On the beach, a sentry peeked out from a hidden corner.
He saw the warship motionless on the sea, with faint silhouettes of soldiers running around on deck.
Turning to the nearby captain, he said:
"Boss, that warship has stopped on the sea."
"Did they discover something?"
The captain of the Brady Pirates frowned deeply:
"Impossible. That Iron Bird guy just escaped back here."
"And we've been lying in ambush here since this morning. How could we be exposed?"
"Keep waiting."
The sentry continued to keep watch.
"Yes!"
...
On the other side.
The bandaged captain of the Iron Bird Pirates was hiding behind a house.
Several captains from other pirate crews mocked him:
"Hahahaha!"
"What happened to you, Iron Bird?"
"Weren't you all mighty yesterday? Now you're down to one ship out of three."
"You'd better have the reward ready for this job."
"That warship is ours."
The Iron Bird captain's expression darkened:
"No problem."
"As long as we take out these Marines, you won't be short on treasure."
He despised this bunch, but times had changed. Yesterday they were riding high with pride.
Then, halfway through their voyage, they ran into Doberman's warship, got smashed to pieces, fled back here, and had to beg the very people they usually looked down on for help...
The enemy loomed ahead. On the surface, things seemed fine, but both sides were already plotting how to deal with each other afterward...
Suddenly, one of his men shouted:
"Boss! Looks like they're firing!"
Iron Bird frowned. Firing? Then why was there no sound?
He leaned out to look. A smoking object traced an arc through the sky and landed not far ahead on the beach.
The missile on the sand flashed with lightning for a moment...
BOOM——!!!!!!
Electricity swept through the area, followed by a mushroom cloud rising dozens of meters high.
The entire island trembled...
...
On the warship.
In Doberman's Observation Haki, the presence of all life suddenly vanished.
He lowered his telescope and spoke coldly:
"Land the troops."
...
The New World.
Within the territory of one of the Three Emperors, Knock, at the port.
The Red-Haired Pirates had just finished resupplying.
From the watchtower, Yasopp shouted down:
"Hey——"
"Captain——"
"That crazy woman's chasing us again!!!"
Shanks looked like he'd lost the will to live:
"So fast already?!"
"Didn't we shake her off?"
Beckman chuckled beside him:
"Well, we did rest here on this island for a few days."
Shanks sighed, then lifted his head with a bright grin:
"Ya-llo, boys!"
"Run for it!!!"
...
In the distance...
Ships flying the BIG MOM Pirates' flag were speeding toward them...
Before long, with Charlotte Linlin's arrival,
Knock couldn't sit back and got involved in the fight.
The three-way battle finally ended with Charlotte Linlin retreating under the combined assault of the other two.
After the battle...
The Steam Pirates and the Red-Haired Pirates formed an alliance.
The calls for a new Emperor to rise in the New World grew louder and louder...
...
Elsewhere.
The leader of the Revolutionary Army, Dragon, only realized after Sabo's reminder how high his own reputation had grown.
Under his prestige and orders, the Revolutionary Army actually halted its expansion and began a detailed, unified regional deployment.
With a slight sigh of relief, Dragon then launched into major reforms.
No longer divided simply into the four armies of East, West, South, and North, plus the Grand Line's Fifth Army.
Instead, the territories were now divided into dozens of zones, unified by central locations.
Each zone was commanded by one Revolutionary Army leader.
And all those leaders were directly under the Supreme Commander, Dragon himself.
This not only suppressed the disorderly local bases but also centralized authority.
While secretly identifying and weeding out disloyal bases, they also prepared for war, concealing all signs of unrest.
No one knew that while Dragon prepared to strike outward...
He was also getting ready to cut inward...
...
Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
Inside the white palace.
The tall, thin Elder read the secret reports on the Revolutionary Army's massive reorganization:
"What the hell is going on?"
"What is Sengoku doing? With things like this, he still hasn't made a move?"
Because of the Revolutionary Army's drastic restructuring—reassigning commanders and bases across all regions—
Most of their previously collected intelligence was now useless, no wonder they were furious...
The sword-bearing Elder snorted coldly:
"Useless mutts."
"Still clinging to that ridiculous bottom line, are they?"
"Have Kong go talk to him."
"Drag this out any longer, and all this intel will turn to scrap paper."
...
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Without any announcement, Kong returned here. Some soldiers at the port recognized him.
They wanted to salute, but seeing the stern look on his face, none dared approach.
Before anyone could inform Sengoku, Kong was already using Geppo to soar toward the Fleet Admiral's office atop the fortress.
Clatter——
The wooden door slid open.
Sengoku looked up in puzzlement. The moment he saw who it was, he immediately stood:
"Commander-in-Chief Kong, why are you here?"
Kong frowned at him, shut the door, and sat on the sofa:
"What the hell is going on, Sengoku?"
"Such massive moves by the Revolutionary Army, and you haven't done a thing?"
Sengoku looked helpless:
"Weren't the government's orders to strictly monitor them?"
"So..."
Kong snorted coldly:
"You think I'm an idiot?"
"I want the truth."
"You're telling me the mighty Fleet Admiral won't act without government orders?"
His sharp stare bore into Sengoku. Sengoku realized Kong was truly angry... He sighed.
After releasing his Observation Haki, Sengoku gave a bitter smile:
"The leader of the Revolutionary Army is Dragon..."
Kong's frown deepened:
"Dragon? Of course I know Dragon leads the Revolutionary Army."
Sengoku forced a smile:
"Garp..."
Kong froze:
"Garp... Dragon... Garp..."
His eyes widened suddenly:
"You mean!!!!"
Sengoku nodded:
"Exactly..."
Kong's face turned red with fury...
"Dragon... I should've guessed... Where's that bastard Garp!!!"
Sengoku said helplessly:
"He's already run off..."
With nowhere else to vent his anger, Commander-in-Chief Kong turned it on Sengoku:
"Forget Dragon for now."
"Order an attack on the Revolutionary Army."
"The Elders are already furious. If we delay any longer, all the intel the government worked so hard to gather will be useless."
Sengoku hesitated, closing his eyes:
"Commander-in-Chief... those people aren't pirates."
Kong froze, then after a long pause said:
"This is the government's order..."
Sengoku looked at Commander-in-Chief Kong, staying silent for a long time... then nodded slowly...
Inside, his disappointment with the government deepened completely...
...
Time flew...
Under strange and separate developments, the balance between the three powers finally shattered.
The Marines abandoned their pursuit of pirates across the Four Seas. For a long time, under Sengoku's orders, they struck exclusively at confirmed Revolutionary Army bases.
After suffering in silence, the Revolutionary Army built up strength under Dragon's orders, and not long after, at the World Meeting, they directly ignited a global revolution.
The conflict between the two sides erupted suddenly... sweeping across the entire world.
The pirates didn't stay idle either. In the New World, the Red-Haired Pirates' captain, Shanks, with his one-armed body, rose as the fourth Emperor and claimed the title of the World's Greatest Swordsman...
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The fanfic is Finished on p@treon/tambeerg. 414 chapters in total