Under Dragon's watchful gaze, Yang Yi finally began to unveil his vision for this new world.
"First of all, I have no interest in being some bullshit king."
"What I want to establish is a 'Great Kingdom'."
"In this new kingdom, there will be no kings, and certainly no Celestial Dragons."
"There will only be heads of various departments and officials of government agencies."
Dragon furrowed his brows.
"Then what are you going to do?"
Yang Yi grinned.
"Me?"
"I'm just responsible for building a more magnificent stage."
"The future development of the world will still depend on all of you."
He patted Dragon on the shoulder, causing the latter to stiffen.
Yang Yi turned around, his voice echoing across the entire fleet.
"Hear my orders."
"Rocks, Kaido, Charlotte Linlin."
He called out the names of the three great pirates.
"From today onward, you are no longer pirates. I appoint you as 'World Cleaners'."
"Now, you have only one duty."
Kaido hoisted his kanabo onto his shoulder, letting out an excited "Worororo" laugh.
"World Cleaners? Sounds pretty interesting! So, what's our mission?"
"Your mission is to wipe out any pirates causing trouble in the New World."
"Fight violence with violence, stop killing with killing. Slaughter them until no one in this world dares to set sail as a pirate ever again."
Rocks licked his lips, his smile brimming with madness. Killing? He was far too experienced at that job.
Yang Yi's gaze then fell upon Luffy.
"Straw Hat, and your crew."
"You are granted the title of 'Free Inspectors'."
"You can sail through various countries as you please. If you encounter anyone violating justice, you may step in to uphold the justice in your hearts. No one will stop you."
"Ooooh!!" Luffy jumped up in excitement. "Does that mean our adventure can continue!?"
Luffy no longer thought about becoming the Pirate King; he wanted to become the Adventure King!
He wanted to keep adventuring with his friends and ultimately help them fulfill their respective dreams.
"That's right. Go become the Adventure King!"
Finally, Yang Yi looked at Dragon, as well as Sengoku, Garp, and the others behind him.
"Sengoku, Garp, the Marines you represent will merge with Dragon's Revolutionary Army."
"To form the brand-new 'World Peacekeeping Force'."
Dragon's head snapped up.
"Your primary mission is to inspect all affiliated nations and eliminate those trash kings who oppress the people."
"Oh, right. When you clean house, don't forget to take out the rest of the royal family members too."
"Yes!" Dragon's eyes flashed with excitement upon hearing his appointment.
Wasn't this exactly what their Revolutionary Army had been doing all along?
...
The curtain on the New World rose at an astonishing speed.
The moment the orders were issued, the entire world began to undergo drastic changes.
The first to stir up a bloodbath were the "World Cleaners."
The Rocks Pirates reunited. Having received "official permission," this group of inherently lawless villains completely unleashed their true nature.
Like a swarm of locusts, they swept through with overwhelming force, tearing to pieces all the Supernova pirate crews and remnants of the old era who attempted to rise up in the chaos.
"Wororororo! Sink to the bottom of the sea, all of you!"
A single "Bolo Breath" from Kaido obliterated a massive fleet of several warships, along with the territory they had just occupied.
An era of pirate eradication had arrived.
The pirates were horrified to discover that this world seemed even more terrifying than before.
News of pirate crews being annihilated poured in every single day.
The Yonko began relentlessly hunting down pirates. From great pirates with billion-berry bounties to rookies who had just set sail, as long as they ran into them, they could forget about leaving alive.
For a time, every pirate feared for their life. Some who had originally wanted to become pirates were forced to rethink their career paths.
On the other side, the "World Peacekeeping Force" led by Sengoku and Dragon was equally astonishing in its efficiency.
Now, they could confidently execute the justice in their hearts. They no longer needed to worry about the Five Elders' pride, nor did they need to compromise with the privileges of the Celestial Dragons.
Warships set sail for country after country.
Deposing tyrants and freeing slaves.
As for wise monarchs like Cobra of Alabasta and King Riku of Dressrosa, they retained their positions and were appointed as "Governors" of the New World, allowing them to continue governing their nations.
The world was changing so fast it was dizzying.
The commoners were pleasantly surprised to find that the kings who had oppressed them for centuries had fallen.
The pirates who pillaged everywhere were hunted down to the last man.
From then on, there was no royal oppression, no pirate pillaging, and no Celestial Dragons collecting taxes.
The world had never been so peaceful, never so full of hope.
People gradually realized that the suffering of the past was not a given.
All of it had been single-handedly caused by the World Government.
Therefore, they cherished the beauty of the New World all the more.
...
When the last stretch of sea was purged, and the last tyrant was sent to the tribunal.
The curtain on the new era had been fully drawn.
Yang Yi gathered all his friends and comrades from around the world to the central plaza of the New World.
This was the center of the largest landmass formed after the collapse of the former Red Line.
At the banquet, voices boiled over with excitement.
"Experts" from other worlds like Dante and Kratos were also impressively in attendance.
They had now changed out of their heavy armor.
Dante, holding a slice of freshly baked pizza and a wine glass, wove his way through countless beautiful women, drawing bursts of charming giggles.
Kratos, on the other hand, sat uncharacteristically quiet, though the mountain of food bones piled on the table in front of him proved just how fierce his recent "battle" had been.
Every corner of the banquet was a scene straight out of everyone's dreams.
"Cheers!!!"
The three brothers—Luffy, Ace, and Sabo—sat at the same table with Garp and Dadan.
Garp, with one hand on each, pressed down on Ace and Luffy's heads, tears streaming down his old face as he poured booze down their throats. Dadan sat to the side, crying and scolding Garp at the same time.
In the kitchen area, Sanji and Red Leg Zeff were manning the stoves together.
"You brat! The heat is too high! You've been out there for so many years, and you still haven't improved at all!"
"Shut up, you shitty old man! I have my own way of doing things!"
The two cursed at each other, yet they worked together in perfect harmony, cooking up top-tier delicacies for the guests from all over the world.
In one corner of the banquet, Nami unrolled several massive parchment sheets.
On them were the multiple world maps she had finished drawing. The maps were incredibly detailed, drawing gasps of amazement from the countless navigators gathered around.
Meanwhile, in the center of the plaza, Usopp was tightly surrounded by a group of children.
"Let me tell you, that demon Imu grew to be tens of thousands of meters tall! She had hundreds of millions of demons under her command. I just took a kitchen knife and hacked my way all around the Red Line without even blinking an eye!"
Surrounded by the children's worshipful gazes, Usopp recounted his heroic deeds of defeating the "Demon Imu."
"Gurararara..."
Whitebeard Newgate sat in the tallest chair, watching his "sons"—Marco and Jozu—having a drinking contest with Beckman and Lucky Roux of the Red Hair Pirates.
He looked around at this peaceful and prosperous land, raised a wine bowl larger than a water vat, and took a massive gulp.
He looked toward Yang Yi on the highest platform and revealed a hearty smile.
"Gurararara... This is the life I've always wanted to give them!"
In another corner of the banquet.
Rocks and Dragon, two heroes of the old and new eras, stared at each other in silence for a long time.
Then, surprisingly, they raised their glasses and clinked them from afar.
Consider it a toast to this new world they had jointly forged.
...
On the observation deck at the very top.
Yang Yi, Lu Mingfei, and Chu Zihang were looking down at this century-defining carnival that had swept the entire world.
Lu Mingfei let out a yawn.
"Boss, the story of the One Piece world is pretty much a Happy Ending now, right?"
"Where are you going to play next? Can you take me with you!"