Aftermath

It should be said that the whole world has quieted down.

Although they were white newspapers, at this moment, these fluttering sheets of paper resembled moving dark clouds, sprinkling across every corner of the world.

There were no cheers, no celebrations. When people picked up the newspaper with trembling hands, a deathly silence filled the world, followed by an overwhelming sense of horror and despair.

<World, pledge your loyalty to the birth of a king!>

This is the headline on the front page of this newspaper.

The picture below was taken from a low angle.

At the very top of the image is Roa, seated high on his throne.

Below, the monsters of the pirate alliance lined up on both sides, and at the very bottom, the highest-ranking Marines knelt down!

In the East Blue, in the Kingdom of Goa, in Foosha Village.

The village had already been destroyed in the previous Sea Beast attack.

The surviving villagers evacuated urgently and hid in the mountains behind the village.

In the temporary settlement.

"How could such a thing happen!"

Leaning on his cane, the white-haired village chief cursed repeatedly, "Garp on earth is that Garp doing! How could he submit to that scum, Roa!"

"That bastard just destroyed Foosha Village!"

Beside her, Makino held a newspaper, her hands trembling slightly. She forced a smile, but it looked more like a grimace. "Mr. Garp must have his reasons—"

Even though she said that, the woman could hardly imagine what kind of situation Mr. Garp, who always upheld justice, would have to face to grovel before that monster, Roa.

"Does that mean—from now on, the whole world belongs to that guy?"

The plump, orange-haired bandit woman collapsed to the ground, her face pale. "Even the navy—they've surrendered!"

That's the navy!

The navy represents justice and protects the people!

Garp, what the hell are you doing?!

The last symbol of order and hope has collapsed!

Wouldn't the whole world be doomed if that happened?

While everyone Makino was gripping the newspaper tightly with both hands, her eyes filled with anxiety...

Luffy, are you still safe and sound?

Although the child didn't live here for very long, she really liked that adorable child.

Also in the East Blue, in Cocoyasi Village, an Orange Grove was in disarray.

"How could this be! How could such a thing happen?"

The pink-haired woman unconsciously dropped the cigarette she was holding onto the ground, and the cigarette butt landed on the newspaper in her hand, instantly burning a hole in it.

But the woman seemed oblivious, muttering to herself, "That's the navy! That must be that bastard Morgans making things up!"

She had served in the Navy and knew better than anyone what the World Government meant—it was the true ruler of this world!

Even though they've been pushed to their limits by the pirate alliance these past two years, they shouldn't be so easily defeated, right?

Beside the woman stood the eldest daughter of the family, a stunning beauty with beautiful sea-blue hair. Nojiko's face paled slightly. "It shouldn't be fake. A lie that's so easily exposed is pointless—"

The parent, Bellemere, moved her lips twice, but couldn't say anything.

She only has one thought right now.

Is this world doomed?

It was at this moment that the door was suddenly pushed open.

A figure rushed into the Orange Grove, backlit. "Bellemere, Nojiko! Is what the newspaper said true?"

The vibrant orange hair looked exceptionally lively under the sunlight, but at this moment, the owner's tone was full of panic.

Bellemere suddenly awoke.

She turned around and saw her eldest daughter's eyes filled with undisguised panic. Then, as her gaze shifted, she saw her second daughter's panicked face.

I was terrified, but the two children, who had never experienced hardship before, were even more frightened.

Therefore, I need to calm down.

"Don't be afraid! Nami, Nojiko!"

Bellemere waved to her two daughters.

When her daughters came closer, she opened her arms and hugged them both tightly. "Don't be afraid!"

"Such a poor, remote place wouldn't be of any interest to such important figures."

"It'll be alright, everything will be alright."

The two daughters immediately hugged their sister and beloved mother tightly, and the family of three embraced each other, using this close embrace to provide courage and strength to their family.

But.

The woman with orange hair, Nami, had a very serious expression.

Everyone already knows what that monster Roa did in the other half of the world on the Red Line!

