On this day, Fish-Man Island faced the brink of destruction at the hands of its own kind, the Fish-Men, and was saved by the hands of human pirates.
The New Fish-Man Pirates, led by the great white shark Fish-Man Hody Jones.
Like Arlong before them, they looked down on humans as an inferior species, proclaiming their ambition for Fish-Men to stand at the pinnacle of the entire world. They incited an upheaval that could only be called a coup, attempting to depose King Neptune of Ryugu Kingdom and seize control of Fish-Man Island.
But the Straw Hat Pirates arrived on the scene and, together with the great figure of Fish-Man Island and former comrade-in-arms from the Summit War, Knight of the Sea Jinbe, shattered that ambition. The damage was considerable in many respects, but the greatest crisis in Fish-Man Island's history was safely resolved, and peaceful daily life returned.
Afterward, a grand celebratory feast was held. The finest cuisine and drink were served alongside beautiful mermaids performing their dances. Luffy and the others enjoyed the celebration to the fullest, not as "heroes" but as "pirates."
Some time later, Luffy and the others had gathered a short distance away, chatting casually, taking a post-meal breather after eating and drinking their fill.
Starting with idle small talk, the conversation eventually turned to catching up on each other's recent circumstances, Jinbe included, during all the time they hadn't seen one another.
"Huh!? So Jinbe, you're one of Big Mom's people now?"
"'People' isn't quite the word, nay... We're merely one of the pirate crews under her command. As part of the arrangement for her lending her flag to protect Fish-Man Island, my Sun Pirates have entered her fold."
"I'd heard you also offer up massive amounts of sweets every month, but... so it wasn't just that."
"Ahh, that stuff they had at the feast too! Man, that was delicious! Blew me away! It was every bit as good as meat!"
"Yeah, yeah, it was so good!"
"Hahaha, if Luffy's saying that, it really must've been something."
'...If those sweets were the "tribute"... we all ate them, but is that going to be okay? I think I heard the candy factory was damaged in all this too.'
The thought suddenly crossed Robin's mind, but perhaps deciding it would be a shame to pour cold water on such a pleasant moment, she said nothing. Part of it was the judgment that bringing it up now wouldn't change anything.
"Wait, but Fish-Man Island was originally Whitebeard Pirates' Territory, right? Didn't you think about borrowing the flag of the current Second Generation Whitebeard Pirates? Luffy's big bro... Ace. You knew him too, right, Boss Jinbe? Seems like he'd have been happy to lend it..."
Usopp said it as if the thought had just occurred to him. Hearing this, Jinbe replied:
"Of course I considered it... but I decided against it. It's by no means that I don't trust Ace and his people, but... when considered purely from the standpoint of the primary objective, 'protecting Fish-Man Island.'"
"A matter of name recognition?"
Jinbe gave a firm nod at Robin's observation.
"I say this knowing it may cause offense, but... with Old Man Whitebeard dead and the crew now operating as the 'Second Generation,' they are looked down upon by the world. At the very least, more so than when Pops was still alive. I say again, I fully understand the strength and nobility of Ace and his people, but... when it came to using that 'name' to protect an island, a stronger 'name' was needed."
"So that's why you turned to Big Mom, a fellow member of the Four Emperors."
"Aye. Beast is not the sort ye can reason with... Red Hair was also an option, but Big Mom had the greater depth of pirate organization under her. I chose the one that gave the stronger impression of being 'untouchable.' Another option, incidentally, was the Golden Lion."
"Golden Lion... you mean Sue's crew?"
"Yeah... Nowadays, she herself is a Shichibukai, and the Golden Lion Pirates are said to have grown to Quasi-Four Emperors scale. On top of that, the one behind the scenes at the top is a Great Pirate who's been around since Gold Roger's era... The name recognition is beyond reproach. Was there a reason ye didn't go with them?"
"Aye. Right after the Summit War... meaning right after Fish-Man Island lost the protection of Pops' flag, the Golden Lion Pirates were in the middle of a 'generational transition' and reorganizing their entire structure. They had buzz, but they hadn't yet established the standing they have now, as a force that's both powerful and popular with the public. What Fish-Man Island needed above all else was 'power' with immediate effect... and that's why I settled on Big Mom."
"Makes sense... No point in the bug spray if you get eaten alive by mosquitoes before it kicks in."
