Marineford, Navy Headquarters.
The conference room was suffocating.
The long table was buried in intelligence reports from every sea. Records of merchant ships from allied nations getting hit. Distress calls from bases. Bounty requests for rookie pirates. And tracking reports on the Eclipse Pirates. Tracking reports that, to be precise, had almost nothing to show.
Sengoku sat at the head of the table, his face dark.
"So we still haven't found that ship?"
Brandnew stood before the table, sweat beading at his temples.
"No."
He opened his file and delivered his report, his voice heavy.
"Since the Punk Hazard incident, the Eclipse's main vessel has vanished from all known shipping routes for four months. No confirmed sightings in the first half of the Grand Line. None along the primary New World routes. No docking records in the Blues. No solid intel on the Eclipse itself from the black market, bounty hunters, or underground information brokers."
The room went still for a beat.
A vice admiral frowned. "A ship that size doesn't just disappear."
Tsuru sat to the side, hands folded. Her tone was even.
"A normal ship couldn't, no. But that ship was never normal."
Faces around the table tightened. The Eclipse could fly. That hadn't been a secret for a long time. But knowing it and actually dealing with it were two very different things. The Navy's patrols, blockades, route monitoring, and port inspections were all built on one assumption. Ships moved on the water. The Eclipse was different. It had descended on Sabaody from the sky. It had withdrawn from Punk Hazard right under the eyes of an admiral and a Buster Call. Then it had vanished completely from the world's sight.
Kizaru sat toward the back, legs crossed, lazily lifting his teacup.
"How frightening. A black ship hiding in the clouds."
No one responded.
Everyone present knew Kizaru wasn't joking. He had seen that ship with his own eyes. He had fought Portgas D. Ace himself.
Sengoku's voice was hard. "Continue."
Brandnew flipped to the next page.
"That said, while the main vessel remains unlocated, Eclipse officer activity was reported in the North Blue three months ago."
The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly. Several vice admirals looked up at once.
"The North Blue? Eclipse officers?"
Brandnew nodded, laying several black market testimonies and arms dealer reports on the table.
"Cross-referenced statements from multiple arms dealers, black market brokers, and underground operatives confirm that two core Eclipse officers appeared at an underground arms deal in the North Blue three months ago."
He paused and read out two names.
"'Mad Chef' Leona. Bounty: 650 million berries."
"'Demon Shark' Shark. Bounty: 430 million berries."
Kizaru raised an eyebrow.
"Oh my. Those two aren't exactly pushovers either."
Brandnew continued his report.
"Their objective appears to have been a Devil Fruit that had just entered the North Blue black market. Specific abilities unknown. No one at the scene could identify the fruit. But it is confirmed that elements of Germa 66 were present at the deal before the fruit was taken."
A vice admiral frowned. "The Vinsmoke family?"
"Yes."
Brandnew opened another report.
"Vinsmoke Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji engaged Leona and Shark in combat."
He paused.
"Result. All three of Germa's modified princes were left near death."
A brief silence settled over the room. Germa 66 wasn't the Navy. But as the North Blue's infamous war machine, Headquarters was well acquainted with their combat strength. The so-called masterpieces of the Vinsmoke family weren't the kind of opponents ordinary pirates could simply crush.
Sengoku's expression darkened further.
"Why is this only reaching Headquarters now?"
The sweat on Brandnew's temples thickened.
"The location was an underground arms deal. Most participants were arms dealers, black market brokers, and underground powers unwilling to expose their identities. Germa appears to have actively suppressed the information. And the North Blue underworld fell into chaos immediately afterward. The Donquixote Family was running its intelligence network at full scale in the region. The intel passed through multiple layers of resale, interception, and verification before cross-confirmation was completed recently."
Tsuru narrowed her eyes.
"So. The Eclipse main vessel has been missing for four months. But at least two core officers were active in the North Blue three months ago. They seized an unidentified Devil Fruit. They left three Vinsmoke princes critically wounded. And then they vanished again."
Brandnew nodded.
"Yes. This is the most reliable recent lead we have on the Eclipse Pirates."
Sengoku was silent for a moment. His fingers tapped lightly against the table.
"Something's off."
Several vice admirals turned to him.
