Boom!
It was still thunder and lightning, and still a dark thunderstorm. Beneath the storm, there was a large fleet swaying in the rain.
At the forefront of the enormous ship, the black sail with the Starry Sky Skull Flag was flying. The entire ship sailed steadily amidst the raging waves, and behind it was the fleet bobbing along with the sea waves.
A seagull soared and glided from the distant sky, diving straight into the storm...
Death Star, inside the captain's cabin.
Kalifa adjusted her gleaming glasses and, holding the just-computed data, said, "Originally, there were four Seven-Star Battleships, and we lost two. One was destroyed by a collective attack from the Big Mom Pirates, and the other was cut in half by Smoothie."
"Originally, there were six New Star Officer Ships, and we lost four. Perospero damaged two, and two more were lost to naval battle. Out of 150 ordinary battleships, 43 have sunk."
"In this battle, there were a total of 23,682 people involved, with 3,264 deaths and 5,739 severely injured. It's estimated that at least half of these severely injured will be disabled, and we can't even count the lightly injured."
The battles between the Four Emperors and between officers make little difference to the lower-ranking pirates; they are equally powerful.
Just like the most ordinary flintlock guns and the most advanced laser cannons, both can kill them anyway.
Among the cannon fodder combat, only half the casualties can be ascribed to them, while the other half largely results from the officers. The aftermath of those strong fighters' battles can easily blow away a dozen, and penetrating inside can cause dozens, if not a hundred, of casualties.
The Big Mom Pirates have plenty of experts like this. In terms of combat power, Sage's side has more top-tier combat power, but in the middle and lower tiers, they indeed don't have as many. In real combat, their losses would actually exceed those of the Big Mom Pirates...
Sage snapped his fingers and had Bella pour him a glass of wine, downing half of it in one go, "And then?"
"We've recruited a total of 113 core members of the Big Mom Pirates, and 16 died in the war. We haven't finished counting the ordinary subordinates yet, but their numbers are certainly no less than thirty thousand," Kalifa said.
Sage's lips curled up, revealing a smile.
As his subordinates grew, the upper-tier combat power shortfall of the once Disaster Pirates was mended, only to reveal a new shortfall... the middle and lower-tier combat power.
The captains of those ordinary battleships truly are just lackey captains, with very few 'New Stars' boasting a bounty of over one hundred million—far too few compared to the Big Mom Pirates' at least dozens of core members able to fight.
Now that's fine, Sage has incorporated them, and while the middle-tier combat power is uncertain, they certainly won't lack lower-tier combat power, patching up the shortfall by more than half in one fell swoop.
Moreover, these people are ready for use, many with experience governing islands. Whether sent to new important islands or stationed at Totto Land, there's no need to worry.
Fighting against a Four Emperor yields too many benefits!
Kalifa adjusted her glasses again, sighing inwardly.
Once Sage completely absorbs Big Mom's forces, he will undeniably become the strongest among the Four Emperors.
Originally, he was an existence one could not afford to offend on the seas; now, that holds even truer...
As she was lost in thought, the cabin door opened, and Lily walked in holding a stack of newspapers.
After some time of recuperation, her injuries had mostly healed, while, by contrast, Katakuri was still wrapped in bandages.
"Newspapers."
Lily held up the rain-soaked newspapers. The layout was extensive, but most prominent of all was a half-body photo of Sage, seemingly in the sky amidst battle with Big Mom, with the thunderous, stormy skyline behind that made his blazing white hair look like flames.
"It captured well."
Sage nodded and commented, "The Navy's technology is indeed impressive, capturing such scenes."
"This edition of the newspapers is full of similar reports."
Lily came over, filling up Sage's glass, and said, "The news of us defeating Big Mom, and the uncertainty of Big Mom's life or death, has already become well-known..."
She laid the newspapers spread out on the table, directly pulling out a stack of Wanted Posters, "And, our bounties have risen."
...
The latter half of the New World, on a certain island.
A gentle breeze rustled the red hair of a certain one-armed man. He sat on a peak, gazing at the waves ahead swayed by the same wind, lifted his only intact arm, gazing at the two bounty posters in his hand.
"Luffy, it's happening."
His gaze first lingered on a poster featuring a bright smile under a Straw Hat and, after a slight smile, drifted to another.
In stark contrast to the bright smile and sunny weather of the previous one, this bounty poster was filled with sinister wantonness, presenting a stark contrast, and the figures below the photo momentarily froze his gaze, then he shook his head, chuckling:
"Getting more troublesome, huh..."
"Zehahaha!"
Hive Island, laughter echoed through the whole island along with a tremor.
