It looked ordinary enough.
Yet, every single cell in King's body screamed a frantic warning of death the moment he saw that pitch-black slash. Without a second's hesitation, he dodged the attack at his absolute maximum speed.
However, just as he cleared the path of the strike and began to breathe a sigh of relief, King realized something horrifying...
Despite having successfully dodged the attack, a deep, bone-deep gash had opened across his back.
And this was caused merely by the aftershock...
'Wait, slashes aren't supposed to have aftershocks, are they?'
What on earth was this strike that Hawkeye had unleashed?
King had faced Marine Admirals in the past; while he had trembled in their presence and known he couldn't win, he had always been able to retreat composedly. But in this moment... he was truly terrified.
Enduring the searing pain in his back, he carved a desperate arc through the air and turned tail, fleeing instantly.
By the time he landed back on Jack's ship, he was drenched in blood. Given the severity of the wound and the exertion of fleeing at full power, it would have been a miracle if he were in any better shape.
His condition sent Jack into a panic.
"Brother! How did you get hurt this badly?" Jack yelled. "Where is the ship's doctor? Get over here and bandage my brother immediately!"
'''
While King lay heavily wounded and the Beast Pirates' fleet fled frantically under a hail of gunfire, on the other side of the New World, the Big Mom Pirates' fleet, commanded by Katakuri, had reached the edge of Whitebeard's former territory, near Totto Land.
Much like Jack and King, they were subjected to long-range bombardment from a Marine fleet. However, their situation was far more manageable.
The force opposing them was the Marine Second Fleet, which was only half the size of the First Fleet. Furthermore, the Big Mom Pirates possessed far more Ability Users than the Beast Pirates, giving them a much wider array of means to intercept incoming shells.
Additionally, the Second Fleet was currently overseen by Ryokugyu. While his abilities were strange, he lacked Hawkeye's capacity for devastating long-range attacks. In terms of raw power, he and Fujitora sat at the bottom of the current six Admirals. If it came to close-quarters combat, Katakuri alone could likely keep him occupied for a long time.
Because of this, Ryokugyu simply kept his fleet three or four miles away, maintaining a constant barrage of cannon fire that, while persistent, didn't yield immediate, decisive results.
By the time the fleet breached the waters of Totto Land and Ryokugyu ordered the pursuit to end, they had lost only three ships. Though hundreds of pirates had perished, they were merely low-level fodder; the officers and key combatants remained unscathed.
The Beast Pirates' experience was entirely different.
They had been subjected to the relentless, dense bombardment of the First Fleet, which had even closed the gap to within two nautical miles to hunt them down. Jack had been utterly miserable.
He had been unable to counter-attack, even as the enemy pressed closer. By the time they entered the waters of Wano Country, the Beast Pirates had lost twelve ships and over a thousand men. While the two All-Stars and the Tobi Roppo remained safe—aside from King's injuries—their elite rank-and-file had suffered significant losses.
One could say this single ambush had chipped away at the very vitality of the Beast Pirates.
Once the two ambushes concluded, the First and Second Fleets sailed at full speed into the territories once held by Whitebeard. Joining the Third Fleet, they began a comprehensive sweep of the islands.
Simultaneously, a fleet of over ten super-large transport ships departed from the Marine Headquarters in the New World. These ships weren't loaded with soldiers, but with vast quantities of food and disaster relief supplies.
The islands within Whitebeard's former domain had suffered months of calamity due to the clash between the two Emperor crews. Homes were destroyed, wealth plundered, and food supplies vanished. Countless civilians had died, and many more were wounded, desperately needing aid.
To prepare for this, before the operation began, Sean had allocated thirty billion Belly to purchase massive amounts of grain, clothing, and temporary tents. These ten transport ships carried only a fraction of the supplies; since that was the extent of Sean's current transport fleet, the aid had to be delivered in batches.
'''
Ten days later.
At the New World Headquarters, in the Fleet Admiral's office.
"Sean, the statistics are complete. Within Whitebeard's territory, there are a total of 12 large islands, 47 medium islands, and 327 small islands," Robin reported, holding a set of documents. "The large and medium islands all contain towns or villages, while most of the small islands are uninhabited."
"As for the population, intelligence suggested there were around 5.2 million people before the invasion by Big Mom and the Beast Pirates. However, our latest count is 4.78 million. Approximately 400,000 to 500,000 people lost their lives during the chaos of the past few months."
Hundreds of thousands dead in just a few months, with the number of injured or displaced likely several times higher.
'As I thought... pirates are things that simply should not exist in this world.'
Hearing the report, Sean's eyes turned ice-cold.
To put it bluntly, the Celestial Dragons might be loathsome, but how many people did those fools actually ruin in a year? Yet Big Mom and the Beast Pirates had caused hundreds of thousands of deaths in just a few months of territorial disputes.
How many lives had been lost since Roger sparked the Great Pirate Era?
The number was likely astronomical.
Regardless of what Roger's ultimate goal had been, the fact remained that he had pushed countless innocent civilians into a living hell.
'The Great Pirate Era must end!'
'And the era of the Celestial Dragons must also terminate!'
'I will be the one to correct this twisted world!'
'''
The Holy Land.
Mary Geoise.
The doors to the Room of Authority opened. Escorted by two CP0 agents, a figure draped in a hooded cloak, their identity concealed, stepped into the room. Once the visitor had arrived, the CP0 agents immediately withdrew and shut the doors.
The mysterious person lowered their hood, revealing their face to the Five Elders.
"I apologize for the intrusion. The situation is urgent, so I hope you will overlook my abruptness."
"Speak," the blonde Elder huffed coldly. "What could possibly be so important that you would risk coming here to see the five of us?"
The mysterious visitor didn't seem to mind the cold reception, as if they were already well-accustomed to the Five Elders' attitude.
"I have come here today to speak with you about a Marine. If he is left unchecked, the entire world system will utterly collapse!"
"Not only the pirate forces, but even your World Government will be ground into dust in the process!"
"This Marine's name is..."
"Sean Campbell!"
Upon those words, a heavy silence instantly fell over the Room of Authority.
The man had mentioned Sean and viewed him as a threat capable of dismantling the existing world order.
The Five Elders were not surprised by this.
After all, they had ruled the World Government for so long. While their prolonged tenure at the peak of power had made them increasingly arrogant, it did not mean they were stupid.
Indeed, Sean's current actions were gradually tearing apart the system of dominance that the World Government had spent centuries establishing.
Did they not know this?
No, all five of them knew it perfectly well!
The problem was...
Sean's background made them extremely wary; they simply didn't dare to move against him.
Of course, they could report the current situation to Lord Imu and wait for Imu to make a decision.
But the crucial point was that Lord Imu was currently slumbering and would not awaken for another six months.
Could they act against Sean directly?
It wasn't impossible, but if Sean's identity was truly what they suspected...
They feared that once Lord Imu awoke in six months, he would slaughter all five of them on the spot.
Because of this, the Five Elders truly did not dare to act.
"We are aware of this matter. You may leave!"
'Huh?'
'I just told them the world system was on the verge of collapse, yet these five old men have had no reaction other than a brief moment of silence?'
The mysterious man was completely bewildered by the Five Elders' lack of response and their dismissive command to leave.
This development...
How was it so completely different from what he had envisioned?
Something was wrong!!