After the uproar on the day Fire Dragon Yemu declared war on the Celestial Dragons and the World Government,
as the days passed, the entire sea gradually seemed to calm on the surface. But beneath it, undercurrents had begun to surge.
In order to deal with Fire Dragon Yemu, the Marines and the World Government had drawn away many Marine elites and intelligence spies from across the seas, leaving their control over the sea weaker than ever before. Yet at this moment, whether they were ambitious men, schemers, pirates, merchants, or nobles, none of them made much of a move. They simply stood silently on the sidelines, watching the development of this war with anticipation.
To be honest, very few people believed the Sky Pirates would be the final victors.
The World Government had ruled this world for eight hundred years. The powerful military force it possessed, and the psychological pressure and deterrence it had placed on everyone in this world, were not things that could be erased so easily.
What they were hoping for now was simply that through this war, the Sky Pirates would consume as much of the Marines' and World Government's strength as possible. Only then would these ambitious people have a chance to realize their own goals.
Sabaody Archipelago, Shakky's Rip-off Bar.
Ever since Yemu's declaration of war, even Rayleigh, unusually, had stopped wandering around. He had remained in the bar, watching how the situation developed.
At night, after Rayleigh saw off a large group of pirates who had spent the entire day noisily discussing the current chaotic era, the bar finally returned to silence.
Today, Rayleigh had rarely acted as a waiter, because Shakky had left the bar in the morning and disappeared somewhere.
Fortunately, his confidence in Shakky's strength meant Rayleigh was not worried about her safety at all.
Sure enough, in the middle of the night, when all was quiet and Rayleigh was drinking alone, the door to the bar was pushed open. Shakky walked in carrying a bundle.
"You're back..."
Although the two lived together, they had always treated each other with respectful distance.
You didn't ask about my affairs, and I didn't ask about yours. They did not interfere with each other.
"Ah, you worked hard today."
"It's nothing. I don't have much work to do right now anyway."
Because Marine Headquarters had gathered an unprecedented number of forces, Sabaody Archipelago, the closest island group to Marineford, had also become a key focus of the Marines. No pirate would be reckless enough to choose this moment to enter the New World, so Old Ray naturally had nothing to do.
"Heh heh..."
Shakky chuckled twice and walked to the bar, placing the bundle in her hands on the counter. Then she slowly said, "Yemu boy had someone send me a new gadget, so I went to pick it up today."
"I see. I didn't expect someone like you, who always hates trouble, to choose to help Yemu boy."
Shakky shook her head. As she untied the rope around the bundle, she said, "There's no helping it... Because of what happened on Baterilla Island, I owe Yemu boy an enormous favor."
As Shakky finished speaking, the bundle was untied, revealing a large square box with a screen. Behind it was a huge spiral conch, shaped almost like a backside.
"What's this?"
Seeing the strange new object, Rayleigh also became interested and asked curiously.
"A TV Conch."
Shakky had learned how it worked from the person who delivered it.
"Apparently, it was modified using the Shell technology unique to Skypiea. Its function is somewhat similar to a visual Den Den Mushi, and it can avoid interference from Marine signals. I heard that right now, Yemu boy's Sky Pirates are selling these things at very low prices across the Four Seas and the Grand Line."
"Oh?"
Rayleigh became interested.
"How do you use it?"
"Simple. Press the backside of this big conch."
As Shakky pressed it, there was a click. A little static began to appear on the pitch-black screen, then it changed into an image. On the screen was a huge island on the sea, wrapped in clouds and mist.
The image was moving. Ships could be seen entering and leaving around the island.
However, because the distance was too great, only blurry silhouettes could be seen.
At the bottom of the screen, lines of text flew past from time to time, all written with business cooperation details.
For example, what materials were needed, what prices were offered, and how interested parties could make contact.
Rayleigh immediately reacted and said in surprise, "Don't tell me this is the unnamed island in the North Blue that was printed in the newspapers?"
"Mm."
Shakky nodded. She took a slim cigarette from her pocket, lit it, and looked at the image on the screen as she said lightly, "Looks like Yemu boy has even more confidence in this war than we imagined."
Rayleigh understood what Shakky meant and said, "Yemu boy wants to broadcast this war publicly?"
"That's what it looks like. And I think Yemu boy is doing this to force the Marines and the World Government. Faced with such open provocation, for the sake of their reputation, the Marines and the World Government can only respond to this war head-on in the North Blue. Otherwise, it would be a huge blow to the prestige of the Marines and the World Government. Those five old men would never allow something like that to happen. On top of that, with the Yonkō Alliance's existence, the Marines won't risk entering the New World. So at least while the alliance still exists, Yemu boy doesn't need to worry about anything happening to his rear. In that case, as long as Yemu boy doesn't lose too badly in this war, he will have the chance to rise again. That strategy really is frightening."
After listening to Shakky, Rayleigh felt for a moment as if he had also fallen into a strange illusion.
"Looks like Yemu boy is very confident about this war."
"Yes. That's exactly what I'm curious about. The Marines' intelligence won't be greater than what I know, and the only thing we know more about than the Marines is the powerful force of Amazon Lily. But even so, facing the Marines' almost full-force mobilization, it's still hard to see any hope of victory. Whether this is a bluff or Yemu boy truly has his own trump card, we'll only know when the war breaks out."
"Haha. That's something for the Marines and the World Government to worry about. As for us, we'll just wait quietly for the surprise Yemu boy brings us."
At this point, Rayleigh's gaze turned toward the distance.
"Perhaps Yemu boy really can become another answer for this world..."
Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters, in the Fleet Admiral's office.
A TV Conch had also been placed on Sengoku's desk. Everyone stared at the image with ugly expressions.
With the Marines' ability, obtaining such a TV Conch was very easy. Not to mention, the Sky Pirates did not care at all whether the Marines got their hands on one.
Looking at the image on the screen, how could Tsuru, with her intelligence, fail to guess Yemu's intention?
"Looks like in this war, the Marines can only face them head-on. This feeling of being forced into passivity at every step is truly unpleasant!"
To be honest, neither the Marines nor the World Government wanted to be led around by Yemu and his people.
Walking into a battlefield prepared by someone else meant that in terms of timing and terrain, the Marines would naturally fall into a disadvantage. But right now, they had no choice.
The reason was simple. They represented the World Government that had ruled this world for eight hundred years.
If they chose to avoid such a naked provocation from pirates, then the authority the World Government had built over eight hundred years of ruling this world would suffer a massive blow.
Especially now, when they were being provoked through a public broadcast like this...
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