Chapter 23 - The Fourth Emperor

After watching Saint Gawain walk into the captain's quarters, Tiago clenched his teeth and tightened his fists. Drawing the whip from behind his back, he turned around and slowly approached the slave traders, who were paralyzed with fear.

Doberman followed Saint Gawain's path toward the captain's quarters, and as he passed Tiago, he couldn't help but murmur a soft warning.

"Saint Gawain didn't shield these scum, but try not to make too much noise."

"I know!" Tiago nodded with a cold smile. "Saint Gawain is much more decisive than you, Rear Admiral. I like his orders! He's not like the other World Nobles. I've already started to respect him."

Hearing this, Doberman nodded before entering the captain's quarters. Meanwhile, Tiago gripped his whip tighter and walked toward the nearest slave trader. Wrapping the whip around the man's neck, Tiago yanked it tightly, then gave instructions to the surrounding Marines.

"Take these damned bastards down to the dock. Execute them there. Don't disturb Saint Gawain."

"Yes, Lieutenant Tiago!"

The Marines responded eagerly, stifling cheers as they gagged the slave traders. During the battle that morning, they had lost many close comrades, and this was a long-awaited chance to vent their rage.

Inside the captain's quarters, Doberman entered to find Saint Gawain standing by the window, gazing out at the sea beyond the docks. Seeing Gawain's silhouette, Doberman swallowed nervously. Though Gawain often smiled, there was something about him that felt far more terrifying than any other Celestial Dragon.

Suppressing his unease, Doberman spoke in a low voice. "Saint Gawain, the warship will set sail shortly. There might be some rocking on deck during the process, so it would be better for you to rest in my office chair for a while."

"That's fine." Gawain nodded, calmly sitting on the sofa. Only then did he realize how weak his legs had become.

Even though his experience as a modern diplomat had exposed him to minor conflicts and casualties, standing so close to death and violence was still something he wasn't used to.

Unaware of Gawain's thoughts, Doberman moved to his desk, bending down to retrieve some alcohol and snacks from a drawer. Gawain didn't recognize the alcohol, but the snacks were familiar: potato chips, shrimp crackers, crab legs, and takoyaki.

Doberman placed the snacks in front of Gawain and handed him a stack of newspapers. "Saint Gawain, please enjoy a light drink. Here are the latest newspapers for your reading. If you need anything else, just let me know."

"This is enough." Gawain nodded, accepting the newspapers and placing them on the table. "I don't have any specific requests—just get us to Marineford as quickly as possible."

"Thank you for your generosity and understanding, Saint Gawain."

Relieved, Doberman stood silently at Gawain's side, motionless.

Gawain didn't enjoy the awkward atmosphere, but there wasn't much he could do since they barely knew each other. So, he quietly began flipping through the newspapers.

The papers were issues of the World Economy News, the only newspaper in the One Piece world. Yes, the only one.

Given the vast and isolated nature of the seas, it should have been impossible to distribute newspapers across every island and ship. Normally, there would be no way to get papers to remote ships or scattered islands efficiently.

But the World Economy News was different.

Its president, Morgans, was a massive albatross wearing a suit and top hat. From appearances alone, it was hard to tell whether he was a Zoan user who had eaten the Bird-Bird Fruit (Albatross model) or if he was a Mythical Zoan user with the Human-Human Fruit (Jingwei model).

Regardless, Morgans looked like a bird—and more importantly, he could command countless seagulls. Under his leadership, millions of seagulls gathered daily at the World Economy News headquarters, waiting for reporters to attach newspapers to them.

These seagulls would then fly across the entire sea, delivering papers to every island and ship—without exception. Even if you were on a tiny dinghy, you would receive the paper. No exceptions.

Thanks to Morgans, the World Economy News had grown into a major institution, essential to the lives of people throughout the world.

At that moment, the first page of the newspaper Gawain was reading featured a photo of someone he recognized all too well.

The headline above the photo read:

"One Year Later: The Fourth Emperor's Impact on the Seas!"

