The next day, the news that the King of the Sea, captain of the Rocks Pirates, Rocks D. Xebec, had died at the hands of Makoto spread throughout the world via newspapers dropped by News Coos.
This was, of course, the work of Morgans.
However, it wasn't Makoto himself who told Morgans, but Moeha, Makoto's number one fangirl, who called Morgans and told him the whole story in detail.
And Morgans, who had already decided to align himself with Makoto, naturally sang his praises, greatly lauding all of Makoto's actions, and stated righteously in the newspaper: "It is only natural for the King of the Sea to lose to the King of the World."
Not only that, the newspaper also reported that the great pirate [Red Count] Patrick Redfield, with a bounty exceeding one billion, had also died at Makoto's hands.
However, compared to Rocks, Redfield's death seemed insignificant.
Upon seeing the newspaper's contents, the world was once again shocked.
Not long ago, Makoto had thoroughly humiliated the World Government, even giving its supreme ruler, Imu, to his underlings as a plaything. And now… Rocks had died at his hands too? What was happening to this world?
…
Holy Land Mary Geoise.
Reconstruction work was in full swing. The rubble of the collapsed Pangaea Castle had been mostly cleared, and new construction materials were being shipped in from around the world.
But the faces of the Five Elders were even uglier than the ruins.
"Rocks is dead," Saturn said, his voice calm, but his fingers gripping the scepter were turning white. "Killed by Nishikawa Makoto."
No one responded.
The silence in the conference room was as deep as a tomb.
After a long while, Mars finally spoke. "In the past, we would have been happy."
"But the problem is..." Warcury took over, his voice low, "The powerful subordinates under Rocks have now joined Makoto's command. That's hardly something to be happy about."
Nusjuro's seat was still empty. No replacement had been found yet.
…
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Sengoku sat behind his desk, having read the newspaper in front of him over and over. "That man... actually recruited Newgate and the others as subordinates."
Zephyr stood by the window, looking out at the calm sea, his tone complex. "What exactly is he trying to do?"
Sengoku shook his head. "At the very least, it's different from Rocks' goal."
Rocks had gathered so many powerful individuals to oppose the World Government.
As for Makoto… Sengoku felt that wasn't his goal. If he wanted to take on the World Government, he could do it himself, no help needed.
But as for Makoto's specific purpose... Even Sengoku, known as the [Resourceful General], couldn't figure it out.
"In any case, it won't be anything good," Zephyr turned to look at Sengoku. "We need to be prepared."
"Prepared for what?"
"To welcome an era even more troublesome than Rocks."
Sengoku was silent for a moment, then nodded.
…
Giant Kingdom, Elbaf.
Young Loki, upon seeing the newspaper reporting Rocks's death, couldn't help but wail. He cried even harder than when he had learned of his own father's death half a month earlier.
At this stage, Loki still had considerable estrangement from his father, Harald.
In fact, he admired Rocks even more than Harald and had always wanted to join the Rocks Pirates. But Rocks had repeatedly refused him, citing 'he's just a brat'.
Loki even believed that Rocks was the legendary liberator warrior… Nika.
But now, Rocks was dead. For Loki, this was undoubtedly a collapse of his faith.
He stared at the name of Rocks's killer in the newspaper and gritted his teeth silently. "Nishikawa Makoto... I will avenge Nika!"
If Makoto knew Loki's thoughts, he would be utterly speechless and said, "Another idiot brainwashed by Nika."
"Loki, let's go back to the castle. We have guests," A gentle voice came from behind.
Loki turned around. It was his stepmother, Harald's unofficial wife, Ida. Loki held considerable respect for his stepmother.
After all, he had been labeled a 'child of ill omen' at birth and abandoned by his own biological mother, only to be taken in by this stepmother.
"Who is it?" Loki wiped his tears, trying not to look so pathetic.
Ida thought for a moment and said, "They seem to be pirates, a very famous pirate crew from the outside."
Loki curled his lip disdainfully. "Aside from the Rocks Pirates, all other pirate crews are trash."
…
Alabasta. Yu, accompanying the Four Gay Bros, also saw the newspaper. When he saw that the pirate known as the [King of the Sea] had died at Makoto's hands, Yu showed a genuine smile. "For Nishikawa-senpai, this is only natural."
But then… when he saw on the second page that the executives of the Rocks Pirates had been recruited under Makoto's command, Yu's face immediately darkened.
'Damn it. I'd been cuckolded. Those bastards must have used some kind of bewitching technique to make Nishikawa-senpai take them in.'
"Um... Ishigami-sama, breakfast is ready," Uesugi Futarou, missing a leg, said as he brought breakfast over.
"Get lost!" In a bad mood, Yu directly slapped him hard across the face and left the inn without looking back, 'I needed to train harder!'
Saika, carrying breakfast to the Four Gay Bros, asked Hachiman with confusion, "Ishigami-kun seems to be in a bad mood."
Hachiman remarked, "That's probably how it feels to be NTR'd."
Miyuki shuddered, secretly glad that he wasn't the one delivering food to Yu.
The Four Gay Bros, as usual, were carefree, eating their breakfast while discussing how they would torment Imu next.
…
New World, the Otherworlder-Go.
Makoto gathered Newgate, Linlin, the one-legged Shiki, and the others on the deck. Sunlight poured down on these monstrously large pirates, their shadows falling on the artificial turf, a dark mass.
Makoto clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. "Although I'm not very keen on taking in trash like you, we'll still be together for a while."
Makoto paused. "Therefore, I've decided to hold a welcome party for you."
Hearing this, the remnants of the Rocks Pirates felt like complaining. Many muttered internally: 'We don't want to be your subordinates either.'
But seeing Shiki with his severed leg, everyone just thought it silently... no one dared to say it out loud.
Makoto then added, "If any of you want to rebel, that's perfectly fine. My head is right here. Feel free to come for it anytime."
Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked again. Then, they lowered their heads even further.
Newgate ruthlessly retorted, "You're just looking for some amusement, aren't you?"
Although he had formally known the other man for less than twenty-four hours, Newgate had already come to understand Makoto's personality.
Makoto smiled and said, "You catch on quick."
His current approach was quite similar to how Newgate himself would treat Ace in the future.
After Ace was defeated by Whitebeard, that kid had also tried to assassinate him multiple times. But Whitebeard simply couldn't be bothered.
On one hand, he disdained taking the life of such a brat... on the other hand, Whitebeard found it quite amusing to see what the kid would do.
However, the difference was… Whitebeard truly had no intention of killing Ace from start to finish. But if these members of the Rocks Pirates truly dared to rebel, Makoto really would kill them.