Chapter 5: The Great Pirate Era Approaches

The noisy island returned to its usual tranquility, as if it had no memory of yesterday's chaos. It simply awaited the sunrise and sunset, everything else was irrelevant.

Doflamingo, having achieved his revenge, woke up the next morning and sat lazily on his bed, not feeling particularly happy. He thought about everything that had happened yesterday.

"Doflamingo, you devil! Kill me! Kill me!" The gradually weakening voice faded until it was inaudible. The man's spirit had died, leaving him a walking corpse. His final words became whispers.

"Fuffuffuffu, what a boring game. Is this all the amusement you can offer me?" Doflamingo didn't feel sorrow for the man, instead offering only mockery.

"If you must blame someone, blame yourself. You are too weak. Your strength wasn't enough to kill me. You could only howl helplessly, weep on the ground. Fuffuffuffu, that's how this world is. The strong prey on the weak, an ironclad rule. Either I eat you, or you eat me."

"Fuffuffuffu, what a beautiful world this is!"

"Let's go. Let's greet our future."

Meanwhile, Rosinante, without any lingering attachment, had fled that hell. He stumbled along, enduring countless hardships, until finally, he received the guidance of fate and met his adoptive father – the current Fleet Admiral, Sengoku the Buddha. Perhaps it was truly destiny's doing. The paths of fate split the two brothers, one in heaven, the other in hell.

Clearing away yesterday's memories, Doflamingo had no nostalgia for yesterday's "glory." He was deeply aware of his own weakness. Knowing he had committed a great crime, Doflamingo understood that the Marines would inevitably be mobilized. He currently lacked the strength to protect himself; he was practically a sitting duck. His top priority was still to increase his strength, to accumulate resources and bide his time.

"Those Marine big shots probably won't pay attention to a small fry like me. With Roger, Shiki, and those other veterans to draw their attention, I can develop steadily for now. Fuffuffu, Celestial Dragons, World Government, I'll make you regret it." Doflamingo steeled his resolve and immediately began his training for the day.

At Marine Headquarters, Marineford, in the office of the current Fleet Admiral, Kong.

"Sengoku, you brought back a kid? Don't tell me he's your illegitimate child," Garp said, munching on rice crackers and looking mischievous.

"Garp, can't you be serious for once? And you're stealing my rice crackers again!" Sengoku's veins bulged, both angry and exasperated. "This is my adopted son, Corazon."

Fleet Admiral Kong and Vice-Admiral Tsuru watched the two old rascals bickering with weary amusement.

"Alright, the situation on the seas is still unclear. There are more and more pirates, and the pressure on us is increasing. It's a good thing to have more talented people joining the Marines. With those three monsters joining, justice will surely prevail. They are the future of the Navy."

Seeing Kong speak, Garp and Sengoku stopped their bickering and looked serious.

"Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan… with them, we can breathe a little easier. But the trash on the seas is increasing. The new generation needs to grow up quickly," Sengoku said with anticipation.

"The New World has been turbulent for long enough. The Four Seas will soon lose their peace as well. Recently, all the residents of an island in the North Blue were killed."

"How could such a vicious incident happen? Was it pirates?" Kong asked.

"It seems a resident named Noen slaughtered the entire island. It's said he committed suicide out of guilt in the end," Sengoku said in a low voice.

It turned out that Rosinante, during his arduous journey, had encountered Sengoku, who was on a mission. Regarding the terrible events on the island, Corazon hadn't revealed the truth. Perhaps it was guilt, or perhaps he still held some love for his brother.

"This matter is closed. The most important thing right now is the New World. Shiki and Roger are our biggest obstacles at present," Kong declared. "Strengthen the defenses of the Four Seas."

Garp and Sengoku exchanged a look, their eyes burning with fighting spirit, then laughed loudly. "For Justice!"

Tsuru, seeing this, smiled slightly.

In the New World, the nightmare of pirates, the paradise of the strong.

At this stage, Roger was full of fighting spirit, causing trouble everywhere, living a carefree life, clashing with various strong opponents. He lived a completely thoughtless life. For Roger, pirates were free, unrestrained. The word "freedom" perfectly encapsulated Roger's life.

On the other side, the Golden Lion Shiki, Grand Admiral of the Flying Pirate Armada, was also full of ambition. To conquer the world, he was working hard to develop his forces, laying the groundwork for his future conquest.

The Whitebeard Pirates were having a family gathering, taking in all sorts of "sons."

The Big Mom Pirates were busy, with Big Mom diligently producing children.

The Beast Pirates' Kaido was who-knows-where, probably locked in a battle of wits with Gecko Moria.

Countless pirates were rushing to the New World, striving relentlessly for the throne.

Doflamingo, having finished his training, thought about the current situation in the New World. No matter how much he longed for it, he could only sigh in frustration for now.

He would plan slowly. Currently, the future Four Emperor pirate crews, famous throughout the world in the future, were not yet very well-known. He would catch up to them one by one during this time. A new era was coming, and he—Donquixote Doflamingo—was here.

Damn it, his determined gaze was still hidden behind his glasses. Doflamingo took firm steps toward the new era.

On the soft coastline, a string of footprints remained, declaring that someone had been there.

The waves would eventually come...

The long river of time would eventually eliminate the weak. A new era naturally had new people to inherit it. Ahead lay a new era. The Great Pirate Era was about to begin.