On this so-called free sea, across the turbulent expanse of the Grand Line and the Four Blues, similar events were unfolding in countless corners.
In dingy taverns, on the decks of pirate ships, and in the pristine offices of Marine bases, eyes were glued to the newspapers.
Looking at the grainy photos of the young Marine officer standing over the fallen legend, reactions varied wildly.
Some pirates were indifferent, tossing the paper aside.
Some wore arrogant expressions, scoffing that Byrnndi World was just a mere weakling.
Some mocked the Marines for needing so many people to take down one man.
But others remained silent, a heavy dread settling in their stomachs.
Some were envious of the fame.
And some, the ambitious rookies, viewed this "Christian Raleigh" as a stepping stone—a rival to be crushed to make their own names.
Regardless of the varied reactions from the pirates in the main world, one thing was absolutely certain: From this day forward, the name of the Marine's rising star, Christian Raleigh, had officially entered the sights of the strong.
He was no longer just a slacker in the East Blue; he was a player on the world stage.
....
After a day and night of arduous travel, the Marine fleet finally returned to the Eryoku Kingdom.
The warships cut through the waves, the white seagull flags snapping in the wind.
Sengoku stood at the prow, his expression grave.
He was expecting smoke. He was expecting ruins. He was expecting a kingdom torn apart by a violent, bloody uprising.
However, what struck them as odd—bizarre, even—was that the kingdom they had assumed was completely destroyed seemed to have remained... unchanged.
The skyline was intact. The port was busy.
The massive workers' uprising, which reports claimed involved hundreds of thousands of people, appeared to have left almost no physical impact on this kingdom.
Sengoku set foot on the dock, looking around with a deeply puzzled expression.
"This... doesn't look like a war zone."
Raleigh, walking behind him, sensed something amiss the moment he stepped out of the cabin.
He took a deep breath.
This was the Royal Capital, distinct from the industrial island, but usually, the wind carried the smog here too.
However, the perennial, oppressive dust that had once shrouded the Eryoku Kingdom like a funeral pall was no longer as dense.
The air tasted cleaner.
In Raleigh's view, the gray haze hanging over the kingdom had already dissipated by at least a third.
'Dragon... you work fast,' Raleigh thought, hiding a smirk.
"Honorable members of the Marines?" A well-dressed young man, who carried himself with the stiff, polite demeanor of a royal butler, approached them on the dock.
He bowed low. "I am a guard of the new Royal Court. Our... Monarch... is deeply grateful for the contributions the Marines made during the previous pirate crisis. We have been expecting you."
Sengoku scrutinized the young man briefly.
He looked for signs of duress, fear, or deception.
Finding nothing suspicious on the surface, the Fleet Admiral nodded slowly.
"Lead the way."
As the group began to move toward the palace, Borsalino lazily circled around to stand behind Raleigh.
He leaned in, his voice a low, vibrating whisper.
"Ooooooh, Raleigh. Don't you think this place is strange? It's too quiet. It's as if no uprising ever happened here. The streets are clean. The people are calm. It's... creepy."
Raleigh kept his face neutral, though internally he was calculating.
"Maybe you're overthinking it, brother," Raleigh retorted, keeping his voice casual. "Or maybe the rebel army is lying in ambush at the royal camp, waiting to chop us into mincemeat the moment we show up. Then you get a jar, I get a jar, and we all go home in pieces."
"Scary~" Borsalino drawled, but then he grinned. "You're still grumpy about the newspaper, aren't you?"
Raleigh shot him a dirty look.
"You're damn right I am."
He was still annoyed at having been tricked by Borsalino once again.
That photo of him standing over Byrnndi World wasn't an accident; Borsalino had definitely tipped off the News Coo.
Seeing this, Borsalino quickly threw a heavy arm around Raleigh's neck, leaning his weight on him in a placating gesture.
"Come on, Raleigh, don't be like that. This wasn't something I could control! Think about it—in that chaotic situation, who would've expected a news agency's photo Den Den Mushi to be lurking in the bushes? If I'd known, I would've stopped it. Probably."
Raleigh shoved his arm off but said nothing.
This wasn't the future; news agencies nowadays weren't as omnipresent as they would later become.
Though they were bold, the World Government usually managed to cover up secrets they wanted hidden.
Otherwise, why hadn't the competitions of the Celestial Dragons or the subsequent massacres been exposed? The fact that this got out meant someone wanted it out.
The thought of being watched by the entire world—and worse, having expectations placed on him—made Raleigh's scalp tingle.
He just wanted to slack off!
Noticing his brother's genuine distress, Borsalino patted Raleigh on the shoulder harder.
