War Declared: The War Between the Whitebeard Pirates and the New World Marines Has Begun!
The original plan was to conclude the preparation phase for the war against the Whitebeard Pirates within three months.
But for some reason, since then, the previously inactive Achino volcano island has shown signs of coming back to life, which has greatly affected construction work.
However, the original three-month plan was not completed, and it was delayed for five months. It was not until August of 1506 in the Marine Era that the project was finally finished.
Tesoro and Moria were filled with shame and indignation, and both came to apologize to Ortolan.
However, this was a genuine accident, and Ortolan naturally wouldn't blame his subordinates for it. He encouraged them a bit and didn't reprimand them harshly.
Five months is neither a long nor a short time.
Ortolan submitted his plan, and so far, the Five Elders haven't come to ask him anything, which shows that the Fleet Admiral of Sengoku did not hand over that document to the Five Elders.
At that time, he did not come to "guide" him to rewrite it, and thus Ortolan knew Sengoku's intentions.
During this period, the major forces in the New World also made their own arrangements.
The Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates need no introduction. Whitebeard Pirates, they were preparing for war. About three months later, their independent captains gathered around the Whitebeard Pirates' flagship from various seas, and they never disbanded.
Over the next two months, the Whitebeard Pirates continued to increase their forces, purchasing weapons and ammunition in the Dark World. The original estimate of 50,000 pirates by Ortolan and others was increased to nearly 60,000 during this period.
However, these new pirate underlings were of varying quality and were not taken seriously, presumably to be used as cannon fodder. The New World Marines did not adjust its planned forces or anything because of this.
During this time, Kozuki Oden tried many times to find his son and retainers, but Whitebeard always felt that this matter might be related to the New World Marines and worried that there was some conspiracy involved, so he never allowed Kozuki Oden to leave the Whitebeard Pirates.
Although Kozuki Oden was worried, considering the impending storm facing the Whitebeard Pirates, he ultimately did not act recklessly.
In fact, Ortolan does have a plan in this regard. If Kozuki Oden were to come out to find Momonosuke, he would become the executioner in Momonosuke.
Starting in July of 1506 (Marine Era), public opinion on the high seas began to subtly change.
At first, rumors inexplicably began circulating in the dark world about the righteous and chivalrous Whitebeard Pirates. There was an unspoken rule on the high seas that you should never touch Whitebeard's family, or the Strongest Man in the world would fight you to the death.
There's this story about how a certain captain was once in dire straits, betrayed and harmed, Whitebeard, without hesitation, mobilized the entire Whitebeard Pirates to eradicate and wipe out the group that had harmed his family.
Besides these, rumors began to circulate about the unbreakable brotherhood between Kozuki Oden and Newgate. It was said that Newgate was grooming Kozuki Oden to be the second Whitebeard Pirates, and that Kozuki Oden might very well inherit the Whitebeard Pirates in the future.
In short, it's all about praising the Whitebeard Pirates, portraying them as the epitome of loyalty and righteousness among pirates, and the embodiment of unity and bonds.
Basically, anyone who messes with their people is provoking the entire Whitebeard Pirates!
These messy rumors spread from the dark world, and then the media began to take action. The World News would occasionally publish some intimate stories about the Whitebeard Pirates to highlight their unbreakable family ties.
At first, when these news first spread, the pirates in the Whitebeard Pirates were proud of it. Yes, we are just that loyal and united!
But as time went on, Whitebeard himself was the first to realize that something was wrong!
He sensed the scent of conspiracy in these messages and rumors.
Unfortunately, he couldn't stop these public opinions, nor did he have the relevant channels to do so, and these messages were, to some extent, positive.
It was precisely because of these circulated stories that the Whitebeard Pirates recruited many new pirates during this period, and these people seemed to have come for their loyalty.
On the high seas, the discussion about the loyalty and righteousness of the Whitebeard Pirates is growing stronger every day.
The date is August 23, 1506 (according to the Marine Era).
Major newspapers, led by The World News, published a bombshell news story that dominated their front pages.
That is "The New World Marines's Proclamation to the Whitebeard Pirates!"
