The former site of Water 7.
The displaced seawater was still violently surging back into the massive void, but suddenly, several flashes of black and red Haki lightning streaked through the boiling depths. A massive volume of seawater abruptly erupted into the air.
Taking advantage of the momentary gap created by the shockwave, Garp and his subordinate, Bogard, burst from the sea. Garp carried a heavily battered Sengoku over his shoulder, while the swordsman carried an unconscious Tsuru. Using Geppo (Moonwalk) and Soru (Shave), they successfully escaped the collapsing whirlpool.
Thanks to the sheer, compacted nature of York's nuclear fusion blast, the surface of Water 7 had been completely vaporized, but the underwater bedrock hadn't been shattered entirely. The extreme thermal shockwave had acted like a cosmic hammer, compacting the island's foundation downwards.
Therefore, the underwater crater York had blasted out was only a few dozen meters below sea level. If it had been deeper, Garp and his companions would have drowned under the crushing ocean pressure before they could break the surface.
Garp kicked the air repeatedly, hovering above the raging sea. He looked down at the boiling whirlpool, his expression incredibly complex.
To ensure the capture of York, they had dispatched a Buster Call-class fleet and ten thousand elite Marines.
As a result, York's single 'Sun Explosion' had annihilated almost all of them. Currently, Garp only knew that the four of them had survived the blast radius. Sengoku's Giant Buddha form had taken catastrophic damage shielding them from the vaporization heat.
"It was truly... too tragic..."
Garp let out a long, ragged sigh. Together with Bogard, carrying the heavily injured Admiral and the unconscious Great Staff Officer, they quickly used Geppo to rush toward the perimeter where the evacuated support fleet was waiting.
…
The annihilation of Water 7 shook the world.
That bright, secondary sun had been clearly visible from Alabasta, let alone the neighboring islands of the Grand Line. Not only that, but the intense illumination had even pierced the darkness of the Calm Belt, visible to ships sailing the borders of the South Blue and East Blue.
An event of that magnitude simply couldn't be concealed.
However, the World Government was ultimately still the ruler of this world. Utilizing their invincible control over the media, the World Economy News Paper and other global outlets were forced to spin a fabricated narrative.
They reported that a catastrophic, freak 'meteor shower' had struck Water 7, resulting in the island's tragic destruction. The paper praised the Marines, stating that a fleet 'coincidentally' stationed nearby had miraculously evacuated and rescued the innocent civilians before the meteors struck.
This was the narrative the ordinary citizens of the world were fed.
But the true hegemonic forces of the sea—the Underworld Emperors, the great pirates, and the intelligence brokers—weren't so easily fooled. They had their own networks. They quickly deduced the terrifying truth.
The Marines had dispatched a massive force to encircle and annihilate the remnants of the Rocks Pirates. The pure white sun that illuminated the night sky was the product of that battle.
Upon learning this, the Emperors of the New World were itching with curiosity. They dispatched countless spies to ascertain the exact losses on both sides.
However, under the World Government's absolute information blackout, the details remained completely obscured.
A few weeks later, when Garp was spotted operating in the New World seemingly unharmed, the major powers couldn't help but speculate. Garp was the Marines' top combatant, and he had been at the Water 7. Since the Hero of the Marines was alive and York was nowhere to be found, the Underworld naturally assumed the Marines had achieved a pyrrhic victory.
"Tsk tsk, Garp truly is a monster!"
"Could that sun have been his ultimate Haki technique?"
"To defeat the successor of the Rocks Pirates by himself... the title of Marine Hero truly holds weight!"
Almost everyone believed this narrative.
Until, a few days later, the situation violently reversed.
A new batch of wanted posters fluttered down from the News Coos.
Atlas D. York's bounty, which previously sat at a staggering 3 Billion Berries, had suddenly soared. It increased by a full 1.5 Billion—an astronomical jump.
[ WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE ]
Atlas D. York
Bounty: 4,500,000,000 Berries
At the same time, two new posters were added to the ranks of the Crimson Harvest Pirates:
[ WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE ]
Emporio Ivankov (Apprentice)
Bounty: 5,000,000 Berries
[ WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE ]
Monkey D. Dragon (Apprentice)
Bounty: 50,000,000 Berries
This sudden, abnormal bounty spike instantly shattered the World Government's carefully constructed lie.