"Cheer up, Raleigh! You're a man destined to enter the Grand Line and make a name for yourself in the world. This just means you've entered their sights a bit earlier than planned. I believe in your strength! You'll be an Admiral in no time!"
Borsalino's comfort couldn't be called useless, but it wasn't particularly helpful either.
It was actually the exact opposite of what Raleigh wanted to hear.
Raleigh waved a hand dismissively, deciding to make Borsalino shut up before he jinxed him further.
He had been mulling over this the entire journey back and had mostly come to terms with it.
'There was no helping it,' he reasoned. 'What happened has happened. The news has spread. I can't gather the papers back.'
All he could do now was lie low in the North Blue as Acting Commander, as it turned out—until he was strong enough to ignore the waves he was making.
"Raleigh! Congratulations!"
"Darn it! Such a cool highlight moment and it wasn't me! I should have been the one on the front page!"
Two different voices came from behind—no need to guess who they were.
Gion and Tokikake.
Raleigh turned around, his shoulders slumping.
"Hey."
"Hmm?" Tokikake sounded puzzled, looking at Raleigh's long face.
"Raleigh, why do you seem unhappy? This is huge! You're famous across the seas! Women will be throwing themselves at you!"
Gion, however, seemed to recall something.
She covered her mouth with her slender hand, her eyes crinkling as she laughed softly.
She seemed to understand exactly why Raleigh was displeased.
He hated work. And fame meant more work.
"What's there to be happy about?" Raleigh grumbled, kicking a pebble. "I'm just a slacker who only stepped in for the final blow because I had to. Now some bastard journalist wrote it up as if I single-handedly took down the World Destroyer. Do you know what that means? It means every ambitious rookie with a sword is going to come looking for me to prove themselves. What if someone challenges me while I'm trying to nap?"
Raleigh grew angrier the more he thought about it, deciding right then and there that he'd definitely beat up any news reporters he encountered in the future.
"Enough," Gion said, still chuckling, falling into step beside him. "You're going to be the North Blue Acting Commander soon. You'll be surrounded by thousands of soldiers. Those challengers won't get to you so easily."
Her words somewhat improved Raleigh's mood.
He blinked.
"You're right," he realized. "If I make my subordinates incredibly strong... Cleveland, Miles, Betty... I can just have them gang up on anyone who comes for me. I won't even have to lift a finger."
Gion's casual remark set Raleigh's mind racing.
He decided to throw all scruples out the window.
In the North Blue, caring too much about one's reputation or "fair fights" could leave one constrained.
Though Raleigh had never been particularly honorable, he'd rarely crossed certain lines before.
Now? If he wanted peace, he'd have to be ruthless about delegating his fights.
Chatting and laughing along the way—mostly Tokikake trying to impress Gion with how he would have killed Byrnndi World—they finally reached the Palace entrance.
Only here did Raleigh's group finally see traces of the recent conflict.
The magnificent gates were battered.
There were scorch marks on the stone and deep gouges in the wood. But what caught Gion's eye were the bullet holes.
Hundreds of them.
The King's Guard used standard bolt-action rifles. The Marines used flintlocks.
But these marks...
Gion narrowed her eyes at the bullet marks, studying the impact patterns.
She quietly moved closer to Raleigh, lowering her voice so Sengoku wouldn't hear.
"Raleigh," she whispered, her tone sharp. "These bullet traces look familiar. The caliber, the penetration... they look like they're from Donquixote Family weapons. The new rapid-fire models."
As an elite Marine officer, Gion had encountered Donquixote Family firearms before in seized shipments.
Just from the bullet marks, she could tell the weapons used to storm this palace likely came from Doflamingo's factories.
Raleigh didn't flinch.
He pretended to be clueless, scratching his head and yawning.
"Really? Doflamingo never mentioned anything about selling weapons here to me. Are you sure you're not mistaken? Bullet holes all look the same to me."
Gion stared at him.
Having spent considerable time with Raleigh, she had gradually learned to recognize his little lie.
The slight tilt of his head.
The way he scratched his neck when he was avoiding the truth.
By her judgment, Raleigh was ninety percent lying.
Actually, make that a hundred percent.
There was only one reason Raleigh would lie about this.
He knew.
He knew the rebels were armed by Doflamingo.
Which meant he knew Doflamingo was selling to them.
Which meant... Raleigh had likely facilitated it.
This realization made Gion feel a mix of being creeped out and deeply confused.
'Why?' she thought, looking at his relaxed profile. 'Why would a Marine officer, fully aware of everything, not take any measures to prevent a workers' uprising? Why would he arm them?'
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