C264

"Hahahaha, this is already the third town! The Whitebeard Pirates have controlled so many rich places, and now they all belong to us!"

A group of pirates with a bounty of over 100 million in the New World took advantage of the fact that the Whitebeard Pirates hadn't returned and directly seized a medium-sized island. 

The island hosts many wealthy towns, but now half of it has been burned, with people killed and looted in the flames of war.

After news of Whitebeard's death spread, the New World—a sea area once controlled by the Four Emperors—instantly became turbulent.

Sengoku hoped to use Whitebeard's death to deter the era of great pirates, but he overlooked two key points: pirates are inherently lawless, and the death of a Four Emperor only fuels their greed for power, fame, and wealth.

This island is not alone. More than half of the dozens of islands sheltered by Whitebeard are now in turmoil.

The Beasts Pirates are in a better position.

Although news of Kaido's fate—whether dead or alive—spread via the video phone bug, the Marines haven't officially declared Kaido's death. 

They only mentioned that Kaido of the Beasts was defeated by Mage, one of the Shichibukai, and that his life and whereabouts are unknown.

If there's no death, there's still hope.

Furthermore, the main forces of the Beasts Pirates remain intact. Two of the three disasters are still around, along with over 400 capable individuals, more than 10,000 capable pirates, and 10,000 allied samurai under the control of Kurozumi Orochi.

The strength of the Beasts Pirates hasn't been diminished. As long as the other Four Emperors don't intervene, the Beasts Pirates aren't worried at all.

The second reason for the turmoil in the New World is the attack on the World Government.

The news of the attack on Mariejois in the Holy Land could not be concealed. Many countries had representatives stationed within the World Government. When the explosion occurred, messengers from all over the world were caught off guard.

The building representing the World Government disappeared, leaving a 10-kilometer crater. Fortunately, the World Summit, held every four years, had not yet been convened. If it had, fifty kings from the affiliated countries would have perished all at once, throwing the world into chaos.

However, this explosion also raised suspicions. Without the World Summit, the World Government building was nearly useless. Even the Celestial Dragons seldom visited. 

Why didn't the attackers target the Holy Land where the Celestial Dragons lived, or wait until the World Summit was held? Why attack an empty World Government building?

No matter how they speculated, this incident severely diminished the World Government's authority. Some even suggested that the Revolutionary Army might be behind the attack, considering Ivankov, an advanced cadre of the Revolutionary Army, had appeared during the Summit War.

As a result, the Revolutionary Army gained notoriety, and many countries that were part of the World Government began to fear them. 

If the Revolutionary Army could dare to attack the Holy Land, guarded by heavy soldiers and not far from Naval Headquarters—where the only defense was a Marine branch with limited troops—they knew they were vulnerable. 

If the Revolutionary Army targeted them, they would be overthrown.

But the World Government didn't see it that way, especially the Five Elders—though they should probably be called the Four Elders now, given the circumstances.

After the destruction of the central World Government building, operations were temporarily moved to the town where the Celestial Dragons resided. Along with the Five Elders, the chief of CP0, the commander-in-chief of the three armies (known as Commander-in-Chief Kong), and the two Marine Admirals—Marine Marshal Sengoku and Aokiji Kizaru—gathered.

The Marine Admirals had already reached a level where they could confront the Five Elders, and this time, they planned to send a Marine Admiral into action. Therefore, it was fine for Kuzan and Polusalino to remain on the sidelines.

Kong asked directly: "Four, what's going on here? It seems you all know some inside information, so you summoned us here."

Among the Five Elders, the one with the longest hair was missing, and the others were visibly injured. Given their severe injuries, Sora and Sengoku wondered if the Five Elders had been at the center of the explosion.

"We do know," one of the Elders began. "We also know who sent the bomb."

"The bomb exploded right in front of us, and in the end, only the four of us survived."

"Neither CP0 nor the Marine Army noticed what was happening. Truly..."

"Shame. Trash!"

The four remaining Five Elders spoke one by one, their anger palpable. They had never encountered such humiliation in years—bombs placed right in front of their faces.

Even when Fisher Tiger freed the slaves of Sanctuary Mariajois decades ago, it didn't seem so serious to the Five Elders. It was just a loss of reputation. This time, however, their lives were almost lost.

Sengoku asked in a deep voice, "What's going on?"

One of the Five Elders, holding a katana, said coldly, "The attacker is Rob Lucci from CP9."

"This is impossible!" Sisbaldine couldn't help but speak after hearing the words, but he immediately realized that the person in front of him was his immediate superior—the Five Elders, who could decide his life and death with a word. No matter how strong he was, he couldn't resist these five Elders, representatives of the Gods.

"My lord, I'm not doubting you, but Rob Lucci was sent out on a mission. How could he come back to attack?"

Another curly-haired Five Elder replied, "Don't we know that Rob Lucci was sent on a mission? He suddenly returned to the Holy Land and said he had something important to report. And you all know what happened after that."

"Could he have been controlled by someone?" Commander-in-Chief Kong guessed. He then asked, "What mission was he sent on? Is it possible he met a extremely cunning person?"

