A few days later, aboard Sakazuki's warship.
Karol walked over with an intelligence report:
"Vice Admiral, the latest intel just came in."
Sakazuki casually blocked an incoming strike from Bullet.
With a back throw, he slammed him to the ground:
"Oh?"
"How is it?"
Karol glanced at the two clashing men and picked up the report as he spoke:
"Knock really bled hard this time."
"Was besieged by an enraged BIG MOM and Golden Lion."
"Two-thirds of his entire territory was lost."
"But those two forces are too powerful."
"It caused fear among everyone."
"Knock must've made some kind of deal with other pirates."
"Several new-generation pirates stepped in to help."
"In the end, Knock gave up a huge amount of treasure."
"Only then did the New World calm down."
"Now Knock's territory is only two-thirds of what it used to be."
"The remaining third includes islands at the junction with the other two forces that have been destroyed."
"Not to mention much of Knock's underground industry chain—shipping, weapons, etc."
"Has been divided up among the new-generation pirates."
"It's become a buffer zone between the three powers."
"The tripartite balance of the New World has been broken."
"The new-generation pirates took the chance to band together and seize the center."
"The chaos won't end anytime soon."
"A perfect result."
Sakazuki raised a hand to stop Bullet:
"Not bad. Keep building up your Haki."
Then he turned to Karol:
"Chaos is good."
"Chaotic pirates are easier to control."
"There won't be any major problems for now."
"All eyes in the world are currently on Roger."
"The goal of the Roger Pirates is already very clear."
"The legendary final island."
"By the way—"
"What's the situation with Dragon now?"
Karol replied:
"According to the Headquarters' reports, Rear Admiral Dragon is currently on leave."
Sakazuki let out a soft chuckle. On leave...
"What about the scholars?"
Karol answered:
"Most of the scholars have escaped."
"Most likely with Rear Admiral Dragon's help."
"If we had captured them all at once on Jaya Island last time—"
"It'd be much harder to catch them now."
"Many people who were inspired have helped hide them, even resisting us."
"There have already been Navy casualties."
After a few seconds of silence, Sakazuki took a deep breath:
"Keep monitoring them."
"Prepare some single-page old-looking papers."
"Find an opportunity for them to discover them."
"Have Enel record and mark their magnetic fields."
"Sometimes Observation Haki might not work."
"But magnetic fields are blindingly clear to his eyes."
In the original, Enel used electromagnetic fields to monitor the entire Sky Island.
Now, having learned from Vegapunk, he's only gotten stronger.
Sakazuki thought for a moment and added:
"If you run into Dragon, be careful."
"Don't get exposed."
"Tell Enel—"
"Never remove the clothes that block Observation Haki."
Karol nodded:
"Anything else?"
Sakazuki said:
"In the new batch of wanted posters—"
"If there's any pirate with a 'D' in their name, make sure to notify me."
"Alright, go."
Karol said:
"Yes."
...
The Grand Line, Drum Kingdom, Snow Island.
Snow Island is located at the edge of the Drum Kingdom's sea territory. The island is sparsely populated and is one of the islands under the Drum Kingdom's rule.
Amidst the swirling snow and giant mushrooms—
A sturdy child hid in a corner, staring at the faint light in the sky.
His thoughts drifted somewhere far away.
He thought of that terrifying laboratory...
He thought of that monstrous maw that devoured him and his two sisters...
He thought of that madman, laughing maniacally...
A surge of hatred exploded in his chest as he smashed the ground hard.
He took a few deep breaths and slowly calmed down. The revenge was already taken...
He recalled the madman's final words before death.
Looking at his own hands, if that lunatic hadn't lied...
He could possess more than one Devil Fruit.
And the price of such a god-defying ability was the two sisters who had already fused with his body...
But... he couldn't take the risk.
He had to find that fruit first...
He reached out and pulled over a nearby newspaper. The front page was an article on Knock.
It was an issue from several years ago.
In the young Marshall D. Teach's calculations, only this dark underworld giant in the New World—
Might hold the opportunity to obtain that fruit.
That fruit which was listed in the encyclopedia as the most ferocious...
"I have to go to sea!!!"
If he truly could gain multiple Devil Fruit powers...
Then the Munch-Munch Fruit once held by that now-dead mad scientist had to be located and controlled...
...
Several months later.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
In the Fleet Admiral's office, Kong was reviewing documents while puffing on a cigar.
Just then, Garp burst in, munching on a donut:
"Hahahahaha! Fleet Admiral, I'm taking another vacation!"
Kong's face darkened as he was reviewing documents.
The tip of his steel pen snapped under his uncontrollable strength.
Snap!
He slammed the pen onto the desk:
"You bastard!!!"
"How many times is this just this year!!!"
"Garp!!!"
"Do you even want to keep working!!!"
Garp scratched his head:
"Hahahahaha, well, there's still Sengoku and Sakazuki and the others."
"This time it's mainly about my son."
"I haven't been able to contact Dragon in a long time, so I'm going to look for him."
Kong snorted:
"Speaking of which, what's really going on?"
"Dragon's behavior seems off—he's been disappearing off and on for months now."
"And you, as his father, don't have a single clue?"
Garp replied:
"I just found out myself."
"This is really unacceptable."
"Don't worry, once I find him I'll give that kid a proper lesson."
"Alright then, it's settled!"
"I'm officially on vacation now!"
"Hahahahaha!!!"
He said that and immediately pushed the door open.
Bang!
The sound of the door slamming shut echoed.
Fleet Admiral Kong looked at the whirlwind that was Garp, shaking his head. So exhausting...
He opened a drawer, pulled out a new steel pen, and continued working...
...
North Blue, a kingdom at the edge of the world.
There were no Marines here, no pirates, no government control.
Everyone on the island smiled, talked, and everything seemed so peaceful and serene.
But the moment Dragon set foot on the island, his heart trembled...
The price of this peaceful serenity...
Was that almost no one here had a complete body...
---
(For each review +1 additional chapter)
read +100 chapters on Patreon tambeerg