"The pirates... the Straw Hat crew!"
The marines aboard the remaining two warships stood absolutely frozen. They lacked even a shred of capability to resist. Cold sweat dripped continuously from the chins of the final two Vice Admirals anchoring the line.
Clutched in their hands was a thick stack of papers. It was the latest batch of bounty posters, accompanied by the newest global news broadcast.
They had traveled to Wano with a dual strategic mandate: first, to annex and take administrative control of the country; second, to verify if this cataclysmic report was actually factual.
Two of the incumbent Emperors of the Sea—Kaido of the Beasts and Big Mom—had been simultaneously and decisively defeated.
Among the Legendary Four Brothers, Monkey D. Luffy of the Straw Hats and Vale D. Drake of the Dragon Flag Pirates had both officially ascended to the absolute tier of Yonko combat power. They were being formally designated as the new Emperors of the Sea!
Prior to this development, although the moniker of the Legendary Four Brothers carried immense weight globally, they were still fundamentally viewed within the parameters of the younger generation. But today, they had truly and completely supplanted the legendary figures of the old era.
The newly instated Emperors: "Wisdom King" Luffy and "War God" Vale D. Drake!
From this moment on, three of the four Yonko thrones were anchored entirely by the Legendary Four Brothers. As for the final sibling, it wasn't a question of capability—Sabo simply wasn't a pirate.
An event of this structural magnitude was more than enough to throw the entire world into absolute chaos. Even the highest echelons of the World Government and the Marine Headquarters had never anticipated that the Yonko system could effectively be monopolized by a single fraternal faction. Should these brothers ever form a unified front, no one could realistically dispute their capacity to sunder the world itself.
SPLASH!
The ocean surface suddenly bulged outward as an advanced tactical hull breached the water, anchoring itself directly between the two surviving warships.
The Guma.
Aboard the deck, Drake cast a calm glance toward the slender figure standing beside him. "What are your calculations here? Those men are your fellow marines. Are you just going to stand by and watch them..."
"Hmph!" Mitian simply twisted her head to the side, walking past him to step directly onto the main deck.
Drake: "..."
Kenshin and the crew frantically parted to clear a path for her. They exchanged a collective look, before cutting a thoroughly helpless glance back toward Drake. They truly couldn't decipher the underlying parameters of the relationship between these two, though judging by the current dynamics, their history ran exceptionally deep.
"Brother Drake... Sister Mitian, she..." Bael faltered, his words trailing off.
"It's fine. Let her go," Drake waved his hand dismissively, his eyes narrowing slightly. He secretly intended to analyze what tactical maneuver Mitian was about to execute.
A primary hatch slowly slid open on the hull of the Guma, instantly drawing the eyes of the clearing. Ace and Luffy understood the vessel belonged to Drake, but the surrounding marines possessed zero data regarding the ship. They stared at the hatch with expressions of profound suspicion.
A rhythmic cadence of footsteps slowly echoed from the interior, prompting Ace and Luffy to smoothly cease their offensive movements. The surviving warships no longer required immediate neutralization.
Thump... thump... thump...
"Someone... someone is stepping out?" a marine private murmured in a hushed, terrified whisper.
No one answered. The marines had already registered the immense gravity of the situation; the exact microsecond this tactical vessel breached the surface, the elite pirates had simultaneously aborted their attacks. The strategic implication was glaringly obvious. The individual about to materialize was an absolute powerhouse.
"Listen to my absolute command. Every surviving soldier is to immediately board the remaining two warships and execute a swift retreat from these coordinates."
An icy, commanding voice suddenly resonated across the entire territorial waters.
"What?! You expect the Navy to tuck tail and run from mere pirates?!" one of the Vice Admirals roared in a fury. He was on the verge of unleashing a fierce verbal tirade when his eyes locked onto the figure clearing the hatch. The words died instantly in his throat as his face drained of color.
"Mi... Mitian?!"
"It's Vice Admiral Mitian! Thank god!" The baseline marines erupted into a wave of pure excitement. While a few lower-ranked conscripts might not have memorized her physical profile, absolutely every soul in the Navy had heard the name Mitian.
She was a living myth within the ranks, a legendary presence second only to Vice Admiral Garp. If Garp represented the absolute peak of power and prestige for the old generation, then the name Mitian signified the absolute zenith of the Navy's new era. Even Vice Admiral Garp showered her with endless praise, and within the organization, she was an entity who conversed on a completely equal footing with the Admirals and the Fleet Admiral himself.
