Fifth Ruler of the New World!

After the BIG Pirates sent Aleus back to Saiboy Island, they sailed home to Totland. The matter of an alliance was temporarily shelved. This had been nothing more than one-sided enthusiasm—BIG was desperately eager to win over Aleus, who currently had no conflict of interests with her, as an ally to help her fulfill her dream of dominating the New World and claiming the crown of Pirate King.

In contrast to BIG's eagerness, Aleus remained completely unmoved.

In his view, an alliance with BIG had more drawbacks than benefits at the moment. It would only pull him away from the World Government's camp, make him an enemy of the Navy, and force him to bear pressure from the other three of the Four Emperors. All he would gain was a certain degree of support from the BIG Pirates, plus an empty promise about dividing the New World equally in the future—something only a fool would believe.

The risks and rewards

were completely out of balance.

A losing deal like that couldn't be made up for just because BIG shoved a few of her daughters at him.

Besides, the waters of the New World

ran deep

and murky.

There was the Elbaf Giant Kingdom, hailed as the world's strongest nation yet seldom heard from; the elusive Revolutionary Army, regarded by the World Government as its foremost enemy; and Zou, the dreamlike nation said to be home to the rare and precious Mink Tribe... Too many poorly understood monsters lurked beneath the waters of the New World.

Whether organizations or individuals, there were simply too many monsters!

Even Gol D. Roger, at the height of his power, had not dared claim invincibility in the New World. If fate had not intervened in the Battle of East Blue, the Roger Pirates would have been driven to the end of the road by the Flying Pirates at their peak.

But in truth, Gol D. Roger had fate on his side. He survived a hopeless situation, and a sudden storm forcefully defeated the Flying Pirates, who had held the upper hand. Golden Lion, who had dominated the New World, was caught utterly off guard and thrown from his throne by the might of nature.

There were far too many uncertain possibilities upon these seas.

Ahem, that was beside the point.

In any case, judging from the current situation, he had no intention whatsoever of getting involved with the BIG Pirates. Taking over and properly managing the Shipping Network Umit had left behind, while securing the Shichibukai title to safeguard that network and strengthen his own power and influence—that was what he needed to do next.

And once a plan had been decided upon, it had to be carried out.

Changing one's mind at every turn would only make a mess of everything.

"Dominate the New World? What nonsense!"

Aleus stood atop the ruined docks, watching the enormous Fleet of the BIG Pirates sail away into the distance. He muttered to himself, "Even if I really wanted to dominate the New World, couldn't I just do it myself? Why would I need to ally with an old woman? Don't you think so, Fran?"

The docks

had long since been wrecked beyond recognition by the earlier battle.

Unable to find a single flat spot to land on, the young maid had no choice but to brutally flatten the nearby ruins first. Only then did she leisurely flutter her wings and descend from the sky. Her pure white bloomers flashed through Aleus's Field of vision, followed by crimson hair sweeping across his cheek in the sea breeze.

"His Highness, congratulations!"

Once Fran had landed steadily, she dismissed the wings behind her. Then, lifting the hem of her black-and-white skirt, she gave Aleus a solemn and formal congratulatory bow.

"You fought BIG for three days and two nights without a victor being decided."

"His Highness, your name has already spread throughout the New World!"

Her crimson eyes brimmed with proud exhilaration, and she could barely contain her excitement.

"Everyone already knows? As expected of the New World."

Aleus was not particularly surprised.

The New World was just that kind of magical place.

It was mysterious, of course. Many sea regions remained shrouded in mist even now, and the areas where humans were active made up only a portion of the true New World. Laugh Tale, where the great treasure of the Pirate King was hidden, lay somewhere within those vast, mysterious waters.

Yet the New World was also a place where nothing could ever be kept secret. No matter how slight the disturbance, news of it always spread at the first opportunity.

"His Highness, Eschbach, Casper, Dillon, and Dick have all sent word. Umit's remaining forces have been completely purged, and many of those who previously refused to cooperate have submitted letters of allegiance. Umit's Shipping Network is now entirely under our control."

