Such matters were difficult to conceal. It was impossible for the Marines to enter the New World unnoticed, and they would inevitably be discovered by the pirates operating there.
Furthermore, Baster Island, which Barrett had chosen as his battlefield, was located in the front half of the New World, though it leaned somewhat toward the middle and was still a considerable distance from the Red Line.
Combined with Barrett's threat, this left the Marines furious. Rather than allowing the pirates of the New World to feel threatened and potentially turn their hostility toward the Marines, it was better to make the matter public and deal with it directly.
Given Barrett's lone-wolf nature, no other force would help him. In fact, they would be more than happy to watch a battle between Barrett and the Marines unfold.
Whether Barrett was killed or captured, or the Marines suffered heavy losses, none of it would harm them.
After all, what if Barrett suddenly decided that he wanted to become a Sea Emperor? With the exception of the Five Emperors, most pirates would inevitably have their living space squeezed. The only thing they could do was watch from the sidelines and wait to see who emerged victorious.
The great battle between Barrett and Marine Vice Admiral Garp was also extremely eye-catching. Marine Hero Garp was a legend of the previous era and remained a legend in the current one, just like Whitebeard.
Less than half a month had passed since the battle between the Dark Emperor and Whitebeard ended, yet it already felt as though this battle was a continuation of the previous one.
Barrett and Teach were both among the two most terrifying talents of the new generation. Of course, Shanks could also be added to that list in the future.
The Red-Hair Pirates had officially risen to prominence. Although they had not recruited a large number of members, their strength and Shanks' charisma had attracted numerous forces that willingly became affiliated with them.
The combined territories of these affiliated forces already covered more than a hundred islands, and their cohesion was considerable.
The Red-Hair Pirates had officially become the most powerful maritime overlord across the vast sea between the territories of the Big Mom Pirates and the Beast Pirates, and their sphere of influence was also relatively close to Kaido's territory.
Although the Red-Hair Pirates had no intention of actively expanding, their rise had naturally aroused the vigilance of the Beast Pirates, making some friction between the two sides inevitable.
After the Dark Emperor Teach, was the "Devil's Heir" also unable to resist making his move?
The World Economic News Agency obtained intelligence almost immediately after the Marine Headquarters conference concluded. In less than half a day, newspapers were already being dispatched throughout the world, while the news itself was announced in advance through Video Den Den Mushi.
Before long, the intelligence had spread across the entire world, making everyone aware of what was happening.
The live broadcast had already begun.
The World Economic News Agency was committed to ensuring that people did not miss major events, and this was one reason Morgans had become increasingly reckless. Without the Marines or World Government actively restraining him, he had become much bolder.
Everyone had ambitions, and Morgans was no exception. It was worth noting that in the past, the World Economic News Agency had generally refused few demands from the World Government and Marines.
Now, however, aside from certain areas of cooperation, Morgans no longer needed to consider the opinions of either side.
Wherever a major event occurred, Morgans and his reporter birds would be there.
Morgans' status in the world had risen considerably, and he had gained many new titles, but the one he liked most was still "Big News."
The New World had never been peaceful. Every so often, another global focal point would emerge.
And no one would miss the battle between Barrett and Garp, especially when the confrontation involved the Marines itself.
Barrett had gained fame even earlier than Teach. During the previous era, at the age of fourteen, he had already destroyed an entire country. At fifteen, he joined the Roger Pirates as a powerful combatant, earning the titles "Devil's Heir" and "Oni's Successor" during the years that followed.
Before the beginning of the Great Pirate Era, Barrett, at around twenty years old, was already a monster equivalent to a Yonko-level powerhouse, and his strength even surpassed that of most Emperors.
In this regard, Barrett was very similar to Dark Emperor Teach. Although the two were five years apart in age, Teach had entered the New World at twenty and immediately established himself as a Sea Emperor.
"That guy Barrett has finally made his move. I didn't expect him to endure for so long."
Inside the Night Palace of the Nightfall Pirates, Teach lay on a lounge chair beside an open-air pool, enjoying the sunlight with Redyat.
