This was the worst of times. Chaos and prophecies of world destruction shrouded the entire sea.
Places of absolute safety
were exceedingly rare in the world as it now stood.
Once elevated islands were discovered, it likely meant chaos, death, and bloody war.
The sea had long since lost its former relative peace under the threat of world destruction.
The entire sea was now a dark forest.
Countless powerful beings fought desperately here, drawing nourishment from one another in hopes of surviving the coming catastrophe.
Sphinx Island.
The weather was clear, with a gentle breeze blowing.
Unlike the chaos erupting across the Grand Line's New World over the struggle for high ground,
Sphinx Island, this elevated island, was under the Whitebeard Pirates' tight protection because it was Whitebeard's homeland.
Although Whitebeard was not currently stationed with the Whitebeard Pirates, his renowned name was enough to safeguard a region amid these increasingly chaotic waters.
While the people of Sphinx Island lived peacefully beneath Whitebeard's protection,
the wanderer who had been away from home finally returned to his homeland after several years.
There was no grand welcoming ceremony.
To avoid drawing the attention of the World Government and the sea's major forces,
Whitebeard returned to his homeland alone and in secret.
When he emerged from the submarine he had taken and stepped onto the soil of his homeland,
he took in the familiar sights before him.
"Oh, you noticed me so quickly? Brat, you've really improved."
An irrepressible smile spread across his face.
The moment Whitebeard set foot on the island, his powerful Observation Haki told him of the Whitebeard Pirates' healthy development and how his homeland was changing for the better.
"Hmm!!!"
Ace had just torn off a chunk of Sea King meat when something seemed to tug at his heart.