Roger's final words changed the era, for better and for worse.
While they inspired dreams in many, they brought profound misery to others. Fish-Man Island was one of the many places caught in the crossfire. Merfolk and Fish-Men commanded exorbitant prices on the slave market. Their existence had always been targeted, but with the dawn of the Great Pirate Era, the influx of visitors to the island spiked—and with them came a wave of outlaws intent on kidnapping and selling the island's people.
That was the state of affairs... until that man appeared.
"Don't you dare mess with my friend's country! You snot-nosed brats!!"
With Roger gone, he was arguably the strongest pirate in the world. "Whitebeard" Edward Newgate. He was the man who had shared the cup of brotherhood with King Neptune years ago, cementing a bond of friendship.
His crew descended from the Moby Dick, systematically crushing the traffickers who sought to steal away the island's inhabitants. Though the world called them villains, there is honor even among outlaws. When a friend who once shared a drink falls into trouble, Newgate moves. He is that kind of man.
"This island is now my territory!!"
There are very few fools in this world brave enough to make an enemy of Whitebeard. From those overconfident in their strength to those overflowing with ambition, Newgate met the pirates of this new era head-on. Some he sank to the bottom of the sea; others, he welcomed as his sons and daughters.
His influence grew slowly but steadily. Combined with the power that once rivaled Roger, he was already being looked upon as the next "Pirate King." The moment he declared a place his territory, anyone who laid a finger on it became Whitebeard's enemy. For the vast majority of pirates, that name alone was the ultimate deterrent.
+++
That had occurred about a week ago.
The scars left by the previous pirate raids were deep, leaving many residents harborng a justified hatred and fear of humans. Many had been taken, and despite the newfound safety, the island was draped in a veil of mourning.
Jinbe, a soldier in the Neptune Army of the Ryugu Kingdom, felt the weight of it as well. He visited the site where Newgate had single-handedly routed the traffickers, sitting down with a grim expression. He struggled to process the swirling vortex of his emotions. Why did humans insist on treating his kind as property?
As he pondered the complexities of human relations, a fellow soldier ran toward him, looking panicked.
"Jinbe! A pirate ship is approaching!"
"What?! I'm coming!"
Even as Whitebeard's territory, there were always pirates with a death wish who would attempt to pillage regardless. The Neptune Army's work was never finished. When Jinbe reached the scene and saw the pirate in question, his eyes went wide.
"Kanata!"
"Hm? Oh, Jinbe. It's been a while."
With the borders tightened, few humans were allowed entry into Fish-Man Island. Normally, a risk assessment was required while the vessel was still submerged. However, for a known associate like Kanata, the screening process was relaxed. Furthermore, she had a large number of Fish-Men and Merfolk aboard her ship. Once they docked, she explained the situation.
"So, what brings you here today?" Jinbe asked.
"I set sail the moment I heard Fish-Man Island was in chaos, but it seems Newgate beat me to the punch," Kanata replied.
"Yes, thanks to him, we've managed to stop the worst of the atrocities. Did you have the same intention?"
"If it's someone else's territory, I have no business meddling. But this is Tiger's home. I couldn't just sit back and do nothing."
"And the people on your ship...?"
"I cleaned out every slave trader I could find in the surrounding waters. These are the ones I was able to liberate before they could be sold."
Kanata and Jinbe turned their gaze toward the deck. Seeing families and friends reunited—people who thought they would never see each other again—the two couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.
"Thank you, Kanata. Truly," Jinbe said, his voice thick with emotion. "I thought they were gone forever. I thought I had no choice but to hate all humans."
"Save the thanks. I wasn't able to save everyone. We came from the New World side."
The majority of the slave trade was centralized at Sabaody Archipelago. Kanata wanted to storm the place and dismantle every auction house, but she knew that if she set foot there, the Navy Headquarters would be forced to mobilize. While the Navy was busy, she couldn't ignore the risk of a full-scale confrontation so close to their heart.
Between the rising generation of pirates in the New World and her constant skirmishes with Big Mom, Kanata didn't have the spare military strength to wage war on the Navy right now. Being famous was a double-edged sword.
"Even so, you saved those you could," Jinbe noted. "By the way, have you seen Tiger?"
"No. I haven't seen Big Brother Tai in a while. When was the last time he was home? A year or two ago?"