Cheerful voices came from the pool in front of them, where bikini-clad beauties and beautiful mermaids played in the water.
Teach was the king of the Nightfall Pirates and, by extension, the emperor of the Night Sea. The Night Sea was his empire, which is Sageros Sea along some parts of Notting Sea, while the Night Palace served as its royal palace.
As a pirate, Teach naturally possessed the free-spirited nature of someone who enjoyed pleasure, so the entire Night Palace was extraordinarily luxurious.
Mermaids had been appearing in the Night Palace for two years now, dating back to before the war between the Nightfall Pirates and Whitebeard Pirates. This was also an indication that the relationship between the Nightfall Pirates and Fish-Man Island had gradually deepened.
At present, the Nightfall Pirates possessed 150,000 Fish-Man warriors and another 100,000 ordinary Fish-Men. The people of Fish-Man Island had longed to join the Nightfall Pirates for years, and the Nightfall Pirates periodically sent people to Fish-Man Island to recruit new members.
Within the Nightfall Pirates, Fish-Men could receive protection and no longer needed to worry about pirates or human traffickers. More importantly, they were given the opportunity to live beneath the sunlight.
The Nightfall Pirates had even given a small island near Parage Island to the Fish-Men as their own base. From there, they could quickly travel to Parage Island via the Sea Train, while many Fish-Men and members of other races also participated in battles within the Battle Pyramid.
Among those who yearned to join the Nightfall Pirates were not only Fish-Men and mermaids, but also members of the Ryugu Kingdom who tacitly approved of the arrangement.
Fish-Man Island had a population of approximately five million. Some Fish-Men were extremely fertile and could not afford to raise their numerous children, making it easy for them to fall into a life of crime.
The Fish-Man District, located outside Fish-Man Island, had originally been established as a large protective facility for orphans, and as many as seventy thousand orphans had grown up there.
Fish-Man Island itself was not large, yet it was severely overcrowded. Even with abundant resources, there was little that could actually be distributed to the population, with most of those resources concentrated in the hands of the royal family.
Even among those living on Fish-Man Island, many poor people were forced to reside underground, where they could not see the sunlight.
In the future, Shirley, who had also grown up in the Fish-Man District, would open a "cafe" there. In reality, however, the establishment provided prostitution services to visiting pirates, leaving the girls working there at considerable risk of being kidnapped and sold into slavery.
Thus, Fish-Man Island appeared beautiful and prosperous on the surface, but beneath that appearance was an enormous population and widespread poverty.
Although the sea contained abundant resources, most of them were effectively controlled by the royal family. Many Fish-Men and mermaids did not engage in productive work and could only barely ensure their own survival.
The royal family, meanwhile, remained high above them.
Otohime genuinely possessed an ideal of helping her people and wanted them to move onto the surface world, but she could not fully understand the lives of those at the bottom of society. She was too naive, often taking things for granted, and could even be described as a "saint."
Joining the Nightfall Pirates meant being able to live on the surface, receive the Nightfall Pirates' protection, avoid worrying about human traffickers and pirates, and even obtain a piece of land for themselves.
For the Fish-Men and mermaids, what could be more attractive?
As a result, a large number of Fish-Men and mermaids had been brought into the Night Sea.
The Mermaid Kingdom supported the Nightfall Pirates' actions because they aligned with its ideal of allowing its people to live on the surface, and it actively promoted the opportunity.
In the eyes of Teach and his crew, however, this was simply another way of alleviating the burden on Fish-Man Island.
Fish-Man Island was a backward kingdom, and its king was also highly incompetent. If he truly possessed the ability to manage the kingdom, he would not allow pirates to run rampant on Fish-Man Island, even under the protection of the Whitebeard Pirates' flag.
Even after the Nightfall Pirates had taken in a large number of Fish-Men and mermaids, the situation on Fish-Man Island had not changed much. Its total population remained around 4.9 million and was rapidly recovering toward five million.
