Countries along the Grand Line have almost all suffered pirate attacks.
Familiar places like Drum Island, Water 7, and even Dressrosa have not been spared.
Surprisingly, the one place that should have been most chaotic—Sabaody Archipelago—remained unusually calm.
The lawless districts on the islands grew completely quiet as news of the Navy's crushing defeat spread.
Even the most notorious pirates with substantial bounties showed no intention of causing trouble.
This was inevitable. Since the day the naval battle ended, Marine Headquarters had entered a state of emergency mobilization.
Over the following days, numerous naval forces from various branches converged on Marine Headquarters from all directions.
As a result, Marine Headquarters became densely packed with elite forces, with powerful figures appearing everywhere.
For a time, the concentration of elite Marines led to a dramatic surge in their military strength.
Even the adjacent Sabaody Archipelago received special protection.
Whenever pirates caused trouble, large numbers of Marines would immediately swarm in to arrest them.
Instead of being sent to Impel Down, captured pirates were executed on the spot.
Within just one day, the Navy executed over a thousand pirates.
This display of severity served as a stark warning, forcing pirates to lay low and behave.
Residents of Sabaody Archipelago realized they were experiencing a rare period of peace, something they hadn't seen in many years.
Though brief, this tranquility left a deep impression on them.
If the first half of the Grand Line was this chaotic, the New World was even more so.
The Rocks Pirates, the largest pirate crew, had yet to make any major moves.
Other pirate crews seized the opportunity to run rampant across the New World.
Second-rate New World pirate crews like the Chinjao Pirates were among them.
Within a day of the news breaking, they successively captured two islands.
Both islands belonged to the Kingdom of Knockdown, a mid-tier World Government affiliate nation in the New World.
With no response from the Navy, the Chinjao Pirates grew emboldened and continued their conquest.
Amid this turmoil, even the famously solitary Redfield, known as the "Lone Red," couldn't resist taking action.
He appeared in the Kingdom of France, renowned for its wine, effortlessly eliminated the royal family, plundered their vast collection of red wine, and departed unscathed.
With so many pirates acting as mere background characters, only the Roger Pirates remained inactive.
Not only were they inactive—they couldn't even be found.
In the current New World, the power structure clearly displayed a "one superpower, one major power" dynamic.
The superpower was, without a doubt, the unipolar hegemonic Rocks Pirates.
They dominated the entire New World and even the Grand Line, rightfully earning the title of the era's pirate overlords.
The only crew capable of challenging this pirate hegemon was the Roger Pirates.
They had rapidly risen to prominence in recent years.
Had it been several years earlier, Rocks wouldn't have even given the Roger Pirates a second glance.
"What kind of small fry is this? Don't even try to compare yourself to me, Rocks!"
Aside from these two major pirate forces, the rest were either lone wolves or mere background characters.
On a deserted island somewhere in the New World.
The Roger Pirates, who had been missing since the news broke, were holding a banquet.
"Everyone drink up, have a few more cups. This is all fine liquor."
"Fragrant indeed, worthy of being the Celestial Dragons' Tribute Wine. The drinks we had before were like horse piss."
"Hahaha, look at our captain - how impatient he is. Seems he's really been holding back for too long."
"Brother Gaban, don't expose the captain like that. He's getting embarrassed."
The joyful atmosphere permeated the entire pirate crew. The Roger Pirates had always maintained excellent internal relations.
Sitting at the head position, Roger didn't mind being teased, showing his big teeth in hearty laughter.
Gulp gulp gulp~
He occasionally raised his cup, taking large swigs of the Tribute Wine they had recently plundered.
At this moment, Rayleigh quickly entered from outside.
He went straight to Roger's side and sat down, tossing the newspaper in his hand to Roger as he said:
"Roger, I've confirmed it - the news is true."
"The Celestial Dragon Saint Naya who was captured by the Rocks Pirates is indeed a descendant of the Five Elders' Saint Saturn."
After saying this, even Rayleigh himself felt astonished.
This... was an unprecedented bold move.
Before this, few had truly dared to take action against Celestial Dragons.
Even when they did, it was always done covertly, often cleaning up the scene afterward to leave no traces.
Who would have thought the Rocks Pirates would be so bold this time, openly defeating the Marines and kidnapping a Celestial Dragon.
And this Celestial Dragon happened to be a descendant of Saint Saturn.
The news had spread so widely - this was truly an earth-shattering first.
"Hahaha, a descendant of the Five Elders. This is getting more and more interesting."
Unlike Rayleigh, Roger laughed carelessly, completely unconcerned.
They were just Celestial Dragons - it wasn't that Roger couldn't fight them, he just never had the opportunity or need to.
"What does the news say about this Beast Brian who did this with Shiki? What's his background?"
Roger asked the key question, which also attracted the attention of the surrounding crew members.
"About that..."
"Intelligence shows this Beast Brian appeared less than half a month ago and was invited by Rocks to become a senior officer on the ship."
"Investigation reveals that before joining the Rocks Pirates, he battled Shiki."
"After joining the Rocks Pirates, he fought Silver Axe and cut off Silver Axe's right hand in front of Rocks."
"The available intelligence is limited, but we can confirm that this Beast is exactly like the other officers of the Rocks Pirates."
At this point, Rayleigh paused, rubbing his temples with a headache before continuing.
"They're all madmen!"
"Hiss~"
Gasps rose one after another around them. The surrounding crew members were more or less shocked.
Whose subordinate is this? He's really that fierce.
Right after joining, he cut off Silver Axe's hand, and did it in front of Rocks. Truly incredible.
Coupled with this explosive kidnapping incident Brian just pulled off.
At this moment, Brian seemed even more superhuman than a superman in their minds.
"Tsk, truly brutal."
"That old bastard Rocks is really lucky, managing to recruit another top-tier subordinate. Damn it, I'm so envious."
Roger felt quite jealous and resentful about this.
Their Roger Pirates had always been firmly suppressed by the Rocks Pirates.
Now with Brian added to the mix, their future days would likely be even more difficult.
"The current risks in the New World are very abnormal. The Marines are indeed showing clear signs of depleted forces."
"Intelligence shows the navy has gathered a large number of officers and elites at headquarters. It looks like they're planning a major operation next."
Rayleigh looked at Roger and inquired.
"Hahahaha, I want to go join the excitement."
"Whatever the force may be, as long as they're opposing the Rocks Pirates, I'm going to join the fun. If needed, I might even lend a hand."
As fellow descendants of the D Clan, Roger harbored deep hostility toward Rocks.
Their completely opposing ideologies destined them for a life-and-death struggle.
Coupled with his complicated history of love and hate with Garp over the years, Roger ultimately decided.
He would go join the exci
tement - and if he could incidentally cause some trouble for the Rocks Pirates, that would be even better.
"Alright, you're the captain, you call the shots."
Rayleigh and Gaban nodded simultaneously, raising no objections.
The Roger Pirates chose to set sail!