Sunlight pierced through the thick clouds, spilling over the shimmering, boundless sea.
Tens of thousands of News Coo flapped their wings like white snowflakes dancing across the sky, airdropping the newly printed extra editions of the World Economic Journal to every corner of the world.
From the quiet and peaceful villages of the East Sea to the smoke-filled, chaotic islands of the New World.
Everyone was scrambling to get their hands on the newspaper, which still smelled of fresh ink.
The bold, scarlet headline at the top was subversive enough to sting the eyes of countless ambitious figures:
“A Frenzy in the New Era! The Monster Pirates that Defeated Charlotte Linlin, the ‘Fifth Emperor’ Ascends in Shocking Fashion!”
Falling alongside the newspapers like snowflakes were the newly updated bounties for the entire Straw Hat Alliance, all of which had skyrocketed crazily.
The most eye-catching of all were the two core figures.
The bounties for Luffy and Tatsuya both defied logic, breaking through the terrifying three-billion-Berries threshold without a hint of suspense.
At that moment, it was as if a heavy bomb had been dropped on the whole world, plunging it into unprecedented, frenzied discussion and shock.
…
In a calm stretch of the New World, the Moby Dick, looking like a massive white whale, was anchored.
At this moment, a wave of unbelievable exclamations erupted on the deck of this legendary pirate ship.
“Are you kidding me! That Straw Hat actually…”
Ace gripped the newspaper tightly, his eyes flickering with shock and ecstasy.
He tilted his head back and couldn’t help but laugh out loud:
“Luffy… he actually defeated Big Mom? This is just too surprising!”
On the main seat, Whitebeard, with a figure like a fortress, picked up a massive bowl of sake and tilted his head back to gulp down a mouthful of strong liquor.
The sake flowed down his iconic crescent-shaped white mustache.
The strongest man in the world let out a hearty, booming laugh: “Gurarararara!”
He extended his broad palm and patted Ace heavily on the shoulder, his eyes filled with a shining light of appreciation:
“It seems that the little brat you’re always talking about has grown into a true monster capable of turning this sea upside down!”
…
Inside the fortress hall on the pirate island “Hive,” the atmosphere dropped to freezing point.
Marshall D. Teach sat in the main seat, devoid of his usual wild, unbridled laughter.
His eyes were gloomy, fixed intently on the brand-new bounty poster of Tatsuya on the table, which bore a staggering price of three billion.
His left hand raised subconsciously, caressing the empty stump of his right shoulder.
Recalling the endless pain and humiliation brought about by Tatsuya’s sword severing his arm in the Great Prison, Blackbeard’s face twisted into a grotesque mask of extreme malice.
He gritted his teeth, a low growl like that of a beast rumbling in his throat:
“Just you wait… Crimson Lotus Victor… Straw Hat…”
“This blood debt, I will make you pay it back a thousand times over sooner or later!”
“Zehahaha!”
…
Wano Country, on Onigashima, which was shrouded in gloom all year round.
Kaido of the Beasts was shirtless, drinking sullenly amidst the ruins of a chaotic scene.
When the All-Star King descended, flapping his black wings, and handed him the latest newspaper after briefly reporting the contents.
“Bang!”
Kaido slammed his massive palm down, shattering the huge sake gourd and the sturdy solid wood table beneath it with a single blow.
Wood chips and sake splattered everywhere, terrifying the surrounding underlings of the Beasts Pirates, who fell to their knees begging for mercy.
Boom!
Kaido erupted with terrifying Conqueror’s Haki, and dark red lightning tore through the hall of Onigashima.
Accompanied by a deafening dragon’s roar, he transformed directly into a massive azure dragon that blocked out the sky, smashed through the dome, and soared into the heavens.
He simply could not accept that Charlotte Linlin, who had once been as famous as him in the Rocks Pirates and possessed unfathomable strength, had been taken down by a few brats who hadn’t been at sea for more than a few years.
“That useless old hag Linlin! She has completely disgraced the Four Emperors!”
Kaido’s massive dragon body roared wantonly amidst the rolling thunderclouds, his giant dragon eyes flashing with violent, murderous glares.
He stared fixedly in the direction of the open sea, his voice echoing over Wano Country like rolling thunder:
“Straw Hat… Crimson Lotus Victor…”
“If you arrogant brats dare to step even half a foot into Wano Country, I will personally smash you into meat paste!”
