The news that the Flying Pirates had steamrolled the Marine G5 Branch could not be kept secret.
Reports from all the major news agencies flew everywhere. Across the Four Seas, Paradise, the New World, and the vast ocean, wherever people lived, a News Coo delivered the latest newspapers.
In just half a day, news of the G5 Branch incident had spread throughout the world.
New World, somewhere at sea.
A massive pirate ship with the shape of a whale's head at its bow sat motionless in the middle of the ocean, like a mountain.
The Moby Dick, the flagship of the Great Pirate Edward Newgate, Whitebeard.
Whitebeard and Golden Lion were evenly matched in strength.
The reason the Whitebeard Pirates had voluntarily withdrawn during their previous island battle with the Flying Pirates came down to two main factors.
First, the Flying Pirates had a huge number of people and tremendous influence. If they fought to the bitter end, both sides would only suffer heavy losses.
The second—and most important—reason was that Golden Lion could afford not to care about the lives of his subordinates, while Whitebeard could not ignore the lives of his adopted sons.
If Golden Lion lost one subordinate, he could recruit ten more!
But to Whitebeard, every son he lost was family.
Whitebeard had been unwilling to fight Golden Lion to the death, which was why he had chosen to give way.
"Pops, look at what these damn reports are saying! They actually claim that we lost to the Flying Pirates!"
"They even say that you're no match for Golden Lion, Pops!"
Marco and the captains of the Whitebeard Pirates' divisions gathered around angrily.
They were not angry that Whitebeard had backed down. The newspaper reports were simply infuriating. They actually claimed that their Pops was inferior to Golden Lion!
Marco held the latest newspaper in his hand. His fingers tightened sharply, as though crushing the paper would let him crush the reporter to death as well.
"Gurararara!"
Whitebeard merely laughed it off and said boldly,
"Mouths belong to other people. Let them say whatever they want. It's not like we'll lose a piece of flesh over it."
He was Whitebeard! Did Whitebeard care about such empty reputations?
Seeing his family live happily was what made him happiest of all!
"Pops, sigh..."
Marco sighed. Everyone understood Pops Whitebeard very well. How could he make them risk their lives over such a hollow reputation?
Wasn't it precisely because they respected Pops Whitebeard that they had joined the Whitebeard Pirates?
"Pops, perhaps you should take a look at this."
Jozu turned the newspaper over, revealing the report on the other side.
Whitebeard paused halfway through taking a drink and narrowed his eyes as he looked over.
The Flying Pirates had attacked the Marine G5 Branch. Not a single person had survived, including the civilians on the island.
The enormous floating island had fallen and crushed the entire G5 Branch.
The horrific scene in the photograph alone was enough to make one's heart race. It was easy to imagine how terrifying the scene itself had been.
"Golden Lion should just change his name to Mad Dog. He's actually going to fight the Marines to the bitter end!"
Whitebeard was not only powerful; he also had a sharp mind.
He saw through the implications behind the report at a glance. Although the overall strength of the pirates across the sea far surpassed that of the Marines, the pirates had countless Pirate Crews, while the Marines had only one!
There was no doubt that the true hegemon of the sea was the Marines!
Did Golden Lion think that his previous voluntary retreat meant he had defeated the Whitebeard Pirates? That it made him the strongest king of the sea?
And so he had openly provoked the Marines, even directly destroying the Marine G5 Branch?!
"Pops, the Marines probably won't let this go, will they?"
Marco hesitated. He had originally wanted to ask whether they should do something.
There was nothing to say about pirates fighting Marines. It was either your death or mine. But there had been so many civilians on the island, and a floating island had simply fallen and crushed them all to death.
In the eyes of everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates, Golden Lion had crossed the line.
In truth, Golden Lion and the Flying Pirates were pirates in the truest sense of the word.
Pillage. Slaughter.
Most of the Pirate Crews on the sea were like the Flying Pirates.
A Pirate Crew like the Whitebeard Pirates, which only cared about living happily as a family and never attacked civilians, was the rare exception.
"It'll be difficult for the Marines to capture Golden Lion, but a major battle is unavoidable."
Golden Lion's ability was far too troublesome. Once he wanted to leave, no one could stop him.
Unless the Marine fleet could take to the skies!
"Then should we do something?" Jozu asked directly.
"We don't need to do anything."
The Whitebeard Pirates had just fought the Flying Pirates, so they naturally could not go help Golden Lion. Helping the Marines was even more out of the question.
With Whitebeard's character, he would also disdain waiting until both sides had suffered heavy losses before taking advantage of the situation.
New World, on an island famous for its desserts.
The Charlotte Family had occupied the island and was resting when a News Coo flapped down from the sky.
The latest newspaper fell into the hands of the Big Mom Pirates.
"Mom, something huge has happened!"
"Wonderful! Golden Lion is fighting the Marines. Doesn't that mean we have a chance to seize that Cake Island under Golden Lion's control?"
Charlotte Linlin's thoughts were indeed different from ordinary people's. She loved desserts and would do anything insane for them.
Even if it meant provoking a monster on Golden Lion's level.
The children of the Charlotte Family all appeared remarkably calm. Clearly, they had long since grown used to things like this.
Mom had coveted the Cake Island under Golden Lion's command for a long time.
New World, atop a Sky Island.
A massive figure resembling a demon stood above the clouds, his icy eyes gazing down at the sea below.
Then he plunged headfirst.
Kaido, still alone, continued traveling farther and farther down the road of suicide—and growing stronger all the while.
The Marine G5 Branch incident swept across the entire world like a gigantic tsunami.
Everyone was waiting to see how Marine Headquarters would respond. Almost no one doubted that the Marines would let the matter pass just like that.
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 raging outside became, the rear mountain of the Naval Academy remained unusually peaceful. During this period, Zephyr had been giving Morito private lessons every day.
Morito maintained a life of three fixed points.
Dormitory, cafeteria, rear mountain.
From sunrise to sunset, the forest in the rear mountain of the Naval Academy was always filled with two figures, one large and one small, constantly colliding and separating.
Fist against flesh, each impact exploding in the ears.
Day after day, Zephyr's strength grew heavier, while Morito's Two-Color Haki steadily improved, and his Chakra became abundant and robust.
He had not taken those beatings for nothing.
In Zephyr's eyes, although Morito still looked more beautiful than a woman, his skin had gained a touch of healthy wheat-colored warmth, while his sturdier body radiated even more masculine vigor.
To Morito, Zephyr's fists seemed to hurt a little less than before.
Time flew, and the years passed.
A month went by like this. At last, Marine Headquarters had completed all its preparations and finally decided to move against the Flying Pirates.
A month might seem like a long time, but in reality, it was not.
Launching a large-scale war required many preparations, the most important of which was strategic supplies.
After that came the gathering of combat forces, reconnaissance of the enemy, the formulation of tactics, the deployment of troops, and more—all of which required time.
On this day, even the preparatory camp and Elite Class of the Naval Academy received battlefield assignments!
Before you continue