Teach clenched one hand into a fist and held a wooden keg in the other, laughing heartily.
A newspaper lay on the table beside him.
"Well done! Big Mom was actually taken down by Sage!"
Teach revealed his missing teeth, "Zehahaha, as an ally, I'm genuinely delighted!"
"It truly is a good thing."
Shiryu puffed out a cloud of smoke from his cigar and sheathed his polished blade, "Big Mom is dead, with our bounty continually rising, the position of the Four Emperors is ours."
"Indeed."
Laffitte chuckled, "Even the newspapers are writing it this way now."
"Zehahahaha..."
Teach laughed some more, picked up a wanted order of Straw Hat on the table, glanced at the bounty amount, his grin widened:
"So I became a Four Emperor, and the position of the Fifth Emperor is given to him... but for him, it's still too soon!"
Meanwhile, in Wano Country, Ghost Island.
From the moment he saw the newspaper, Kaido, who had been laughing and crying, fell into rare silence. His face, which had been somewhat tipsy, now became solemn.
"Ka, Kaido-sama..."
A few subordinates carefully lifted a gourd of wine, trying to serve him wine, but Kaido grabbed it with one hand and gently took the gourd.
He picked up a cup, stood up with his gigantic figure, walked towards the cave exit, gazed at the sky, speechless for a long time.
"Hey, kid, what's your name..."
"Don't ignore me, I'm Linlin, Charlotte Linlin..."
"Don't trust Rocks too much, Kaido. If anything happens, just come to me!"
"Where's Kaido! Where did Kaido go?!"
"Hey, Kaido, you don't have the capability yet. This is a good thing, take it!"
From initial wariness at their first meeting, to later forming an alliance in the Rocks Pirates, and then Divine Valley... he got the fruit Linlin personally took...
"On the sea, no one is immortal. This is better... than to die of old age."
Kaido filled the wine cup, watching his reflection in the clear wine, then closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and drank the wine.
He drank too forcefully, causing the wine to splash a bit, even making the corners of his eyes a bit moist, not knowing if tears were mixed in...
"Old hag!"
Kaido suddenly opened his eyes and shouted to the sky, "Thank you for taking care of me back then!!"
...
During the World Conference period, many troops above the rank of captain were dispatched to escort kings and nobles from member countries eligible for the World Conference and to guard the surroundings, preventing pirate attacks on these people.
Even with many forces dispatched, as the Navy Headquarters, they still have ample forces.
After Whitebeard's death, the pirates in the first half of the Grand Line have decreased significantly compared to before, especially with the appearance of PX, which has become a powerful force in maintaining peace and order.
And serving as the New World front line, the Navy Headquarters has taken a more powerful stance to deter prying and attacks from the great pirates.
Inside a conference room.
Navy officers stationed at the headquarters of vice admiral level and above sat cross-legged in two lines, each holding a newspaper in front of them or in their hands, with headlines faintly visible.
In the front, Brannew stood straight with hands behind his back, with the Video Snail focused on the wanted orders, broadcasting in the foreground on the screen.
Brannew hosted the temporary meeting.
Nothing else, just to increase the new wanted order.
"First, during Big Mom's tea party, the Straw Hat Gang first broke in, causing chaos at her tea party, and escaped from Big Mom Pirates' encirclement. According to intelligence, the leading Straw Hat also engaged in a fierce battle with one of the Three Commanders, Katakuri, with no decisive outcome."
"From disappearing two years ago, to setting sail two years later, consecutively defeating Doflamingo, having a draw with Katakuri, and safely withdrawing from the blockade, now even being praised by the newspapers as some new Sea Emperor... this level of exposure is also a very dangerous signal."
"Therefore, 'Straw Hat' Luffy, bounty of 1.5 billion Belly!"
"In addition, 'Blackfoot' Sanji has been officially discarded by the Vinsmoke Family. We will correctly assess his threat level. Vinsmoke Sanji, bounty of 330 million Belly."
"Of course, they are not the focus."
After removing the wanted orders for Straw Hat and Sanji, Brannew took a deep breath and said:
"Of course, characters like these aren't significant threats. Our main purpose for this meeting is one..."
He glanced around at everyone, his voice turning low: "And that is... the threat level of Disaster!"
All the seated naval officers felt their nerves tighten, their breathing slowed.
Current big news isn't about someone escaping under the Four Emperors, or someone fighting to a draw...
The overwhelming newspapers and reports are only circulating one thing.
"Disaster," one of the Four Emperors, has defeated "Big Mom," one of the Four Emperors, and achieved complete victory!
This, is now the most important thing in the world, even overshadowing this World Conference!