"But if it were today, borrowing the Golden Lion's flag would've been a real option, wouldn't it? Like Franky just said, they've risen to the point of being called Quasi-Four Emperors."
"Perhaps so. But what's done is done. It's not as though I could say, 'I've found a replacement, so I no longer need your flag.'"
After that, the exchange of information, more like casual conversation, continued.
At one point, Jinbe was visibly exasperated with Luffy, who despite being the Captain was not just woefully uninformed but showed no interest whatsoever, not even bothering to listen.
Still, even someone like Luffy found certain topics interesting.
"Huh!? So Aokiji became the new 'limit'!?"
"'Fleet Admiral.' Fleet Admiral."
"It means the highest-ranking person in the Marines. In other words, that guy got promoted even higher than when he fought us."
"Huh."
"...Seriously, you really didn't know about this?"
"Good grief... Rayleigh did something cruel. There was no need to isolate the boy that thoroughly from current events."
After the Summit War, the then-active Fleet Admiral Sengoku announced his retirement. Succeeding him, Admiral Aokiji, Kuzan, assumed the position of New Fleet Admiral.
There were countless other Marine personnel changes both large and small over these two years, but among them, one event shocked the world on the same level as Kuzan's appointment as Fleet Admiral.
The departure of Admiral Akainu, Sakazuki.
Luffy had never fought Sakazuki directly. Given that he couldn't use Haki back then, even if they had faced each other, it wouldn't have been much of a fight. But Luffy had seen the man at the Summit War. From that overwhelming presence alone, he understood that, like Aokiji and Kizaru, Sakazuki was an opponent the old him could never have beaten.
"Akainu... that guy quit the Marines!?"
"Aye. But he hasn't abandoned the 'Justice' he upholds... He sought greater 'power' and a greater position for his 'Justice,' and 'transferred.'"
At the Summit War, Sakazuki was defeated and brought down by Ace and Sue. On top of severe injuries, Magellan's deadly poison that Sue had driven into him spread throughout his entire body. Detoxification was impossible. He hovered between life and death for weeks on end before ultimately, through his extraordinary vitality, miraculously pulling through.
The price was steep.
Beyond a body weakened by weeks bedridden, the lethal poison, though ultimately overcome, had carved deep aftereffects like claw marks through every part of him.
His muscular strength declined. His stamina and explosive power deteriorated. His body refused to move as he willed it. Right after being discharged, even his leather shoes felt heavy.
His internal organs must have weakened too. His breathing grew shallow and feeble; even mildly strenuous activity left him gasping. The amount he could eat dwindled.
Even his eyesight and hearing had been eroded. To Sakazuki's eyes, everything in the world now looked utterly different from what it had been before the Summit War.
Naturally, Sakazuki himself would not accept this.
He consulted the finest physicians, underwent treatment, took powerful medications, and threw himself into rehabilitation and training for his return with the desperation of a man fighting for his life.
But he never fully recovered.
The irreversible damage etched into his organs, bones, muscles, and nerves would not permit Sakazuki to reclaim his former strength.
The formidable powers of the Magma-Magma Fruit remained intact, but in everything else, in his raw physical ability, he no longer possessed the strength to continue serving as a Marine Admiral, as the supreme fighting force of Justice.
Having come to that realization, Sakazuki resigned from the rank of Admiral of his own accord.
What came next was the real issue.
The Government, which had valued Sakazuki's stance of "thorough Justice" and would have nominated him as the next Fleet Admiral had it not been for his injuries, reached out to the now-resigned Admiral and welcomed him in.
Sakazuki, too, sought a kind of "power" he had never possessed before. One that could be wielded in a different form than what he had wielded until now, and wielded more powerfully at that. He took that offered hand.
"So he quit being a Marine and became a World Government official..."
"Like CP9?"
"Their overseer. He currently holds a position commanding all intelligence agencies and all investigative agencies directly under the Government. The Special High-Level Investigation Agency, commonly known as the Tokko, encompassing all Cipher Pol branches, directly under the Government. Its Director-General. That is what Sakazuki is now."
The Special High-Level Investigation Agency directly under the World Government, commonly known as the Tokko. An organization newly established through internal Government restructuring during these two years. To put it simply, it was a group that wielded the authority and military force of Justice more ruthlessly, more mercilessly than even the Marines, in both the light and the shadows.
