Red Line, Mary Geoise.
Pangaea Castle, Room of Authority.
This was the core of Mary Geoise, a place where even members of the nineteen Celestial Dragon families could not easily tread.
Only the nominal supreme rulers of the World Government—the Five Elders—could stay in this unassuming conference room for extended periods.
At this moment, inside the spacious room.
Five old men sat on the sofa or stood, holding swords, in varying postures.
But without exception, their gazes were fixed on the Den Den Mushi on the coffee table in front of them, which had just hung up.
"The Marines' request... what do you think?"
St. Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, holding what was suspected to be the Shodai Kitetsu, asked in a deep voice.
"This war was a farce to begin with, and the Marines want to use it to expand their power?"
St. Jaygarcia Saturn, wearing a black hat and sporting dreadlocks, spoke with a cold edge to his voice.
Clearly, he had long been dissatisfied with the high-ranking Marines led by Sengoku.
They hadn't supported this war from the start; the Marines themselves entirely provoked it. Now they had the gall to ask for rewards and titles? Wasn't that thinking too highly of themselves?
"We cannot agree to all of the Marines' demands, but..."
St. Marcus Mars stroked his long white beard, frowning slightly.
"Agreeing to one or two is acceptable."
"The World Military Conscription? Or specifically creating an Admiral seat for White Tiger? Or directly promoting Issho to Admiral Candidate?"
St. Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro asked rhetorically.
Knock, knock—!!
St. Shepherd Ju Peter, with blonde hair, tapped the table twice. Seeing everyone's gazes converge on him, he nodded with satisfaction:
"You must understand, a worldwide conscription truly enhances the Marines' strength.
But granting them titles requires us to give up nothing, yet gains us a portion of the Marines' loyalty."
"White Tiger's strength is something not only we have witnessed, but was broadcast live to the entire world. Whether he holds the title of Admiral or not, his deterrence on the seas already exceeds that of a Marine Admiral."
"Giving him the position of Admiral does not harm. As for the man named Issho, he already stands with the Marines; we cannot change that fact."
"..."
After a brief silence, the others lowered their heads, pondering the feasibility of St. Shepherd Ju Peter's argument.
"How should we deal with those guys who escaped from Impel Down Level 6?"
St. Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro nodded, tacitly accepting St. Shepherd Ju Peter's view, and immediately threw out another question.
"Leave it to the Marines to solve. In any case, this matter absolutely cannot be publicised. The World Government must maintain at least a facade of dignity."
"Besides, although Impel Down was breached again, it's not bad to divert some of the Marines' energy."
"The Marines are currently too much in the limelight... they need to be suppressed a little."
Grand Line, an unknown sea area.
A not-so-large sailing ship moved slowly, its light hull swaying side to side with the fierce waves.
Clearly, the workmanship of this ship was unusually poor.
Anyone used to living on land would likely be vomiting uncontrollably under such violent tossing.
On the deck.
A dark mass of people sat on the ground, led by a red-haired man wearing a straw hat.
Holding a crumpled newspaper in his hand, his expression was slightly heavy.
"Rayleigh's right arm was cut off, and Gaban... his life or death is unknown."
"Boss..."
Beckman and the others were worried, hesitating to speak.
"It's fine. Let's continue our adventure. In the New World, maybe we can achieve the same feats as Captain Roger!!"
A smile reappeared on Shanks' face as he struck a "don't worry" pose for Beckman and the crew.
As the captain, he naturally couldn't collapse at a time like this.
"Boss, I mean, we should change ships."
This ship had been snatched at random from a pirate crew; its quality certainly couldn't compare to the Red Force's.
But they had no choice. The Red Force was impounded at Marine Headquarters. Trying to snatch it back with their current strength would be a fool's dream.
Unless they started another Summit War, which would have been even more fantastical.
"A ship of this quality can't handle the harsh weather of the New World at all."
"...True enough. Should I go find Uncle Tom to build us one?"
