West Blue, a medium-sized island, was shrouded in smoke and the sound of gunfire. Civilians huddled in their houses, trembling and afraid to make a sound.
Thousands of gangs clashed fiercely, causing the ground to shake violently. Even the navy stationed on the island bury their heads in the sand like ostriches, pretending not to see anything.
"Godfather, the enemy has been completely defeated and has retreated to the high-rise buildings in front."
"Hmph, putting up a last-ditch effort, do you think hiding will do any good?" The short man in a striped suit, a cigar dangling from his mouth, scoffed. "After all, the disparity in troop strength is too great."
"Damn it, Capone Bege! How dare you disregard the rules of the Black Hand Gang and arbitrarily cross the line to attack my territory? Aren't you afraid of being punished by other Black Hand Gang bosses?" An angry voice came from inside the high-rise building.
"Idiot, rules are just words to restrain weaklings like you. If anyone dares to punish me, let them come."
As soon as he finished speaking, countless black holes appeared on Capone Bege's body, and countless shells were fired from inside his body, instantly collapsing the high-rise building where the enemy was hiding.
"Hmph! Easily defeated!" Capone Bege curled his lip in disdain, then gave the order, "Let's go, there's no need to stay here any longer."
"Wait, Godfather, are we not going to take over this town?" The Black Hand Gang who asked the question was clearly unwilling. We had spent so much effort to conquer this territory, were we just going to hand it over to someone else like that?
Bang!
"To dare question me, you're really not smart," Capone Bege said slowly, blowing away the smoke from his gun and looking at his men, who were like frightened birds.
"Godfather, there's no need to get angry over such an idiot. Here's some news that you should be very interested in." Strange Gun Vito said with a gleam in his eye.
"Huh? What news?"
"Hehe, Phantom Sword Roy defeated Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai, and was invited by the World Government to replace Crocodile the Sand's title and become the new Shichibukai, with the title Nightmare."
"Hehe, this is the first time there has been a change of personnel since the establishment of the Shichibukai system. I knew that someone like Roy would never be content with being alone. He has only just entered the Grand Line and he has already made such a big news."
Capone Bege has always been an idealist who is not content with the status quo. Being a mere Black Hand Gang boss is far from enough to satisfy his ambition. His ultimate goal is to become the king of the seas. Therefore, he has always been well-informed about the dynamics of the Grand Line.
However, while he doesn't blindly idolize Roy like most of the new generation of pirates, he certainly won't ignore Roy's achievements.
In fact, in his heart, Roy was always regarded as a hypothetical enemy, a monument on the road ahead, and an enemy that had to be defeated.
"Even Germa 66 of the Evil Army has submitted to Nightmare Roy. It seems that the Phantom Sword Grand Fleet is the truly evil force." Witt wept uncontrollably. As a huge fan of Germa 66, he naturally admired Roy, who had brought the Vinsmoke under his command.
"Nightmare Roy taught us a very good lesson. There's no need to head to the Grand Line too early. It's best to accumulate enough power before breaking through all obstacles and crushing all enemies underfoot." Capone Bege clenched his right fist tightly, the gem on his finger shining brightly in the sunlight.
In the South Blue, in an unnamed area, dozens of pirate groups are engaged in a fierce battle.
"Be careful, that guy is a power user."
"Damn it, what kind of ability is this? Why can't I control my weapons?" Many pirates' weapons flew out of their hands and condensed into a huge iron ball in mid-air, which crushed a pirate ship below into dust the moment it fell.
"Oh no, it's that serial killer, Eustass Kid! How did he get in here?" The speaker's voice trembled; they would rather face the Marines than that terrifying monster.
Even if their forces outnumbered the enemy's tenfold, they had no confidence whatsoever.
"Boss, even these good-for-nothings are afraid of you." For the people on Kid's ship, the more powerful and ruthless their captain was, the more confident they felt.
"They're nothing but hothouse flowers. Let me show them what true fear is." Kid's arms transformed into steel dozens of meters long, and with a powerful slam, he smashed the pirate ship into a pile of wood chips. "Life or death! Those who don't even have that kind of resolve shouldn't dare come to this sea!"
"Kid, this is the latest newspaper." Only the ship's second-in-command, the Massacre Warrior Killer, would dare to address him like that.
"Hmm? Is there some interesting news today?" Kid took the newspaper and paused his pursuit of the other pirates.
"The new Shichibukai, Nightmare Roy?" Upon seeing this, Kid burst into laughter. "Hahaha, as expected of the man I value. Only he can be considered a true pirate."
Kid's ambition is to be like Roy, to defeat all enemies and become the true King of the South Blue before venturing into the Grand Line.
Kid tore the newspaper in his hand into pieces and threw them into the sea. "I hope you can stay in the position of Shichibukai long enough. When I set sail for the Grand Line, that will be the time to pull you down from the position of Shichibukai, hahaha."
North Blue, amidst ruins.
"Hmph, they really are persistent." Trafalgar Law, still on the run, sensed the enemy's pursuit again. "However, you few are underestimating me too much, room - slaughterhouse."
"Ah! What's going on? My head's off, how am I still alive?"
After eliminating the pursuers, Law breathed a sigh of relief and thought to himself, "Thank goodness that bastard Doflamingo was defeated by Roy, otherwise, I would really be doomed this time."
"Bepo, any new news?"
"Yes, it's about Roy, the guy you mentioned last time." A polar bear beside him handed him a roll of newspaper.
Now, Luo became interested and took the newspaper to read it. Then his expression became somewhat complicated. "The Shichibukai - Nightmare Roy? I didn't expect him to have taken the next step so quickly and become Shichibukai like Doflamingo."
"Looks like I need to work harder too. If I can become Shichibukai, maybe I really can get revenge on that bastard Doflamingo." Law's eyes burned with the flames of hatred.
East Blue, Foosha Village.
"A 16-year-old great pirate? I've decided, once I set sail, this guy will be my first target." The boy with many freckles on his cheeks said energetically, holding a bounty poster.
"Hey? Ace, what are you holding? I want to see too."
"Haha, if you want to know, just snatch it from me."
"Hmph, don't underestimate me, watch out for my Gum-Gum Rocket."