"This..." The CP0 Chief, Sisbaldine, seemed embarrassed. Rob Lucci's mission was a secret of the World Government. The Five Elders knew about it, but the Marshal of the Armed Forces and the Marine didn't need to inquire about it.

Sengoku suddenly had a guess and tentatively asked, "Shouldn't it have something to do with Mage, one of the Shichibukai? His attitude toward the Marine changed too quickly. If you did something, it would be understandable."

As if his tail had been stepped on, Sisbaldine immediately retorted, "Marshal Sengoku, the mission of CP0 does not need to be reported to you!"

"But your stupidity will affect Marine's plans for years, you big fool!" Sengoku shouted angrily. He finally found the reason. If it weren't for the idiots in CP9 and CP0 dragging their feet, the Summit War would have ended in a Marine victory. They could have secured the New World and very likely ended the era of Great Pirates opened by Roger within 20 years.

One of the Five Elders with a curly beard immediately reprimanded, "Sengoku, watch your behavior! This is Sanctuary Mariajois! CP0 is directly under the Celestial Dragons. No matter what he did, the Marine can't blame him!"

"Marine exists only to protect the World Government and the descendants of the gods. If this cannot be done, there is no need for the Marine to exist!"

The Five Elders scolded Sengoku one after another, and he couldn't help but curse back, "Stop talking nonsense! Do you know how much the Marine has sacrificed for this war? It was just one step away from pacifying the Age of Discovery, but now, thanks to CP0's idiocy, it's all ruined!"

"Sengoku..."

"Let's stop here, Sengoku!"

Before the Five Elders could speak in anger, the Commander-in-Chief, Sora, placed a hand on Sengoku's shoulder, stopping him from saying anything more. Sora understood how much Sengoku had sacrificed for the Marine, and Sengoku and Garp were his right-hand men.

After stopping Sengoku, Sora turned to the Five Elders and said in a deep voice, "Five Elders, if you don't make this clear, then what's the use of calling us here?"

After a moment of silence, one of the Five Elders finally spoke, "It's related to the events of 800 years ago. CP9 investigates for the stability of the world."

Before the Five Elder could finish speaking, someone suddenly ran toward them from outside. Everyone in the room had Observation Haki, and they had just experienced a large explosion. They were all very cautious, especially Sisbaldine.

"Sorry, that's my subordinate. There's something important to report. I'll go out first."

Sisbaldine bowed to the Five Elders and immediately walked outside. After a while, he returned, his face different from before, as though he had encountered something shocking.

"My lords..."

"Say it straight, Sisbaldine," one of the Five Elders said. "Tell Sengoku and the others, but don't spread it further, except to the Admiral."

Sisbaldine took a deep breath and then said, "My lord, the Rob Lucci you saw was an imposter. The real Rob Lucci was executed by the Kain Chamber of Commerce four days ago. He, along with the other two, was hanged at the entrance to the Rain City of Alabasta."

"What did you say?"

Shocked, the four Five Elders pressed, "Rob Lucci is dead?"

Sisbaldine replied affirmatively, "That's right. CP0 has confirmed that Rob Lucci and the other two died four days ago. The corpses were hung at the entrance of Rain City for a long time, and many people saw them."

"Then who is that person we saw?"

"Paramecia Clone-Clone Fruit? I remember he's also an ability user from the Kain Chamber of Commerce. Would that guy let his subordinates die in his place?"

But no matter what, it is now confirmed that the Kain Chamber of Commerce is hostile to the World Government. If Rob Lucci's identity hadn't been discovered, at most they would have been allowed to join or driven away, but killing people and hanging their bodies is a direct challenge to the World Government.

Sengoku was furious. He had long planned to end the era of great exploration, but CP0 had been a hindrance.

"If you want to target the demon Mage Kain, you'd better think about whether you can withstand this level of attack."

After Sengoku dropped a video phone bug saved by Naval Headquarters, he left angrily. Kuzan and Polusalino also left with him. With the Marine Marshal gone, their presence there was now useless.

They were supposed to hunt down New World's pirate power, but now Sengoku felt the need to make adjustments.

In the Lily Kingdom of Amazon Lily, Hancock felt restless after returning to Daughter Island.

Many people noticed something was wrong with Boa Hancock and thought she was sick, so they called for her mother-in-law.

The granny asked, "Hancock , what's wrong with you recently? After you came back from Marineford, you've barely eaten. Did something happen there?"

"I have an idea, but I don't know if it will work."

After returning to Daughter Island, Hancock had been thinking about this matter, but she was very conflicted. She wanted to go through with it, but she also felt a bit resistant.

"Is it related to the Amazon Lily Kingdom? It's rare to see you thinking from the perspective of the king of a country now. You can tell me, and I'll help you figure it out."

The granny said with some relief, "The impact of the Summit War is too great. How to position the Amazon Lily Kingdom in the future depends on your decision."

But after hearing Hancock's decision, the mother-in-law was so shocked that she stuttered and asked, "Knot... ally? With that Kain Chamber?"

…

patreon.com/Vks_sh