The Calm Before the Storm

The news that the Golden Lion's Flying Pirates had steamrolled Marine G5 Branch couldn't be contained.

Reports from major news agencies were flying everywhere. From the four seas, to Paradise, to the New World, wherever there were people across the vast ocean, a news bird would deliver the latest newspaper.

In just half a day, the G5 Branch incident had spread throughout the world.

New World, somewhere in the ocean.

A pirate ship with a giant whale's head for a bow floated motionless in the center of the sea, like a mountain.

This was the Moby Dick, the main ship of the great pirate Whitebeard, Edward Newgate.

Whitebeard and the Golden Lion were evenly matched in strength.

The reason the Whitebeard Pirates had voluntarily retreated from the island contention with the Flying Pirates earlier was twofold.

First, the Flying Pirates had a large number of members and a vast influence. A direct confrontation would only result in mutual destruction.

The second, and most important, reason was that the Golden Lion didn't care about the lives of his subordinates, but Whitebeard couldn't ignore the lives of his adopted sons.

If the Golden Lion lost one subordinate, he could recruit ten more!

But for Whitebeard, losing one son meant losing a family member.

Whitebeard didn't want to go all out against the Golden Lion, which was why he chose to withdraw.

"Old Father, look at what these damn reports are saying! They're saying we lost to the Flying Pirates!"

"And that you're no match for the Golden Lion!"

Marco and a group of Whitebeard Pirates' division commanders gathered around, fuming.

They weren't angry about Whitebeard's retreat, but the newspaper reports were infuriating, claiming their Old Father was inferior to the Golden Lion!

Marco held a latest newspaper, his fingers tightening as if crushing the paper would kill the person who wrote the report.

"Gurara!"

Whitebeard chuckled indifferently, saying heartily.

"People have mouths, let them say whatever they want. Does it cost us anything?"

He was Whitebeard! Did Whitebeard care about such empty fame?

Living happily with his family was all that made him happy!

"Old Father, sigh..."

Marco sighed. Everyone understood Whitebeard very well. How could Whitebeard risk them for such trivial fame?

Didn't they all join the Whitebeard Pirates out of respect for him?

"Old Father, perhaps you should look at this."

Jozu, standing nearby, flipped the newspaper and revealed another news report on the other side.

Whitebeard paused his drinking and squinted to look.

The Flying Pirates had attacked Marine G5 Branch. No one was spared, including the civilians on the island.

A massive floating island had fallen, crushing the entire G5 Branch.

The gruesome scene in the picture was chilling; one could only imagine how terrifying the actual scene must have been.

"The Golden Lion should change his name to 'Old Mad Dog.' This is provoking a fight to the death with the Marines!"

Whitebeard was not only powerful but also intelligent.

He saw through the implications of the report almost immediately. Although the overall strength of pirates on this sea far surpassed that of the Marines, there were countless pirate crews, but only one Marine force!

Without a doubt, the true overlord of this sea was the Marines!

Did the Golden Lion think his earlier voluntary retreat meant he had defeated the Whitebeard Pirates? And that he had become the strongest on this sea?

And so, he openly provoked the Marines, even directly destroying Marine G5 Branch?!

"Old Father, the Marines probably won't let this go, will they?"

Marco hesitated. He had wanted to ask if they should do something.

There was nothing to say about pirates fighting Marines; it was either you die or I die. But with so many civilians on the island, they had all been crushed by a falling floating island.

To the members of the Whitebeard Pirates, the Golden Lion had crossed the line.

In reality, the Golden Lion and the Flying Pirates were pirates in the truest sense.

Looting, killing.

Most pirate crews on the sea were like the Flying Pirates.

Pirate crews like the Whitebeard Pirates, who only cared about living happily among themselves and didn't attack civilians, were the rare exceptions.

"It will be difficult for the Marines to capture the Golden Lion, but a major war is inevitable."

The Golden Lion's abilities were too elusive; no one could stop him if he wanted to leave.

Unless the Marine fleet can fly!

"So, what are we going to do?" Jozu asked directly.

"We don't have to do anything."

The Whitebeard Pirates had just fought the Flying Pirates, so there was no way they would help the Golden Lion, and helping the Marines was even less likely.

Given Whitebeard's character, he disdained waiting for both sides to be weakened before striking.

The New World, an island famous for its desserts.

The Charlotte Family had occupied the island and were resting when a news bird flapped its wings down from the sky.

The latest newspaper fell into the hands of the Big Mom Pirates.

"Mom, something big has happened!"

"That's great! If the Golden Lion and the Marines are fighting, doesn't that mean we have a chance to seize the cake island under the Golden Lion?"

Charlotte Linlin's train of thought was indeed unique; she loved desserts and would do anything crazy for them.

Even if it meant provoking a monster like the Golden Lion.

The Charlotte Family's children appeared very calm, clearly used to such situations.

Mom had been eyeing the cake island under the Golden Lion for a long time.

The New World, a sky island.

A colossal figure, like a demon god, stood among the clouds, his cold eyes overlooking the sea below.

Then, he plunged downwards.

Kaido, alone, continued further down the path of suicide, growing stronger with each step.

The incident at the Marine G5 Branch swept across the entire world like a massive tsunami.

Everyone was waiting to see how Marine Headquarters would react; almost no one doubted that the Marines would let it go.

Even if the Marines agreed, the World Government would not.

A battle between Marine Headquarters and the Flying Pirates was unavoidable.

No matter how fierce the storm raged outside, the back mountain of the Naval Academy remained exceptionally calm. During this time, Zephyr had been giving Morito private lessons every day.

Morito maintained a strict routine:

Dormitory, cafeteria, back mountain.

From sunrise to sunset, two figures, one large and one small, could always be seen in the forests of the Naval Academy's back mountain, constantly clashing.

Fists met flesh, sounds boomed.

Day after day, Zephyr's strength increased, Morito's two types of Haki steadily improved, and his Chakra became abundant and powerful.

The fighting wasn't in vain.

In Zephyr's eyes, although Morito was still prettier than a woman, his skin had gained a healthy tan, and his strengthened body exuded more masculine vigor.

In Morito's experience, Zephyr's punches didn't seem as painful anymore.

Time flew by, and seasons changed.

After a month passed in this manner, Marine Headquarters had completed all preparations and finally decided to make a move against the Flying Pirates.

A month seemed long, but in reality, it wasn't.

Launching a large-scale war required extensive preparation, with strategic supplies being the most crucial.

Secondly, troop mobilization, enemy reconnaissance, tactical planning, and troop deployment all took time.

On this day, both the reserve camp and the Elite Class of the Naval Academy received battlefield assignments!