Shanks' face froze for a moment before he asked tentatively.
"You mean the Fish-Man Tom who built the world's strongest pirate ship for Roger? Water 7?"
Beckman frowned. "But Fish-Man Tom seems to be busy with the Sea Train right now. He might not have time to help us."
A while back, to find Shanks' whereabouts...
They had turned the latest newspapers upside down and checked everything in detail.
They hadn't even skipped small matters like the Sea Train.
"Is that so? Well, let's go to Water 7 first anyway. We'll find a reliable shipwright temporarily to build a ship capable of sailing in the New World."
"Then we'll go to Elbaf to find Adam Wood to build another ship. It just so happens I followed Captain Roger to Elbaf back then and have some friendship with the giants."
Shanks scratched his head embarrassedly, his brain rarely being this practical.
"So... what should we name our ship?"
"Let's stick with Red Force, right? We'll build it to look like the original, too."
"I see. That sounds pretty good."
Amidst this Q&A, the pirate ship quietly turned around, sailing toward Water 7.
With their rich sailing experience, the Red Hair Pirates obviously possessed an Eternal Pose for Water 7.
After all, Water 7 was a gathering place for shipwrights famous worldwide.
Those making a living on the sea might need to run to Water 7 for repairs at any time.
That was why shipwrights held such high status in Water 7.
But Water 7 was also a gathering place for pirates.
East Blue, Loguetown.
A valiant little girl with short black hair walked quickly down the street. She hugged a longsword with simple decorations—a white scabbard with no curvature, looking somewhat plain.
Clutching the freshly delivered newspaper tightly in her hand, her expression was excited. She barely paid attention to avoiding the bustling crowd, relying purely on a swordsman's instincts to run toward the town centre.
Kuina had been brought to Loguetown over a year ago. During this time, she had practically lived and eaten with the Marines.
Due to Atlas's specific instructions and Kuina's amazing talent, Captain Randal naturally didn't skimp on looking after her.
So, unlike when Atlas first joined the Marines, Kuina basically only needed to practice swordsmanship every day.
However, Kuina herself was very driven.
Replicating Atlas's feat from back then, Kuina had also challenged everyone in the base.
Of course, she was a bit stronger than Atlas was at that time.
After all, Kuina could easily defeat adults in the Isshin Dojo several years ago.
But...
What made her unhappy was that she had heard almost no news about Big Brother Atlas for the past year.
It seemed he had forgotten her in Loguetown.
However, after watching the live broadcast of the Summit War, she had quietly forgiven Big Brother Atlas.
Big Brother Atlas must have been too busy to call her.
Moreover, she had clearly seen—
How terrifying the destructive power of that man, Whitebeard, was. Even if Atlas had that rapid healing ability, the pain caused must not have been something one could be immune to.
But Big Brother Atlas had won in the end.
So, for the past few days, after finishing her morning training early, she ran to the port to see if any News Coos were passing by.
Preoccupied with other thoughts, Kuina completely failed to notice another little girl weaving through the crowd.
Bang—!!!
Clatter!!
The crisp sound of plastic hitting the ground rang out, followed by two cries of pain.
"Hiss~ that hurts!!" x2
"Hey, you two brats, watch where you're walking! Everyone around, clear the way!!"
"Are you alright, little girl?"
"What impatient little girls. With so many people, it's easy to trip and get hurt."
Seeing the situation, the surrounding crowd quickly parted, forming a tight circle around the two to prevent them from being trampled by unknowing passersby.
Kuina instinctively rubbed her forehead, hugged the Wado Ichimonji and the newspaper to her chest, and blurted out an apology.
"I'm really sorry, are you alri..."
But she stopped halfway.
Because a little girl who looked exactly like her was sitting opposite her, apologising while squinting and fumbling on the ground.
"Are you looking for these?"
Guided by some strange impulse, Kuina picked up the glasses from the ground and handed them over.