"A year or two is nothing for a man like him. Don't worry, he's strong."
Kanata acknowledged Tiger's strength as an adventurer. She wished he'd send a message once in a while, but she took the lack of news as a sign that he was doing just fine.
"How long do you plan to stay?"
"Only as long as it takes to resupply and prepare. It's tedious to linger in Newgate's territory for too long."
She wanted to avoid a direct conflict with Whitebeard if possible. They would likely have to clash eventually, but the time wasn't right. She was still short on personnel, and adding another titan to her list of enemies would lead to her organization's collapse sooner or later. She had plenty of people who already wanted her dead.
"That's a shame. I was hoping we could share a drink."
"Another time. Though, if you ever decide to leave the Neptune Army and join my crew, the door is always open."
"Hah! I'm afraid I can't do that. I have a duty to fight for my country."
"Fufu... how unfortunate."
Even under Whitebeard's protection, minor disputes still broke out. When Jinbe became a soldier, he hadn't expected the world to turn this chaotic, but he remained dedicated to his role. He couldn't betray the country that had taken in a rough-around-the-edges man like him.
After their chat, Kanata moved on to speak with King Neptune. Between diplomatic talks and the time required to re-coat her ship for the journey, she wouldn't be leaving immediately. However, the visit remained peaceful, and before long, the Twilight Pirates departed back for Fullalead.
+++
"This is an embarrassment."
The voice coming from the Transponder Snail made the top brass of the Navy sink into their seats. In a conference room at Navy Headquarters, the gathered officers sat with crossed arms and grim expressions, forced to accept the reprimand.
Fleet Admiral Kong spoke with sincere apology. "We are deeply sorry. We did not anticipate the situation escalating to this degree..."
"Excuses are useless. Your job is to deal with the explosion of piracy that followed Roger's death. Get to it."
It had been about a year since Roger's execution. The damage caused by the surge of new pirates was staggering. The Navy was suffering from a chronic manpower shortage, constantly forced into a reactive stance. While capable recruits were being trained, the power of certain pirate captains was growing at a terrifying rate. The exhaustion within the Navy's ranks was palpable.
"On that note," Vice Admiral Berck interrupted, adjusting his glasses. "What is the status of the 'Seven Warlords of the Sea' proposal that the World Government previously suggested?"
"Hm... that."
The Seven Warlords of the Sea—a system proposed by the World Government to grant official pardons to certain powerful pirates. By recognizing them, the government intended to use them as a deterrent against other pirates. It was a classic case of fighting fire with fire.
"We believe this system can mitigate the pirate threat to some extent," the voice from the snail continued. "If the pirates cull their own kind, it lightens the burden on the Navy."
"I agree with the sentiment," Berck said. "But where would the Warlords officially stand?"
"They will be directly under the World Government. An organization separate from the Navy."
The pirates wouldn't want to play nice with the Navy, and the Navy had no desire to rely on pirates. Placing them directly under the World Government was the compromise. While the specific pardons and privileges were still being negotiated, the question remained: which pirates were influential enough to actually sway the era?
Naturally, the World Government didn't expect loyalty. They simply needed pirates willing to hunt their own kind in exchange for special privileges. Of course, many pirates would detest the idea of serving the government.
"We have a list of candidates with sufficient strength... but whether they'll accept the offer is a gamble," Kong said, flipping through a folder of high-profile outlaws.
A mediocre bounty wouldn't suffice for this role; they needed pirates with massive reputations. Ideally, they would be worth at least a hundred million berries, but pirates at that level were notoriously difficult to handle.
Kong stopped flipping as he landed on a specific name. His brow furrowed. The pirate in question certainly had the fame and strength, but the idea of them siding with the World Government seemed impossible.
"Why is 'The Witch' on this list? She's a pirate who killed a Celestial Dragon. I can't imagine her taking a seat provided by the World Government..."
"While she did kill a Celestial Dragon, it has been determined that the fault lay with another Celestial Dragon," the voice—belonging to the Five Elders—responded.
The Elders referenced Saint Donquixote Homing, the man whose brother, Saint Donquixote Chrysaor, had been the victim. Since the family had been stripped of their status and exiled to the surface after the incident, the Celestial Dragons at large had decided that Kanata had no reason to target any current members of the nobility.
"That's preposterous! You think she'd kill a god for a reason like that...!" Admiral Sengoku interjected.
