Atop the Red Line, in the holy land of Mary Geoise.
Inside Pangaea Castle, the seat of the world's highest authority, the heavy wooden doors of the Room of Authority swung open.
A sweat-soaked intelligence officer in a crisp black suit rushed in, dropped to one knee on the priceless carpet, and raised a classified file high above his head.
"Five Elders. The Punk Hazard combat damage report has been compiled."
Inside the sprawling chamber, the five old men who governed the world paused their discussion.
Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, the Warrior God of Finance, lifted his head. The Shodai Kitetsu rested at his side.
"Read it."
"Yes, sir." The officer swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "The Marine forces stationed on the perimeter were all incapacitated by a concussive shockwave. The embedded CP agents are confirmed dead. Sentomaru is gravely wounded and unconscious. Every clone combat unit has been scrapped. Among the forward CP0 operatives, one was killed and one critically injured. Two veteran vice admirals sustained severe wounds. Dr. Vegapunk's most essential cell cloning equipment was stolen. And lead scientist Caesar Clown has defected."
"As for the attackers. The Eclipse Pirates, in full. Zero casualties. They have already withdrawn aboard that black warship and escaped."
Silence gripped the room for a full half-minute.
The officer's cold sweat dripped onto the carpet. He did not dare lift his head to look at the man seated on the single sofa at the far edge of the chamber. Saint Jaygarcia Saturn. The Warrior God of Science and Defense had just returned from Punk Hazard. He had changed into a fresh suit, but his face was dark enough to drip venom.
"You are dismissed."
Shepherd Ju Peter, the Warrior God of Agriculture, waved the officer away. His short blond hair caught the chamber's pale light.
The heavy doors sealed shut.
"Not only did you fail to bring him back, Saturn. Even with Admiral Kizaru at your side, you could not stop that ship."
Topman Warcury, the Warrior God of Legal Affairs, leaned on his cane. The birthmark across his forehead deepened as he let out a cold snort. "The World Government's face has been ground into the dirt."
"He is an uncontrollable monster."
Saturn ignored his colleague's mockery. His voice was hoarse and freezing.
"If the battle had continued, every piece of research data on that island, Vegapunk included, would have been reduced to ash. I will not gamble the World Government's future on a madman's bottom line."
"That brat. Portgas D. Ace. He is not merely a dual Devil Fruit user."
Saturn paused. Then he spoke each word with deliberate weight.
"In the midst of combat, he drew Roger's blade and unleashed Conqueror's Haki infusion."
The temperature in the Room of Authority plummeted to ice.
"Roger's blade. Conqueror's Haki infusion."
Marcus Mars, the Warrior God of Environment, sat on the long sofa stroking his beard. His eyes narrowed to slits.
"It seems Naval Intelligence was correct. He truly is that man's blood."
"Sinful blood. Paired with that cursed name of 'D.'"
Nusjuro wiped the blade of the Shodai Kitetsu with a cloth. A cold, murderous glint passed through his eyes.
"And there is more. The Yami Yami no Mi he consumed can forcibly suppress, even nullify, our Devil Fruit abilities. Combine that with a crew whose bounties all exceed a hundred million. The threat level of this ship is no longer just 'Worst Generation.'"
"He must be dealt with immediately."
Ju Peter furrowed his brow. "If word of the Punk Hazard attack leaks, the member nations' fear and respect for us will waver. Vegapunk must be relocated at once and placed under the highest level of protection."
"As for the Eclipse Pirates."
A vicious calculation flickered in Saturn's pitiless old eyes. "Their crimes of seizing classified equipment and assaulting government facilities must be formalized. But to conceal the laboratory's secrets, the charges must remain vague."
"Use 'severe threat to world order,' 'assault on government assets,' and 'the slaying of the old-era legend, the Golden Lion.'"
Mars nodded. "Classify them as a threat equal to those four. Notify Marine Headquarters. Reassess the bounties of every member of the Eclipse Pirates. Without a direct summons from headquarters, standard fleets are to avoid engagement with them unless absolutely necessary."
"Since he has that kind of strength, let us give him a push. Place him on a higher pedestal."
Warcury let out a cold laugh.
"Contact Morgans. Have his News Coos spread the word. Use the title 'Fifth Emperor of the Sea.' Raise him to the heavens."
"Death by praise."
Nusjuro smiled, understanding at once. "Those four in the New World will never tolerate a brat barely a year off the shore claiming equal footing. Especially not that hotheaded Kaido. Or Charlotte Linlin, who has been raging ever since her marriage alliance was rejected."