…
Fish-Man Island, ten thousand meters under the deep sea.
Ryugu Palace was brightly lit and filled with the fragrance of fine wine.
King Neptune was sitting at a long table with his princes, holding a sumptuous banquet.
Just as the drinking was at its peak, a rush of footsteps came from outside the hall.
A minister, looking flustered, stumbled into the hall clutching a thick stack of newspapers.
The minister panted, his voice trembling with excitement as he shouted:
“Your Majesty! Princes! Look at this! Big news has arrived!”
King Neptune doubtfully set down the golden wine goblet in his hand and took the World Economic Journal that still carried the scent of ink.
When the scarlet headline “The Birth of the Fifth Emperor” and the photos of Luffy and Tatsuya came into view.
Neptune’s pupils shrank suddenly, and even he, who was always composed, felt the newspaper in his hands trembling slightly.
In his mind, he couldn’t help but recall the firm, resolute declaration of protection that Luffy had made in the square of Fish-Man Island to protect them.
Neptune took a deep breath, calming the surging waves in his heart, and sighed with a complex yet gratified tone:
“Straw Hat… he really did it!”
“Fish-Man Island is now under the wing of a true Emperor of the Sea!”
Prince Fukaboshi, Prince Manboshi, and Prince Ryuboshi, unable to suppress their inner excitement, snatched the newspaper and began to read it.
The hall was immediately filled with their excited discussions.
As comrades who had once fought side-by-side with Luffy, they knew better than anyone what this incredible leap meant.
In the corner of the bustling banquet hall, Princess Shirahoshi sat quietly.
She extended her slender fingers, carefully reading every word on the newspaper.
When her moist gaze fell upon the cold, upright figure of Tatsuya in the photo, with his mysterious purple glow.
Shirahoshi’s pretty face flushed slightly, and her clear eyes gradually became somewhat dazed.
She held the newspaper with Tatsuya’s image tightly to her chest, as if protecting some rare treasure, and muttered in a voice as soft as a mosquito:
“Luffy-sama has become a world-renowned Emperor of the Sea.”
“Then… Tatsuya-sama should be coming back to see Shirahoshi after he finishes this battle, right?”
But this maiden’s hope lasted only for a moment before she lowered her long Eyelashes, her heart filled with a strong sense of self-reproach.
She recalled that a few days ago, although she had arranged for her Sea King friends in the deep sea to go to the surface to help intercept the fleets that were trying to surround them.
But after sensing that the enemy fleet was retreating, she had ordered them to withdraw to the deep sea.
She had not anticipated Big Mom’s personal arrival, nor had she been able to provide the most substantial help in that most critical Battle of Zou.
Thinking of this, this Poseidon who possessed the power to destroy the world, bit her red lips lightly, secretly blaming herself for her carelessness.
…
At the summit of the Red Line, the center of world power, Holy Land Mary Geoise.
In the Authority Room, the highest rulers of the world—the Five Elders—were sitting solemnly around an ancient leather sofa.
On the large coffee table lay the World Economic Journal that had caused the world to boil, along with a top-secret battle report image just urgently transmitted from Marineford.
The Five Elders, wearing white robes and holding the Shodai Kitetsu, looked as gloomy as water.
He extended a finger and pressed hard on Tatsuya’s eyes in the battle report photo, which were emitting strange ripples, and the image of the hundreds-of-meters-tall Complete Body Susanoo.
“This power is too abnormal. This is definitely not as simple as a mere Devil Fruit ability.”
The sword-wielding Five Elders’s voice was cold, revealing a chilling murderous intent.
“This method of freely manipulating gravity and repulsion, and even forcibly devouring energy.”
“This has already touched the realm of ‘God’ and is beyond our control.”
The other four elders looked at each other, all seeing deep apprehension in each other’s eyes.
After a brief and oppressive silence, the Five Elders reached a consensus.
The existence of such an anomaly as Tatsuya, plus Monkey D. Luffy, who kept creating miracles and bore a special name.
The influence and strength these two possessed now had seriously threatened the foundation of the World Government’s eight-hundred-year rule.
“We cannot let them continue to grow.”
The Five Elders with the handlebar mustache made a cold decision.
“These two people must be completely erased!”