Silence. A long, heavy silence.
A man capable of defeating the Golden Lion... how could someone like that appear in the East Blue?!
"How did you come to this conclusion?" Sengoku asked, his voice still tinged with disbelief.
Smoker crushed the glowing ember of his cigar into an ashtray, his face grim. "I watched every single floating island plummet into the sea, but that massive black ship... it simply sailed away through the sky. Fleet Admiral, I have reason to suspect they subdued Shiki and forced him into their crew."
"Impossible," Sengoku countered firmly, the Den Den Mushi mimicking his dismissive wave. "A man like Shiki would never submit to another. Besides, you know whose crew he used to belong to... he has too much pride for that."
"Then what happened? Is there another person on that ship with a fruit that grants flight?" Smoker asked, sounding frustrated.
"That's also unlikely," Sengoku mused, his eyes sharp behind his glasses. "Devil Fruits are unique. A fruit with the strategic value to float objects of that size... there shouldn't be a second one in existence. However, I do have a theory..."
A look of deep concern crossed Sengoku's face. "If my theory is correct... this is an unprecedented disaster in the making. I'll issue the bounties for this group immediately. Did you manage to gather any intel on them?"
"None," Smoker admitted dejectedly. He had been chasing their tail for weeks and didn't even have a name.
"Nothing at all?"
"Only the faces of a few members."
"That will have to do. The World Government has already dispatched the elite of CP9. This mission is led by their strongest agent in eight hundred years—the 'Killing Machine,' Rob Lucci. Between them, you, and Kizaru... we will catch them."
---
### The Intruder in the Office
Knock, knock, knock—
"Enter," Sengoku called out.
A man with blonde hair and a perpetual, squinty-eyed smile pushed the door open. Sengoku's expression shifted to a mask of professional neutrality.
"Pariston Hill... what is it?"
Pariston wore his signature "sparkling" smile, his eyes curved into crescents. "Fleet Admiral, regarding those pirates giving you such a headache... I happen to have a few leads."
"Were you eavesdropping?" Sengoku's voice turned cold.
"Oh, goodness no~" Pariston waved his hands dismissively. He pointed to his ears, his smile widening. "I wasn't eavesdropping. It's just that the whispers of the world tend to find their way to me~"
Pariston leaned in, whispering something into Sengoku's ear as the heavy doors of the office swung shut. We don't know what was said in that meeting, but we do know the result: shortly after, the Marines issued a set of official bounty posters for a new, terrifying threat.
### The Phantom Pirates (Gen'ei Ryodan)
| Name | Role | Bounty (Berries) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| "King of Thieves" Chrollo Lucilfer | Captain | 720,000,000 |
| Jewelry Bonney | Special Ops | 230,000,000 |
| Uvogin | Vanguard / Beast | 130,000,000 |
| Nobunaga Hazama | Swordsman | 110,000,000 |
| Feitan Portor | Swordsman / Torture | 100,000,000 |
| Bonolenov Ndongo | Guard | 90,000,000 |
| Phinks Magcub | Vanguard | 85,000,000 |
| Shalnark | Strategist | 70,000,000 |
| Franklin Bordeau | Ranged Support | 70,000,000 |
| Shizuku Murasaki | Logistics | 45,000,000 |
| Machi Komacine | Medical | 40,000,000 |
| Pakunoda | Intelligence | 40,000,000 |
| Kortopi | Copyist | 35,000,000 |
| "Cat Burglar" Nami | Navigator | 30,000,000 |
---
### Baratie: The Hero's Setback
Meanwhile, back at the floating restaurant Baratie...
Luffy and Zoro were the only two left of their crew at the moment. Luffy's recruitment drive was not going well. He felt like his luck had run out.
"Come with me!" Luffy yelled.
"No! (╬≖_≖)" Sanji replied.
"Come on, just join us! (¬▂¬)"
"I said no! (⋋▂⋌)"
Snap— Luffy pulled so hard on Sanji's leg that the cook's shoe popped off and rolled across the deck.
"Why not?!" Luffy asked, genuinely confused. "It's the Grand Line! Your dream, the All Blue, is waiting there!"
"You don't understand!" Sanji shouted. He slumped into a corner, clutching his head. "You didn't see it... the monsters on that sea are terrifying. Have you ever seen a literal island vanish into a piece of cloth? A giant meteorite just... gone?"
Sanji spread his arms wide, gesturing wildly. "And a little girl... she ate a whole ship's worth of food! A whole ship! My confidence as a chef is shattered! I'm not strong enough. I'm just fodder compared to those people!"
"But—" Luffy tried to interrupt, but Sanji kept going.
"And look at you! You've just got yourself and that moss-head over there. How are you going to get to the Grand Line? Do you even have a Navigator?"
Luffy went silent. He realized with a start: Wait... where is my navigator?
Why was there not a single decent navigator in the whole East Blue? The cook refused to leave, and the navigator was nowhere to be found. How was he supposed to set sail?
Not far away, Zoro was leaning against the railing, staring out at the sea.
What is this feeling? Zoro wondered. My gut is telling me I was supposed to experience something here. Something fated. Something important.
He looked out at the calm, empty ocean where the Krieg fleet had once been.
"What did I miss...?" he muttered. "It feels like I missed the most important moment of my life."
---
The ripples caused by the Spiders are changing the destiny of the Straw Hats!