[One Piece World]
Meanwhile, as everyone across the entire One Piece world—
from Imu and the Five Elders at the top, down to civilians in the allied nations, and the countless powerhouses among pirates and Marines—
all fixed their eyes on that pitch-black, transparent screen…
Before long, subtitles appeared.
[Ranking the One Piece World]
[Fifteen Different Kings]
That's right.
The One Piece world was in sync with the Bleach world.
What the Shinigami captains and the Arrancar army were seeing right now was the exact same content!
Which meant…
Once the subtitles vanished and the ranking officially began, there was even a chance that, during the later playback, audiences from both worlds might be able to use some new feature of the video—
to interact across space, exchange messages… maybe even talk to each other directly!!!
As soon as the subtitles appeared, it was only natural that they caused a massive sensation across the One Piece world.
All the strong people, in their own territories, reacted in different ways once again—
"What?!"
"Fifteen kings? That's nonsense!"
"In today's sea, how can there be that many people qualified to be called a 'king'?!"
[Mary Geoise]
Inside the Holy Land, the Five Elders sat in a row, completely dumbfounded.
They stared at the subtitles for a moment, then hurriedly shook their heads, rejecting the claim as absurd.
For one thing—
From the Five Elders' perspective, even if you counted the founders of the World Government—the ancestors of the Celestial Dragons—there were twenty kings in total.
The numbers didn't match at all!
So if it wasn't referring to the Celestial Dragons, or to ancient times…
Then in the present day—
Looking across the entire Grand Line, in the eyes of the Five Elders, the number of people who could truly call themselves "king" would, at best, be only those few kings of the old era.
Other than them…
Where were they supposed to find ten more?
It was ridiculous!!!
"Hmph…"
"No matter whose prank this is…"
"Once we catch the one behind it, we must punish them severely!!!"
Saint Saturn gripped his cane, seething as he spoke through clenched teeth.
If—
In the later ranking—
none of the Five Elders, and not even Lord Imu hidden behind the curtain, appeared on the current list…
Then…
Saint Saturn swore that no matter what it took—even if they had to dig through the One Piece world inch by inch—
they would find the creator of this ranking video and deal with them!!!
[New World]
"Hahahahaha…!"
"So there are fifteen kings in total?"
"Then… I, Whitebeard, have to be one of them!"
Seeing the subtitles, Whitebeard roared with laughter, his signature booming voice echoing across the sea.
No denying it—
Even though he was old now…
And even though Whitebeard's personality, while fierce and competitive in his youth, had long since settled into calm—
He didn't care about rankings or titles anymore, and only wanted to live steadily in the New World with his sons…
But…
The title "World's Strongest Man" was sitting right there!
No matter how modest he tried to be, even Whitebeard knew perfectly well that he was a king acknowledged by the world.
The overwhelmingly powerful first among the Four Emperors!
So among those fifteen kings, there had to be a place for him.
He might even rank in the top three!
At this moment, Whitebeard couldn't help thinking exactly that.
"Pops…"
"Besides you, Kaido and Big Mom and the others are probably on it too, right?"
Marco folded his arms and spoke with certainty.
"After all, as Emperors, your combat power is the strongest among pirates!"
"Among fifteen king-level figures, there's no way you guys aren't included!!!"
Hearing that, Whitebeard nodded, gazing toward the distant sky with a hearty grin.
"Yeah… if I had to guess, with Kaido and Linlin's personalities, they both probably think they'll be ranked number one."
In fact, Whitebeard wasn't wrong.
At that moment—whether on Whole Cake Island or on Onigashima—
the instant they saw the subtitles,
Kaido and Big Mom both unanimously assumed this was a ranking of the strong.
And those fifteen figures on the list would definitely include the two of them.
Even if Kaido had once doubted whether there were really that many people in the Grand Line who could be called "king"…
So what?
As long as, in a moment, he got to see himself appear on the list in all his glory—
commanding the Beasts Pirates, waging war across the Grand Line, seizing territory, dominating the New World…
even dominating the entire One Piece world!
That alone would be more than enough!!!
As for Big Mom—
Because she was obsessively focused on devouring sweets,
she only glanced at the subtitles once.
Soon, she tossed the matter aside, her mind swallowed by desserts.
But around her, the officers of the Big Mom Pirates were enthusiastically discussing who might end up on the list!
[Thousand Sunny]
On the Thousand Sunny, the Straw Hat Pirates—especially Luffy—saw the subtitles and instantly became wildly excited.
He blurted out at the transparent screen:
"Hehe… future me, who's already become the Pirate King!"
"I'm definitely one of the fifteen kings, right?!"
"Luffy, you idiot!"
Nami's helpless voice came from behind him.
"If you say that, then wouldn't every pirate have a chance to make the list?"
"Be realistic! We haven't even reached the New World yet! Among all the pirate crews out there, we're just some little nobody!"
Even though, by this point, the Straw Hats had already caused chaos at Enies Lobby—
and had successively defeated Crocodile, and Gecko Moria—two current Warlords of the Sea…
Still, out of sheer rationality,
Nami felt their current strength only counted in the first half of the Grand Line.
But in the New World…
they were basically background noise, with no competitiveness at all!
Even less likely to make the list—
and become one of the One Piece world's fifteen mighty kings!!!
However—
in the corner behind them, Robin looked thoughtful.
Her mind immediately jumped to the Poneglyphs—
and to the ancient history of the Void Century.
But that thought only flashed by.
When it came to strength and combat power, Robin didn't think any single member of the Straw Hats had any reason to be on the list either.
