Jozu frowned slightly, confusion written across his face.
"What exactly is Kizaru planning…?"
Vista folded his arms, his voice low and cautious.
"Marco, this could be a trap."
Marco shared the same suspicion. Kizaru wasn't the type to act without layers of intent. But doubt didn't shake his composure.
Strength gave him confidence.
"I'll go," Marco said calmly. "Maintain full alert. Keep communication lines open. Notify every Phoenix outpost—if there's the slightest trace of Marine movement, I want to know immediately."
Vista nodded firmly.
"Understood."
A moment later, black flames surged behind Marco, forming a pair of vast wings. With a powerful beat, he rose into the sky and flew straight toward the yacht resting arrogantly between the fleets.
He landed lightly on its deck.
Kizaru didn't even stand.
He lifted his teacup and smiled lazily.
"Long time no see, Marco~"
Marco didn't waste time.
"What do you want, Kizaru?"
Kizaru's grin widened slightly.
"How scary~ so impatient. Have some tea first. We can talk slowly."
He poured another cup with deliberate slowness, steam curling into the air.
Marco didn't touch it.
"I'm here for the exchange. Not tea."
"Oh my, why so hostile?" Kizaru chuckled, then casually gestured behind him. "Relax. Since I'm here, the exchange will happen. Look over there."
Marco turned.
On the deck of one of the warships stood Whitey Bay—alive.
His eyes cooled.
"Then let's proceed."
"Of course," Kizaru replied smoothly. "But before that… perhaps we catch up a little?"
Marco's tone hardened.
"We complete the exchange first."
Kizaru sighed theatrically.
"Alright~ as you wish."
The exchange began.
Small boats moved carefully between the fleets.
Smoker and over a hundred captured Marines were transferred first.
In return—
Whitey Bay was released.
As she stepped onto the small boat heading back toward Marco, she lowered her head slightly.
"Marco… I'm sorry. I caused trouble."
Marco's voice softened.
"It's fine. Get back safely."
On the opposite side, Smoker, now freed, approached Kizaru with visible shame.
"Admiral… I—"
Kizaru waved a hand casually.
"No need. Go rest."
Smoker nodded stiffly, but as his boat passed Marco's, his glare burned with frustration and unwilling defeat.
Marco ignored it.
Whitey Bay reached the Phoenix formation safely.
At that moment, the familiar voice echoed in his mind.
Mission Complete: Rescue Whitey Bay
Reward: 10,000 Attribute Points
Marco's total rose to 18,400.
He allowed himself a small inward smile.
Closer.
One step closer to his next breakthrough.
Kizaru set his teacup down gently.
"Well then~ Whitey Bay is safe. Now it's your turn, Marco. You wouldn't break your word, would you?"
Marco chuckled faintly.
"I keep my promises."
One by one, the remaining Marines were escorted back to the warships.
When the last of them boarded safely, Kizaru's lips curved slightly.
"For a pirate… you're surprisingly reliable."
His tone shifted almost imperceptibly.
"Now that business is concluded, perhaps we can discuss something more important?"
Marco raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
Kizaru's eyes gleamed faintly behind his glasses.
"This comes directly from the World Government."
Marco remained outwardly calm. Whitey Bay was safe. His objective was complete.
He had time.
"Go on."
Kizaru smiled lazily.
And began speaking.
Meanwhile—
Behind the seemingly peaceful surface of the Marine formation—
Subtle signals were exchanged.
Cannons adjusted.
Communication flags shifted.
—
On the far side of Totto Land, festivities were in full swing.
Charlotte Linlin was celebrating her sixty-seventh birthday.
Flags fluttered across the islands. Giant cakes towered like monuments. Representatives from various New World powers arrived bearing lavish gifts. Even the Beasts Pirates and the Phoenix Pirates had sent offerings—gestures of respect for the newly formed Three Emperors Alliance.
The atmosphere was jubilant.
But beneath the laughter and music, vigilance remained.
The Charlotte Family's children were still stationed across the outer islands, patrolling as usual. Celebration never meant carelessness.
On one such island, the third daughter of the Charlotte Family—Amande—had just completed her inspection. Everything appeared calm. She raised her den den mushi, preparing to report to her elder brother—
When her eyes suddenly narrowed.
Two figures were approaching from the horizon at astonishing speed.
One bore a strange, constantly rotating flower blooming from his back.
The other stood upon a floating board, eyes closed, a blade at his waist—yet radiating a suffocating aura.
Amande's heartbeat skipped.
"Be on guard!" she shouted sharply.
It was too late.
The man with the spinning blossom—Ryokugyu—moved first.
In the blink of an eye, vines burst violently from the ground, writhing like living serpents. They shot through the air and pierced straight through more than a dozen pirates.
There was no scream long enough to echo.
The vines drained them instantly.
Bodies shriveled.
Skin tightened against bone.
Within seconds, they collapsed into withered husks.
Ryokugyu landed lightly upon the island, his speed clearly outpacing the second figure—Issho.
The surviving pirates stared in horror.
"That's… the new Marine Admiral! Ryokugyu!"
"And the other—Fujitora! They were chosen in the World Military Draft!"
Ryokugyu grinned broadly, his expression bordering on madness.
"Chahahaha! So you recognize me."
He spread his arms, vines curling around him like a throne of thorns.
"Though I hold the title of Admiral, my merits are still… shallow. Some of my subordinates doubt my worth."
His grin widened.
"So allow me to borrow your lives—"
"—to prove myself."
He stomped lightly.
The earth answered.
Trees erupted from the soil in violent bursts, roots tearing through stone. The entire island began transforming into a living forest under his command.