What will the world face next?

In a certain area of South Blue Sea.

On the deck of a seagoing vessel.

"Are you kidding me! That bastard has already defeated the World Government, and now he's going to take over the whole world?"

How could it be so fast! How could the World Government be so incompetent!

The red-haired man screamed in disbelief.

"Isn't this a good thing, Kid!"

Beside him, a masked man with long blond hair said in surprise, "If Roa rules the world, then the true era of pirates will have arrived!"

"I refuse to accept some damn King of the World standing above me!"

The red-haired man, Eustass Kid, captain of the Kid Pirates, roared angrily, "You bastard! King of the World? I don't acknowledge that!!"

You don't admit it?

His companion, a man named Killer, paused for a moment.

The World Government has been defeated by that monster Roa, so it seems pointless for country bumpkin pirates like us to admit or deny it.

"Very good!"

Kid suddenly grinned, "Then there's only one goal left! Head to the Grand Line, find the Calamity Company, and then take down that Roa guy!"

"King of the World? He deserves it, but I don't?"

Killer remained silent.

North Blue, West Blue, New World.

While the people in these three sea areas were equally shocked by this event, overall, their level of acceptance was the highest.

After all, Roa has already ruled half of the world on this side of the Red Line, so it doesn't seem strange that he would take over the other half.

Even the people living in these three sea areas harbor a strange sense of schadenfreude.

They've been tormented by Roa for so long, and now it's finally the turn of those who were living good lives to fall into hell!

The first half of the Grand Line is this sea area known as Paradise.

Alabasta.

Royal Palace.

The current King Cobra put down his newspaper, his eyes filled with unspeakable worry. "How could things have developed to this point? It's unbelievable that the World Government could be defeated, and even the high command of the Navy has bowed down to Roa."

"Father,"

Behind him, a little princess with blue hair looked equally worried. "If the whole world falls into Roa's clutches, Alabasta will not be spared either!"

Will this country also become like those countries on the other side of the Red Line, turning into a living hell?

For the past two years, in order to incite hatred among the people against the pirate alliance, the World Government has spared no effort in propagating the notion that the people in Roa's territory are living in misery.

Cobra took a deep breath. "At this point, all we can do is fight with everything we can to protect this country!"

Fortunately, the pirate alliance will not take the initiative to attack the countries within their territory.

As long as the country can afford to pay taxes, its only enemies will be the pirates who have completely lost control because of Roa!

"----"

The little princess bit her lip and remained silent.

What else can be said now?

"However, Vivi,"

Cobra picked up the newspaper again, held the photo to the side of his daughter's face, and looked at it from side to side. He said with some surprise, "There's a woman in this photo who looks just like you."

"I noticed that too!"

Princess Vivi, equally astonished, asked, "Father, do we have relatives who have joined the pirate alliance?"

"I've never heard of that before!"

The world was indeed terrified by the news reported in the newspapers.

Who could have imagined this?

The World Government was defeated so easily by the pirate alliance.

Although anyone with even a slight understanding of the world situation had already foreseen that the war between the World Government and the pirate alliance would not last long.

But this is too fast!

So fast that the world didn't even realize the war had begun before everything was already over.

This world has a new master, the most brutal, the most vicious, the most evil master!

The aftershocks of the Sea Beast's attack haven't even subsided yet.

"What will this world become?!"

People screamed in utter horror.

Besides ordinary citizens, the navy was also among the hardest hit.

Navies around the world were completely bewildered when they first saw the newspaper.

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Vice Admiral Garp, and Admiral —they've all surrendered to the pirates?"

"How could that be? How could those adults kneel before a pirate!"

It's hard to believe.

"What a joke! Those bastards betrayed justice!!"

At a Marine Base, a man with a cigar in his mouth roars angrily.

He was furious.

Hina doesn't believe it!

At Marine Base near Alabasta, a pink-haired woman gritted her teeth, "What did Roa do to them?!"

