Marine Headquarters, Marineford
The towering fortress bore the great word Justice across its facade. Everywhere one looked, there were orderly patrols of Marines marching through the grounds, while countless warships sat anchored across the surrounding sea. The entire island radiated power and grandeur.
And yet, inside the Fleet Admiral's office, the atmosphere was anything but calm.
A furious voice rang through the room.
"Sengoku, you've disappointed me too much! Not only did you let the culprit who killed Onigumo get away, but even Borsalino came back having lost an arm!"
The speaker was a middle-aged man with a mohawk and an overwhelming presence, his palm slamming onto the desk hard enough to shake the office.
If any ordinary Marine had been present, they would have straightened instinctively at the sight of him.
Former Fleet Admiral of the Marines.
Current Commander-in-Chief of the World Government's armed forces.
Kong the Conqueror.
"Based on the intelligence we had before this, 'Death' was never acting alone. He had another Admiral-level fighter with him." Sengoku spread his hands helplessly, a bitter smile on his face.
What was he supposed to do?
An Admiral-class monster had appeared out of nowhere.
He was frustrated too.
"So now you're shifting the blame?" Kong barked. "As Fleet Admiral, you cannot escape responsibility for this."
His expression darkened further.
"A Marine Admiral went to Sabaody and came back down an arm. If that gets out, the Navy will lose face across the entire world!"
"In a situation where we had nowhere near enough information, the fact that Borsalino came back alive at all was already a blessing," Sengoku replied, rubbing his brow in frustration.
He had thought it was a safe mission.
Instead, it had turned into a complete disaster.
His mind drifted back to the intelligence report Kizaru had provided.
Intelligence Report — 1
Name: Ren Kuro
Alias: Death
Age: Approximately sixteen
Appearance: Black outer robe, wooden sandals, an ancient katana at his waist. Exact combat style unknown. Appears to hold absolute authority over the silver-haired man.
Abilities: Unknown. Suspected to wield flames capable of burning the sea itself.
Threat Evaluation: Exact strength unknown. Possesses the power to instantly kill Vice Admiral Onigumo. Holds absolute command over "Poison Blade."
Intelligence Report — 2
Name: Gin Ichimaru
Alias: Poison Blade
Age: Approximately twenty
Appearance: Black robes, white haori, and a large "3" symbol on the back. Meaning unknown.
Abilities: Wields a katana capable of extending and retracting at incredible speed. The blade contains a poison that dissolves cells.
Threat Evaluation: Extremely dangerous. At minimum, Admiral-level.
After a long silence, Sengoku frowned and finally asked,
"Kong… how high do you think their bounties should be?"
"They cut off one of Borsalino's arms right after entering the seas." Kong's face was grim. By now, he had already placed both Ren Kuro and Gin Ichimaru in the highest danger category. "Those two are no small matter."
One Day Later
In another sea of the New World, an enormous ship shaped like a whale rode the waves.
It was the Moby Dick.
Even across the entire Grand Line, there were very few ships whose fame could compare to it.
And for one reason only:
From the very beginning, it had belonged to the same man.
The man said to possess the power to destroy the world.
Whitebeard — Edward Newgate.
"Pops, I've got a pretty unbelievable bounty notice here."
Marco, commander of the First Division, walked to the center of the Moby Dick and handed two bounty posters to Whitebeard.
At the height of his strength, Whitebeard sat there drinking heavily, and as he took the posters from Marco, his sharp eyes flicked over them.
"Gurararara! Youngsters these days really are something else!"
Whitebeard laughed thunderously, his enormous hand tightening around the paper as though he could crush it at any moment.
"Pops, to be worth this much the first time they're ever wanted…" Marco's eyes flickered. "These two are seriously dangerous."
"Gurararara! Marco, you're interested in them too, aren't you?"
Whitebeard's laughter rolled across the sea.
"To walk out onto the seas and earn bounties this high right away—those two are definitely no ordinary brats. I can already imagine the Navy running around in panic."
He tilted his head back, staring into the sky.
"Roger… you died too early."
"This era is getting more and more interesting."
His voice boomed across the waves.
"Ren Kuro. Gin Ichimaru."
"I'm looking forward to meeting you."
Elsewhere in the New World
On a certain island, volcanoes covered the land from end to end. Molten lava surged and burst from the ground at unpredictable intervals, and the heat was so intense that almost no one dared approach.
But on this day—
the island had a special visitor.
Kaido of the Beasts.
Known as the Strongest Creature in the World, his power needed no explanation.
"If it's one-on-one, always bet on Kaido."
That was the belief spoken across the world, and it was the greatest proof of his terrifying might. Among pirates, Kaido was universally regarded as the strongest in a solo fight.
At this moment, Kaido was soaking in a sea of blistering lava.
Strangely enough, the molten rock hot enough to melt the earth itself did not seem to harm him in the slightest.
"This world is boring as hell."
His low voice echoed through the volcanic cavern as he opened his eyes and reached over to grab two bounty posters lying nearby.
"So… supernovas who appeared out of nowhere?"
With a crunch, one of the posters crumpled to powder in his hand.
For the first time in a long while, a glint of interest flashed through his eyes.
"Poison Blade. Death."
"I wonder…"
"Can you kill me?"
◇ I'll drop one bonus chapter for every 10 reviews (leave a review/comment!)
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon: patreon.com/KageNaruto