The moment the commander read the name "Mitian" aloud, the structural morale of the remaining forces skyrocketed. They watched as a slender, striking silhouette stepped out from the shadows of the hatch.
She wore a gown of rich, vibrant red, the hem of the fabric just barely veiling her elegant feet, her crystal heels catching the morning light with every measured stride. Her very presence seemed to captivate the souls of all who looked upon her.
"Did my command lack clarity, Vice Admiral Doberman?" Mitian's posture shifted, and a crushing, absolute aura erupted from her physical vessel.
Conqueror's Haki!
"Gah..." Doberman's eyes instantly shot wide, heavily shot through with bloodshot veins. A trace of fresh blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. Before his nervous system could even process the weight, a few vibrant, scarlet feathers had materialized in the air surrounding his position.
"Vice Admiral Doberman!" The baseline sea soldiers looked on in complete confusion, but the microsecond their eyes registered those crimson feathers, a wave of realization washed over them, and they immediately shut their mouths.
Vice Admiral Mitian was not an entity an ordinary soldier possessed the authority to scrutinize. Institutional conflicts between supreme commanders were matters they had to settle independently.
"Understood..." After a long, agonizing struggle, Doberman finally choked out the words. "All forces heed my command! Retreat!" His voice was completely raspy from the crushing strain.
"Yes, sir!" Not a single marine voiced an objection. There was no alternative narrative; this was an absolute directive from Vice Admiral Mitian.
"Quick, pull them up! Get the survivors out of the water!" The marines scrambled to salvage their comrades from the waves, rapidly turning the warships to execute a total withdrawal.
The clearing fell into absolute silence. In the minds of Ace and Luffy, Mitian had firmly solidified herself as an ally on their side of the line. But only Drake understood the underlying reality: he shared absolutely zero structural alliance with this woman.
However, regarding her choice to permit the remaining marines to escape, he didn't care in the slightest. Aside from the handful of Vice Admirals who possessed a modicum of combat capability, the rank-and-file posed zero threat to his faction. Even if they returned to report, it wouldn't alter his strategic parameters.
His focus was entirely locked on Mitian's institutional weight. Despite holding the identical rank of Vice Admiral, she could cleanly command other veteran commanders with a single phrase, and not a single soul dared to voice an objection. What manner of absolute authority was this? Within the strict hierarchy of the Navy, an operational dominance of this caliber was normally a luxury restricted solely to the Admirals.
Right then, Mitian materialized back on the deck of the Guma, holding a pristine copy of the latest global news broadcast.
The Legendary Four Brothers—three pirates occupying the thrones of the Emperors of the Sea, and the final sibling anchoring the position of Chief of Staff for the Revolutionary Army. Concurrently, the intelligence detailing Sabo's catastrophic duel against two Marine Admirals had saturated every corner of the world. At this definitive juncture, the Legendary Four Brothers had officially ascended to the absolute peak of the world order. Their exploits had transformed into modern myths whispered across every street and alleyway on the planet.
The Official Bounties of the New Era
The Dragon Flag Pirates:
Captain: "War God" Vale D. Drake — 3,588,000,000 Berries
First Officer: Kenshin — 1,091,000,000 Berries
Chief Combatant: Locke — 1,038,650,000 Berries
Swordsman: Bael — 880,000,000 Berries
Chief Medical Officer: Ann — 500,000,000 Berries
The Straw Hat Pirates:
Captain: "Wisdom King" Monkey D. Luffy — 3,266,000,000 Berries
Combatant: Roronoa Zoro — 1,230,000,000 Berries
Helmsman: Jinbe — 1,000,000,000 Berries
Cook: Vinsmoke Sanji — 840,000,000 Berries
Archaeologist: Nico Robin — 300,000,000 Berries
Sniper: Usopp — 286,660,000 Berries
Shipwright: Franky — 265,000,000 Berries
Navigator: Nami — 110,000,000 Berries
Musician: Brook — 100,000,000 Berries
Doctor: Tony Tony Chopper — 490,000,000 Berries
With these monumental updates, every single member of the Straw Hat crew had officially broken past the hundred-million barrier, cementing their status among the elite forces of the New World.