The integration of new troops and the expansion of the fleet proceeded smoothly.
By the time the sky darkened without anyone noticing, the port of the city showed a mighty sight—the War Pirates' fleet, now expanded to twenty-five ships, was departing in grand formation.
That's right.
Once the wounded had been treated and the looting completed, Kaito Arisawa did not linger. As always, after resupplying, he immediately led the pirate crew back out to sea.
"They're gone! That's great—the pirates are really gone!"
"They finally left… we're saved!"
"This nightmare is over!"
When the War Pirates sailed away from the harbor and eventually disappeared beyond the horizon, the people who had been secretly watching near the port erupted into cheers.
The celebration quickly spread throughout the city. Residents who had been hiding the entire time wept as though reborn after a disaster. Some ran into the streets to vent their emotions. Others cursed, wailed, or collapsed in relief.
Whether during the battle or the looting afterward, the War Pirates had never deliberately targeted civilians.
Even so, their very presence cast a suffocating shadow over most of the city's population.
And in the eyes of ordinary people, pirates were evil by nature. Now that this "evil" pirate crew had finally left, it was only natural that the city rejoiced.
"It's horrible… so many people died."
"Not just people. I went to look at the palace. It's completely in ruins. Someone even found the remains of the king and his family."
"Where did those pirates come from? How could they be so terrifying? They defeated our army!"
"I heard many soldiers even joined them."
"I know that crew—it's the War Pirates. They've become famous recently. Their captain, Kaito Arisawa, even has a bounty over 100 million."
Groups of residents gathered in twos and threes, investigating the state of the city.
Some trembled at the sight of corpses strewn across the battlefield.
Others reacted with complicated emotions upon discovering the royal palace reduced to rubble.
But regardless of their reactions, the entire city spent the rest of the night cleaning up the aftermath.
The next day—
"Admiral Kuzan, the situation has been confirmed. Yesterday, this place was indeed attacked by the War Pirates."
"In addition, the War Pirates not only caused massive destruction to the city but also killed the entire royal family of the Kingdom of San Lorenzo and tens of thousands of its soldiers."
Standing before the ruined palace, wearing his sleep mask pushed up on his forehead, Admiral Kuzan listened silently as a Marine colonel reported the intelligence he had gathered.
"Damn pirates!"
Beside him stood Dauberman, who had successfully become adjutant of the crusade force. Hearing the report, he could not suppress his fury. He crouched and slammed his fist into the ground.
Boom!!!
A powerful shockwave exploded outward, smashing a crater several meters wide into the earth.
For Marines, traveling from the Grand Line to the four Blues was far easier than for ordinary people—they could pass directly through the Red Line.
This was the case for the crusade force targeting the War Pirates.
After confirming the operation, Kuzan had departed Marineford at once, leading the expeditionary force through the Red Line into West Blue at maximum speed.
Yet they had not expected that upon arrival, they would immediately learn that their target had committed yet another major crime.
The Kingdom of San Lorenzo was a member state of the World Government.
Having its capital invaded by pirates was already a grave matter.
But the death of tens of thousands of soldiers—and the annihilation of the royal family—would have enormous repercussions. It would severely damage the World Government's prestige.
After all, the Marines existed to combat pirates.
Pirates ran rampant; the Marines were responsible.
At least, that was the understanding among World Government member nations. Otherwise, why would they pay such massive amounts of Heavenly Tribute every year?
…Nico Robin, have you strayed from your path?
Kuzan stared at the ruins before him. The colonel's report cast a shadow across his eyes.
During the Ohara incident, he had chosen to let Nico Robin go—for Saul's sake, and to preserve a spark connected to the Void Century.
But now he could not help wondering if he had made the wrong choice.
The War Pirates that Nico Robin now belonged to were undoubtedly a ruthless pirate crew.
And Nico Robin herself—
Was she coerced into these actions?
Or had she been corrupted by darkness as well?
"Contact West Blue headquarters immediately. Deploy all intelligence forces to track the whereabouts of the War Pirates," Kuzan ordered gravely.
"Yes, sir!"
The Marine colonel noticed the gloom in Kuzan's expression and stiffened. He saluted sharply before rushing off to carry out the command.
Meanwhile—
"This is bad—really bad. A terrifying figure has appeared in West Blue. He even captured the capital of a kingdom. That level of force and aggression is unbelievable!"
"More than that. My informant says the War Pirates have drawn Marine attention. A special crusade force has been formed—and it's led by Admiral Kuzan!"
"Really? I knew Admiral Kuzan had gone to West Blue, but I didn't think it was to deal with a pirate crew that hasn't even entered the Grand Line."
"What do you know? The War Pirates are already powerful. And don't forget Vice Admiral Henry, who was recently declared dead. I confirmed it—he died at the hands of the War Pirates. He was a comrade of Sengoku from the same era. Do you think the Marines would ignore that?"
"There's no debate. I've received confirmed information—Admiral Kuzan is indeed heading to West Blue to confront the War Pirates!"
In a certain sea region, aboard a ship suspended beneath multiple hot-air balloons floating in the sky, journalists were engaged in heated discussion.
This was the headquarters of the famous World Economic News Agency.
And the humanoid albatross in a light blue shirt and yellow bow tie who burst from his office—
Was none other than Morgans, president of the agency and one of the kings of the underworld.
"Is it confirmed? President, this is huge news!"
"A Marine Admiral dispatched to deal with a West Blue pirate crew? That's explosive!"
"Hurry! Prepare tomorrow's headline! We can't let another paper beat us to it!"
The newsroom exploded into activity.
Morgans nodded with satisfaction.
This was what true journalists should be like.
If you wanted to break news, you had to be first.
Boo-boo-boo—
"President! The Den Den Mushi in your office is ringing! It's the special line to the World Government!"
A staff member called out.
"Hmph. The World Government contacting me at a time like this? They probably want me to suppress the news about San Lorenzo."
Morgans glanced toward the office. Through the doorway, he could indeed see the special Den Den Mushi reserved for direct communication with the World Government.
Disgust flickered in his eyes.
He already knew what they wanted.
But giving up such massive news?
Impossible.
With a sneer, Morgans walked back into his office.
Meanwhile—
"This is the Devil Fruit I obtained this time. Let's see who's interested in eating one."
Waves crashed against the shore.
The massive fleet anchored in the deep waters off a deserted island.
While the rest of the War Pirates busied themselves unloading supplies onto land, Kaito Arisawa gathered his senior officers on the deck of the flagship.
Robin.
Mangu.
Neferpitou.
Trafalgar Law.
Lafayette.
Sandy.
The reason for the meeting was simple—
Devil Fruit distribution.
After explaining the abilities of the four Devil Fruits one by one, Kaito placed them in a row on the deck before him and looked at the group.
To be precise, he was waiting for the two non-ability users—Lafayette and Mangu—to choose.
After all, aside from Kaito himself, the others were already Devil Fruit users.
"Devil Fruits… they feel strangely familiar."
Robin studied the fruits with interest.
She had eaten her Flower-Flower Fruit at a very young age.
Since then, she had never encountered other Devil Fruits again.
Now, seeing four of them lined up before her, she felt a sense of faint wonder.
Law, Neferpitou, and Sandy shared similar curiosity.
All three gazed at the fruits with thoughtful expressions.
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