Before long, the sky and sea that had been overturned by the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power returned to normal.
However, the massive impact from the high-altitude fall shattered the mirror-like sea surface into pieces.
Countless ships fell through the gaps in the water, sinking deep into the ocean.
In that moment, both the Marines and the pirates suffered massive losses.
Fortunately, most of the Navy's powerful members acted quickly, using their abilities to lift the warships to safety.
The pirate ships, however, were not so lucky.
Aside from Roger, Wendell Wickliffe, and a few others who managed to escape in time, the rest of the hot-headed pirates were completely abandoned.
When Roger and his crew fled, they never considered the other pirates as allies.
Boom!
Endless roars continued to echo across the space, and the sea remained boiling.
The entire area within a hundred miles of the G-5 Branch was completely swallowed up.
The sea claimed countless lives, leaving only ruin in its wake.
The disaster triggered by Whitebeard was not limited to the inner waters.
Even the outer naval forces led by Tsuru were affected.
Luckily, because they were farther away, they only had to deal with the raging tsunami.
This tsunami successfully broke through the blockade line that the Navy had carefully set up.
Led by Roger, the great pirates quickly sailed their ships through the gap in the naval blockade and made their escape.
Kaido and Charlotte Linlin, seeing no more chances to deal a heavy blow to the Navy, slowly backed away from the area like a fading tide.
The only ones left behind were the young, foolish pirates who had come seeking glory and passion.
Holding their weapons, they watched in total despair as Marine warships sailed out one after another from the inner waters.
"Damn it, a bunch of cowards! They left us here as bait!" they cursed.
These pirates, who had risked their lives for fame, now suffered the bitter consequences of their own choices.
The Marine commanders easily crushed their resistance, snapping them like dead branches.
...
This was the biggest event in the New World since the incident at God Valley.
The God Valley incident remained a secret to the general public because the Celestial Dragons hid the information.
However, this battle became widely known to people all over the world.
It was named the Super Naval Battle of the Foya Sea.
This war involved almost all of the famous powerhouses from across the Grand Line.
The Marine Forces:
Led by Admiral Sengoku and 'Hero' Monkey D Garp.
Supported by Vice-Admiral Sakazuki, Vice-Admiral Christian Raleigh, Vice-Admiral Borsalino and Chief of Staff Tsuru.
Backed by numerous other vice-admirals and rear-admirals who formed the backbone of the Navy.
The Pirate Forces:
Led by Whitebeard (Edward Newgate) and Gol D. Roger.
Supported by Wendell Wickliffe, Silvers Rayleigh, and Scopper Gaban.
Backed by Kaido and Charlotte Linlin (who did not fight directly), as well as countless other pirates from across the Grand Line.
The Aftermath & Casualties:
Whitebeard Pirates: Lost all division commanders except Marco and Whitebeard himself killed in battle.
Over two-thirds of the Whitebeard Allied Fleet were dead or wounded.
Roger Pirates: Lost their third-in-command, Gaban, while First Mate Rayleigh was severely injured.
Steam Pirates: Lost one-third of their crew members.
Beast & Big Mom Pirates: Kaido and Charlotte Linlin suffered almost no losses.
In fact, they absorbed most of the surviving members of the Whitebeard Pirates, greatly boosting their own strength.
The Marines: Suffered 18,733 casualties and severe damage to over fifty ships.
Vice-Admiral Garp sustained serious injuries and returned to Headquarters to heal.
Admiral Sengoku received minor injuries and helped the Fleet Admiral clean up before returning.
Vice-Admiral Sakazuki fell into a coma and was sent for emergency medical treatment.
Vice-Admiral Raleigh's injuries were severe but not fatal; he refused to return to Headquarters for further care.
At the memorial in Marineford's plaza, families laying flowers for the lost soldiers became a daily sight.
After this battle, the entire landscape of the New World changed completely.
The pirates who had been ruling the seas were crippled by this conflict.
They were forced to hide and avoid the Marines' absolute dominance.
...
