultivated through deliberate training, it carried within it an almost primordial profundity, like the mysteries of heaven and earth themselves.
That punch, and even Elizabello II's very cells, contained extremely deep and subtle truths.
Many of those truths were things that even Elizabello II himself had never understood, let alone fully utilized.
Once Rosinante realized this, he immediately decided to go into seclusion, using the shadow to fully study Elizabello II's special physique and the profound nature of the King Punch.
Through continuous contemplation of these mysteries, Rosinante gained tremendous insight into the control, application, and release of power, as well as methods of attack.
Not only did he improve technically, but over the course of that month, as he adapted to the King Punch's method of force generation, Rosinante continuously "modified" his own body cells through specialized training.
To sustain the massive energy consumption required by this transformation, Rosinante traveled to the Torino Kingdom, relying on the island's extraordinarily nutritious food resources to supply the necessary nourishment.
In just one month, Rosinante practically devoured every high-nutrition plant in the forests of the Torino Kingdom.
The gains, however, were enormous.
Within that single month, Rosinante's physical body underwent a leap of explosive growth, surging from early admiral-level straight into the realm of advanced admirals.
At the same time, his combat power rose accordingly.
By assimilating the techniques behind the King Punch, Rosinante's Crashing Fist Impact became more and more refined. The compressed force grew denser, purer, and vastly more powerful.
During his training, Rosinante even learned to fuse his will and presence into his punches, so that every blow he threw resembled the overwhelming fist intent described in fantasy novels. Before the punch even landed, the aura carried within it would already crush the enemy's spirit.
Rosinante named this technique Sovereign Shatter.
With a single punch, even an admiral would struggle to withstand it. If combined with Silent Release, its destructive power became even more terrifying.
That one month elevated Rosinante's strength to the true pinnacle of the Pirate King's world.
Although Rosinante had been secluded on the Torino Kingdom, he was fully aware of everything happening on the Sabaody Archipelago.
Thanks to Enel's electromagnetic waves combined with Observation Haki, the entire archipelago was under constant surveillance.
Because of that, Rosinante was perfectly informed about the Celestial Dragons' actions. Lachia had even analyzed that the Navy might make a move as well.
After careful consideration, Rosinante made his decision.
He would take a trip to the New World.