At a mysterious strait in the New World, the Roger Pirates were taking a brief break to dock and resupply.
"Captain! Captain! Big news! Big news!"
Shanks excitedly waved the freshly acquired newspaper as he jogged over to his captain, Roger.
"The Marines have promoted a very young guy to Headquarters Vice Admiral! They say the inauguration ceremony will be held the day after tomorrow!"
Gol D. Roger took the newspaper from Shanks and read it carefully.
"What a powerful young man—not even twenty years old yet, but already strong enough to be promoted to Vice Admiral."
Roger initially wanted to praise Raleigh's talent, but upon second thought, his own ship was full of monstrously talented individuals.
The most famous among the youth currently was Douglas Bullet.
Within just a few years of obtaining his Devil Fruit ability, Bullet had already reached a level where he could match the crew's veterans.
"This Vice Admiral Raleigh and Bullet belong to the same generation—a brand new era will belong to them."
"But for now, the world still rests in the hands of us old-timers! HAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Roger laughed proudly, his Conqueror's Haki continuously spreading outward, actually causing physical damage to the ship's railing and knocking out the weaker crew members.
Noticing Roger's reckless release of Haki, Silvers Rayleigh emerged from the cabin with a resigned expression, carrying the unconscious Shanks and Buggy away.
"Captain, next time you release your Conqueror's Haki, could you please consider these two kids, Shanks and Buggy?"
"Don't always leave me to clean up your mess."
Silvers Rayleigh looked utterly exasperated—he'd originally been an ordinary person living a stable, happy life until he met the voyaging Roger who invited him aboard.
And now, there was a Marine with the same name as him making waves in the world.
...
The information spread with remarkable efficiency, quickly traveling from the Grand Line to all Four Seas.
"Major news, major news, brothers! Come gather 'round, I've learned something huge."
A burly, muscular man shouted across the training ground of a Marine Branch.
"Fernando, you're not spreading fake news again, are you? Last time you said there was big news, it turned out to be nothing more than a few pirates who'd just set sail and ended up robbing a Marine ship."
Amid the jeering voices around him, Fernando slapped his chest with a grave expression and declared loudly.
"Brothers, I swear on my honor, this time it's definitely big news."
Then he pulled out a newspaper from his pocket and said:
"Look here, the newspaper says that Christian Raleigh, during his past tenure, played an indelible role in reducing the number of pirates."
"So, after a meeting and discussion, Marine Headquarters unanimously agreed that Raleigh has the capability to serve as a Vice Admiral."
After Fernando finished speaking, the Marine soldiers gathered around him erupted in an uproar.
"Christian Raleigh!"
"I've known about him for a long time—he was the former Captain at Commander Momonga's branch."
"It hasn't been that long, and he's already become a Vice Admiral?"
Regarding such news, most of the Marine personnel actually felt convinced in their hearts, acknowledging his strength, but they still couldn't resist saying with sharp tongues.
"In such a short time in office, he's accumulated so many achievements. Who knows if it's the result of his own hard work or because he has a good older brother like Borsalino?"
...
The news also reached the G-1 Branch where Momonga was currently stationed.
"My goodness, this Vice Admiral Raleigh is truly strong. Back when he was in East Blue, I always thought he'd eventually get promoted to Headquarters."
A Marine soldier with graying hair said while smoking his pipe.
"Report! Captain Momonga, here is today's newspaper."
The adjutant placed a fresh stack of newspapers on the desk in front of Momonga.
"Captain Momonga, there's something in here related to us—it's about Raleigh-sama's promotion to Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral."
"What?!"
Momonga, who hadn't intended to look, suddenly picked up the newspaper from the desk and began reading it carefully.
After thoroughly reading all the articles about Raleigh, Momonga slowly let out a long breath.
"This guy's promotion speed is just too fast. I don't want to fall too far behind him."
"Pass down the order: everyone is to take two days for rest and preparation."
"Because after watching Raleigh's promotion ceremony, we will launch a three-month crackdown operation targeting all pirates in our sector."
Momonga was actually still a Captain.
Not wanting to fall too far behind his former colleague Raleigh, Momonga devised a plan to accumulate merit rapidly.
Momonga tightly gripped the Dōjigiri Yasutsuna that Raleigh had gifted him, which hung at his waist, and swore a silent vow in his heart.
...
North Blue, the stronghold of the Donquixote Family.
The auditorium inside their base seemed as if it had been destroyed by a rampaging beast.
Amidst a cloud of dust, Donquixote Doflamingo stood panting slightly, veins throbbing on his forehead.
Before seeing the newspaper, the entire Donquixote Family had been basking in the good news of their increased market share.
Suddenly, in the newspaper, they saw that Christian Raleigh, the Marine Governor of the North Blue who had been suppressing their development, had been promoted to Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters due to his achievements in "cleaning up" the North Blue.
"What qualifications does this guy have to receive such an award? The pirates and underground forces in the North Blue were all dealt with through our efforts to monopolize the underworld!"
"The Donquixote Family has sacrificed so much to eliminate the competition. Why can a Marine officer who barely contributed become a Vice Admiral off of our work?"
Many in the Donquixote Family couldn't understand it.
Their Young Master, Doflamingo, was equally perplexed and enraged.
However, after venting his frustration, Doflamingo quickly regained his usual composure and sinister wisdom.
With a profound gaze behind his sunglasses, he looked at the nautical chart of the Grand Line and said:
"It's fine. Fuffuffuffu... Vice Admirals like him rarely leave their posts at Marineford. They mostly stay at Headquarters and only mobilize for special military emergencies."
"With him gone from the North Blue, he has no legitimate reason to stop what we plan to do next."
On the chart, there was a location that had long been marked—the future base of operations for the Donquixote Family: Dressrosa.
"By the way, Trebol mentioned that Kaido wants to purchase a large quantity of weapons and hopes we can offer him a discount."
After quickly running the numbers in his mind, Doflamingo said.
"Tell him our latest condition: for every three weapons purchased, we'll give him a 90% discount. We need the Beasts Pirates as a backing now that the Marines are paying attention to the North."
...
North Blue, the northernmost nation.
Monkey D. Dragon was training his physique while keeping up with world events.
When he heard the news of Raleigh's promotion to Vice Admiral, he set down his heavy training equipment and walked over to the newspaper.
"Hmm, this guy became a Marine Vice Admiral at an even younger age than I did."
Dragon remarked with a sigh.
This was also a matter of the times.
In Dragon's era in the Marines, there were too many senior Vice Admirals.
However, after the legendary God Valley Incident, many of the older Vice Admirals voluntarily retired or died.
That's why, in recent years, whether it was Sakazuki, Borsalino, or now Raleigh, they all achieved the rank of Vice Admiral at a very young age.
The era demanded new power.
"We will meet again at the end of this era. I believe this day will come sooner or later, Raleigh!"