The main reason was that some Fish-Men were simply too fertile. Having five or six children was common, while many families had more than ten. With few forms of entertainment available on Fish-Man Island, their primitive activities naturally continued unabated.
Many families could not support so many children, and after various accidents and sacrifices, many children became orphans.
The Ryugu Kingdom had originally considered ways to deal with the large number of uncontrollable Fish-Men in the Fish-Man District, but in reality, little had changed.
This created a cycle in which the number of Fish-Men and mermaids within the Nightfall Pirates continued to increase, ultimately benefiting the Nightfall Pirates.
Of course, Fish-Man Island could also consider the arrangement a success, since its people were being given the opportunity to live on land and bathe in sunlight.
To support Fish-Men and mermaids moving onto the surface and joining the Nightfall Pirates, Fish-Man Island also needed to provide the Nightfall Pirates with large quantities of Beli and treasures from the deep sea every year, and even Devil Fruits.
However, the Ryugu Kingdom did not dare to interact openly with the Nightfall Pirates, fearing that doing so would displease the Whitebeard Pirates, who continued to protect Fish-Man Island.
The Nightfall Pirates and Whitebeard Pirates were enemies, while Teach himself had no particular interest in Fish-Man Island. He had no intention of becoming their nanny. What he wanted were Fish-Man warriors and female mermaids.
"Lord Teach!"
"Lord Redyat!"
Beautiful mermaids played volleyball in the water, their graceful tails cutting through the surface and sending splashes into the air as they cheerfully greeted Teach and Redyat.
Although Teach was a terrifying figure to outsiders, to these beautiful and fragile mermaid maidens, he was undoubtedly a benefactor who had given them a new and wonderful life.
They no longer needed to worry about pirates or human traffickers.
Female mermaids were all beautiful and renowned throughout the world for their appearance. Within the Nightfall Pirates, following Mostima's example, many members had even married female mermaids.
Furthermore, children born between humans and female mermaids were human rather than Fish-Men. When female mermaids reached the age of thirty, their fish tails would split into legs, making them no different from humans, which made their integration into life on land even easier.
Although their tails could affect their activities, their private parts were covered by scales that could be removed if the Fish-Man wished.
Within the Nightfall Pirates, female mermaids received preferential treatment, particularly those who were especially beautiful. Most of them were treated this way. Male Fish-Men, meanwhile, served as important warriors, while female Fish-Men also lived alongside ordinary Fish-Men.
As for male mermaids, what were they supposed to do?
In the eyes of the Nightfall Pirates, they were largely useless. Unlike female mermaids, they could not transform their tails into legs, so living on land was difficult for them. They could only remain in coastal areas or rely on something resembling bubbles to move around on land.
There were male mermaids within the Nightfall Pirates as well, but their numbers were small, and they did not receive the same preferential treatment as female mermaids.
Perhaps in Teach's eyes, only female mermaids and powerful Fish-Man warriors could truly be considered useful.
Even so, their lives were already far better than before and considerably more fulfilling. Compared with their monotonous lives of the past, the difference was simply incomparable.
Teach smiled and waved at the mermaids, immediately eliciting excited screams from many of the young women.
Teach's might had become even greater after becoming an Emperor, and this transformation had also brought further improvements to his strength.
Not only had his Conqueror's Haki broken through and reached the true pinnacle, allowing him to resonate with heaven and earth, but he had also gained greater mastery over the ability to influence and even freely control the weather within a certain range.
Although the Haki domain he could form could not perfectly merge with swordsmanship to unleash the astonishing power of the "Dark King" Rayleigh, it could still amplify his combat ability and exert immense pressure on his opponents.
The Dark-Dark Fruit had also successfully awakened.
These had originally been Teach's next goals, but the battle against Whitebeard had allowed him to accomplish them all at once.
Teach had gained tremendously from the battle, and his strength had advanced further, especially in terms of Haki and combat experience. Through his confrontation with Whitebeard, he had absorbed an enormous amount of nourishment and experience.
"Is Garp the first target? That's just like him!"
