One Piece

Battle, battle, endless battle.

In the shattered memories, enemies of every kind were everywhere. Some wielded swords, some guns, some used spells, some bows.

And "he" was the same. Whether it was spells, long weapons, short weapons, or firearms, as long as he could use them, he never limited himself.

In the end, the chaotic, unstructured memories converged into a single scene: a one-armed shinobi engaged "him" in a final fight to the death.

"Ugh!" Doflamingo opened his eyes. "The Talent Pearl I got this time came from Ashina Isshin?"

The greatest impression Ashina Isshin had left on him was shouting that Ashina Style Swordsmanship was the best in the world, then pulling out a firearm and catching you off guard with a shot.

Of course, now that he had obtained his talent, although the memories were completely fragmented and Doflamingo could not perform Ashina Style Swordsmanship, he had thoroughly understood Isshin's mindset.

Just as swords and sabers were not distinguished in Japan, Japanese swordsmanship and military strategy were also two sides of the same coin. So rather than calling it Ashina Style Swordsmanship, it was more accurate to call it Ashina Style Tactics.

Its precept lay in four words: "adapt to circumstances." Its essence lay in another four: "whatever works." Its ultimate goal was to pursue victory by any means necessary.

In other words, as long as he could win, anything went. It was swordsmanship cultivated entirely through the mindset of military strategy.

This was the complete opposite of Ye Gucheng's wholehearted devotion to the sword.

But Doflamingo had to admit that he preferred Ashina Style Swordsmanship. Ye Gucheng's swordsmanship looked cool, but his modern mindset still made him more inclined toward Ashina Isshin's pragmatism.

He climbed out of bed and stretched. Looking at the sky, which had only just begun to brighten, Doflamingo felt as though he had nowhere to vent all his energy.

The talent he had just received from Ashina Isshin made him think of how to use everything he saw in battle. Unfortunately, it was far too early to go looking for Tokikake or Zephyr.

With nothing else to do, Doflamingo went to the Training Grounds and did some physical training.

By the time the sky was nearly fully bright, he was about to set off in search of an opponent to challenge when he saw a vast mass of dark clouds flying toward them. Looking closer, he realized they were a huge flock of News Coos.

Before anyone could even toss them coins, the News Coos scattered newspapers all over the sky. Doflamingo frowned slightly, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.

For that big-shot newsman Morgans to take a loss just for publicity, it had to be a once-in-a-century story that had shocked the entire world.

And at this point in time, what news could possibly be bigger than Roger conquering the Grand Line and ascending as the One Piece?

Doflamingo picked up a newspaper from the ground and looked at the article. Sure enough, the huge photograph on it was of Gol D. Roger.

Below it were the words: "The Birth of the One Piece! Gol D. Roger Conquers the Grand Line!"

"Well, Roger still became the One Piece." Doflamingo glanced at the paper. "Then the Great Pirate Era should be even closer now, right?"

Whether the Pirate Era came or not did not have much to do with Doflamingo at the moment. If anything, its arrival would make it easier for him to overthrow the Celestial Dragons and the World Government.

Whether Gol D. Roger became the One Piece or not, life still had to go on.

More than ten days later, the newly crowned One Piece had neither gathered the other pirates to dominate the world nor revealed any great secrets or collected the Ancient Weapons. The fervor across the seas gradually died down.

Navy Headquarters, meanwhile, welcomed back a large number of senior Navy officers returning from the New World.

After Roger completed his journey through the Grand Line, the previously chaotic situation gradually subsided, and the Great Pirates of the New World turned their attention toward the Navy.

Though the Navy was powerful, it was still unable to contend with all the Great Pirates joining forces. In the end, aside from the existing Navy bases, every other Navy force withdrew from the New World.

"Say, I never expected you to become that man's adjutant." Standing on the docks, Tokikake spoke to Doflamingo beside him. Even wrapped in a Justice Coat, he still gave off the impression of a monkey dressed in ceremonial clothes.

"I heard Vice Admiral Sakazuki was a battle-loving man. Serving under him should give me the chance to take part in plenty of fights, so I joined him." Doflamingo explained with a smile.

Tokikake wore a helpless expression. "You really never stop pursuing strength. What's the point of becoming so strong?"

Tokikake also had standards for his own strength, but he felt that reaching a certain level was enough. He could not understand Doflamingo's nearly fanatical drive.

"Alright, they're here." Doflamingo interrupted Tokikake and looked toward the powerful Navy officers disembarking from the ship.

The first to step down was a bespectacled man with an afro, the current Navy Admiral Sengoku. He was also the only active Admiral at present. Though Zephyr had retained the title of Admiral, he was effectively no longer serving.

Behind him stood the stern-faced man in a red suit, who should be Akainu Sakazuki. The one wearing sunglasses and a Navy-logo head wrap should be the current Aokiji Kuzan.

Beside Sengoku stood a calm, gentle-looking woman who already appeared somewhat aged. She should be the current Navy Vice Admiral and Staff Officer, Tsuru.

As for the others, Doflamingo could not recognize them.

"Hm? Why don't I see Vice Admiral Garp?" Tokikake asked curiously. Doflamingo sighed and pointed, revealing a tall man on the deck who was sleeping while standing, a huge snot bubble inflating from his nose.

"As expected of Vice Admiral Garp! He can even sleep standing up aboard a ship!" Tokikake's expression was that of an awestruck fanboy, making Doflamingo want to cover his face.

What was there to be proud of about that?

All he could say was that people in the Pirate World thought differently.

But Sengoku, who was from Garp's generation, clearly did not consider it anything to be proud of. With a dark expression, he landed a punch right on Garp's head, then dragged him down from the deck.

"Wahahaha! So we're already back at Navy Headquarters? We got back really fast." Garp, now awake, scratched his head without a care.

With the return of so many senior officers, Navy Headquarters became busy once more. Doflamingo had also gone to report to Sakazuki.

"You're Steve?" In the office, the still-young Akainu glanced at Doflamingo and tossed the documents in his hand aside. Then he spoke bluntly.

"You became a Rear Admiral as soon as you graduated, and you've even been to the New World. I look forward to your future performance. For now, come with me to crack down on pirates a few times. Once you're familiar with things, you can lead a fleet yourself."