On this day the New World was in a frenzy.
Everyone was not only talking about Link and the Impaler Pirates, but was filled with curiosity and fear toward Link's strength.
At the same time, quite a few fellows awakened to Conqueror's Haki—after a bout of fear, they quickly reacted and began burning, killing, and looting across Red-Hair's territory, just like after Whitebeard's death.
Unlike the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates, the Red-Haired Pirates had fewer affiliates, and their iron-wall main force had been taken out by Link, so those slices of cake became ownerless, with no stubborn remnants to resist.
For a moment, the New World was drenched in blood once again.
Meanwhile, many sailing at sea, or on certain islands, all looked up to witness a spectacle in the sky.
Because of it, quite a few people were startled, fear filling their eyes.
But soon, that fear was replaced by curiosity and awe.
In the azure sky, three mythical beasts were soaring at high speed.
The three were a white pegasus, a pink giant dragon, and a golden nine-tailed fox.
Compared to the pink dragon and the golden nine-tailed fox, the white pegasus was merely ordinary in size, yet when people looked at the three, almost all eyes fixed on the pegasus.
Strictly speaking, on the figure upon its back.
The figure sitting the saddle, reins in hand, was the very focal point of the world's talk, the protagonist shaking the globe—recognized by all as the strongest man in history even without reaching the Final Island… Link the Impaler.
Link the Impaler first made his name in the weakest sea, the East Blue, so people assumed he too hailed from the East Blue.
His way of rising was exceedingly brutal: regardless of an enemy's age or gender, as long as they were pirates or foes, they were skewered on giant wooden spikes; as a mercenary, he helped over a dozen kingdoms win wars and was granted ducal titles by several of them—thus the name "the Impaler."
Who would have thought that a mercenary from the weakest sea would, in just two and a half years, become the strongest being in history.
When he first became famous, Link was very active; his savage methods made the world think he hated pirates to the bone.
But as his status shifted from mercenary and bounty hunter, to Warlord, and then to Emperor, people let go of that idea.
Link was not driven by hatred of pirates, and his code of action was the same—uproot the grass.
The cases of the Wang Zhi Pirates, the Golden Lion and the Beasts Pirates, and now the Red-Haired Pirates, confirmed this all the more.
Thus, once the Impaler Pirates became the world's strongest crew, they faced far fewer challenges than the Whitebeard Pirates.
Everyone knew that if you lost to Whitebeard's crew there were two options: one, gain Whitebeard's recognition and become an allied crew.
If you were excellent enough, you could even dissolve your own crew and merge into the Whitebeard Pirates as an independent division.
Even in defeat, Whitebeard's crew wouldn't kill you; at worst they'd lop off an arm, or take all your treasure.
But if you offended the Impaler Pirates, you'd better pray they had the Paramecia Ope Ope no Mi at hand, so you could offer your heart to buy your life.
If no Ope Ope no Mi user was nearby, you absolutely could not escape death.
The price of a failed challenge—death—frightened countless cowards.
On top of that, the Impaler Pirates' base was on Amazon Lily; since entering the New World, Amazon Lily had changed seas three times.
First an unknown sea area, then a central region ringed by archipelagos, and finally they replaced Onigashima of the Beasts Pirates, beside the closed country Wano.
Such geography blocked innumerable challengers.
If you struck at the archipelagos, that wasn't a challenge—it was provocation.
Straw Hat, along with the collateral damage to Fire Fist Ace, the Revolutionary Army's top two, and the Red-Haired Pirates, were the best examples.
Since becoming an Emperor, Link not only overturned what people thought they knew of him, but his mystique soared.
Aside from the pirates of Hachinosu, almost no one had seen Link's figure; even in the World Economy News Paper there were only long shots and back views.
Yet every time Link was on the front page, he shook the world's headlines.
Now, Link had appeared after a long absence—not riding the pink dragon, nor the golden nine-tailed fox, but the white pegasus, with the dragon and the nine-tailed fox in his wake.
It was a lineup the world had never seen.
Those who reacted quickly rushed to capture the scene and sell it to the World Economy News Paper.
The smarter ones smelled a coming storm.
With an unprecedented lineup like that, it was impossible he was merely out for a stroll.
Clearly, Link and the Impaler Pirates were about to make a big move again.
Soon, the news spread to every corner of the New World.
At once, the New World that had just erupted into bloodshed fell into silence.
No one dared make big moves, for fear of running into Link's muzzle and suffering disaster from nowhere.
Such was Link's deterrence now.
He killed three Emperors, defeated one, and suppressed another—forcing the rule-breaker to be an eternal runner-up—the strongest résumé in history.
While all were curious and guessing at Link's purpose this time,
before long, the whole world knew the truth.
No—strictly speaking, not the whole world.
Every household, village, town, city, and island that owned a visual transponder snail learned it!
Just as everyone focused on Link's movements, the three beasts unknowingly left the New World and reached the top of the Red Line.
The visual transponder snails that Karina and the others had gone to seize from Egghead slowly activated, connecting to the world's network.
In an instant, screens everywhere flickered with snow, and then a face appeared out of thin air.
The shot pulled back slightly, and the figure riding a pegasus crackling with blue-white lightning entered the eyes of the world.
To every person, from the old to the young, this face was no stranger.
His bounty poster had long been plastered anywhere people lived.
That figure was the strongest man in history… Link.
In the picture, Link rode the white pegasus, one hand on the reins, the other waving toward the visual transponder snails, smiling as he greeted the world: "Hello, everyone. I am the King of the World!"