West Blue, Marine 166th Branch.
As a branch closely tied to Marine Headquarters, it boasted elite forces and formidable defenses. The base was commanded by a Colonel—Zephyr's own disciple, Ronny.
Now, however, all fortifications and artillery positions had been reduced to rubble.
The corpses strewn across the ruins made it clear—whoever had come through did so with overwhelming, brutal force.
"Aaaaahhh!"
Several Marines who managed to flee the base and reach sunlight screamed in agony as they were reduced to ash.
The rest, terrified, backed away toward the interior of the base.
But on the other side of the passage...
A seven-meter-tall, onion-headed demon marched forward, dragging a blood-soaked blade behind him. His subordinates—soaked in gore—trailed in his wake.
Moria grinned wickedly.
"Hehihihihi~ What, done running already? Where are you hiding Nico Robin's file?!"
The Marines who had lost their shadows cowered in a corner. Their despair had pushed them to the brink of madness.
Suddenly, Ronny roared and charged forward, sword in hand.
"Die, pirates!!!"
The magical duck glanced at Perona, who stood behind him.
"Perona, soften them up a bit."
People who've been broken once are easier to crush the second time.
It was a lesson the boss had drilled into him—and one he'd studied well.
"Heehee, yes!"
Perona, perched atop Bear, responded sweetly—completely unbothered by the carnage around her.
Twirling her frilly parasol, she sent a swarm of adorable, ghostly apparitions floating forward.
Ding-ding dang-dang...
The charging Marines had their willpower shattered. Guns and swords clattered to the floor.
One by one, they dropped to their knees, weeping and confessing their sins.
"Ugh... I deserve to die! I'm a deserter!"
"I'm even worse—I bribed my commanding officer!"
"Nico Robin is just an innocent nine-year-old girl! I'm a Marine, but I still gave the order to hunt her down! I should burn in hell!!!"
Colonel Ronny collapsed helplessly to the floor, torn between justice and duty.
"Hehihihihi, looks like you're in pain. Let me put you out of your misery!"
Shlick!
Moria sliced the powerless Marines in half, then spun around and barked orders.
"Boys, search the place! Find Nico Robin's wanted poster!!"
"And grab all the base's treasure while you're at it!"
"YEAHHHH!!"
His crew roared in reply and scattered.
Moria patted Perona on the head, visibly pleased.
All the hacking and slashing along the way had finally paid off—they had Robin's intelligence now.
Next, they'd use her wanted poster to scour all of West Blue.
As for whether the Marines would come after him?
Well, considering the state they were in, he doubted they had the attention to spare.
Moria glanced at the newspaper tucked under his arm.
"Old and New Emperors! A Changing Era—New Rulers of the Sea Rise!!!"
...
New World. Bristol Island.
Back at their base, the Whitebeard Pirates were in an uproar.
"'New Emperors'?"
"Kaido, the so-called world's strongest creature... Big Mom of Totto Land... and the Heavenly Yaksha, Doflamingo?"
"Those three? On the same level as Pops? Where the hell do they get off?!"
Jozu clenched the newspaper, his expression dark.
The Pirate King, Roger, was executed. The Golden Lion, Shiki, was dead. The lone wolf, Redfield, had been captured.
Only Pops deserves the title of Emperor now!
There can only be one Pirate King!
"Damn right!" Atmos, the Water Buffalo, chimed in. "Big Mom took advantage of the situation, and Kaido just dodged Pops' attacks the whole time!"
"Enough!" shouted Thatch, the Fourth Division Commander. "Pops needs rest. Keep it down, all of you!"
Everyone glanced toward the tightly closed door of Whitebeard's room.
He'd collapsed the moment they returned. No one knew how long he'd been unconscious.
The rowdy room fell silent again. Worry filled the air.
How long had it been?
Creaaak—
The door finally opened.
Marco stepped out, strands of gray in his blond hair. His face was drawn and exhausted.
The division commanders rushed over at once.
"Marco! How is Pops?!"
Marco shut the door behind him, slumped against it, and slid to the floor.
He buried his face between his knees, arms loosely wrapped around his neck.
He looked... so young.
Barely in his twenties, really.
Seeing him like this sent a chill down everyone's spine.
"Is... is Pops in that bad of shape?"
"Yeah, Marco?! Talk to us!"
"Shut it!" Thatch snapped. "You want every crew member on this island to hear?!"
He knew the weight of what was coming.
As one of the most powerful crews in the New World, they had eyes on them constantly.
Any sign of weakness could bring disaster.
Thatch took a deep breath, placed a trembling hand on Marco's shoulder, and spoke softly.
"We're all here. Just tell us... is Pops seriously hurt?"
"No..."
Marco's voice trembled. His head sank even lower, almost touching the ground.
"But..."
But?
That one word sent dread crawling up their spines. The commanders leaned in, hearts pounding.
"But what?!"
"Pops is old... His body's been aging naturally for years."
"Even though the Tremor-Tremor Fruit is powerful, it puts a terrible strain on him."
"He just fought two brutal battles back to back..."
"Even with my regenerative flames, we've reached the limit."
"His body... can't recover anymore."
"...Ugh..."
Tears spilled from Marco's eyes, dripping from his brow and striking the floor.
Even with giant blood in his veins, this last push had pushed Pops too far.
The strain of using the Tremor-Tremor Fruit so often...
Old wounds reopened, mixing with the new.
There was no healing it this time.
...
New World.
Numancia Flamingo.
"'New Emperors'? New rulers of the sea?"
Doflamingo rolled the words around on his tongue as he stared at a photo of Whitebeard. His eyes gleamed with intrigue.
Good thing Kaido had taken the brunt of the fight—Whitebeard's injuries weren't as bad as he'd hoped.
He'd planned to wait for the two to exhaust each other, then swoop in to kill Whitebeard and claim the glory.
Now it was a matter of waiting for Whitebeard to be hooked up to an IV.
Once he was on the drip—then the sneak attack.
"What's wrong, Doffy? You're already one of the Emperors of the world!" Smootie looked up at Doflamingo with adoration, eyes locked on his perfect jawline.
"Since when were there four Emperors?" Doflamingo muttered, gazing toward the Red Line.
His lips curled into a confident, manic grin.
"There's only room for one Emperor in this world—and that's me!!!"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg