In the New World, on Whole Cake Island, the home base of the Big Mom Pirates, Katakuri sat in his room, meticulously reading a newspaper. The headline was shocking: "Marine's Feat! The Pirate King, Roger, Captured!"
At first, Katakuri didn't believe it. But as he read on, he was stunned. Roger had truly been captured. And the one who did it was the same Marine who had fought him one-on-one and defeated him at Long Ring Long Land two years ago. Of course, that former Rear Admiral was now a Vice Admiral.
"The Bane of Evil, Rodriguez Diarmuid…" Katakuri murmured softly. It seemed that Diarmuid was the only one who hated the name. Katakuri saw nothing wrong with it. In fact, he could sense the Marines' intentions behind the title—they wanted to make Diarmuid a new symbol, perhaps the successor to the "Marine Hero" title held by Garp.
"In just two years, he's grown this powerful? Powerful enough to capture Roger…" Katakuri's fingers tightened on the newspaper, and his eyes filled with a fierce fighting spirit.
For the past two years, he had barely left Whole Cake Island. His defeat had been a wake-up call, and he had come to terms with his own shortcomings. Since then, he had trained day and night, all for the sake of getting his revenge when he met Diarmuid again. But it was clear that he wasn't the only one who had been improving.
"But this is good. It's better this way. It makes you all the more worth defeating, Diarmuid…" Katakuri said softly, his monstrous grin spreading across his face.
The big news naturally caught the attention of Charlotte Linlin, and she was not displeased. Although Roger was widely recognized as the Pirate King, many people, including Charlotte Linlin, never truly accepted it.
Now that Roger had been captured, she couldn't help but feel a sense of schadenfreude, even though she knew it would only make the Marines more arrogant. This event was bound to cause a huge stir on the seas, and she knew she had to seize the opportunity to expand the influence of Totto Land.
....
On the Moby Dick, the flagship of the world's strongest man, Newgate, he too was reading the fresh newspaper.
"Diarmuid…" he whispered. He had no idea who this name belonged to and was baffled that a Marine he'd never heard of had managed to capture Roger. But he quickly settled down, knowing that Roger had been terminally ill and might have surrendered by choice. He knew there might be some kind of trick at play.
However, the title "The Bane of Evil" caught his attention. He remembered how, at God Valley, Garp and Roger were not yet the famous figures they were now. But those two bastards had single-handedly broken up the Rocks Pirates. After that, Garp was hailed as a "Marine Hero" and held up as a symbol by the Marines.
Now the Marines had come up with a new title, "The Bane of Evil"? This made Newgate suspicious. He wondered if the Marines were doing the same thing they did with Garp back then—cultivating a new hero.
If his suspicions were correct, it meant that this unknown Diarmuid was a highly-regarded individual within the Marines. They must have believed he had the qualifications and the ability to take over Garp's mantle.
As a longtime rival of the Marines, Newgate never thought the Marines were fools, and he certainly never thought Sengoku or Kong were fools. This kind of symbol-building would certainly have the involvement of the Admirals and the Fleet Admiral.
If his theory was correct, it meant Diarmuid was a person recognized by Sengoku, Kong, and even Garp and the other high-ranking Marines. When he thought about it that way, Diarmuid was not someone to be taken lightly. He might even be stronger than the new generation of Marine monsters, Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino!
"Interesting. The Marines kept such a talent under wraps so well. He's already a Vice Admiral, yet his name hasn't been spread across the seas?" Newgate grinned, speaking to himself.
Just then, Marco, who was standing nearby, seemed to remember something. "Pops, if I'm not mistaken, Charlotte Katakuri from the Big Mom Pirates was defeated by this Rodriguez Diarmuid a little over two years ago…"
"Katakuri?" Newgate frowned slightly. To a powerhouse like him, Katakuri and the others were nothing but youngsters. Their mother, Charlotte Linlin, was a different story. But to Marco, Katakuri was someone he aspired to surpass.
That man was once undefeated and known as the perfect man of the Charlotte family, but two years ago, he was beaten by a Marine. That Marine was Diarmuid. That's why Marco remembered him.
"Gurarararara! Then it seems my thoughts were on the right track," Newgate roared with laughter. "I really want to meet this Diarmuid. I want to see what makes him so special that the Marines believe he can take over Garp's position."
After his booming laughter, Newgate stood up from the sofa on the deck and walked to the bow, looking out at the sky of the New World.
