News of the Three Emperors Alliance crushing the Marines and killing Fleet Admiral Sakazuki swept across the world, plunging every sea into shock.
In the first half of the Grand Line, countless pirates who hadn't yet set foot in the New World began to hesitate. With the Three Emperors Alliance firmly ruling those seas, even if they headed there now, most of them would probably end up under that banner, with almost no chance to build their own name.
Yet even more pirates saw it as a golden opportunity. If they could just reach the New World and join the Three Emperors Alliance, they would no longer need to fear the Marines. They might even stand face-to-face against them—after all, even the fleet admiral had fallen to the Alliance.
Meanwhile, civilians around the world trembled at the rise of such overwhelming evil forces.
Those with a strong sense of justice chose to enlist in the Marines, determined to wipe out evil and restore peace.
Those with darker ambitions, however, viewed this chaos as the start of a new era—an age where heroes rose from turmoil. One after another, they set sail, dreaming of carving out territories of their own.
In the East Blue, the Red Hair Pirates, who had already arrived at Foosha Village, also received the news. In Makino's bar, Shanks sat with a newspaper in hand, staring in disbelief. Even the fleet admiral was dead.
At the same time, a faint sense of relief settled over him. Leaving the New World early had been the right choice. If he'd stayed, he would have been treated as a thorn in the side of the Alliance. Against that kind of force, his crew would never have been able to hold out.
"The New World has actually turned into this," Shanks muttered, eyes still on the paper. In this situation, he could no longer casually maintain the balance. Fortunately, Luffy was still in training and wouldn't set sail for more than a year. By then, Luffy absolutely had to be fully prepared.
Elsewhere, at the new Marineford—
Because Sakazuki had died in battle, former Fleet Admiral Sengoku had been forced out of retirement to once again take up the post and lead the Marines. For the shaken Marine ranks—reeling from the loss of their leader and a devastating defeat—having someone with Sengoku's prestige and experience brought a measure of stability they desperately needed.
In the Fleet Admiral's office, Sengoku faced an utter disaster of a situation. The Marines hadn't been in perfect shape when he'd handed over the position before, but at least their top combat strength had been largely intact.
Now?
In just over half a year, the original Three Admirals had been wiped out as a force: Aokiji had resigned, Kizaru had been captured, and Akainu had died in battle.
Not only that—during the battle on Whole Cake Island, Marco had also killed Admiral Candidate Tokikake, as well as Vice Admirals Yamakaji, Onigumo, Doberman, and many other Marine Vice Admirals, along with countless Rear Admirals.
That single battle had blown a massive hole in Marine combat strength, leaving Sengoku seething with hatred toward Marco. He had never expected someone he'd barely paid attention to back then to erupt with such terrifying power after Whitebeard's death.
The scene unfolding now was like a replay of the Rocks era over thirty years ago. Back then, once Rocks fell, Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Big Mom, Kaido, Wang Zhi, Silver Axe, John, and the rest had all turned into beasts freed from their chains, charging out of their cages and rampaging across the seas.
Sitting once more in the Fleet Admiral's chair, Sengoku's heart felt unbearably heavy. It was completely different from the joy he'd felt the first time he sat there. A decade ago, when he had first become Fleet Admiral, the seas were relatively stable, and the next generation of Marines was full of promise. But this time was nothing like that.
With the martyrdom of the new Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, Sengoku had been dragged back in at a moment of crisis, forced to take up the mantle again. And the Marine's present situation was far worse than before—worse even than it had been half a year ago when he'd handed over power. Perhaps ten times worse.
Nearby, Garp spoke up with a casual grin, "Hahahaha, Sengoku, it feels good to be back in the Fleet Admiral's position, doesn't it?"
"Shut up, Garp," Sengoku snapped, rubbing his temples. "You should know exactly what kind of situation the Marine is in right now. Don't joke with me at a time like this."
Garp froze for a second, then burst into even louder laughter.
Even so, Sengoku had worn the title of fleet admiral for over a decade. Steady and experienced, he quickly put his emotions aside, sorted through the Marine's major current issues, and began handling them one by one.
He flipped through the never-ending stack of documents: follow-up measures for the Three Emperors Alliance, a plan to restore the Marines, funerals for Sakazuki and the other fallen Marines, pensions and condolence payments for their families, a large-scale worldwide conscription, and filling the many vacant Vice Admiral and Rear Admiral posts.
As Sengoku buried himself in paperwork, Garp had the tact not to interrupt. Just then, the transponder snail on Sengoku's desk suddenly rang. Sengoku picked it up at once. "Hello, this is Sengoku."
"Sengoku-san, we have located Admiral Kuzan—no, Kuzan-san," the Marine on the other end reported. "According to our information, he is currently traveling in Dressrosa!"
Upon hearing this, Sengoku said excitedly, "Contact him immediately and have him come to the line."
