The Aftermath: Reactions from All Sides

When the people of the East Blue heard that the Golden Lion would attack their sea in the future, some immediately decided to move to other seas, while others sought help from the Marines, hoping they could stop him.

For a time, most of the East Blue fell into a panic, with everyone fearing for their safety.

But people in some places were relatively calm.

East Blue, Goa Kingdom, Foosha Village, Makino's bar.

"Hey! The East Blue is going to be destroyed. Should we run away to another sea?"

"Run? Where would we go? We have no money and no power. Life wouldn't be easy wherever we went, so we might as well stay here and live comfortably for a while longer. Besides, that happens in the future, and now that the God from Beyond the Domain has revealed it, it might not even happen anymore! There's no need to scare ourselves so much!"

"You're right! I think so too. But speaking of that, Luffy really does care about us! As soon as he found out his hometown was in trouble, he chose to put his adventure aside and come back to help us through the crisis. He's such a good kid!"

"That he is! This is Luffy we're talking about, the kid we watched grow up. He's been kind ever since he was little. He's just too stubborn about wanting to be a pirate! Otherwise, he'd be even better!"

"But Luffy hasn't done anything cruel or wicked since he set sail, apart from the Enies Lobby Incident. But he did that to save his crewmate, so it's understandable and doesn't count. So Luffy's a good pirate at heart."

"That's right! To our village's good pirate, Luffy! Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

"..."

"..."

Listening to the carefree villagers talking around him, the village chief, Slap, looked speechless. "You lot really are easygoing! But Luffy is a very good kid."

Mount Colubo, the mountain bandits' house.

"Boss, should we run?"

"But where would we go?"

"We're wanted mountain bandits! If we leave, we'll definitely be arrested."

"That's better than staying here and waiting to die, isn't it?"

"..."

"..."

Listening to her subordinates arguing behind her over whether to stay or leave, Dadan slapped her hand down and said firmly, "We're not going anywhere. We'll stay right here. I believe Luffy and his crew will stop that guy."

East Blue, Cocoyasi Village.

"So this is the captain Nami follows? The enemy's already on his ship, and he's still grinning like some clueless kid. Is this guy really a pirate?" Bellemere glanced at Genzo as she asked.

"Well... Straw Hat Luffy is just like that. He's carefree, but he's definitely a good captain. He's absolutely sincere with Nami and the rest of his crew," Genzo explained.

"Hmph! No matter how good he is, he's still a pirate. I still don't like him," Bellemere said unhappily. "And why didn't you stop Nami from becoming a pirate back then?!"

"I wanted to stop her! But she would have had to listen to me!" Genzo muttered.

"Huh? What did you say?" Bellemere glared at him.

"N-nothing! I believe in Straw Hat Luffy. He'll definitely save Nami, and he'll deal with the Golden Lion too," Genzo said with absolute conviction.

"He'd better. Otherwise... Hmph! Hmph!" As Bellemere spoke, an aura of killing intent rose from her.

Nojiko and Genzo immediately fell silent and quietly cheered Luffy on in their hearts.

East Blue, Loguetown, inside a house.

"How dare that bastard Golden Lion lay a hand on Nami-senpai! I won't forget this! He'd better not let me see him, or I'll tear both his hands off so they match his feet," Bartolomeo said furiously.

"B-boss, this isn't the time to discuss that. Shouldn't we go hide in another sea for a while first?!" a subordinate asked from behind him.

"Hide?! Why should we hide? Luffy-senpai and the others will take care of that trash! All we need to do is sit here and watch Luffy-senpai and the others show us what they can do!" Bartolomeo turned and gave him a cold look. "Or are you scared? You don't believe in Luffy-senpai and the others?"

"No!" The subordinate immediately fell silent, then said, "I'll always believe in Luffy-senpai and the others."

"Good! Now let's cheer Luffy-senpai and the others on!"

"You can do it, Luffy-senpai and everyone!"

"You can do it, Luffy-senpai and everyone!"

"You can do it, Luffy-senpai and everyone!"

"..."

"..."

Grand Line, Alabasta Kingdom, inside the palace.

"Luffy-san's home has been targeted by the Golden Lion! I have to find a way to help them!" Vivi murmured, biting her finger as she paced around her room. "What should I do? What should I do?!"

Grand Line, White Soil Island.

"Leader, should we send more members of the Revolutionary Army to the East Blue?"

"Yes! It is your home, after all. The forces we have there now aren't nearly enough to deal with the Golden Lion's coming attack!"

"Leader, give the order! Let me go!"

"I'll go too."

"..."

"..."

Faced with his subordinates' requests, Dragon shook his head. "On behalf of the people of the East Blue, let me thank you all for your kind intentions. But no forces are to be pulled from anywhere. Our current strength simply doesn't allow us to do that. Besides, dealing with pirates is the Marines' job, and I'm sure they can handle it. Even if they can't, I believe my son can take care of it for them. So let's focus on what we need to do right now!"

"This... Yes, Leader."

New World, aboard the Red Force.

"Damn that Golden Lion! How dare he try to attack my home! I'm furious!" Yasopp said angrily.

"Exactly! Makino's still back there in the East Blue!"

"Yeah! When I visit the East Blue in the future, I want to drink the sake Makino pours herself."

"Why don't I head to the East Blue now and help deal with the Golden Lion?"

"I think that's a good idea. Let's do that."

"..."

"..."

Listening to the indignant shouts of the crew, Benn Beckman glanced at the perfectly calm Shanks. "What do you think?"

"I believe in Luffy. He'll handle it," Shanks said confidently, taking a sip of his drink.

Grand Line, somewhere at sea, aboard the Thousand Sunny.

"So it really was all your fault that Nami-san got captured! You bastard!" Sanji grabbed Luffy by the neck and shook him hard.

"Since the Golden Lion wants to attack the East Blue, I'm really worried about Kaya and the three kids!" Usopp said, his face full of concern.

"I'm worried about Nojiko, Genzo, and the other villagers too," Nami added.

"Why don't we go back to the East Blue and stop him?" Robin suggested.

"But... we went through so much to get here!" Chopper said reluctantly.

"We can always start our adventure over! Just like Luffy said in the video, we can't stand by and watch our crewmates' homes suffer!" Robin bent down and patted Chopper on the head.

"Yeah! You're right, Robin. Let's go back!" Chopper nodded.

"All right! We're turning around and heading back to the East Blue now! I'm going to beat up the Golden Lion and send him flying!" Luffy pulled free of Sanji's grip and gave the order.

Impel Down, Level 6, inside a separate cell.

His hands bound in chains, Ace murmured, "Dadan, Makino, everyone... Please be safe!"