"Roger, what are you doing? I received news of your capture, but I have a feeling that these seas are about to go insane…" he murmured. After a long pause, he laughed heartily again. "Gurarararara! After twenty years, is the tide of a new era about to come rushing in?"
Marco stood behind Newgate and asked curiously, "Pops, what do you mean?"
"Nothing. Just watch this ocean. And feel it. The sea will give everyone their answers," Newgate said with a smile, waving his hand.
....
In the New World, at Merveille, the base of the flying pirate, "Golden Lion Shiki," Shiki had just finished inspecting Dr. Indigo's experiments and was in a very good mood.
His grand plan had officially begun. Merveille was a peculiar island with a special herb called "IQ," which could stimulate a creature's brain to evolve. Over the years, the island's animals had evolved to become incredibly vicious. Shiki was taking advantage of this herb's power to create an army of beasts to conquer the world.
Simply put, Shiki's plan was a parallel to the Ancient Weapon Poseidon. He couldn't find an ancient weapon and Roger wouldn't join him, but Shiki was a very ambitious man.
Fine, you won't join me? I can't find them? he thought. I'll just make my own!
Shiki's plan could absolutely be called a new-age "man-made ancient weapon." While Poseidon could control sea kings, Shiki's plan was to create an army of ferocious beasts using a special herb. He would then just drop a few on whoever he didn't like.
From this, you could see his cunning and ambition. He never gave up. Even if no one was willing to cooperate with him, he didn't care.
If you all won't join, I'll do it by myself!
His ambition was so grand that he was immediately aiming to create a new "weapon" that was no less powerful than an ancient one.
Could any ordinary person even dare to think that way? Even if they could, would they dare to do it? Probably not, but Shiki could, and he had the motivation to see it through.
"Indigo, hurry up with the research! You need money? I'll give you money! You need people? I'll go steal them for you," Shiki said as he walked with Indigo. He paused and looked down at Indigo's farting shoes. He was annoyed. "Can't you get rid of those goddamn shoes?!"
Indigo acted as if he didn't hear him. Their relationship was very close, so he knew Shiki wouldn't be truly angry about his farting shoes.
"If we're going to steal people, there's a very powerful group in the scientific community. The leader is a man named Vegapunk. He has a great talent for science and comes from the Future Country. If we can get him, this plan could be achieved very quickly," Indigo said.
At this time, Vegapunk had not yet been taken by the Marines. He was still with a group of struggling scientists, conducting research on lineage factors. The group also included Vinsmoke Judge, who was also dabbling in the same area.
"Vegapunk?" Shiki frowned. He wasn't familiar with the name. He only cared about strength, and Vegapunk wasn't on his radar.
"Yes. They say he has a brain that's 500 years ahead of humanity. He's a very talented man," Indigo added.
"Good. Then find him and capture him!" Shiki said with a nod.
Just then, a pirate subordinate rushed over with a newspaper. "Admiral! There's big news! Roger… The Pirate King, Roger, has been captured by the Marines!"
Shiki's face changed dramatically. He snatched the newspaper and read the news of Roger's capture. "How could this be… How could this be… That guy… That bastard who even defeated me, how could he be captured by the weak-willed Marines?!" Shiki said, looking absolutely incredulous.
Indigo saw Shiki's eyes turn bloodshot, and a vein throb on his forehead. He knew that the Admiral was about to go crazy. Indigo took a step back. Sure enough, in the next second, Shiki pulled out the gun from his waist and shot the subordinate in the chest. Blood splattered everywhere.
At the same time, Shiki roared madly. "You all know how powerful Roger is, don't you?! How could a man like that be captured by the worthless Marines?!"
"Admiral, you need to calm down!" some of his officers pleaded. It was strange. Their Admiral was a fine man in every way—he was strong, intelligent, ambitious, and motivated. A true hero. But he went insane whenever Roger was involved.
"Rodriguez Diarmuid… It was that kid! I should have killed him in the North Blue!" Shiki said, his eyes filled with killing intent. He clenched his fist, madness in his eyes, and turned toward the door.
"Admiral, where are you going?"
Shiki didn't reply. He walked out the door and looked up at the clouds. "Even if he has to die, he should die by my hands, not the Marines'!" he said viciously. As soon as he finished, Shiki's body floated up into the air, disappearing into the clouds and away from Merveille!
The Golden Lion, Shiki, was on the move!
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