"She is a merchant. She'll do anything for the right price. If we frame this as a business transaction, she may very well accept."
The Five Elders seemed obsessed with recruiting Kanata. They turned a deaf ear to Sengoku's protests. In terms of fame and power, there was no better candidate. Big Mom would never serve the government, and Whitebeard would never be interested in such a title.
Adding Kanata's influence would be like adding a force equal to the Navy itself. While they desperately wanted her on their side, the officers in the room knew this was a dangerous bait to take.
"Setting aside the Celestial Dragon incident, she possesses a massive fleet of merchant ships that fuel the economy, and she has the strength to sink almost any pirate in her path," the Elder continued.
Her power was attractive both as a deterrent and as an economic lubricant. More importantly...
"With her strength and the Navy's combined, do you not think we could finally crush Big Mom, Whitebeard, and the rising 'Kaido of the Beasts'?"
The room went silent. If the Warlords could thin the herd of lesser pirates, the Navy could redirect its full military might toward the Four Emperors. The Five Elders were even willing to overlook Kanata's lineage as Octavia's daughter. To them, she was a pragmatic moderate... relatively speaking. She was only ruthless toward other pirates.
"So... the plan is to use the Warlords to stabilize the sea, and then move to dismantle the Emperors?"
"Exactly. We cannot allow them to roam free forever."
"That may be true," Sengoku muttered, "but bringing Kanata into the fold is a high risk. I've fought her twice. She isn't the type of person who takes orders from anyone."
Sengoku glanced at Garp, but the older man was just sipping his tea, showing no interest in joining the debate.
"Berck, what is your assessment?" Kong asked.
"If I may offer my opinion," Berck said carefully, "the best approach with her is a purely business-centric relationship."
"Business?" an Elder repeated.
"Precisely. We create a relationship where she hunts pirates in exchange for specific, tangible benefits that suit her interests."
"We were thinking of pardoning her bounty and allowing her to plunder non-affiliated nations. Is that not enough?"
"I doubt she would find that beneficial. With her current strength and influence, there are very few people capable of claiming her bounty regardless of the amount. And she has no need for plunder."
"Then what would serve as a profit for 'The Witch'?"
"It's a delicate matter... but rather than money, I believe officially sanctioned trade rights with member nations would be more effective."
Of course, that came with its own risks. If Kanata's merchant ships gained a monopoly on maritime transport, her influence over member nations would be staggering. Berck suggested the contracts be strictly limited to prevent total dependency.
While the idea of no longer being hunted by the Navy was a dream for most pirates, for Kanata, the Navy was just another obstacle to be pushed aside. In some cases, hunting her was a bigger risk for the Navy than it was for her.
"...I see. We will take it into consideration," the Elder said.
"Any other opinions?" Kong asked the room. No one raised a hand. The officers largely felt that getting Kanata to join was impossible, and they were only providing suggestions because the Five Elders were forcing the issue.
"Then we will proceed with this direction for now."
It was a difficult case. The Seven Warlords system was a sound theory, but if the members were this volatile, its functionality was questionable. Everyone in the room looked at Berck, assuming the nightmare of actually negotiating this would be dumped entirely on his shoulders.
+++
After the meeting, the Five Elders spoke amongst themselves.
"We want her pirate influence and her mercantile reach... but that is not the core of the matter."
"The only thing that truly matters is the optics: 'The pirate who struck a Celestial Dragon has submitted to the government's banner.'"
"The Navy doesn't understand that."
"The public face is all we need. Even if the terms favor her for now, once Whitebeard is dealt with, we can simply find a pretext to terminate the contract."
"The Golden Lion has already fallen. Big Mom and Kaido can wait; their influence is not yet a direct threat to our foundations."
The true thorn in their side was Whitebeard. It wasn't just his power to destroy the world; it was his philosophy. The World Government could not allow a situation where people believed they were better off under Whitebeard's protection than as a member nation of the government.
Reports from CP9 indicated that Newgate didn't even collect tribute from his territories. If such a precedent took root, it would undermine the very legitimacy of the World Government's rule.
That man had to be brought down at any cost.
While Kanata's territory management was similar, she at least operated on a basis of providing safety in exchange for payment. Her methods were close enough to the government's own that she wasn't an ideological threat. In this era of chaos, the World Government refused to let its grip on the world slip.
***
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