"Vice Admiral Hawk!"
Dragon's voice on the other end of the line rippled with a rare hint of emotion.
He had heard that name recently.
The Rear Admiral who blasted Demon Valley Town off the map and wiped that haven of pirates from the sea… that man was called Renn Hawk.
And now he had already risen to Vice Admiral?
"You know of me, Commander?"
"I have heard of your work."
"Your decisive purge of Demon Valley Town… that form of justice leaves quite an impression."
"You flatter me."
Renn Hawk gave a quiet laugh. "That was only the beginning."
"Commander, the ideals of the Revolutionary Army and the future direction of the Navy are not necessarily destined to clash."
"I believe we may have reason to meet and talk."
"..."
Silence pressed on the other end.
Only the icy wind of Impel Down's Infinite Hell echoed in the background.
The Navy and the Revolutionary Army… talking?
What was that supposed to mean?
For decades the Navy had been the sharpest fang of the World Government, while the Revolutionary Army had been branded as the world's most dangerous criminals.
Dragon's mind raced, parsing every hidden meaning behind Hawk's calm words.
Had something fractured within the World Government itself?
Renn saw through his concern immediately.
To most people on the sea,
the Navy and the World Government were inseparable,
a single machine built on obedience to a privileged elite.
But very soon… the world would see things differently.
And right now, the Navy had no time to negotiate in detail.
They only needed a first step, a clean connection for the future.
"Commander."
Renn broke the silence.
"To show the Navy's sincerity…"
His gaze drifted toward Ivankov in the distance.
"Every Revolutionary Army member imprisoned in Impel Down will be released."
Ivankov's jaw slammed into the floor.
He stared at Hawk, utterly speechless.
Even Dragon's breathing halted.
The veins on his hand tightened around the receiver.
The Navy… releasing Revolutionary Army members?
And not just anywhere.
Releasing them from Impel Down, the most secure prison in the world, where the Government kept its greatest perceived threats?
"Commander, take your time to think."
"When you are ready, contact me. I can still speak a few words within Headquarters."
With that, click.
Renn hung up the call without hesitation.
He tossed the phone snail to Kuma, whose expression had softened back to calm.
"Kuma, I'll leave the rest to you."
Kuma caught it and offered a grateful smile.
Renn returned the gesture with a faint nod.
He turned and walked away, leaving the two long-separated friends alone in the frozen wasteland.
Watching Renn's silhouette fade into the swirling snow, Ivankov finally snapped out of his shock.
He rushed to Kuma with frantic urgency.
"Kuma! What is going on?!"
"Kuma sighed. "Ivankov, this will take some explaining..."
And so, in the depths of Impel Down, the two survivors from the God Valley incident embraced their reunion…
even as the cold winds still howled, their conversation brought a warmth the frozen hell had not felt in years.
...
Far across the boundless blue, two radically different pirate ships drifted toward each other.
On one side sailed the Red Force, its prow carved into a dragon's head.
On the other, the imposing Moby Dick, shaped like a massive whale.
The air itself felt tense, as though the sea held its breath.
Ben Beckman, cigarette dangling from his lips, stepped beside Shanks as he watched a small silhouette shrinking on the horizon.
"The Navy's surveillance ship just withdrew."
Shanks frowned.
"Withdrawn?"
Something was very wrong.
"Beckman… I have a very bad feeling about this."
His eyes narrowed.
"This sea is becoming more unfamiliar by the day."
He couldn't pinpoint when it began, but the Navy had changed.
One of the Headquarters' strongest forces now personally guarded the G-5 branch.
And now, with two Emperors about to meet… an event that could shift the balance of the entire world…
the Navy had completely pulled back?
It didn't feel like fear.
It felt like permission.
Shanks felt an unease stir in his chest.
"Let's deal with what's in front of us first."
Beckman exhaled a plume of smoke, equally troubled.
Shanks nodded.
He picked up the bottle of wine he brought from his homeland, leapt off his ship, and landed firmly on the deck of the Moby Dick.
"Vmm..."
A wave of invisible force burst outward from him.
Conqueror's Haki.
Around him, Whitebeard's crew collapsed one by one.
Even veteran commanders tensed, uneasy sweat forming on their brows.
"Oi, oi, giving us a warning shot right off the bat, Red Hair?"
Marco shifted into his phoenix form, stepping forward protectively.
Shanks ignored him and walked straight toward the massive man in the chair, tubes running into his body.
"Whitebeard."
He set down the bottle beside him.
"I'm here to ask a favor."
"Call Ace back."
"..."
Edward Newgate opened his clouded eyes.
A brief spark flashed through them.
"Gurararara!"
He lifted the bottle and drank deeply.
"You trying to teach me how to run my family, brat?"
Shanks shook his head.
His expression was deadly serious.
"Teach… is not simple."
"Gurararara!"
Newgate's laugh rolled like thunder, anger simmering beneath it.
Of course he knew Teach wasn't simple.
That man had hidden aboard his ship for twenty years waiting for a single fruit.
Shanks could feel the unease in Whitebeard as well.
This world had changed.
But Whitebeard could not retreat.
He was Whitebeard.
The pillar his sons leaned on.
He could not show doubt.
"My sons don't lose."
"..."
Shanks saw the unshakable resolve in his eyes.
He slowly grasped the hilt of Gryphon.
Negotiation had failed.
"In that case…"
Sssht.
Gryphon cleared its sheath, wrapped in scarlet lightning.
Newgate rose to his feet, gripping his enormous naginata, Murakumogiri.
Shanks vanished, releasing a slash of overwhelming Haki that tore through the air.
Newgate met it head-on, swinging downward.
Crack.
Steel struck steel.
Haki smashed against Haki.
Will clashed with unyielding will.
BOOM!
A storm of power erupted across the Moby Dick, rattling its very frame.
The sky itself split open, a jagged rift tearing across the heavens.
Black lightning danced wildly through the clouds.
"Red Hair!"
Newgate roared.
"You still have a long way to go before you reach Roger's Divine Departure!"
...
Far in the distance, aboard the tiny Navy surveillance ship...
Sakazuki stood silently at the bow, arms crossed.
He watched the monstrous clash tearing the skies apart, an icy sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.
"The relics of the old era…"
"Consume each other's strength to your heart's content."
"Very soon…"
"This rotten age, along with you so-called Emperors…"
"Will be burned away completely."