Six Months Later
In the second half of the Grand Line, a crimson pirate ship docked at a lonely, empty island.
It had been about half a year since the Foya Sea Battle.
The Roger Pirates had been anchored here, resting and healing ever since their escape.
During this time, Douglas Bullett, a young crew member of the Roger Pirates, once again began to doubt Gol D. Roger's strength.
Fearing that Roger might die from his injuries and sickness before Bullett could defeat him, he challenged his captain once more.
The battle lasted a full day and night. It ended with an exhausted Bullett being knocked to the ground by Roger.
Roger placed his sword, Ace, at Bullett's throat, ready to take his life at any moment.
Bullett calmly accepted his coming death.
"Roger, we have already lost one comrade. Let us not lose another," Rayleigh said.
Supported by Shanks and Buggy, the first mate stepped forward.
Hearing this, Roger froze.
Looking down at Bullett, he remembered the happy days he had shared with Gaban on the ship.
After a moment of silence, Roger put Ace back in its sheath and spoke simply.
"Leave, Bullett. This is the last time we stand as comrades."
That day, Bullett sailed away from the empty island on a small boat.
He began his own journey to make a name for himself as a rookie pirate on the Grand Line.
Meanwhile, Rayleigh's injuries had completely healed.
During this six-month break, all the members of the Roger Pirates had grown much stronger.
Even the young apprentices, Shanks and Buggy, had reached the strength level of Marine captains.
"Captain, how much longer until we set sail again?" the young Shanks asked with clear frustration.
The island was too small.
Over the past six months, Shanks and Buggy had explored every single corner of it.
Their only connection to the outside world was through the Den Den Mushi and the occasional passing News Coo bird.
"Shh!"
Roger placed a finger to his lips, telling everyone to be quiet.
His eyes locked onto a seagull in the sky wearing a newsboy cap.
A flash of red appeared in Roger's eyes as an invisible shockwave shot up into the sky.
"You are at it again, Roger," Rayleigh sighed helplessly.
But right after, his own Conqueror's Haki surged upward to meet Roger's.
Rayleigh meant to block Roger's Conqueror's Haki.
However, just as Rayleigh released his power, another, much younger burst of Conqueror's Haki also shot into the sky.
Even though its power and speed were much weaker than Roger's and Rayleigh's, it was still unmistakable.
"?"
Both Roger and Rayleigh looked at the young Shanks in total shock.
To them, someone of Shanks' age should not have unlocked Conqueror's Haki yet, unless he was an absolute genius!
Rayleigh's attack finally managed to block Roger's, which startled the News Coo.
Luckily, Rayleigh waved some Belly bills in the air, convincing the bird to come back.
After putting the money into the bird's pouch and taking a newspaper, Rayleigh sat back down.
"Hey, Rayleigh, any big news lately?" Roger asked with a mouthful of roasted meat.
Rayleigh skimmed through the paper before handing it over. "Nothing major, just a few promising rookies making a name for themselves. Also, Bullett has made his mark on the Grand Line. His bounty has already reached around 300 million."
Roger took the newspaper and began flipping through it.
Rustle... Rustle...
Suddenly, Roger's eyes narrowed sharply, as if he had spotted something incredibly interesting.
Pointing at a picture in the newspaper, he said, "Hey Rayleigh, this guy seems interesting. How about we try to recruit him as our comrade?"
Rayleigh looked at the photo.
It showed a swordsman dressed in traditional samurai clothing, standing over a group of defeated pirates.
His outfit was unlike anything normally seen on the seas, proving he came from a country with ancient traditions.
The headline read: "Wandering Swordsman: A Genius Swordmaster from a Mysterious Nation!"
Rayleigh stroked his chin in deep thought.
After a long while, he finally said, "We can give it a try. After all, we have lost two comrades and could use some new members."
A huge smile spread across Roger's face.
He raised his glass of rum and shouted loudly, "A toast to celebrate this samurai joining us! Cheers!"
"Hey, hey, hey, Captain, he clearly does not even know about this yet!" Buggy yelled.
"Oh really? Whatever, let's toast anyway! Cheers!"
