The New World Is the Four Emperors' New World

Grand Line, New World.

Bikahi Island.

This is the largest of the twenty-seven islands under the jurisdiction of the Ekmondo Kingdom, and also the island where the kingdom's capital, Arabica, is located.

The Ekmondo Kingdom, known as the "Kingdom of Coffee," produces enough coffee beans on Bikahi Island alone to satisfy one-tenth of the market demand in the Grand Line; the coffee beans produced by all twenty-seven islands in the nation account for nearly one-quarter of the Grand Line's market.

The capital of the kingdom, Arabica, even bears the reputation of being the "City of Coffee."

On the hill directly north of this "City of Coffee," the Royal Palace, built of white marble, remained brightly lit in the night, illuminating the entire hill as if it were broad daylight, shining in harmony with the bright moon in the sky.

Unlike the lives of debauchery and extravagant banquets that the citizens imagined the royals were enjoying, the entire Royal Palace was currently submerged under a terrifying, low-pressure atmosphere.

The maids huddled on both sides of the corridor like quails, too terrified to even breathe, fearing they might disturb His Majesty the King who was in a state of violent rage.

Until, "Tap, tap, tap—" crisp and steady Footsteps came from the other end of the corridor.

The oppressive, heavy atmosphere suddenly showed signs of loosening.

"His Highness Aleus."

Seeing the man striding over, the Head Maid hurried to meet him.

His short, black, choppy hair was neatly groomed, his emerald eyes were as clear as the finest jade, and his handsome features were flawless. His height of 205 centimeters could not be called a "giant" in this world, but he was certainly not short.

Sokachio Aleus.

He is the First Crown Prince of Ekmondo Kingdom, the Deputy Commander of the Royal Guard, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom.

Seeing the Crown Prince appear, the trembling maids in the corridor collectively breathed a sigh of relief. As the most kind-hearted member of the Sokachio Family, Aleus had always been regarded by the palace servants as a life-saving elixir.

There was naturally more than one person in this palace who could soothe the King's anger, but whether it was the Queen, the ministers, or even the seven-year-old Second Prince and the little Princess under six, none of them cared much about the lives of the servants—or rather, if using the heads of the servants could quell the King's anger, that would probably be a good thing.

Everything is relative; with enough contrast, Aleus naturally became the savior in the eyes of the servants.

"Golia, haven't I told you before? When Father is in a temper, stay far away and go find Mother or a minister."

Aleus slowed his pace and glanced at the Head Maid bowing to him. The bruise on her forehead was clearly caused by being hit with a hard object, and it was fresh—likely sustained less than an hour ago.

"Neglecting one's duty is not permitted."

The Head Maid Golia remained as stubborn as ever, strictly adhering to the maid code said to have been passed down through generations within the Sokachio royal family. Whether that thing was actually passed down through generations, Aleus did not know, but that yellowed maid code definitely had a history of over two hundred years; it was practically an antique.

"Go find a doctor and put some medicine on it! That is an order."

As he spoke, Aleus quickened his pace again and pushed open the closed door of the study.

As the door opened, A cloud of thick white smoke surged out.

"Excessive smoking is bad for your health. You aren't a user of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, so stop ruining your heart and lungs like this." All the windows in the study were opened, and the cold sea breeze poured into the room, quickly dispersing the lingering smoke.

"Ale, you're back."

The man sitting behind the desk coughed twice, extinguished the half-burnt cigar, and looked at Aleus standing by the window. A smile appeared on the face that was seventy or eighty percent similar to Aleus's, and the cold, murderous intent that had been surging just moments ago was pushed back deep into his eyes, leaving only genuine pleasure in his emerald gaze.

As the Sixth King of Ekmondo Kingdom, the thing Sokachio Bovell was most proud of in his life was having a son far more excellent than himself.

"Have there been any changes with the Whitebeard Pirates?"

"The Second Division Captain 'Flower Sword' Vista is likely dying; he is terminally ill. Also, Whitebeard's health is not great. The First Division Commander 'Phoenix' Marco is not on the Moby Dick; I heard he went to look for medicinal herbs. Currently, the ones in charge are the Third Division 'Diamond' Jozu and the Fifth Division Commander Vista..."

