"..."
In a very short span of time, the seas erupted.
Unimaginable.
Unbelievable.
"Damn—!"
"Have you heard?"
"Of course I have!"
"With news this big, how could anyone not?"
"It's just—"
"It's too hard to believe!"
"Yeah!"
Groups of people gathered everywhere, discussing heatedly, their faces filled with shock. No one had expected this—no one could have imagined it. The sheer strength of Britannia was utterly staggering.
Arthur Pendragon, leading the Knights of the Round Table and his knightly forces, had crushed the Five Peaks Pirates at an astonishingly low cost. Five officers and over two thousand pirates were wiped out on Fish-Man Island, never to leave again.
In the end, if Ochoku hadn't prepared an escape route in advance, even he—and the remaining three officers—would have been left behind.
Meanwhile, Morgan le Fay Pendragon, Arthur's elder sister, stood alone on the British Isles and forced the Silver Axe Pirates into retreat.
True, it was "only" a repulsion, not a total annihilation—but even that was terrifying enough. The implications were chilling.
The Pendragon siblings.
Brother and sister.
Their names now thundered across the entire world.
No one could believe it.
No one could imagine that the two of them were this powerful.
---
Step.
Step.
Walking down the corridor, Sengoku stared at the intelligence report in his hands, rubbing his temples.
"Arthur… to think he's grown to this level in such a short time."
He raised his head, feeling as though a lifetime had passed.
One year.
Just one year.
In that single year, everything had changed.
The Marines had suffered massive upheaval.
The world itself had been turned upside down.
Especially the losses suffered by the Marines—losses so severe that even Sengoku was at a loss for solutions.
There was no helping it.
The damage was simply too great.
The God Valley Incident had ended three months ago, yet pirates were already running rampant again—and Kong, the Marines' only remaining Admiral and sole pillar of support, still hadn't awakened.
That alone showed how devastating the Marines' losses truly were.
And amid the chaos—while the Whitebeard Pirates, Roger Pirates, and Flying Pirates rampaged across the seas—
Arthur suddenly emerged.
He repelled Shiki, defeated Ochoku, and forced Silver Axe to retreat.
An equally shocking feat—one that unmistakably proved Britannia's strength.
"Headache-inducing…"
Sengoku pinched the bridge of his nose as he entered his office and resumed handling endless matters. With no central pillar remaining, responsibility naturally fell onto him.
Between Sengoku, Garp, and Zephyr—
There was no question.
Right now, Sengoku and Tsuru were utterly swamped.
—
Tsuru entered the office and calmly asked,
"Sengoku, are you troubled by the Pendragons?"
Sengoku sat down heavily.
"Yes. Two Admiral-level combatants in a single faction—that's extremely dangerous. Especially now that the Rocks Pirates have disbanded. A force like that is hard to manage."
In the future, when Kaido and Big Mom allied, the Marines feared the rebirth of Rocks—not because the raw power was equal, but because of the scale and rate of expansion.
That was the real danger.
Pure strength alone wasn't enough.
After all—
In a direct confrontation, Marine Headquarters could withstand two Emperors.
But the Rocks Pirates?
They could grind Marine HQ into the ground—with every generation of Marines present.
The gap was enormous.
Even the possibility of such a resurgence was unacceptable.
That's why the Marines would never allow Rocks to rise again.
"Sengoku," Tsuru said calmly. "You should relax a little. If this were anyone else, your concern would be justified. But Arthur… you don't need to be so wary."
Sengoku froze.
"What do you mean?"
Tsuru explained patiently:
"It's simple. If Arthur truly wanted to be a pirate, he would've set sail long ago. His actions make it clear—he has no interest in becoming one."
"When he joined the Rocks Pirates, the reason was obvious: wealth and Devil Fruits."
"Ah…"
Sengoku finally understood.
"That information—was it bought from Shakky?"
Tsuru nodded.
"She's a reliable broker. With enough Beri, you can learn quite a bit. But there's one key issue—no one knows Arthur's true trump cards."
"So far, all records still list him as an orphan."
She placed Morgan's photograph on the table.
"But this woman proves otherwise. Sengoku, you know what that means."
Sengoku nodded gravely.
"It means the Pendragon family is deeply hidden. Even if it's just the two siblings, their secrecy is extraordinary."
"Shiki's attack."
"All those trials."
"And Gawain, Galahad, Gareth—"
"Their identities are all special. Clearly raised in secret."
"In other words, Arthur is the visible king—but what Britannia hides beneath the surface… no one knows."
Tsuru nodded.
"Exactly. Hidden power is the hardest to deal with."
"But that's the World Government's problem."
"Our enemy is pirates."
Sengoku smiled wryly.
"That's true. Arthur doesn't sail as a pirate—he sails as Britannia."
"And Britannia can't be labeled a pirate nation."
"Especially considering—"
He smirked.
"Fish-Man Island is a World Government member state. A very special one. If it becomes Britannia's vassal… and Britannia formally establishes itself as a nation…"
"That would be interesting."
Tsuru nodded.
"Regardless, Britannia isn't our problem."
"Right now, the real threats are the Flying Pirates, Roger Pirates, and Whitebeard Pirates."
"Shiki."
"Edward."
"Roger."
"Xebec."
"Monsters—every one of them."
"And beyond them: Big Mom, Silver Axe, Captain John, Ochoku, Chinjao, Zeff…"
"The New World has entered an era of total chaos."
She continued, pointing to another report.
"Recently, Kaido was captured during one of his challenges—but escaped imprisonment, taking someone with him."
"That person belongs to a race believed extinct."
Sengoku frowned.
"Which prison?"
"The New World prison facility."
Sengoku nodded.
"That's under the World Government's jurisdiction. Not our concern."
There were prisons everywhere: East Blue, West Blue, South Blue, North Blue, Impel Down, and the New World Prison Island—the most secretive and horrific of them all.
A place of unspoken darkness.
"When did Kaido escape?" Sengoku asked.
"Two months ago. But it's not particularly important."
They continued their discussion—
Until—
Bang!
The door flew open.
"REPORT!"
"Fleet Admiral Kong has awakened!"
Sengoku and Tsuru shot to their feet.
That—
That was the most important news of all.
---
Elsewhere—
One of the Five Elders tapped the table thoughtfully.
"The Pendragon family… deeply hidden. Their intentions remain unclear."
Another nodded.
"Likely a family that once existed in history—now resurfacing to found a nation."
They all understood.
Arthur wasn't trying to be a pirate.
He was building a country.
And from their perspective—
That was easier to manage.
Pirates were unpredictable.
Nations could be balanced.
"This doesn't require urgency."
"Britannia is in the New World."
"In that chaos, it will inevitably be worn down."
The Elders agreed.
Britannia had enemies on all sides—Shiki, Ochoku, Silver Axe.
In the New World, stability was nearly impossible.
And if a nation rose?
It could be checked.
Controlled.
Balanced.
Just like the Five Families of the West in the West Blue.
Balance.
That was what the Five Elders truly valued.
Not destruction—
But equilibrium.
---------------------------------///
Advance Chapters on Patreon!
p(a)treon(.)com/HudaLin
-Remove the parenthesis to access patreon normally
Thanks for the Support!