Over the next period, Makoto didn't stir up any trouble, and the seas fell into a brief calm.
Although there were incidents like the supernova Monkey D. Luffy defeating the Warlord of the Sea Crocodile, and during the Marine's transport of Crocodile to Impel Down, he was hijacked by Makoto's subordinate, the Shark Devil Beam, along with Miyuki… these pieces of news had far less impact compared to the upheaval Makoto had previously caused.
It could only be said that the people of the One Piece World had been conditioned by Makoto.
Crocodile being hijacked was naturally a huge embarrassment for the Marine and the World Government, but once people heard it was Makoto's doing, they found it understandable.
It was like how everyone would criticize the Korean Football Team for losing to Japan, but if they lost to Spain, everyone would find it normal.
Regardless, this meant another spot among the Seven Warlords of the Sea had opened up.
Tesoro's successor hadn't even been decided yet, and now Crocodile was gone.
With no choice, the World Government hastily convened a meeting to discuss a solution.
If this continued, the prestige of the Seven Warlords of the Sea would be completely ruined.
It was during this meeting that a mysterious man named Lafitte burst into the World Conference.
Wearing a top hat, leaning on a cane, his face painted with a black-and-white clown makeup, he appeared before the Marine's top brass like an elegant ghost.
"Gentlemen, excuse the intrusion."
Lafitte bowed slightly, a composed smile on his lips.
"I would like to recommend someone: a man named Marshall Teach."
At these words, Sengoku and the others were very surprised.
Unlike in the original work, because Ace wasn't involved, Teach had become the Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division, earning some reputation.
Sengoku was very surprised that someone from the Whitebeard Pirates wanted to become a Warlord, suspicious that they might have ulterior motives.
"Someone from the Whitebeard Pirates wants to become a Warlord?"
Sengoku's brow furrowed into a deep crease.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
Lafitte, unflustered, smiled and said, "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, with two Warlord spots suddenly open, the Marine must be troubled. Moreover, given the current situation of the Marine and the World Government, you should be in desperate need of replenishing your combat strength, right?"
He had struck a nerve.
Sengoku was silent for a moment, then finally gritted his teeth.
"...If Teach can prove his strength to the Marine, we can make an exception and let him become a Warlord."
Lafitte left with a satisfied smile, bowing as he took his leave.
"Thank you, Fleet Admiral. I will convey this to Captain Teach."
Soon, with the Marine's full efforts, the two vacant Warlord positions were filled, and both were featured in the newspaper around the same time.
The first was a man calling himself Edward Weevil, claiming to be Whitebeard's son, with the epithet [Whitebeard II].
His body was bloated like a ball, and he had the same crescent-shaped mustache as Whitebeard, but his appearance was... hard to describe.
His mother and captain was Miss Bakkin, who had once had a relationship with Whitebeard.
The second was a man calling himself [Blackbeard], Marshall D. Teach.
He had captured the supernova pirate who defeated Crocodile, Monkey D. Luffy, and handed him over to the Marine in exchange for the position of Warlord.
As soon as these two news items broke, the seas, which had been calm for months, were once again shaken.
The most affected was, naturally, the Whitebeard Pirates, since both new Warlords were related to them.
Marco read the newspaper, frowned, and asked Whitebeard, "Pops, is this Weevil really your child?"
Whitebeard looked at the face in the newspaper, which is somewhat similar to his own, but with an indescribably unpleasant appearance, and was silent for a moment.
"I don't remember having a son like that."
"But Miss Bakkin..." Marco hesitated.
Whitebeard took a swig of sake and said gruffly, "I always wore protection back then."
Marco's mouth twitched.
The expressions of the other division commanders were also quite strained.
Whitebeard continued, "Come to think of it, that woman is very skilled in technology. She probably took my... DNA and created a son that way."
He sighed, rubbing his temples.
"That woman..."
Recalling Miss Bakkin, Whitebeard also found it headache-inducing.
Unlike in the original work, after breaking away from under Makoto, Whitebeard had indeed teamed up with Miss Bakkin for a while.
