From Now On, This Is Demon Pirates Territory

Without a doubt, the total annihilation of the Buster Call fleet was a devastating blow to both the Navy and the World Government.

Especially after the Five Elders, who held the highest authority, discovered that the trump-card assassins they had dispatched had failed to kill Allen—or even seriously wound him—they immediately rushed to the Void Throne to report the situation to Im-sama, to whom they pledged their loyalty.

No one knew what had been said during that meeting. They only knew that when the Five Elders emerged, their attitude had taken a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn.

Not only did they cease all previous hostile actions, but they also proactively sent envoys to negotiate, ultimately agreeing to most of the harsh conditions Allen had proposed.

The most important of them was allowing Water 7 to fly the Demon Pirates' flag and become an island under one of the Four Emperors.

You must know, this was no ordinary island. It was the Navy's most important shipbuilding base, with nearly all top-tier warships built by the Galley-La Company.

Yet now, the Five Elders had handed over such a vital location without a fight.

This utter disregard for their dignity and authority shocked the whole world. Even the members of the Demon Pirates found it hard to believe, as though they had seen a ghost.

The newspapers, always eager for chaos, even gave the Demon Pirates the title of the strongest in history on their front pages.

Even the impending execution of Fire Fist Ace and the direct clash between the Navy and the Whitebeard Pirates seemed somewhat insignificant beneath such coverage.

But only truly clever people could see that the World Government was trying to placate the overwhelmingly powerful Demon Pirates first, so they could deal with the Whitebeard Pirates afterward.

After all, Portgas