"Besides," he added casually, "you're not affiliated with the World Government. Killing you isn't illegal."
Before he even finished speaking, vines lashed outward again, binding pirates and even homies. They pierced flesh and essence alike, draining vitality greedily.
Dozens fell in seconds.
Panic exploded.
"Damn it! Fire!"
Cannons roared. Bullets rained down. Explosions engulfed Ryokugyu's position, smoke swallowing him whole.
When it cleared—
He stood untouched.
Logia.
The bullets and shells had passed harmlessly through his body of wood and plant matter.
Amande's hands trembled.
"Answer the den den mushi!" she snapped at a nearby subordinate, eyes blazing.
The moment she recognized an Admiral, she knew the truth.
She could not win.
Only a Yonko could contend with an Admiral.
She turned and fled.
If she could not fight—
She would warn Totto Land.
"Don't even think about escaping," Ryokugyu said lazily.
A sharp vine shot forward.
It pierced through Amande's lower back, lifting her into the air.
Her body convulsed.
The vine tightened.
Her vitality drained at terrifying speed.
At that very moment, the den den mushi crackled to life.
"This is Cake Island. Report. What's happening?"
Amande tried to speak—
But her lips could no longer move.
Her body shrank rapidly, flesh collapsing inward until she was nothing more than a desiccated corpse.
The den den mushi's voice continued anxiously.
"Hello? Respond! What's going on?!"
A wooden thorn shot forward.
It pierced the den den mushi clean through.
The small creature withered instantly, its life snuffed out.
Silence fell.
Behind Ryokugyu, Fujitora stepped lightly onto the island's soil, his blind gaze lifting slightly toward the horizon.
In the distance, Totto Land's celebration lights still glittered against the sky.
"Since that's the case," Fujitora said calmly, resting one hand on the hilt of his blade, "I shall also show a little skill."
He had already sensed Ryokugyu's presence on the island—felt the lives being extinguished one after another.
This was their first battle since being appointed Admirals.
Their first true display of power beneath the Marine banner.
They could not afford to disappoint.
Fujitora slowly drew his sword.
With a gentle swing, a ring of violet energy rippled outward from the blade and shot into the heavens.
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
Then the sky darkened.
Within seconds, a blazing meteor tore through the clouds, screaming downward like divine judgment. It was not one of his normal meteors, this was colossal in size, nearly a tenth the size of the island itself.
BOOM!
The impact was cataclysmic.
Flames swallowed the horizon. A violent shockwave blasted across the island, flattening structures and uprooting trees. The ground cracked and buckled under the pressure.
When the smoke cleared, a massive crater—hundreds of meters wide and terrifyingly deep—had been carved into the island.
Ryokugyu, who had just finished his forest of death, stared at the devastation with widened eyes.
"Issho, you bastard!" he barked, glaring at the approaching Fujitora. "Are you trying to kill me too?!"
The meteor had obliterated the lush forest he had painstakingly summoned.
For a brief moment, Ryokugyu felt something unpleasant—
A natural counter.
Fujitora's meteors.
His Forest-Forest Fruit.
Fire and gravity against growth and life.
Fujitora sheathed his sword halfway and bowed his head slightly.
"Hohoho… my apologies."
"As I am blind, I could only sense the concentration of pirate presence at that location. I acted accordingly."
"I hope you will forgive me."
Ryokugyu clicked his tongue in irritation but held back.
He knew better.
Fujitora's power was no joke.
That meteor—if aimed properly—could crush even an Admiral.
The tension between them lingered only a moment before—
The sea thundered.
Marine warships broke through the mist, cannons gleaming.
On the foremost deck stood several figures whose presence alone could shake the seas.
The Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Dracule Mihawk — the world's strongest swordsman.
Boa Hancock — the Pirate Empress.
Bartholomew Kuma — the Tyrant.
Buggy the Clown.
Cavendish of the White Horse.
Trafalgar Law — the Surgeon of Death.
Eustass "Captain" Kid.
Law adjusted his hat, eyes fixed on the burning island ahead.
"To think… our first mandatory summons after becoming Shichibukai would be to directly confront the Big Mom Pirates."
His tone was calm—but tense.
Kid snorted beside him, mechanical arm flexing.
"Hmph. Good."
"I wanted to take down Big Mom before, but her damned sons interfered."
He grinned viciously.
"This time, I'll see for myself what the so-called 'Weakest Emperor' is worth."
Law's expression darkened slightly.
He had seen Charlotte Linlin's power firsthand.
Even if she had been defeated once—
A Yonko was still a Yonko.
Weakest?
That was a dangerous illusion.
He considered warning Kid… then decided against it.
Kid wouldn't listen.
Nearby, Cavendish brushed his hair back dramatically.
"This war," he murmured to himself, "will surely elevate my popularity to legendary heights."
On the other end of the deck, Buggy trembled internally.
'This is madness… absolute madness!'
'I just became a Shichibukai! Why am I already marching into a Yonko war?!'
His face, however, remained exaggeratedly composed.
Behind them, even the silent warlords couldn't hide their shock.
They had just witnessed two newly appointed Admirals unleash power on a scale that rivaled natural disasters.
Meteor strikes.
Living forests.
If this was the standard of Marine Admirals—Then this war would not be simple.
Ahead, Totto Land's celebration lights still flickered.
Unaware.
The birthday party was about to turn into a battlefield.
------------------
AN: Check out my P@treon For +60 extra chapters.
Thank You For your Support!!
[email protected]/noviceauthor777
-----------------------
To keep the chapters coming - Support with POWER STONES.
For Every 100 power stones - 1 BONUS chapter.