"Excuse me, Luffy, as a rookie pirate, why did you have the courage to rush into Marineford?"
"Huh? It was just to rescue Ace, there's no big reason behind it."
"Ahem, I see. Then what are your thoughts on Dragon? He is known as the most dangerous criminal by the World Government, having overthrown several member nations' regimes so far.
Did becoming a pirate have anything to do with his influence? And was Revolutionary Army officer Ivankov helping you escape because of your father's orders?"
"Oh, actually, I didn't even know I had a father, since I've never met him."
The exclusive interview was quite special, but Luffy's answers gave the reporter a headache, offering no explosive points and completely lacking logic. He couldn't tell if he was interviewing a person or a puppet controlled by a beetle.
After all, that beetle tapped Luffy's head with a stick, causing Luffy to change his posture and reveal the mark on his shoulder, looking very much like a marionette.
The tattoo-like pattern was his way of communicating with his crew, as long as that photo got published, nothing else mattered.
Although the interview results weren't favorable, the reporter didn't break down over it. Being able to take things out of context was his forte, and he'd surely extract something eye-catching from Luffy's comments.
But to prevent himself from dying of frustration, he hastily wrapped up the interview.
...
At that moment, Marineford had become desolate, with residents evacuated before the war yet to return, its several battles having already turned it into ruins.
Exaggerating a bit, you wouldn't need a foundation to build houses here, it's all ready-made.
To restore Marineford, they'd first need to reclaim land and fill the destroyed island.
As for how to move forward, whether the location of the Navy Headquarters should change, the internal Navy hadn't yet come to an agreement.
Zephyr's funeral had just ended, and the Navy Headquarters buried him with admiral honors, his death further fueling the Navy's hatred towards pirates.
After regrouping, the Navy began marshaling forces to tackle the rampant piracy, but the effects were minimal. Too many pirates were setting sail, and despite efforts driven by vengeance, they couldn't return The Sea to its state before Whitebeard's death.
The waters of the New World were similarly tumultuous, especially near the territories of Red Hair, BIG MOM, and Kaidou.
Even the edges of these territories started facing relentless pirate attacks, not to mention the remaining territories of the Whitebeard Pirates.
The only defense the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates could manage was these territories.
The chaos in the New World was bound to continue for a while, only when enough blood had been shed, and only when the troublemakers had battered themselves senseless, could the storm temporarily subside.
Luffy's exclusive interview chiefly summarized his "crimes" starting from Impel Down, making him the leader of the Worst Generation, with his actions likely surpassing the destruction caused by other Worst Generation members combined.
The interview also stirred considerable unease among certain people, particularly some in the Navy Headquarters.
"Garp! Look at your grandson, look at what he's done?!"
The information in the newspaper nearly broke Sengoku. Even though he already planned to resign, no successor for the role of Marshal had been selected yet.
Sengoku himself recommended Kuzan, and other high-ranking Navy officers like Garp had similar opinions, but the Five Elders favored Akainu. With some mid-to-high-ranking Navy officers also swinging to the hawkish side due to Zephyr's death, Akainu's support was substantial as well.
However, neither side willing to relent, led to a stalemate, leaving the headache to Sengoku to deal with.
This time, Garp didn't laugh it off, he merely munched on his senbei in silence.
"Can't your family ever be normal?! What's the point of this interview? And Morgans, that bastard actually dares... Never mind, there's nothing he wouldn't dare to do."
Sengoku suddenly sighed, sat back in his seat, looking helpless.
He knew Garp went easy during the Summit War, no way could he believe Luffy would knock him down with a punch.
Yet Sengoku realized an even more critical issue, under the circumstances back then in the Summit War, even if Garp had acted seriously, he probably couldn't have resolved the war, which was what troubled him.
It's just that aboard The Sea, pirates could never truly cooperate. Otherwise, if the World Government was right about Red Hair conspiring to form a grand pirate alliance, that would be a colossal problem.
...
As the newspaper circulated, the members of the Straw Hat Pirates also saw Luffy in the paper.
It must be said, Kuma went to great lengths for Dragon's son.
Upon encountering Luffy's crew on Thriller Bark, Kuma inquired about their details, and in the end, arranged fitting destinations for them.
It's as if Kuma foresaw today's events, sending everyone where they needed to be.
Chopper in the Trino Kingdom of Giant Bird Island, Franky on Mechanical Island, and Nami on Little Sky Island Vesperia all found what suited them here.
Compared to them, others had more legendary experiences.
Like Sanji and Bon Kurei, who Kuma ultimately sent to the same place—Okama Kingdom—Kamabaka.
"I want to leave this hell!"
"This place is absolute heaven!"
For Sanji, Kamabaka without real women was hell, no matter the promise with his crewmates, even without it, he'd still want to leave this terrifying island.
But for Bon Kurei, this place was a dreamy paradise, a holy land in his heart.
The only regret he had was not meeting the Okama King. While Sanji was struggling bitterly, Bon Kurei had integrated with the Okama community, living comfortably.
When Ivankov returned to Kamabaka Kingdom, Bon Kurei's emotions were ignited, beginning his starstruck journey.
After receiving news about Luffy, Sanji and Bon Kurei prepared for their training in the Okama Kingdom, but before that, Sanji had a particularly difficult problem to solve.
With the route changes of the Straw Hat Gang, they didn't all have wanted posters, but Bon Kurei had an old wanted poster, and his identity as an Okama quickly won him over with the others. While Sanji was still wrestling with it, he'd already bonded as sisters with the island's Okamas.
But Sanji was different.
Thus, Ivankov posed his question.
"You say you're a member of the Straw Hat boy's crew?"
"That's right."
"Then, how will you prove that you're a crew member of the Straw Hat boy?"