"Yes, please wait..."
Silence followed from the other side. After a moment, Sengoku hung up. In any case, once they reached Kuzan, the call would come through again.
From the side, Garp grinned. "So you've already found Kuzan, huh?"
"Yes," Sengoku allowed himself a rare smile. This was good news for the Marines as they were now.
Finding Kuzan wasn't difficult. He had only resigned from his Marine post, after all. And someone who'd once held the rank of Admiral was never going to be left alone—the World Government had been secretly keeping tabs on him the whole time. Kuzan, being easygoing as he was, knew he was under surveillance and simply chose not to care.
Before long, the den den mushi on Sengoku's desk rang again. He picked up at once. "This is Sengoku."
The den den mushi's features drooped into a lazy expression, clearly reflecting the man on the other end: former Marine Admiral Aokiji.
In a languid drawl, he spoke. "Sengoku-san, long time no see. I heard you were looking for me?"
Hearing that familiar voice, Sengoku got straight to the point. "Kuzan, I'm looking for you for one reason only. I hope you can return to the Marines. The Marines need your strength right now."
On the other side, Kuzan froze for a moment, then replied, "Hey, hey, hey, Sengoku-san, what kind of joke are you trying to pull?"
In Dressrosa, Kuzan was left a bit speechless.
He had just heard that after Doflamingo's defeat, the people of Dressrosa had restored power to the Riku family, and former King Riku Dold III had once again taken the throne.
Kuzan had heard of King Riku long ago. According to rumors, nine years earlier he had slaughtered his own citizens and become known as a tyrant, only to be overthrown by Doflamingo.
Of course, that was just what the newspapers said. As a former admiral, Kuzan understood the world's truths far better than ordinary people. Even without witnessing what had happened in Dressrosa, he could make a very accurate guess.
Decades ago, Riku had ascended the throne of Dressrosa and had always been known as a diligent, benevolent king who loved his people. For such a man to suddenly turn into a tyrant and butcher citizens in the streets—there was only one plausible explanation: he had been controlled by Doflamingo's String-String Fruit.
Kuzan had come here this time precisely to see how that former king would govern the country again after returning to the throne nine years later.
But plans never keep up with changes. Just as he arrived in Dressrosa, he saw the latest edition of the newspaper.
Sakazuki—the man who had defeated him and taken the Fleet Admiral's seat—had actually died in the Three Emperors Alliance campaign. The news had left Kuzan unsettled for a long while.
And it was at this very moment that the Marines happened to contact him.
On the other end of the line, Sengoku's brows drew together in irritation. "I don't have time to joke around with you. Have you read today's newspaper? If you haven't, that's fine. Colonel, bring today's paper to him immediately."
"Yes, Fleet Admiral," the Marine Colonel beside Aokiji responded respectfully.
Kuzan sighed, sounding a little helpless. "No need. I've already read the newspaper. And I've resigned. I'm not an Admiral anymore."
Sengoku's tone turned earnest. "Kuzan, don't be so stubborn. You joined the Marines at nineteen. The only reason you resigned back then was because of Sakazuki. Now Sakazuki has fallen in the line of duty, and the Gorosei have agreed: as long as you're willing to return, you'll still be an Admiral. This whole period will be treated as leave, and your current status is still Admiral."
He paused, then added, "What's more, while we're calling it 'Admiral,' what we really want is for you to come back and serve as fleet admiral. I already retired to the second line and only stepped out temporarily because of the current gap in Marine leadership. Once things settle down, you'll be the new fleet admiral."
Kuzan's heart wavered for a moment, but he quickly shut that feeling down and replied, "Forget it. I've already left the Marines. Even if it hasn't been long, my resignation letter is already in. I'm someone who cares about my own name—how could I just crawl back so easily?"
He had left the Marines because he lost to Sakazuki and believed he no longer had any chance of becoming Fleet Admiral. That was why he resigned. But now Sakazuki had died honorably in battle, and for him—the loser—to go back and take over as Fleet Admiral… What kind of situation was that supposed to be? He had his pride. When he challenged Sakazuki, he'd stepped onto that battlefield prepared to die.
In the end, he lost. Sakazuki spared his life, and Kuzan chose to walk away from the Marines. At that time, it had been entirely his own decision; no one forced him out. Now Sakazuki was dead, and they were asking him to come back and even telling him to succeed as Fleet Admiral. How was he supposed to have the face to return now?
On the other end of the line, Sengoku finally lost his temper. "Bastard, where's your sense of justice! Are you planning to just sit back and watch the Marines fall apart? I'll be blunt with you! In the Whole Cake Island War, the Marines suffered heavy losses. Several Vice Admirals, including Tokikake, died in battle. We're short on capable people. If you don't come back, who exactly do you think should be Fleet Admiral?"
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