This time, Aleus had gone out to the Whitebeard Pirates to pay the protection fee for using their flag.

As a country that had managed to establish a firm foothold in the New World for two hundred years, the Ekmondo Kingdom naturally possessed corresponding strength.

However, There is a saying that has spread widely in the current New World: "The New World is the New World of the Four Emperors." It is unclear where it first originated, but in a very short time, this statement received heartfelt agreement from all the powerful figures in the New World.

It is true!

The so-called New World is the New World of the Four Emperors.

To continue surviving in the New World, one cannot do it without the backing of the Four Emperors. The Ekmondo Kingdom did not fear the harassment of those Great Pirate figures with bounties in the hundreds of millions; the kingdom's army was enough to wipe out these ignorant pirates. However, this did not include the Four Emperors.

Facing the Four Emperors who ruled the New World, the Ekmondo Kingdom had no choice but to lower its proud head and choose one of the Emperors to become a vassal to.

Only by becoming a vassal to one of the Emperors could they significantly reduce the possibility of attacks from other Emperors. After all, in this New World, the only ones who can check the Four Emperors are the Four Emperors themselves; even the behemoth known as the Navy is currently unable to contend with the Four Emperors in the New World.

The four Pirate Emperors.

Whitebeard, Kaido, Red-Haired, Big Mom.

The first to be ruled out was [Big Mom — Charlotte Linlin]. As the only female Pirate Emperor, she had given birth to an entire pirate crew. She only trusted her original partners and her children; other external vassals had no status to speak of. Besides, what if Big Mom took a fancy to someone and wanted to take them as a husband? Wouldn't that be fatal?

Next was [Beasts — Kaido]. This suicide-obsessed maniac who cherished talent, loved recruiting strong individuals, and was obsessed with building an army of Zoan Devil Fruit users was not a bad choice. As long as you were strong enough, you could obtain a corresponding status in the Beasts Pirates.

Unfortunately, when the Ekmondo Kingdom began looking for a protective umbrella, Kaido was still in Wano Country doing who knows what and had not yet ascended to the throne of a Pirate Emperor. At that time, there were only two Pirate Emperors in the New World: Whitebeard and Big Mom. As for Red-Haired, his rise came much later; even if they wanted to choose him, they couldn't.

The final choice was self-evident.

The flag of the Whitebeard Pirates hung high in the port, declaring to the outside world that the Ekmondo Kingdom nominally belonged to Whitebeard's territory.

"Whitebeard is getting old, too!"

Burwell sighed softly. At forty-three, he was in his prime. He had witnessed with his own eyes and heard with his own ears how the "more terrifying than a ghost" Whitebeard had carved a path through the meat grinder of the New World, becoming the first to ascend the throne of the Pirate Emperor, looming over everyone like a towering mountain.

Yet, even such a formidable figure could not ultimately withstand the erosion of time...

"What is this about the Amento Kingdom declaring war? Have the people of the Nebri Family lost their minds?" Aleus dragged an armchair to the desk and sat down, unceremoniously flipping through the scattered documents and letters.

The Amento Kingdom was a neighbor to the Ekmondo Kingdom and one of the territories under the protection of the Whitebeard Pirates' flag. The Nebri Family were the royals of the Amento Kingdom. Although the two nations had always had friction, it had never reached the point of open warfare.

But the Amento Kingdom had done exactly that, unilaterally declaring war and brazenly opening fire on the Ekmondo Kingdom, igniting a conflict between the two nations.

Aleus, who had originally been making his way back at a leisurely pace, had been forced to speed up and rush back.

"It's Umit. He has his eyes on our family's Coffee Plantation."

Burwell spoke bluntly.

"Umit... the Deep Sea Torrent, the King of Maritime Transport?" Aleus looked down at the document in his hand. It was the Amento Kingdom's declaration of war, its wording quite resolute, leaving no room for peace talks or a ceasefire, fully indicating an attitude of fighting to the bitter end. "Looking at this, the people of the Nebri Family must have been controlled by Umit, right?"

"Over a month ago, our informants planted in the Nebri Family stopped sending messages. Before that, the Nebri Family had recruited a new batch of pirates willing to defect. I suspect the problem lies with that group of pirates." Burwell licked his lips, the killing intent swirling in his emerald eyes once more.

