Thirteen days later, somewhere on the open seas of the New World.
Two pirate ships sailed side by side across the ocean.
One of them was, of course, the Twin Goddesses, while the other belonged to the Beasts Pirates.
As one of the Beasts Pirates' two current All-Star members, Queen—known as "The Plague"—had been trailing directly behind the Twin Goddesses ever since the two ships had first met seven days ago.
The reason was simple.
Although Zoan-type Devil Fruits are relatively common, finding three suitable users was no easy task, and Queen had been a hard-won acquisition.
After capturing them, he contacted the Sky Pirates and arranged to have them sent over.
Now, the reason he was following Yemu and his crew was that, according to Yemu, extracting Devil Fruit abilities was not something that could be done overnight. So if Queen was worried, he might as well accompany them.
On the Beasts Pirates' ship, the low-ranking crew members looked up at Queen, who was puffing on a cigar on the deck, and asked.
"Boss, how long are we going to follow them? The Marines are constantly hunting the Sky Pirates. If we keep this up, we'll probably get caught in the crossfire too."
At this time, the Beasts Pirates were of course not yet the Yonkō-level crew they would become, and without the backing of the King of Ships, Jack, the grunts didn't have the audacity to ignore the Marines.
Especially after seeing in the newspapers that the Marine operation exceeded the scale of a Buster Call, pirates across the New World were doing everything to avoid them.
Queen glanced at his subordinate with disapproval, but said nothing. Instead, he turned his gaze back toward the deck of the Twin Goddesses and spoke.
"Just you wait. This is Kaidou-san's order."
"I... I understand."
At that moment, a commotion arose on the deck of the Sky Pirates.
A familiar figure stepped out.
It was Erik, the swordsman of the Sky Pirates.
He held a box in his arms and shouted to them.
"You can come over now. I've got what you wanted!"
Queen's expression remained unchanged as he ordered those around him.
"Don't move."
Then he leapt alone from the deck, landing on the Twin Goddesses, facing Erik directly.
Erik handed the box over to Queen.
"Take a look. We're lucky—not a single one failed."
Queen opened the box. Inside were three Devil Fruits: one shaped like a golden banana, one like a red apple, and one like a green pear, each patterned with spirals.
Even though he had prepared himself, Queen was still taken aback.
This was something even Vegapunk hadn't managed. How had the Sky Pirates pulled this off?
Queen's gaze instantly sharpened.
Erik didn't pay it any mind. His job was only to deliver Yemu's message.
"Our captain said the Sky Pirates have already shown their sincerity in this cooperation. Now it's up to you, the Beasts Pirates. You'd better deliver those two Devil Fruits our captain wants as soon as possible."
"As for future cooperation, we'll discuss that once you've delivered the Devil Fruits we want. Any questions?"
Queen studied the swordsman before him. Even from his presence alone, he seemed like a monster.
"No problem."
He remembered his older brother's instructions. By every measure, the Sky Pirates' cooperation had been entirely sincere.
"I'll head back and report immediately."
"Then I hope that next time we meet, you'll have already delivered what we want."
"We will."
Smoke from the cigar at the corner of Queen's mouth swirled as a faint smirk appeared.
"But you'd better be careful. The Marines are hot on your trail. I don't want to have to come to Impel Down to rescue you next time."
Erik glanced at the burly figure before him. Normally, he wouldn't care about such words, but thinking of the bright future Yemu had described, he smiled.
"Don't worry. We'll definitely meet again. And who knows, by then, we might be in a different capacity."
Queen froze for a moment...
And so, the two parties parted ways....
…
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Led by Admiral Zephyr and Vice Admiral Tsuru, eight Navy warships sailed across the seas of the New World. Wherever they went, pirates fled in panic.
Zephyr and Tsuru didn't let any pirate escape, capturing everyone they could.
Even so, the expressions of the high-ranking Marines led by Zephyr and Tsuru were far from relaxed.
It had been half a month since they entered the New World, yet their target, the Sky Pirates, seemed to have vanished completely. There was no trace of them. As they sailed aimlessly, capturing minor pirates was all they could do to console themselves.
On the deck, Vice Admiral Tsuru, observing Zephyr's persistently stern expression, spoke to encourage him.
"Relax, Zephyr. Isn't this exactly what we expected? Back in the first half of the Grand Line, the Sky Pirates were already famous for appearing and disappearing without warning—otherwise, they wouldn't have made it to the New World. Now that the Marines have withdrawn, there are far fewer eyes and ears here, making it even harder to track them down."
Zephyr sighed in resignation.
"I know that, but Tsuru, the lives of these twenty thousand Marines are in our hands. As you said, the New World is no longer under the control of the Navy or the World Government. If even the smallest mistake happens, the consequences are unimaginable. Right now, my greatest hope is to locate the Sky Pirates' trail quickly, capture them, and send them to Impel Down."
"Don't worry, Zephyr," Tsuru said reassuringly.
"With our current strength, even if Whitebeard mobilized his entire fleet, we could still handle it."
"Hmm, but we can't let our guard down. All intelligence personnel must step up their efforts—we have to do everything possible to track the Sky Pirates."
At that moment, Rear Admiral Gion hurried over from behind them, speaking anxiously.
"Admiral Zephyr, Vice Admiral Tsuru, we've found a trace of the Sky Pirates!"
Zephyr and Tsuru's eyes lit up immediately.
"Oh? What's the situation?"
"It doesn't look good."
Gion's grim expression instantly made Zephyr and Tsuru uneasy.
"The news came from CP9. Ten days ago, a CP9 spy who had infiltrated the Beasts Pirates reported that the Beasts Pirates' Plague, Queen, had encountered members of the Sky Pirates in the Galiman Sea."
...
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