Sengoku stared at the North Blue report, his gaze sharp.
"The Eclipse Pirates are currently being watched by the Emperors, the Navy, and the World Government simultaneously. And at a time like this, they send two core officers to the North Blue black market just to steal a Devil Fruit no one can even identify?"
His voice dropped lower.
"That fruit is significant."
Tsuru nodded.
"At the very least, Portgas D. Ace considers it valuable enough to dispatch Leona and Shark personally to retrieve it."
Kizaru drawled, "How frightening. The main ship stays hidden, but the officers can still execute cross-sea operations. They hit Germa and left without leaving so much as a shadow."
Sengoku's voice was ice.
"Investigate."
Brandnew straightened immediately.
"Yes, sir."
"Compile every recent Devil Fruit transaction record in the North Blue, every arms dealer list, all Germa movements, and all anomalous Donquixote Family intelligence activity. I want to know exactly what that fruit is. Additionally, the news of Eclipse officers appearing in the North Blue does not leave this room."
The vice admirals' expressions hardened.
Sengoku's voice was grim.
"The outside world is already calling that black ship a demon from the sky. If it gets out that they pulled off a cross-sea operation, crippled Germa, and vanished without a trace while in hiding, it will only embolden every pirate already getting ideas."
No one argued. They all understood. For the Navy, this was a red alert. For pirates, it was fresh material for the legend. A hidden main ship. Officers appearing out of nowhere. A stolen Devil Fruit no one could name. Germa beaten into silence. Those pieces assembled together bred fantasy far more effectively than the Eclipse sailing openly ever could.
Tsuru said quietly, "The longer the Eclipse Pirates stay out of sight, the more exaggerated the rumors become. And these occasional traces they leave behind only make those rumors feel more real. For pirates, disappearance isn't silence. It's mystique."
The pressure in the room thickened.
Sengoku picked up another report.
"They vanished. But the trouble they left behind hasn't lessened at all."
Brandnew immediately switched files.
"Correct. Since Morgans labeled Portgas D. Ace the 'Fifth Emperor of the Sea,' pirate activity has risen sharply across all oceans."
He unfolded a sea chart. Several red dots were marked across it.
"The New World has seen a recent wave of attacks on merchant ships from allied nations. In three cases, the attackers explicitly declared themselves new powers rising in the 'era of the Fifth Emperor.' They aren't necessarily directly tied to the Eclipse Pirates. But they are all mimicking the Eclipse's pattern of targeting government assets."
A vice admiral said coldly, "A pack of suicidal fools."
Tsuru's voice was calm. "Fools aren't frightening. What's frightening is that the sea never runs out of fools like these."
Brandnew continued.
"The first half of the Grand Line has also seen a surge of crews sailing under the banner of the Fifth Emperor era. Some have even painted black ships, suns, flames, and skulls onto their jolly rogers. They have no unified organization. They're simply using the Eclipse's name to make one for themselves."
Sengoku's expression soured further. These groups weren't strong in themselves. But the influence was corrosive. Pirates were the easiest people in the world to stir with a legend. In the past, the Four Emperors were monsters looming at the top of the New World. No matter how arrogant a rookie pirate got, they still understood those figures were impossibly far beyond them. The Eclipse Pirates were different. They were too new. The time between their debut and shaking the world was absurdly short. Defeating Zephyr. Robbing the Heavenly Tribute. Killing the former legend, the Golden Lion. Storming a World Government scientific research facility. Driving back an admiral. And finally, being crowned the Fifth Emperor by the papers. To the Navy, this was a disaster. To countless rookie pirates, it was the most electrifying legend imaginable.
Brandnew turned the page.
"In the South Blue, Eustass Kid and Killer have officially set sail. Their methods are exceptionally brutal. They've already crushed several local pirate crews in a short period. Three of them were completely wiped out. The bounty submission is currently in process."
A vice admiral frowned.
"A South Blue rookie is worth bringing to a Headquarters meeting?"
Brandnew hesitated, then spoke anyway.
"The issue is something he said publicly."
Sengoku looked up. "What did he say?"
Brandnew stared at the file, his voice heavy.