But as time passed and he recruited more 'adopted sons', Miss Bakkin felt that Whitebeard's affection for her was being divided among those brats. After a big fight, they parted ways.
He never expected her to produce a 'son' out of that.
Then, the Whitebeard Pirates discussed Teach.
"That guy Teach, after he left, ended up joining the Warlords," Marco said, his tone laced with confusion. "What is he thinking?"
"Who knows. Honestly, I often felt Teach's thoughts were hard to understand," Jozu said, shaking his head.
Whitebeard was silent for a moment, then waved his hand.
"We'll ignore them for now. Unless those two brats cause a major incident, there's no need to intervene."
"Yes, Pops."
Another party paying extremely close attention to these events was the Revolutionary Army.
After seeing this news, Sabo, the Revolutionary Army's Chief of Staff, suddenly clutched his head and collapsed to the ground in agonized screaming.
"Arrrgggghhhh—!"
He writhed on the ground, veins bulging on his forehead as countless broken images surged through his mind like a tidal wave.
Yukino, Haruno, Koala, and the others were startled and rushed over.
"Sabo! What's wrong?!"
Koala was at a loss.
A moment later, Sabo's convulsions stopped.
He lay on the ground, gasping heavily, his eyes filled with tears.
"I remember... I... remember..."
He slowly sat up, hands on the ground, his voice hoarse.
"My name... my past... and..."
He looked up, a glint of determination flashing in his eyes.
"...Luffy."
At these words, the Revolutionary Army's members present exchanged glances.
Yukino frowned.
"So what?"
"I'm going to save him!" Sabo stood up, his tone brooking no argument. "He's my little brother! I can't just watch him get thrown into Impel Down!!"
"No."
Yukino cut him off coldly.
Sabo was stunned.
"Army Commander Yukinoshita..."
"That adoptive brother of yours chose to be a pirate. He must bear the consequences himself." Yukino's voice was calm and cold. "The Revolutionary Army is not his personal army. We have our own goals, our own mission. Sending Revolutionary Army soldiers into a fiery pit to rescue a pirate… I won't agree to that."
Her sister Haruno nodded in agreement. "Sabo, I understand your feelings, but Yukino is right. The Revolutionary Army can't risk everything for one person."
Koala also said softly, "Sabo, please reconsider..."
Smoker was even more direct. "Hey, hey, hey, I joined the Revolutionary Army to overthrow the World Government, not to rescue your pirate brother."
Sabo opened his mouth to argue but found he had nothing to say.
He lowered his head and fell silent.
No one noticed that Dragon, seated at the head of the table, had not spoken a single word from beginning to end.
…
A few more days passed.
Another piece of news shocked the seas.
Countless News Coos, as if money were no object, scattered newspapers across every inhabited island and ship.
People around the world opened them and were once again startled by the day's headline.
The newspaper reported: The Marine had decided to hold a public execution for the recently captured Monkey D. Luffy in a month's time at Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
As soon as this news broke, everyone was both shocked and curious.
In most people's eyes, although Luffy had a bounty of 100 million Belly, he was still far less significant compared to the great pirates of the New World.
Why would the Marine hold a public execution for him? What was the necessity?
Upon seeing this report, Makoto smiled.
'Everything was going according to plan.'
At that very moment, Yukino also saw the report.
She frowned, staring at the grinning straw hat boy on the newspaper's bounty poster. Though somewhat puzzled, she didn't pay it much mind.
To be precise, she was busy with other matters.
She had traveled to the New World to meet Zephyr, the former Marine Admiral and former Chief Instructor of the Marine Academy, who had established the [Neo Marine].
Zephyr had resolutely resigned from the Marine months earlier, when Edward Weevil became a Warlord.
This was because seven years ago, his right arm had been cut off by Edward Weevil.
Moreover, all the students on his ship at the time, except for Ain and Binz, had been killed by Weevil.
Therefore, Weevil being granted the title of Warlord was something Zephyr could never forgive.
Upon hearing about this, Yukino personally traveled to the New World to meet Zephyr and invite him to join the Revolutionary Army.