During the reorganization, all Cipher Pol branches except "0" were incorporated into this body, becoming its Intelligence Division.
As its Director-General, having obtained a Symbol in some ways even greater than the one he held in the Marines, Sakazuki was swinging the blade of Justice more radically, more mercilessly, more "thoroughly" than ever, Jinbe explained.
The Government's dark side had always carried out "Justice" by readily performing acts that could never be spoken of openly, unhesitatingly taking lives under the banner of "Justice."
Since Sakazuki's appointment, such interventions, crackdowns, and judgments across all fronts had become even more ruthless and merciless. Pirates and revolutionary forces were being annihilated without a shred of hesitation, regardless of the cost.
And naturally, those "costs" were by no means limited to soldiers and Intelligence Agents; civilians were far from uncommon among them.
In addition to executing dark justice from the shadows, just as the Cipher Pol branches had done before, that power was wielded unhesitatingly even in the sunlit, public domain.
As if giving physical form to Sakazuki's "thorough Justice."
That mercilessness, those methods that chose no means, extended not only to the visible realm but deep into the Underworld as well. Operatives planted by Sakazuki lurked within countless nations, regions, and organizations, and the moment anyone, even slightly, defied the Government's will or acted against "Justice," those Fangs would bare themselves.
No matter where you were. No matter who you were or what position you held. You had to live in fear of it.
"The Marines led by Fleet Admiral Kuzan... the Government's hounds with Sakazuki holding the reins... Over two years, the Government has built an even greater Army of Justice. Its power is enough to make even the pirates surviving the increasingly turbulent New World tremble... If you're about to enter the New World, this is by no means someone else's problem for ye...!"
Jinbe spoke in a heavy, almost threatening tone.
Nami, Usopp, and Chopper instinctively recoiled, but in contrast, there were also those in this Crew who took it as a challenge and felt their fighting spirit rise.
In particular, their Captain Luffy and Zoro, the most combative personality in the Crew, clearly couldn't contain themselves. Grins that practically screamed "bring it on" spread across their faces.
"I'm gonna be the Pirate King. I can't go getting scared of stuff like that. Four Emperors, Marine Admirals... I gotta be strong enough to blast through every last one of 'em!"
Luffy flashed a wide grin as he said it, and his words held not a single lie, not the faintest trace of bravado. He was speaking from the very depths of his heart.
Of course, the Crew, who knew for better or worse that Luffy was simply that kind of person, understood this just as well.
...And yet, even Luffy, even his crewmates, surely could not have predicted it.
That the chance to cross paths with one of those Four Emperors was not some distant someday but right around the corner. And that Luffy would end up picking a spectacular fight.
That it wouldn't stop at a mere clash of words, but would lead to a collision with, if not one of the Four Emperors personally, then at least one of their subordinates.
* * *
Ryugu Kingdom, Royal Castle.
A certain corner of the grounds.
"Big Mom's envoys at the factory!? Of all times... they had to come now..."
"We have no sweets to deliver this month... Hody's Crew ransacked the place, damaging our stock, and the equipment is broken as well... The sweets that survived, everyone wanted the Straw Hat Pirates to have them, so they were all put out at the feast..."
Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
The Left Minister, a catfish merman, broke into a cold sweat at the "dire news" one of the soldiers had brought.
The great incident of the New Fish-Man Pirates' uprising had just been resolved moments ago, the celebratory feast was underway, and yet another crisis that could spell the kingdom's destruction had come knocking.
And considering who they were dealing with, this situation was arguably even worse than the one they had just survived.
"I understand everyone's feelings, I truly do, but... this is troublesome. Whether any excuse will suffice... I'll try to negotiate, but... who came?"
"...W-Well, the thing is..."
The Left Minister asked the soldier, hoping it would be someone amenable to reason. But the soldier who was asked merely moved his mouth awkwardly, looking as though the words wouldn't come. He wouldn't speak for the longest time.
Growing even more anxious at the soldier's demeanor, the Left Minister waited until, after a moment, the soldier finally opened his mouth.
"The visitors are Baron Tamago and Pekoms-dono... and one more person..."
"...One of the Four Sweet Commanders, Charlotte Parfait-dono...!"
To be continued...