The Rising Sea Beast, the Birth of the Mother Seed!

Tsugikuni Yoriichi did not immediately grasp what Tensei meant, but upon hearing that a strange illness had broken out on Craft Island, his first thought was that some unknown enemy had invaded.

As the New Marines purged pirates throughout the New World, the islands under their control had scarcely known a moment of peace.

The pirates seemed to have formed a pirate alliance. To resist the formidable New Marines, countless pirates had joined forces and begun launching organized attacks on several of the New Marines' important islands.

Migo Town, the New Marines' largest food-producing region, had suffered more than a dozen pirate attacks in recent times. However, things improved considerably after the New Marines sent Virgo there to stand guard.

The New Marines' middle generation had matured at an astonishing pace. Someone Virgo's age was now fully capable of holding his own. He was exceptionally gifted in Armament Haki and could now coat his entire body in it during battle, with considerable strength to boot.

Ordinary pirates were no match for him at all.

The headquarters had likewise dispatched powerful personnel to guard several other key New Marine strongholds.

Although the New Marines had done an excellent job with their defenses, no plan was flawless. Tsugikuni Yoriichi did not believe their defenses could withstand every method the pirates had at their disposal.

"Whether an ability user is involved, we have no way of confirming that for now."

"What we do know is that the illness that broke out on Craft Island is highly contagious."

"Although we dispatched medical teams to contain the further spread of the epidemic, the results have been minimal."

"The most troublesome part is not the illness's contagiousness itself, but the fact that those infected become extremely aggressive."

"They are asking whether they may be permitted to