Yes, the person in the photo was none other than Red-Haired Shanks.

Seeing this, Gawain stopped reading and casually asked Doberman.

"Rear Admiral, could you tell me what you know about this Red-Haired Shanks?"

"Of course."

Doberman thought for a moment, then spoke in a low voice.

"Red-Haired Shanks was already somewhat known in the New World long ago, but back then, he wasn't even considered a Supernova. He didn't seem like much of a threat.

Out of nowhere, he returned from the New World to the Grand Line, boldly broke through our blockade, hijacked a World Government supply ship, and hid in the East Blue for two years. That incident raised his bounty to the 800-million range for the first time.

When he reappeared, coming from Reverse Mountain, he didn't linger in the Four Seas or the Grand Line. Instead, he swiftly returned to the New World and directly challenged both Kaido and Big Mom. After years of conflict, it was only about a year ago that he finally secured enough territory from the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom's forces.

His first mate, Ben Beckman, even fought Big Mom one-on-one without falling behind.

Once their success was confirmed, Morgans officially referred to Shanks as the Fourth Emperor in the papers for the first time a year ago."

"Wait." Gawain picked up on a key detail. "You're saying that Red-Haired Shanks became the Fourth Emperor, not just one of the Four Emperors?"

"Exactly, Saint Gawain. Until then, the pirates had always referred to only three Emperors.

A long time ago, the Three Emperors were Roger, Whitebeard, and Golden Lion.

After Roger became the Pirate King and was arrested and executed by Hero Garp, Golden Lion was also captured when he stormed Marineford alone. From that point, the Three Emperors were Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom.

For a long time, it was three pirate Emperors versus our three Admirals, forming a stable power balance.

That only changed a year ago when Shanks solidified his position, and Morgans introduced the concept of the Fourth Emperor."

"Oh, so Red-Haired Shanks only became the Fourth Emperor a year ago?"

Hearing Doberman's explanation, Gawain murmured in thought.

"Then, Doberman, what year is it now in the Sea Calendar?"

"Uh, Saint Gawain, it's the year 1517."

"1517... Got it."

Gawain nodded and returned to reading the newspaper. Since Gawain fell silent, Doberman refrained from speaking further, letting the room fall quiet once more.

Not long after, the warship began to sway slightly. Feeling the movement, Doberman softly asked for permission.

"Saint Gawain, the ship is ready to set sail. I need to head to the helm to give the departure order. May I leave for a moment?"

"Go ahead. Act like I'm not even here." Gawain waved dismissively without looking up.

Relieved, Doberman left the captain's quarters. The moment he stepped out, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, glancing nervously at the closed door.

"His presence is overwhelming..." Doberman muttered to himself, still shaken.

He made his way to the helm, where Tiago was leaning against the wheel, a cigar in his mouth and a satisfied smile on his face—the kind of grin someone wears after avenging a fallen comrade.

"Good thing you handled those slave traders quickly," Doberman said. "It gave me the chance to get out of that room. If I had to stay any longer, I might've collapsed on the spot."

"No way!" Tiago laughed heartily, gesturing for the ship to set sail. As he gave the order, the deafening sound of the steam whistle jolted Gawain inside the captain's quarters.

Once the noise subsided, Gawain resumed reading his newspaper, while Tiago continued his conversation with Doberman.

"Come on, Doberman, are you bragging that you got to chat with the Saint I've decided to respect?"

"Not at all. But there's something unique about Saint Gawain... When I'm around him, the pressure is greater than what I felt with the Five Elders."

"Oh? You've met the Five Elders?"

"Yes. Three years ago, at the last Reverie. I was assigned to guard the member nations of the World Government, and that's when I met them."

Saying this, Doberman reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a Den Den Mushi.

"I'll need to cut this short—I have to inform Fleet Admiral Sengoku that Saint Gawain is headed for Marineford. After that, I'll head back to the captain's quarters to attend to him. Make sure the course stays steady while I'm gone."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure the ride is as smooth as possible," Tiago replied.