"Ah! That's it! Thank you so much."
The black-haired girl took the glasses with a look of surprise, put them on the bridge of her nose, and the world before her finally became clear.
"Eh?! You are..."
Seemingly unable to believe what she was seeing, the little girl lifted her glasses again, rubbed her eyes with her small hand, and lowered the glasses once more.
Finally, a look of disbelief appeared on her face.
"I can't believe it either. I didn't expect to meet someone here who looks exactly like me."
Kuina looked stunned, not even noticing the newspaper slipping from her hand.
"Yeah, it's the first time I've seen... Eh?!"
"Eh?! That sword in your hand—"
The black-haired girl adjusted her glasses slightly, bent down, and scrutinised the Wado Ichimonji in Kuina's arms from left to right, surprise flashing in her eyes.
"This is..."
"Absolutely right, absolutely right!! I read about this sword in my father's study!!"
Muttering to herself, the black-haired girl pulled a thin book from her pocket and flipped through it rapidly.
Rustle—!!!
Suddenly, the girl shrieked.
"Found it! Wado Ichimonji, it really is!!"
She pointed to a line of annotations in the book, reading word by word: "This is a famous sword ranked among the 21 Great Grade Swords!!"
"This is the sword my father gave me when I set out to sea."
Kuina nodded, staring at the Wado Ichimonji in her hand in a daze.
It seemed... she hadn't seen her father in a long time.
But one day, she would definitely become the world's greatest swordsman and prove it to her father.
Even a girl could become a very powerful swordsman!!
Thinking of this, a look of determination appeared on Kuina's face, making her young features look even more valiant.
"Ah? I'm so sorry, I forgot to introduce myself!"
The black-haired girl looked at the valiant Kuina. Her small face visibly reddened as she nervously wiped her sweaty palms on her clothes and extended a hand toward Kuina.
Smiling with pursed lips, she said, "Hello, my name is Tashigi. I'm the daughter of the town's Sword Hall master."
"Hello, my name is Kuina. I'm from Shimotsuki Village and currently a Reserve Marine member in Loguetown."
Kuina also extended her hand, gently shaking Tashigi's, and smiled slightly.
"Eh? You're a Marine?!"
Tashigi was stunned, and a look of joy appeared on her face.
"I want to join the Marines when I grow up, too. But you seem to be about the same age as me; how could you join the Marines so early?"
"I'm just temporarily living at the Marine base in Loguetown. It doesn't count as truly joining the Marines," Kuina quickly waved her hand in embarrassment and explained.
"That's still amazing. Since you're a Marine, then..."
"Eh?! Is this?"
catching a glimpse of a crumpled newspaper lying on the ground out of the corner of her eye, Tashigi squatted down curiously and picked it up.
Smoothing it out carefully, a photo occupying almost the entire page came into view. It showed the profile of a Marine.
Short black hair, a resolute face with hard lines. Streamlined muscles were exposed, covering his body like armour. In his hand, he held an exquisitely designed, luxurious longsword, with faint purple electric arcs dancing around it.
At the very top, bold characters spelt out a striking headline.
— New Marine Admiral!! The Man Who Dragged Whitebeard Down from the Throne of the World's Strongest!!
"It's Mr White Tiger!!"
Tashigi looked adoring, her small hand unconsciously tightening its grip on the newspaper.
"Eh?! You know Big Brother Atlas, too?"
"Of course! Mr White Tiger is the Marine I admire most, and he is also my goal for the future."
Saying this, Tashigi scratched her head somewhat embarrassedly.
"I want to become a powerful Marine swordsman when I grow up and take back all the famous swords that have fallen into the hands of evil people in the world!!"
"staking my life on it! I will take back all 12 Supreme Grade Swords, 21 Great Grade Swords, and 50 Skilful Grade Swords from the villains!!"
"That really is... a great dream."
Kuina smiled brilliantly in the sunlight.