"We do not need to lift a finger. Those mad dogs who call themselves Emperors will tear him apart for us."
Half a day later. Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office, the atmosphere was just as suffocating.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku stared at the classification document just issued by the Five Elders. His brow was locked into a deep furrow.
Marine Hero Garp sat on the sofa. For once, he was not eating rice crackers. He sat with his arms crossed, head lowered, lost in thought.
Great Staff Officer Vice Admiral Tsuru stood beside the whiteboard, a stack of freshly printed photographs in her hand.
"The Five Elders' intent is clear."
Tsuru pinned the photo of Ace, crimson coat draped over his shoulders and eyes cold as steel, to the top of the whiteboard.
"Effective immediately, the Eclipse Pirates are formally designated by the World Government as an Emperor-level disaster force."
"This is absurd!"
Sengoku slammed his palm onto the desk. His teacup jumped.
"A rookie crew less than a year off the seas, classified as Emperor-level? Do you know how many pirates this will embolden with dangerous ambitions? And the Five Elders are ordering standard Marine fleets to avoid combat? Where does that leave the Navy's honor?"
"Sengoku. Calm yourself. You know as well as I do. How many crews on this sea could walk away from a combined assault by Saint Saturn and Borsalino?"
Tsuru sighed. "This is also to prevent needless casualties."
"Staff Officer Tsuru is right, Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
Kizaru sipped his tea, drawing out his words in that lazy drawl. "The growth rate of those young people is terrifying. The second-in-command with that pipe of his, and the one who shoots lightning. Their coordination not only blocked my attacks, they were even able to mount effective counterattacks. And the physical recovery and endurance of their entire crew. Compared to the Sabaody Archipelago a few months ago, they have jumped to an entirely different level."
Kizaru set down his teacup. The careless smile faded from his face.
"If a full-scale battle had broken out, I could have protected myself. But the five vice admirals and the fleet I brought along would have all been reduced to scrap metal."
Hearing Kizaru himself deliver such a high combat assessment, the air in the office grew heavier still.
"Let us begin setting the bounties."
Tsuru picked up a marker and faced the whiteboard displaying the Eclipse Pirates' full roster.
"According to intelligence, this ship not only possesses multiple combatants who have mastered advanced Haki, but also that defected scientist, Caesar. And the most troublesome detail of all: that ship can fly, ignoring all terrain."
"Portgas D. Ace. Captain of the Eclipse Pirates. Dual Devil Fruit user. Logia-type Yami Yami no Mi. Mythical Zoan, Model: Vermilion Bird."
Tsuru stood before the whiteboard. Her pointer tapped the photo of Ace. The young man in the image wore a dark crimson coat, a careless grin on his lips, as if mocking everything behind the camera lens.
"At Punk Hazard, he faced Saint Saturn in direct combat and held his ground." Tsuru's voice was calm, but every word pushed the room deeper into silence. "Saturn's Gyuki form possesses near-limitless regenerative capacity. Yet Ace's Vermilion Bird flames, combined with Conqueror's Haki infusion, inflicted genuine damage. This is confirmed by the Five Elders' own combat report."
She paused.
"Furthermore, he has mastered Conqueror's Haki infusion."
No one in the office spoke.
Conqueror's Haki infusion. The number of people on this sea who could wield that power could be counted on two hands. Kaido. Charlotte Linlin. Red-Haired Shanks. Whitebeard. Every single one of them an emperor who ruled the New World.
Now that list had a new name. A young man who had been at sea for less than a year.
"His strength has surpassed the level of an ordinary First Commander." Tsuru looked at Sengoku. "It is sufficient to rival the Four Emperors. Even to threaten the World Government's rule."
Sengoku was silent for a long time.
He stared down at that young face in the photograph. But in his mind, another face surfaced. The man who had laughed on the execution platform. The man who had changed the entire era of the sea with a single sentence.
Gol D. Roger.
"D."
Sengoku murmured the letter under his breath, as if chewing on a bitter seed.
Portgas D. Ace. The curse that man had left upon this sea, after nearly twenty years of circling, had returned in the most direct way possible. The Pirate King's own son. Inheriting his father's bloodline and the name of "D." Yet somehow more like a true king than Roger ever was.
"If the higher-ups want to kill him with praise." Sengoku finally spoke, his voice steady as iron. "Then give him a number worthy of that name."
He lifted his head. His gaze swept across everyone in the room.
"Three billion berries."
Garp sat in the corner. From start to finish, he had not spoken a single word. He kept his arms folded across his chest, eyes closed, as if napping through the whole thing.
Only when Sengoku spoke that number did his eyelids flicker. Just barely.
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