As the Freedom sailed out of sight, every Marine on Loguetown's docks exhaled in relief.
Facing Sora was overwhelming.
Sure, his crew didn't act like typical pirates—almost friendly, especially with Sora drunk and chatty.
But his intangible aura crushed their spirits, paralyzing thought and action.
Didn't they see? Even their boss, Colonel Smoker, didn't dare swat Sora's hand off his shoulder.
Smoker sat on a broken stone, staring at the distant Freedom, lost in thought.
Tashigi, clutching Shigure, stood quietly beside him.
Her eyes, fixed on the horizon, swirled with confusion, resolve, and hope.
She never imagined Kuina could defeat Smoker, the invincible colonel in her mind.
It showed her women could surpass men.
Gripping her sword tighter, her doubt vanished.
If Kuina could do it, so could she.
Suddenly, shouts echoed from the streets.
"Smoker! Colonel Smoker!"
"Navy Headquarters! Urgent! Urgent fax!"
A panting, sweat-soaked Marine stumbled toward them.
Gasping, he handed Smoker a trembling fax.
He'd received it minutes ago.
Its contents had stunned him.
Realizing Smoker was battling Sora's crew, he'd sprinted to the docks with the fax.
Seeing the Marines unharmed, he relaxed.
He'd feared arriving too late, finding a bloodbath.
He'd never faced a 5-billion-Belly pirate in his life!
Smoker took the fax, puffed his cigar, and read.
His hand shook, nearly dropping it.
"Colonel, what's wrong?" Tashigi asked, noticing his reaction.
"Read it," Smoker said, passing her the fax, his face darkening with anger. "Headquarters is useless. Sending critical intel this late?"
He touched the scabbed wound on his chest, still oozing blood.
The more he thought, the angrier he grew.
Thud!
He slammed a fist into the ground. "What a joke!"
"Turn a blind eye? Is that Navy justice? Is Sora's crew backed not by rogue Marines but active ones?"
"How else do you explain their Shave mastery? Their actions don't scream pirate!"
Rubbing his chin, his eyes lit up, anger fading. "What if Sora's crew are Navy undercover?"
He nodded, puffing smoke.
It explained their odd behavior—why Sora and Kuina spared them.
Their fight and words felt like encouragement for him and Tashigi.
Sora's final speech? Pure motivation.
His mood lifted.
Losing to pirates was shameful, but Navy undercover? That's just sparring.
Sparring has winners and losers, right?
"Haha!"
…
Shortly after Sora's crew left Loguetown, the New World—the Great Line's second half—stirred.
The Red Line splits the Great Line in two. Crossing via Mary Geoise or the 10,000-meter-deep Fish-Man Island leads to the New World, ruled by the Four Emperors, the most perilous sea.
It's where the great treasure, One Piece, hides on Laugh Tale.
Today, the Four Emperors received urgent news and bounties.
Near the New World's entrance, a colossal three-masted ship sailed.
Its round prow, painted silver-white, resembled a massive white whale, awe-inspiring.
Even in the New World's raging waves, it glided like on calm seas.
With unstoppable might, it cleaved through swells, charging toward unknown waters.
Flanking it were four paddle-wheel ships, smaller replicas in different colors.
They looked like a giant whale leading four calves across the sea.
This fleet was the main armada of the Whitebeard Pirates, one of the Four Emperors.
The central ship was the Moby Dick, belonging to Edward Newgate—Whitebeard—the world's strongest man.
On the Moby Dick, Whitebeard sat shirtless on the deck, leaning against the forward cabin.
Beside him, nurses in pink uniforms bustled, swapping his IV drips.
He eyed Marco, the 1st Division Commander with a golden pompadour, nicknamed "Phoenix."
"Marco, what's the rush?" Whitebeard asked.
"Here, read this. News about your old pal, Golden Lion," Marco said.
"Golden Lion, huh?" Whitebeard mused. "Been gone nearly twenty years, hasn't he?"
"Bet he's stirred up something world-shocking!"
"Gurarara!"
Laughing, he took the newspaper from Marco.
His laughter faded as he read, but spotting Sora's bounty tucked inside, he roared with laughter. "The old fool lost to a kid!"
"Gurarara!"
Tossing the paper aside, he grabbed a liquor jug, guzzling.
He didn't care much for this Sora, only noting another old legend felled by youth, a stepping stone.
"Pops, stop drinking!" Marco shouted. "You're on an IV!"
"Bah! Golden Lion's gone, isn't he?" Whitebeard grinned. "Gotta send him off!"
A fine excuse to drink.
Marco stared at Sora's bounty on the deck, pausing. "So young."
…
Wano Country, Onigashima—Kaido's stronghold.
Totland, Cake Island—Charlotte Linlin's base.
Red-Haired Shanks, the Seven Warlords…
Every pirate, Marine, or power tracking the seas received news of Golden Lion Shiki's death and Sora's unprecedented 5-billion-Belly bounty.
Their reactions varied: shock, excitement, curiosity, indifference, bloodlust, apathy.
Whatever their mood, they remembered.
They remembered an East Blue crew, fresh to the seas.
A man called Silver-Haired.
A shockingly young man.
A man with a 5-billion-Belly bounty on his second voyage.
A man who slew an old legend to forge his own.
…
(End of Chapter)