Teach could not help laughing as he looked at the incoming intelligence. The three crisscrossing scars on his chest were symbols of his encounters with powerful men, having been left by Genryusai Shigekuni, Dark King Rayleigh, and Whitebeard, all world-class powerhouses who had given Teach defeats he would never forget.
"That Oni's Successor?"
Redyat looked somewhat puzzled, clearly unfamiliar with Barrett.
"Hmm. He's a man who pursues ultimate strength, and his talent and self-discipline are no less than mine," Teach explained, noticing that Redyat knew little about Barrett.
After all, Redyat and Barrett had no connection. At that time, Redyat had still been in the West Blue.
Furthermore, there had been very little information about Barrett in recent years. Only after the Great Pirate Era ended had the Brotherhood developed with Barrett's backing. Barrett then battled various maritime overlords throughout the New World, essentially defeating every maritime overlord who had existed there at the time.
That alone demonstrated how terrifying Barrett was. A man like him, once he set his sights on something, could create a monstrous storm the moment he finally erupted.
Redyat also knew that Barrett was a complete monster, and even the rumors surrounding him were terrifying enough.
"How about you go watch?" Teach took a sip of fine wine and laughed.
"I'll pass. Watching the live broadcast is enough."
Redyat shook his head. There was no reason for him to interfere in the war between the Marines and Barrett. If they appeared at the battlefield, the Marines and Barrett might become wary of them, causing both sides to restrain themselves and potentially offending everyone involved.
This was completely different from Teach's one-on-one duel with Whitebeard. Most pirates would not interfere in that kind of battle for two reasons. First, they did not want to offend the Marines. Second, Barrett truly had no allies and had always acted alone. The existence of the Brotherhood merely provided him with some convenience.
"Alright. Then where's Ares? Where did that guy run off to?"
Teach suddenly remembered something and turned toward Redyat.
Since Ares had battled Kaido of the Beasts and left the Battle Pyramid, Teach had not received any news about him for some time. Previously, Teach had been completely occupied with preparing for his battle, and afterward, he had been busy digesting everything he had gained from his confrontation with Whitebeard.
"He seems to have found some records about a mythical creature called a Kirin Lion in those books from Ohara. Apparently, it lives on a mysterious island in the first half of the Grand Line called Rare Beast Island, and there was even a map included."
Redyat chuckled softly before continuing.
"This caught Ares' interest, so he went to the first half of the Grand Line to search for the island. Perhaps there are some powerful beasts there."
"Don't worry. Laffitte is with him, so there shouldn't be any danger."
Although Ares was enormous, whenever he returned to his original form, his height would shrink to a little over three meters. At that size, Laffitte's strength was more than enough to carry Ares away if necessary.
Although Ares was not present, Teach and Redyat remained in the Night Palace. Now that the war had ended, the Nightfall Pirates' high-end combat forces had returned, so there was no need to worry about the security of the Battle Pyramid.
"Then let's wait and see how far Barrett's power has reached, as well as the true strength of Marine Vice Admiral Garp."
Teach firmly believed that the current Barrett would definitely be capable of forcing Garp to unleash his full strength.
It was worth noting that, according to Teach's memories, Barrett at twenty-two had already possessed enough strength to turn the sea upside down. He was a monster whose strength, speed, technique, and physical toughness were all impeccable.
Under the Buster Call launched by Garp and Sengoku, combined with the surprise attacks from pirates whom Barrett had previously defeated, Barrett had ultimately exhausted his stamina and been defeated.
Even the current Teach would not dare claim that he could defeat Barrett.
At least in terms of pure physical combat, Teach might not be Barrett's opponent. In terms of overall strength, the two should be roughly evenly matched, with Barrett holding a slight advantage. His Fusion-Fusion Fruit had a high probability of having already awakened, meaning he had reached that stage even earlier than Teach's Dark-Dark Fruit.
Unlike Impel Down, where growth was limited by the environment, training with ample energy allowed one's strength to improve much more efficiently.
In other words, the current Barrett likely already possessed the terrifying combat power he had demonstrated during the World Expo.