The New World — Pirate Island, Hachinosu.
The island lay in ruins.
Cracked earth, shattered fortifications, smoke still faintly curling into the sky… yet even amidst the devastation, the flag of the Blackbeard Pirates continued to fly stubbornly above the remnants of their stronghold.
The Saber of Xebec sat docked at the harbor.
Marshall D. Teach had already returned.
Seated upon his newly repaired, oversized throne, his massive frame loomed over the hall—but his expression was dark, irritable. One enormous hand slapped against the armrest again and again in restless annoyance.
"Zehahahaha…!" he let out his trademark laugh.
But there was no joy in it.
Only irritation.
"Honestly… after seeing all this damn news flooding the world today…"
He waved a hand dismissively.
"I almost forgot… we pulled off something pretty damn big ourselves, didn't we?!"
He was referring to the destruction of the Heart Pirates.
Taking advantage of their withdrawal from Wano, Blackbeard had personally led an ambush—crushing the majority of their forces in one decisive strike.
Only…
At the very last moment, an unexpected interference had ruined everything.
Their captain had escaped.
And with him—
The Ope Ope no Mi.
That one failure was enough to sour the entire victory.
What should have been a world-shaking event…
Had been completely overshadowed.
Three Emperors falling.
A Fleet Admiral capturing legends.
The fate of Wano rewritten.
Compared to that—
Blackbeard's "achievement" had been buried, unnoticed.
How could he not be pissed?
"Still…" Blackbeard's tone shifted as his gaze turned toward a man seated off to the side.
Kuzan sat there quietly, his chest wrapped in thick bandages, posture relaxed but heavy with fatigue.
"Kuzan," Blackbeard continued, eyes narrowing slightly, "when I saw that old geezer's headline…"
"I gotta say… I didn't expect you to actually manage to bring him back alive."
He paused, then corrected himself with a grin.
"Ah—no. 'Keep him from dying,' I should say."
Strictly speaking, Garp was missing—not captured.
Kuzan sat straddling a reinforced chair, leaning back against the cold stone wall.
His head was lowered slightly, dark curls falling over his eyes.
At Blackbeard's words, he only lifted his gaze a fraction.
"Yeah…"
His voice was calm. Flat.
"Didn't expect him to survive either."
There was no clear emotion in the statement.
Relief?
Regret?
Or something else entirely?
But when the name "Garp" was spoken…
Something flickered in the depths of his eyes—
Complicated.
Fleeting.
Then gone.
"Hero Garp… is still Hero Garp," a smooth, eerie voice chimed in.
It was Samuel Kronos, the so-called "Curse Doctor."
Behind his new mask, eerie green eyes swept across the room, lingering briefly on Kuzan.
"For a moment there… I really thought all of us—and this entire island—were finished."
He paused.
Then looked at Kuzan again, his tone shifting into something like genuine admiration… or perhaps calculated acknowledgment.
"We owe it to Kuzan."
"If not for him… we might not be sitting here drinking right now."
The words were directed at Blackbeard.
A message, carefully delivered.
Kuzan hadn't held back.
He had fought Garp with everything he had.
The old hero's grave injuries—and disappearance—
Kuzan had played a decisive role.
That was his proof.
His declaration of allegiance.
His severance from the Marines.
From his past.
From his mentor.
Blackbeard grinned wide, teeth bared.
"Zehahahaha!! Well said!!"
The last trace of doubt in his mind vanished.
Kuzan's value wasn't just his overwhelming strength.
It was that resolve—
That willingness to raise his hand against his own teacher.
That made him… truly one of their own.
The topic passed.
Blackbeard's mood lifted.
He snatched a thick stack of still-ink-scented newspapers from the hands of Jesus Burgess, flipping through them roughly.
"But damn… the world really has changed!"
His eyes gleamed as he scanned the explosive headlines.
"Red-Hair, Kaido, Big Mom… and Whitebeard's already long gone…"
He clicked his tongue.
"Heh. The so-called 'Four Emperors' of the old era?"
"Finished. Swept straight into the trash heap!"
His tongue ran across his lips as his gaze landed on a familiar wanted poster.
Monkey D. Luffy.
3 billion berries.
"Fifth Emperor."
"Straw Hat Luffy? 3 billion? 'Fifth Emperor'?"
"Zehahahaha… don't make me laugh!"
"He's not there yet!"
"That crown's too heavy for him!"
"Just got lucky in the chaos—and had a great grandpa, a great daddy, and a nice 'uncle' like Red-Hair shielding him all the way!"
"And what about the Cross Guild?" a cold voice cut in.
It was Shiryu, his head wrapped in blood-stained bandages, one sharp eye visible as he carefully wiped down his blade, Raiu.
He had taken a heavy beating in his clash with Garp.
His tone carried no small amount of irritation.
"Cross Guild?" Blackbeard barked a laugh.
"Zehahahaha—!"
Before he could continue, another voice interrupted.
It came from a figure lying in bed, wrapped like a mummy—
Avalo Pizarro.
Even in his injured state, arrogance radiated from him.
"A bunch of mercenaries and information brokers," he scoffed. "And they call that an Emperor crew? 'Clown Emperor' Buggy?"
He burst into laughter—
Only for it to immediately devolve into violent coughing.
"Cough—! Cough—! Just a bunch of real clowns! Hahaha—COUGH!"
"I wouldn't be so sure~"
A languid, seductive voice drifted through the hall.
Catarina Devon swirled a glass of red wine, taking a slow sip before setting it down.
Her expression had turned serious.
"You're forgetting something."
"There's a real monster sitting in that organization."
She paused.
Then spoke the name.
Baron Tamago? no wrongOops correct entity:
Bartholomew Redfield
"The 'Lone Red'… Redfield."
The room quieted slightly.
"That's a legend from Roger's era," Devon continued, voice low. "A pirate who stood on equal footing with Whitebeard and the Golden Lion."
She glanced at Blackbeard.
"Back when you were still in Impel Down… you didn't dare recruit him, did you?"
"Even when he was already old and declining."
Then—
She dropped the real bomb.
"And now… according to reliable intel…"
"He's obtained a Mythical Zoan—Bat-Bat Fruit, Vampire Model."
"He can restore his youth by consuming blood."
Her gaze sharpened.
"He's not some fading relic anymore."
"He's a revitalized monster… back at his peak."
"'The Lone Red' wasn't just a title."
"He was a one-man army."
"By himself, he rivaled entire pirate crews."
"With that kind of power… he absolutely deserves a seat among the Emperors."
"And now Cross Guild has him…"
"Plus that schemer Crocodile…"
"And 'Whitebeard Jr.' Edward Weevil under their control…"
She let the words hang.
"The power gathered under that so-called 'Clown Emperor'…"
"…is anything but a joke."
Silence.
Pizarro's laughter died.
The dismissiveness in the room faded.
Even Blackbeard stroked his braided beard thoughtfully, his expression growing more serious.
If Redfield truly had regained his youth…
Then Cross Guild was no longer a sideshow.
The game had changed.
The old players were gone.
New ones had entered—
Each carrying unknown cards.
The Blackbeard Pirates still held immense power.
And now, with Kuzan added to their ranks…
Against Straw Hat.
Against Cross Guild.
And above all—
Against that looming, dominant force…
The independent Marines led by Gern Reginald Sigmar.
The road ahead—
Would only grow more brutal.
More unpredictable.
"Zehahahaha…"
Blackbeard's laughter returned.
But this time—
It was filled with greed.
With excitement.
"With things getting this interesting…"
"Let's see…"
"In this new era…"
"Who's truly worthy of sitting on the throne…"
"…I'll be the one to decide that."