Some people think there must be something fishy going on.

However, some marines exclaimed, "Great! This way, we won't have to fight against the pirate alliance!"

"Hahaha! If we can join the Calamity Company, we can really do whatever we want!"

Such a navy does exist.

Besides the navy, the World Government still retains a considerable amount of power.

In an Impel Down within the Paradise.

"Director! What do we do now?! The World Government is finished, the Navy has surrendered to Roa, what are we going to do?!"

The entire prison was now in complete chaos.

The tall man was sitting on the toilet, sweating profusely.

Yes, so what should we do now?

With the World Government now completely collapsed, their prison is like a rootless plant; a slight breeze could send it all vanishing into thin air!

What should they do?

While he was defecating, he didn't notice that, as an unprecedented storm swept into the prison, in one of the lower cells...

"Hehehe, such a thing actually happened?"

A low laugh echoed from the dark cell. "Then what are you hesitating for? Why don't you release me now?"

Outside the cell, a pale-faced jailer hesitated, "But, Shiryu Chief Warden..."

"Stop talking nonsense. You came to me because you know that idiot Magellan won't surrender to the pirate alliance, right?"

The man locked in the cell said coldly, "Following him will only lead to death, but for me, it's a different story!"

The jailer then gritted his teeth fiercely.

That's not all; the World Government still has other remaining forces.

On a deserted island in the Paradise.

"Is it really over just like that?"

Crocodile flipped through the newspaper, "More than two years ago in Mary Geoise, wasn't that guy Roa getting beaten up badly by that guy named Imu?"

"That's why that's the true Calamity Roa; it's forever beyond our imagination."

Hawkeye casually chopped vegetables with a kitchen knife on the counter, replying, "That guy's strength has probably reached a level that no one can imagine."

After the Battle of Mary Geoise, the two of them started yo-yoing together.

To avoid being summoned back to fight the Calamity Company, they simply went into seclusion and lived a life of their own. They basically ignored the communications sent by the World Government. After witnessing the epic battle in Mary Geoise, Crocodile even gave up his ambition to seize Pluton.

Given the strength those monsters displayed, even if he obtained the Ancient Weapon, he wouldn't be able to protect them.

Fortunately, the World Government did not intend to conscript them after that, so the two of them have been able to live comfortably under the title of Shichibukai until now.

"Hahaha! He actually became the King of the World!"

Crocodile put down his newspaper, lit a cigar, and took a satisfying puff. "Hey, Mihawk, what's our next move? Should we try to fight them?"

"If you can,"

Hawkeye spoke slowly, "I would like to fight Roa."

"Hahaha! Even if that guy hasn't gotten any stronger than he was in Mary Geoise, you still couldn't withstand one of his sword strikes!"

Crocodile laughed heartily.

"That's precisely why I want to see his sword!"

Hawkeye said, "I don't care if I die at his hands."

"Tsk."

In the sky above the Paradise, a jet-black dragon descended from the heavens.

"Grandpa! Uncle Zephyr! Uncle Sakazuki! Uncle Kuzan! Uncle Borsalino! What's wrong with everyone?!"

The black-haired boy in a navy sailor uniform screamed repeatedly while holding a newspaper.

Beside him, Shanks took a deep breath. "It's probably Roa's ability! He's controlling everyone in the Navy!"

Just like Mr. Gaban!

"Control?"

The black-haired boy suddenly turned around, then said loudly with a knowing look, "So, as long as we get rid of that guy Roa, everyone can go back to normal, right?"

"Take care of Roa?"

Even at this moment, Shanks couldn't help but find the boy's words somewhat amusing. "If we could take down Roa, the whole world could return to normal."

"Knew!"

The boy clenched his fist tightly. "Then I'll be the one to beat that Roa guy to a pulp!"

Dragon gazed at the boy, slowly exhaled, and said solemnly, "If anyone can truly defeat that monster Roa, it can only be you! Luffy!"

Perhaps, fate is truly looking out for them.