"York isn't dead!!"
"He hasn't been captured either! Otherwise, his bounty wouldn't have skyrocketed to 4.5 Billion!"
"Wait... if York survived... does that mean he was the one who created that sun?!"
The rising speculations once again ignited the world in absolute terror and awe.
Somewhere in the New World, aboard the Moby Dick.
Edward Newgate, the great pirate known as Whitebeard, looked at York's new wanted poster. A trace of fond reminiscence appeared on his scarred face.
"His bounty surpassed mine so quickly," Whitebeard chuckled, taking a swig of sake. "He truly is a monstrous kid."
It made sense now why York and Xebec had always shared such a terrifyingly good relationship back when the Rocks Pirates were still active. It was York, after all, who had gifted Newgate the powerful fruit for his son, Marco.
'This kid,' Whitebeard thought, 'without Rocks' shadow to suppress him, has completely bloomed with his own blinding light.'
Despite his emotional reflection, Whitebeard looked down at a young, pineapple-headed boy swabbing the deck nearby, and a warm smile reappeared on his face.
"Gurararara! I don't need to compare myself to York's ambitions. My goal is simply to have a family."
Noticing Whitebeard's gaze, the 8-year-old Marco immediately scurried over, leaning on his mop.
"Pops, what happened?"
Whitebeard casually handed him the wanted poster. "An old friend of mine. It seems he's become even more formidable than me now."
Marco looked at the numbers on the poster. He counted the zeros, his jaw dropping.
"4.5 Billion?! His bounty is even higher than yours, Pops?!" Marco exclaimed, his eyes wide. "And he looks so young! How is he so powerful?!"
"Gurararara!" Whitebeard laughed loudly, reaching down to pat Marco's small head. "You don't need to compare yourself to him, Marco. That guy is a force of nature. Just focus on training your Mythical Zoan: Yamata no Orochi abilities."
"Mm," Marco nodded lightly.
Being precocious, Marco didn't voice any arrogant thoughts of competition. However, he still felt a little unconvinced inside. In his perception, his Pops was the strongest man in the world. For this 'York' to have a higher bounty, he must have done something incredibly, unforgivably evil to piss off the World Government.
High above the clouds, on the hidden sanctuary of Skypiea.
York actually wasn't seriously injured. Just as he had told his crew upon returning, he was merely utterly exhausted from using his Awakened ultimate move. After a few days of deep sleep and heavy eating, he had fully recovered his stamina.
The reason he hadn't immediately reappeared in the Blue World was simply because he needed to solidify the infrastructure of Skypiea and the MADS laboratories before leaving.
Once those matters were settled, Stussy utilized the Mirror World to purchase the latest batch of newspapers from the Blue Sea below.
The crew gathered on the cloud-island, unrolling the papers. They instantly erupted.
"HAHA! 4.5 Billion Berries!!" Ivankov cheered, dancing around. "He surpassed Whitebeard, Golden Lion Shiki, and Roger!!"
"Captain York is officially recognized as the world's most dangerous man!" Ginny yelled, pumping her fists.
York walked out of his shrine, raising his hands to temporarily calm the excited crowd.
"I don't care about being called the strongest in the world," York said, his tone pragmatic and steady. "But this bounty proves one thing: after the annihilation of Water 7 and the defeat of their supreme commanders, the World Government will not dare to carelessly move against us again."
York looked out over the sea of white clouds, his eyes gleaming with ambition.
"Our fortress is secure. Our flagship is ready. I've decided it's time to officially set sail from Skypiea!"
York turned to his crew, a feral grin spreading across his face.
"We're heading down to the Blue Sea. The Crimson Harvest Pirates are officially beginning our global expansion!"
Upon hearing this, the crew froze for a fraction of a second before erupting into even louder, earth-shaking cheers.
"YES!!"
"We're setting sail!!"
"It's time for the Harvest!!"
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