Roger, Shanks, and Buggy all started drinking and laughing again.
When they sobered up tomorrow, they would finally set sail on the Grand Line to begin a brand new journey.
...
Somewhere on the Grand Line, Vice-Admiral Christian Raleigh was sitting in beach shorts, fishing on the deck of his warship.
His life right now was wonderful and relaxing.
Ever since the battle with Whitebeard ended, pirates all over the world had started laying low.
Wherever the Marines went, pirates would run away in pure fear.
But the impact of the battle did not stop there.
Under the Marines' control, the news highlighted how the Navy effortlessly crushed the pirates to secure a victory.
This showed the whole world the true strength of the Marines, which crushed the dreams of most civilians who wanted to become pirates.
Before setting sail, people now had to think about how they could possibly survive against such a terrifying military force.
At the same time, the profiles of the Marine officers who fought in the battle became famous everywhere.
The Navy Headquarters also decided to officially give code names to their top Vice-Admirals.
Sakazuki was given the code name Akainu (Red Dog). Borsalino became Kizaru (Yellow Monkey), and Kuzan became Aokiji (Blue Pheasant).
As for Raleigh, he was given the code name Ryokuwashi (Green Eagle.)
From then on, the status of these four men rose to a whole new level.
There was an unwritten rule that Navy Admirals were chosen from the Vice-Admirals who had color-and-animal code names.
However, Raleigh was not very excited about getting his new title.
A higher rank meant more work and more responsibilities.
Fortunately, the pirates had become much more quiet.
Otherwise, he would not be able to enjoy this comfortable, lazy life.
[Fishing during work hours: Slacking Points +200]
Slacking off during work to earn his salary while quietly growing stronger—Raleigh was completely satisfied with this lifestyle.
Tap, tap, tap...
The sound of high heels approached. Raleigh turned to look, and there was Gion, wearing a bikini.
"Raleigh, here is the latest intelligence for you to review," Gion said, handing him a newspaper and some Marine reports.
But Raleigh did not hear a single word she said.
His mind was completely focused on her chest!
"Are you going to keep staring?!" Gion clenched her fists, annoyed.
Even though she had become his girlfriend and their relationship had grown closer, she still could not stand his lecherous staring.
"Hmph!"
Gion stormed off the deck in a huff.
Raleigh casually wiped the nosebleed that had started and finally began reading the reports.
"Whoa, how did this guy show up?"
Raleigh saw the information about Kozuki Oden.
Calculating the timeline, it was about time for the samurai to begin his sea voyage.
Originally, Kozuki Oden joined the Whitebeard Pirates first.
Then, after fighting the Roger Pirates for three days, Roger recognized his worth and Oden joined his crew.
But now, the Whitebeard Pirates had been completely shattered.
Marco had disappeared to who-knows-where, so Oden had not joined any pirate crew yet.
However, Raleigh believed that Oden would still end up joining the Roger Pirates.
There was no real reason for it—it was simply fate.
Raleigh had absolutely no intention of trying to stop Oden.
To him, the samurai was simply too foolish. If nothing unexpected happened, Raleigh wanted nothing to do with him.
He truly could not understand Oden; despite having strong connections with Whitebeard and Roger, and being able to easily ask them for help against Kaido and Orochi, Oden had let himself get played to death in the original timeline.
Just reading about the man triggered Raleigh's hatred for stupidity.
"Better ignore this guy if I do not want to provoke Roger."
After skipping past Kozuki Oden, Raleigh flipped to the news about Barrett.
"Douglas Bullett... his bounty is already rising this fast? Not bad."
Raleigh was much more interested in Bullett.
Even though he used to be part of the Roger Pirates, Bullett was completely different from the rest of the crew. He only stayed because he respected Roger's strength.
Secondly, Raleigh needed a secret "blade" operating outside of the Marines.
Nisan and Tree were not good choices for that, and they were not Raleigh's subordinates anyway—they had just teamed up a few times by chance.
But Douglas Bullett? He would make the perfect weapon!
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