Recruiting pirates was nothing unusual in the New World.

The New World was the end of the Grand Line, the destination for all pirates, and likewise, a massive graveyard for countless others. This sea, teeming with powerhouses, could be called a nightmare for those pirates harboring naive fantasies. Countless spirited pirate rookies had their heads bloodied in the New World, their unrealistic dreams ground away by this cold reality.

Many pirates even grew tired of such a life of drifting at sea, but the heavy bounties on their heads made it impossible to return home. They could only find ways to survive in this chaotic land of the New World, so defecting to local powers became the best choice.

As for why they didn't choose the Four Emperors but instead defected to secondary or weaker powers, the reasons were complex. Some did it out of a stubborn insistence on being the head of a chicken rather than the tail of a phoenix, others simply couldn't get close to the Four Emperors, and some did it to repay a debt... and so on.

This time, the Nebri Family had the misfortune of being schemed against by the King of Maritime Transport, Umit.

"The protection money paid to the Whitebeard Pirates is well worth it."

Aleus tossed the declaration of war back onto the desk and remarked thoughtfully.

"The New World is the New World of the Four Emperors... that is no empty phrase. Even the giants of the Underworld must lower their big heads in front of the Four Emperors." Burwell imparted his life wisdom to his eldest son.

"Back then, the Old Man told me to go to the Whitebeard Pirates and spend money to buy their flag. At that time, there were no Four Emperors, only two emperors: Whitebeard and Big Mom. Beast was still in Wano Country... I had just succeeded to the throne not long before, young and arrogant, and wasn't very willing. As a result, the Old Man killed his way back from the Red Line Continent and hung me up for a sound thrashing."

The Old Man referred to Aleus's Grandfather, the former king of the Ekmondo Kingdom. Today, this retired His Majesty the King was alive and kicking, holding a high-ranking position at the World Government headquarters on the Red Line Continent, living quite a carefree life. Not long ago, he had even found Burwell a stepmother who was reportedly under twenty years old.

This matter...

Just thinking about it was uncomfortable. Fortunately, he was on the Red Line Continent. If he were to return to Arabica, heaven knows what would happen. In any case, Aleus absolutely could not bring himself to call a woman younger than him "grandmother."

Burwell seemed to recall this vexing matter as well, his expression darkening slightly as he quickly ended the topic. "Well, anyway, remember this: spending money to buy the Whitebeard Pirates' flag is never a loss. As long as Whitebeard does not fall, no matter how much it costs, we must continue to fly that flag."

Umit, as a giant of the Underworld known as the King of Maritime Transport, had set his sights on the foundation of the Ekmondo Kingdom. He hadn't directly declared war on the Ekmondo Kingdom, but instead used the Amento Kingdom to take the lead. The reason he went to such great lengths was entirely because of that Whitebeard pirate flag.

Umit dared not attack the Ekmondo Kingdom directly.

Because that would be a provocation against the Whitebeard Pirates.

The consequences would be something Umit could never bear. Even though he had extensive connections and powerful influence in the New World, and was even a guest of Big Mom, one of the Four Emperors, all of that combined could not withstand the pressure from the "World's Strongest Man."

Fortunately, while problems were static, solutions were dynamic. As long as one's thinking didn't stagnate, there would always be more solutions than problems.

After some careful calculation by the King of Maritime Transport, the Amento Kingdom—also protected by Whitebeard's flag—had declared war on the Ekmondo Kingdom, hadn't it?

This was an internal struggle among forces under Whitebeard. As long as there was no clear evidence of third-party manipulation, the Whitebeard Pirates would not manage such conflicts. Regardless of who won or lost, the protection money that had to be paid could not be reduced.

Even if Umit successfully usurped the Ekmondo Kingdom, he would never reduce the protection money given to the Whitebeard Pirates; he might even proactively increase it.

"Ahem, let's get back to business."

Burwell cleared his throat and continued: "Umit has his eyes on our family's coffee plantation this time, and he dares to risk offending the Whitebeard Pirates to control the Amento Kingdom. There is bound to be a hard battle to fight, Aleus!"

Burwell looked at his eldest son, whom he was so proud of.

"Relinquish your post as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs! Become the Deputy Minister of the Navy. You will preside over this war."