Soon, while Luffy and the others chatted and debated,
the original subtitles on the transparent screen vanished.
Immediately after, rules for the playback appeared, informing the audience—
"First: Next, in order, each king-level title will be shown, matching its owner and displaying their entire life experience!"
"Second: Time is not limited—past, present, and future. Everything that happens to that 'king' will be included!"
"Third: King-level titles can be held simultaneously. In other words, one person may have multiple different titles!"
Three rules.
Simple and straightforward.
In one go, they made the upcoming content clear—
This would be personal-focused footage, exposing sides of people that the audience had never recognized before!
After reading the new subtitles,
those viewers who had doubted the number of "kings" immediately felt relieved.
"So that's how it is…"
"I knew it! In today's sea, how could there be that many king-level monsters!"
"So one person might hold multiple titles?"
[Marine Headquarters]
In the meeting room, Sengoku spoke up, indicating his approval of the rules.
"In that case…"
"Does that mean every one of us might make the list?"
Kizaru leaned back with one leg crossed, speaking with anticipation.
As a Marine Admiral—
and as a man who had eaten the Logia-type Glint-Glint Fruit—
would it be unreasonable for him to get a title like "Speed King"?
"Hard to say…"
Aokiji stretched lazily, looking at the screen as he spoke in a casual tone.
"Who can be sure whether these so-called 'king' titles are praise… or insult?"
"What if it's not based on combat power—just whether the story is willing to put you on the list?"
Aokiji's words immediately woke everyone up.
The Marine higher-ups all widened their eyes in realization.
Right…
Aokiji was absolutely right…
What if it was something like Unlucky King, or Cuckold King?
A title that embarrassing—
whoever wants it can have it!
Otherwise… even if you made the list, all you'd do is ruin your reputation and get laughed at by everyone!
"Then…"
"As the Hero of the Marines…"
"Over the past forty years, the most outstanding powerhouse the Marines have ever had—bar none…"
"Garp… surely the title 'Marine King' belongs to you, doesn't it?"
Vice Admiral Tsuru lifted her cup and saucer, took a sip of rich coffee, and deliberately looked across at Garp as she joked.
"Me?"
Garp, chewing on rice crackers, froze for a moment.
Then he shook his head and laughed it off.
"I'm old. I've got no interest in fighting over king-level titles. Whatever happens, happens…"
With that, Garp looked away.
Then he continued eating his rice crackers like nothing mattered.
Until—
the subtitles vanished again.
And the very first king-level title—
"Background King"—
appeared.
Garp's interest instantly spiked.
And in his mind, without even trying,
the face of his own grandson—Straw Hat Luffy—popped up.
"That brat Luffy…"
"His grandpa—me—is the Hero of the Marines!"
"And his father—Dragon, that bastard—is the leader of the Revolutionary Army!"
"With a background like that, he should qualify to compete for Background King, right?"
Garp thought to himself.
But beside him, his old partner Tsuru wore a puzzled expression under her white hair, murmuring in confusion:
"What does that even mean?"
"Background King? That doesn't sound like a 'strong' title at all!"
"Any truly powerful king-level fighter might have some background, sure—but they still rely on their own strength, don't they?"
And Tsuru wasn't alone.
The other Marine higher-ups present felt the same way.
Even the three Admirals subconsciously showed rejection toward the title "Background King"!!!
After all—
The three of them were born commoners.
They joined the Marines as recruits, then stood out among countless prodigies in the training camp—
earning the nickname "monsters"!
Only later, step by step, after building up military merits, did they gradually rise to become Marine Admirals!!!
So—
Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji,
deep down, looked down on those who relied on connections and backdoors.
Naturally, they couldn't understand why something like "Background King" would make the list—
and be ranked first, no less!
[New World]
In the territories of the Four Emperors—
Kaido, Big Mom, and even the usually mild-tempered Red-Hair—
all sneered at the so-called "Background King."
"Tch…"
"Background? What a joke!"
Kaido grinned viciously, feeling like he'd been toyed with, and mocked coldly:
"Real powerhouses earn their names through slaughter!"
"If background mattered…"
"Then the Celestial Dragons wouldn't be seen by the world as useless trash!!!"
[Whole Cake Island]
Big Mom was equally contemptuous.
"Background? If that counts, then I'm the biggest background of all!"
"Tell me—right now, which Marine or pirate dares to casually break into Totto Land?"
"Background King… I don't acknowledge that kind of garbage!!!"
[Red-Hair Pirates' Camp]
Likewise, at the Red-Hair Pirates' camp—
Shanks himself, Beckman, and the other officers around them
all stared at the transparent screen, completely bewildered.
"?!"
"What does this mean?"
"Background King… it sounds weak as hell!!!"
Shanks frowned as he spoke.
Even though he himself had a powerful background—
his father being Garling (later elevated to Saint),
and his twin brother being the leader of the God's Knights…
Still—
judging by how he rose,
aside from the fact that he started out on Roger's ship…
after the Roger Pirates disbanded, Red-Hair built everything through his own strength and hard work.
In the end, he established the Red-Hair Pirates—
and became one of the world-recognized Four Emperors!!!
"We'll see what happens next…"
Beside him, Beckman flicked ash from his cigarette, exhaled a smoke ring, and spoke calmly.
Even he felt that "Background King" sounded a bit ridiculous.
But…
Since this video could expose the future—
and they could learn future events through the viewing—
then it was still worth watching patiently.
At least, that's what Beckman believed.
(End of Chapter)
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