Katakuri's position within the Big Mom Pirates was equivalent to King's within the Beasts Pirates, and to Renji's current position within the Whitebeard Pirates.
The highest-ranking figure beneath the captain.
Even Big Mom listened carefully whenever Katakuri spoke.
"Oh?"
Big Mom looked at Katakuri, confusion flashing in her eyes.
Katakuri was her most perfect child.
The son she was most proud of.
Yet now, he was displaying a mixture of seriousness and uncertainty.
And she knew it wasn't simply because Renji was stronger than him.
"Katakuri, tell me your thoughts."
"My thoughts..."
Katakuri muttered.
His eyes remained fixed on Renji.
"If I had to make a decision..."
"Then I would say we should either move away from the New World..."
"Or improve our relationship with the Whitebeard Pirates."
"If absolutely necessary..."
"Even accepting Renji's proposal and joining the Whitebeard Pirates isn't completely out of the question."
"Huh?!"
"W-What?!"
Katakuri's words stunned everyone aboard Big Mom's ship.
Was this really their dependable, invincible older brother?
Why did he suddenly sound so cautious?
"Hey, Mihawk."
Aboard the Red Hair Pirates' ship, Shanks turned toward Mihawk.
"It's over now."
"The balance of the New World is definitely going to change."
"Does your island need more people?"
"I can bring all my brothers over and join you."
Mihawk glanced at Shanks.
His expression screamed utter speechlessness.
For once, however, he didn't reject the suggestion outright.
"I could use some farmers."
"If you're coming, bring your own tools."
The war between the Beasts Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates had finally ended.
The result.
A victory for Whitebeard.
Taking advantage of that victory, Whitebeard seized more than ten islands that had previously belonged to the Beasts Pirates.
One of those islands even possessed oil reserves.
As a result, Whitebeard's forces gained a massive boost in fuel and energy resources for their fleet.
News traveled quickly across the seas.
Almost the moment the war ended, word of the Whitebeard Pirates' victory spread throughout the world.
After several days of discussion and speculation, the Whitebeard Pirates once again became the hottest topic on the planet.
"No way, it's the Whitebeard Pirates again?"
"Didn't they just finish fighting at Marineford?"
"How are they already at war with someone else?"
"So this is the Whitebeard everyone said had one foot in the grave?"
"And people seriously thought he was the easiest Yonko to defeat?"
As news of the Whitebeard Pirates' victory over the Beasts Pirates continued to spread, the criticism of the World Government's decisions, which had only recently begun to die down, flared up once again.
No one had expected things to develop this way.
The situation gave the World Government a serious headache.
"How is that possible?!"
At that moment, a new bounty poster appeared alongside reports covering the Whitebeard Pirates.
Printed clearly on it was the portrait of a man with a cold and composed expression.
"So this is Renji?"
"If it's accurate, he's actually pretty handsome."
A few people gathered together and began discussing Renji's latest bounty.
"No, wait!"
"You're all looking at the wrong thing!"
The first person who spoke pointed toward the bounty amount.
"One... ten... hundred... thousand... ten thousand..."
"F-Four billion Berries?!"
After counting the digits, everyone froze.
The amount was absurdly high.
Wasn't that already Yonko-level territory?
"I know what you're all thinking."
"That's right."
"The World Government has officially recognized Renji as the fifth Emperor of the New World!"
"Look at the headline!"
The Birth of the Fifth Emperor of the New World Pirate Instructor Renji!
After reading the article, everyone fell silent.
Yet there was no fear in their eyes.
If anything, there was excitement.
"An Emperor of the Sea..."
"What an overwhelmingly powerful title."
The news of Renji becoming the Fifth Emperor spread across the entire world.
Naturally, it also reached the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Renji, you've really made it big now!"
Aboard the Whitebeard Pirates' flagship, the Moby Dick, Ace ran over holding a newspaper and Renji's bounty poster.
This war between the Yonko hadn't only affected Renji's bounty.
Everyone's bounty had increased to varying degrees.
Ace, in particular, had gone from 550 million Berries to 1.1 billion.
His bounty had doubled.
But compared to Renji's increase to four billion Berries...
It was hardly worth mentioning.
"The newspapers are saying it too."
Ace waved the paper in front of him.
"They're saying you could completely replace Pops as captain of the Whitebeard Pirates now."
Renji glanced at the newspaper, then at Ace.
The corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
The media really would write anything for attention.
"That's why if you listen to reports from the enemy's side, they'll have you limping even if your legs are perfectly fine."
Renji took the newspaper from Ace.
Without even glancing at it, he tossed it straight into the sea.
"You don't even need to think about it."
"This is obviously the enemy's scheme."
"The goal is to let everyone know about my strength while simultaneously seeing whether they can draw out my ambitions."
"If they can actually convince me to betray Whitebeard, then the Whitebeard Pirates would split apart overnight."
"The Marines wouldn't need to spend a single soldier."
"They'd shatter the Whitebeard Pirates from within and make a fortune from it."
"And even if they can't persuade me..."
"They can still disgust us."
After hearing Renji's explanation, Ace thought about it for a moment before nodding.
"Yeah..."
"That's pretty damn dirty."
This level of information warfare could only be considered the most basic tactic imaginable.
"Still."
Renji leaned back in his chair.
"At least it's completely erased the negative image the World Government tried to paint of the Whitebeard Pirates before."
"I'd say that's a good thing."
Sabaody Archipelago, Temporary Marine Headquarters
Sengoku looked around at the gathered officers.
"That's my proposal."
"Does anyone have any objections?"
The Great World Draft.
Recruiting every person in the world who possessed a sense of justice and a genuine desire to make the world a better place.
The fact that such a proposal had come from Sengoku himself left many people stunned.
"I approve."
For the first time, Garp who normally avoided expressing opinions during meetings—spoke first in support.
Everyone present was part of the absolute core of the Marines.
Besides the old generation of leadership, those attending were Admirals, Admiral Candidates, and elite Vice Admirals at the very least.
"I approve as well."
Aokiji glanced around the room before raising his hand.
With both Garp and Aokiji supporting the proposal, others quickly began voicing their positions.
Some agreed.
Some opposed it.
Others chose to abstain.
The atmosphere within the conference room gradually became more serious.
Everyone understood that the outcome of this vote would influence the future direction of the Marines for years to come.
Because after Marineford...
And especially after Renji's rise and Kaido's defeat...
The world was changing far faster than anyone had anticipated.
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