Fran continued speaking, bringing Aleus an undeniably excellent piece of news.

But before Aleus could enjoy that good news for any longer, she delivered another message that left him somewhat puzzled.

"Oh, and one more thing. His Majesty the King asked me to pass something on to you. A group of Navy soldiers landed on Bikahi Island yesterday evening and entered the Royal Palace to meet with His Majesty the King. They said they had come under orders from the Fleet Admiral and needed to make preparations in advance to ensure the escort of this year's Heavenly Tribute. However, His Majesty the King believes that this group of Navy soldiers actually came for you, His Highness."

"The Navy?"

Aleus froze.

The New World had not heard much from the Navy in a long time. In this vast New World, only the two bases, G1 and G5, maintained the Navy's last shred of dignity. No matter how chaotic things became in the New World, the Seagull Flag was nowhere to be seen.

Only when the time came each year to escort the Heavenly Tribute from the World Government's member nations throughout the New World would Navy warships appear in one sea region after another.

And it was not yet time to hand over the Heavenly Tribute.

"They arrived at Bikahi Island yesterday evening, which means they must have set out a long time ago. Fran, did Father tell you who the Navy sent?"

"It was Vice Admiral Garp, known as the Navy Hero."

Fran subconsciously swallowed when she spoke that name.

In the New World, even children of five or six knew of Vice Admiral Garp, the Iron Fist who had repeatedly driven the Pirate King into life-or-death situations. This was the Navy officer who appeared most often in stories about the Pirate King, and many plays and novels about the Pirate King portrayed Vice Admiral Garp as Gol D. Roger's lifelong nemesis.

This Navy Hero, He really was a true celebrity!

Even the combined fame of the current three Admirals did not surpass Vice Admiral Garp's.

"Vice Admiral Garp?"

Aleus's brows knotted tightly.

He did not doubt the assessment his father had relayed. The Heavenly Tribute was merely an excuse; these Marines had come for him. But the problem was that he could not understand what the Marines intended to do. Judging by the timing, their actions should not have been prompted by his three-day-and-two-night battle with Big Mom, which had ended without a victor.

But other than that, he truly could not think of anything else about himself that might attract the Marines' attention.

"Fran, did Father say anything else?"

"His Majesty the King said that he has not yet figured out the Marines' intentions either. Therefore, Your Highness may do whatever you wish—whether to return to the kingdom immediately or continue your activities outside... You are to make the decision yourself."

Fran meticulously relayed the opinion of Sokachio Bovell, the Sixth King of the Ekmondo Kingdom.

Hearing Fran's report, Aleus fell into thought.

However, lacking information, no matter how hard he racked his brains, he could not figure out what the Marines were after. "Other than Father, did anyone else send word?" Aleus asked pointedly.

"Former King Worlek sent no message."

Fran shook her head.

Nothing at all... So this was a Marine operation, not the World Government's intention?

Things had become interesting!

Aleus narrowed his eyes.

Should he make contact with the Marines now? Or perhaps...

"...Fran."

"Your Highness."

"Prepare the ship. We're going to ask another of the Four Emperors a few questions."

"Eh!?"

New World, Ekmondo Kingdom.

Bikahi Island.

This was Arabica, the kingdom's capital—a beautiful city renowned as the City of Coffee.

"Coffee really is wonderful!"

"It is the City of Coffee, after all... Damn it, it's so cheap here too. The last time I went to the Sabaody Archipelago, coffee from the same brand cost five times as much. Those damned profiteers are truly hateful!!"

"You actually went to the Sabaody Archipelago just to drink coffee? Hina is shocked!"

"Shut up! It was all that idiot D Tashqi's fault!"

"Oh, little Tashqi! Why didn't she come with you this time? Doesn't that girl usually stick to your side? What, could it be that little Tashqi finally couldn't stand the smell of smoke on you anymore? Did she dump you, you big smoker?"

"Huh? What stupid nonsense are you talking about? Is a hellhole like the New World somewhere that idiot girl can come to right now?"