That's right, on August 23, 1506 of the Marine Era, Marine Admiral Bann Ortolan, Governor of the New World, officially declared war on the Whitebeard Pirates!
To be honest, the news shocked the world, but when the major powers recalled the strange behavior of the New World Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates over the past few months, they felt that it was not incomprehensible.
In fact, many intelligent people had already made relevant judgments long before this declaration of war was published.
The release of this Marines manifesto to suppress bandits actually reassured the major powers: Hmm... it's about Whitebeard, it has nothing to do with us.
For the next two days, everyone was discussing how the New World Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates would truly start their war, and whether the New World was going to turn into a mess again.
Then, prices of all kinds of goods rose rapidly, and commodities such as food and weapons sold like hotcakes.
Three days after the publication of "New World Marines's Proclamation to the Proclamation Against the Pirates the Whitebeard Pirates," New World has once again released another major piece of news!
The Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Commander, Kozuki Oden, his son, Kozuki Momosuke, and his retainers have been secretly arrested by the New World Marines!
After discussions among Marine Admiral Bane Ortolan and Akainu Sakazuki, as well as the various admirals of the New World Marines, it was decided that on September 20th, 1506 of the Marine Era, on Archino Island in the New World, Kozuki Momokosuke and his retainers would be executed!
Furthermore, the newspapers published information about their crimes and misdeeds.
For example, Kozuki Momosuke is a direct descendant of the Wano Country stonemason family and has committed serious crimes, including his family members being leaders of organized Japanese pirates. He also researches Poneglyph and other dangerous historical events that are forbidden by the authorities, with the intention of reviving Ancient Weapon to destroy the Japanese world.
Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, and others have been confirmed to have been members of both the Roger Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates, and to have participated in many pirate crimes and committed numerous sins.
This put the Whitebeard Pirates in a very difficult position.
Anyone who isn't a fool can see that this situation isn't a sudden event, but rather something the New World Marines had prepared for a long time ago!
From the very beginning, they have been targeting the Whitebeard Pirates. Whether it was the public opinion before the war, the declaration of war after the war, or the execution now, their goal is to force the Whitebeard Pirates to head straight to Archino Island and engage in a decisive battle with the New World Marines!
Governor New World Marine Admiral Bann Ortolan's strategic intentions were very clear: to achieve victory in one decisive battle!
We will not wage a protracted war, nor will we engage in a complex and protracted struggle with the Whitebeard Pirates!
One game decides the outcome!
A decisive battle to end this war!
The winner lives, the loser dies!
The Whitebeard Pirates did not immediately respond to the execution, and it seems that they were embroiled in internal disputes.
Originally, he had always wanted to find his son, Kozuki Oden. This time, he vehemently opposed the Whitebeard Pirates' attempt to rescue him at the execution site, hoping to confront the Marines in a roundabout way rather than resorting to such a decisive battle.
Many in the Whitebeard Pirates also believed that this choice would damage Whitebeard's reputation. Everyone had just been praising the Whitebeard Pirates to the skies in the media, calling them righteous and loyal, but now that this had happened, they all turned into cowards.
How can that old man's reputation be good?
Within the Whitebeard Pirates, there were many who valued Newgate's reputation and prestige more than their own lives, and thus were determined to save Momonosuke and the others.
This intense internal conflict prevented the Whitebeard Pirates from immediately determining a course of action.
Three days after the execution news was published, Admiral Ben Ortolan of the Marine Headquarters published another major news item in the newspaper.
That is, in the name of the highest combat power of the world's government, the Marine Admiral, he publicly announced his challenge to Whitebeard Edward Newgate, the strongest warrior!
In other words, it means that Ortolan challenged Whitebeard to a duel on Archino Island!
This battle will not only determine the outcome between the Marines and the pirates, but also determine the strongest new pirate!
Thus, this challenge had a decisive effect, Whitebeard finally responded, stating that he would accept the invitation to visit Archino Island and hoping that Ortolan and the other Marines would not disappoint him.
This response exudes the domineering Haki of the strongest pirate crew and the Strongest Man!