"He said: if that guy Ace can trample the World Government and climb into the Fifth Emperor's seat, then there's no one on this sea who can't be pulled down."
The temperature in the room dropped several degrees.
Tsuru sighed softly.
"You see? That's the real problem. Portgas D. Ace isn't an ordinary rookie. Everything he's done will be treated as a precedent worth following by those who come after. Even if those people don't have a fraction of his strength."
Sengoku's fingers curled tighter. This was the worst part. The Eclipse Pirates themselves were already trouble enough. Worse, they had torn open a gash in the deterrent power of the Navy and the World Government. The Heavenly Tribute used to be untouchable. The World Government's core institutions used to be inviolable. Navy admirals used to be unbeatable. These were iron laws the World Government had spent eight hundred years pressing into the sea's collective consciousness. And Portgas D. Ace had shattered them one by one. He had stolen the Heavenly Tribute. He had broken into Punk Hazard. He had withdrawn unscathed from before an admiral's eyes. And he was still alive. Not only alive, but crowned the Fifth Emperor by the papers. That alone was enough to set countless ambitious hearts racing. The cruelest irony was that this was only what the world could see. The Celestial Dragon executed on Sabaody had been forcibly buried by the World Government. The truth of the Five Elders personally engaging on Punk Hazard, and Ace severing one of their lower bodies, had been completely erased. If those stories ever got out, the sea right now wouldn't be restless. It would be in open revolt.
Brandnew continued his report.
"The North Blue underworld is currently in extreme turmoil due to the fallout from Germa, the Donquixote Family, and the black market clash. Germa 66 has scaled back some external military operations, apparently lying low. The Donquixote Family's intelligence network is conducting wide-scale activity in the North Blue, suspected to be tracking certain missing persons or event leads."
Kizaru drawled, "Donquixote, huh. That Warlord got dragged into this too."
Sengoku shot him a look. Kizaru spread his hands. "Just making an observation."
Tsuru spoke. "Doflamingo wouldn't deploy his intelligence network across the North Blue on a whim. But we can't yet confirm whether he's chasing that fruit or something else. We'll keep eyes on that line."
Sengoku nodded. "Continue."
Brandnew flipped through several more pages.
"Additionally, due to the Eclipse's prolonged absence, external rumors have begun spiraling out of control. Some say they are secretly recruiting in the New World. Some say they've found an ancient weapon. Others claim the black ship has already flown to the moon and is preparing for the next war."
A few vice admirals around the table wore complicated expressions. The rumors sounded absurd. But the problem was, the Eclipse Pirates had already done absurd things. When a pirate crew really could descend from the sky, really could steal core World Government equipment, really could vanish from before a Buster Call and an admiral, even the most outrageous rumor would find believers.
Tsuru's tone was even.
"If the Eclipse Pirates return to the New World in an even stronger state, the situation will become far more dangerous. Because by then, everyone will believe these months weren't an escape. They were a buildup."
A vice admiral couldn't hold back.
"So we just wait?"
Sengoku gave him an icy look.
"You think I want to wait?"
The vice admiral shut his mouth immediately.
Sengoku drew a deep breath.
"Effective immediately, all intelligence on high-altitude anomalies, cumulonimbus zones, sky island rumors, and black ship sightings is elevated to maximum priority. The North Blue thread remains active. That unidentified Devil Fruit must be identified. The anomalous movements of the Donquixote Family and Germa 66 stay under surveillance. As for the crews in the first half of the Grand Line waving the Fifth Emperor's flag, capture them where you can, crush them where you can't. Do not let this momentum spread."
Brandnew nodded at once. "Yes, sir."
Sengoku continued. "Compile a separate file on Kid and Killer. The South Blue branch stays on them. If rookies like that are left unchecked, they'll become a much worse problem very soon."
"Yes, sir."
The room settled back into silence.
Finally, Sengoku's gaze fell on a wanted poster on the table. In the photograph, a young man wore a dark crimson coat, a sword at his hip, a reckless grin on his face. Three billion berries. The Exception. The Fifth Emperor of the Sea.
Sengoku stared at that face, his voice low.
"Portgas D. Ace..."
"Where the hell are you hiding?"
No one answered.
Only the sea wind blew through Marineford outside the window.