Inside a small, exquisite café on the corner of Worlek Street, a casually dressed man and woman were enjoying the peacefulness of afternoon tea. They were Smoker and Hina, two young and promising majors from Navy Headquarters with bright futures ahead of them.

They had followed Vice Admiral Garp to the New World and finally arrived safely at the destination of their mission yesterday evening.

It was Arabica beneath their feet, the capital of the Ekmondo Kingdom.

However, they had not met the central figure of this mission: His Highness Sokachio Aleus, the kingdom's heir apparent known as the Black Prince. They could not even determine when Prince Aleus would end his wandering life outside.

With no other choice, they could only remain in the city for the time being and wait for Aleus to return.

Today, with nothing better to do, Hina had forcibly dragged Smoker out shopping with her.

"Smoker, Hina thought you didn't know how to care for your subordinates! Isn't this nice? If you could treat others at Headquarters as gently as you treat little Tashqi, people wouldn't think of you as a mad dog."

"Hmph! Who has the patience to waste words on those bureaucratic lords?"

Smoker neither agreed nor disagreed, paying no attention whatsoever to Hina's words.

"Tch! Serves a guy like you right for being treated like a mad dog." Her good intentions had gone to waste, making Hina's eye twitch with anger. She shot him a furious glare, her vicious gaze practically trying to bore several holes through Smoker's body.

Unfortunately, it was utterly useless against Smoker, whose mind was filled with "major events."

"Hey, hey, did you hear about Prince Aleus?"

"You mean the Battle of Saiboy Island? How could I not? The girls at our company have been talking about it all day! They say he fought one of the Four Emperors, Big Mom, for three days and two nights without a winner. Is that really true?"

"It should be true, right? The World Economic News Paper has never reported fake news before... probably?"

"But Prince Aleus in the paper is seriously so handsome! I really want to become a maid at the Royal Palace so I can see His Highness Aleus every day!"

"What a nice dream. How many maids do you think the Royal Palace has? Why would it ever be your turn, you 'old' woman, to get close to His Highness Aleus?"

"Ah! You're so mean! I was just thinking about it! Besides, I'm only twenty-four this year. How am I old?"

At the neighboring table sat four young women, enthusiastically discussing the hottest topic of the day.

Smoker heard every word of their playful banter. However, his mind automatically filtered out the irrelevant nonsense, retaining only what he considered to be of some reference value. After listening for a while, he suddenly asked, "Hina, how credible do you think this is?"

"One hundred percent."

Hina answered instantly.

After answering, she set down her coffee cup and looked up at Smoker, whose brow seemed permanently furrowed. "Smoker, what are you overthinking now? Don't forget, Vice Admiral Garp is leading the team this time. If you dare to mess around, Vice Admiral Garp's fists aren't easy to take."

"...I'm just thinking that this Prince Aleus is far too young."

Smoker defended himself.

"So what? They say Big Mom could beat Giant Race warriors to death with her bare hands when she was five or six!"

"Hina, you're just arguing for the sake of it!"

Smoker was so irritated that the veins at his temples throbbed.

"I'm reining you in. The Ekmondo Kingdom is a member nation of the World Government. Even if we're... Marines." When she said "Marines," Hina lowered her voice. They were merely out for a stroll, so there was no need to deliberately advertise that they were Marines.

"We have no right to interfere in the Ekmondo Kingdom's political affairs. All we can do is wait, and all we should do is wait. Don't think about doing anything unnecessary."

As friends from the same generation, Hina knew very well how capable Smoker was of stirring up trouble.

If left unchecked, this guy might just punch a hole in the sky.

"The Fifth Ruler of the New World?"

Smoker picked up the newspaper by his hand and resumed reading the World Economic News Paper he had bought that morning. The moment he opened it, he saw the enlarged photograph on the front page, along with the massive bolded headline.

Rise!!!

The Fifth Ruler of the New World!

The headline was as blunt and simple as could be, but that very blunt simplicity conveyed exactly what it intended to say.

"A twenty-year-old ruler... I really don't know what kind of monster he is!"

As Smoker spoke, his gaze lingered for a long time on the enlarged full-body photograph on the newspaper's front page.