The great battle continued.
Lin Ye's Two Types of Haki surpassed Kaido's, but with Kaido's physique, combat experience, and Mythical Zoan ability, their battle clearly would not end anytime soon.
Everyone in Wano Country felt the ground tremble repeatedly. They had no idea what was happening, and fear gripped them.
The people of the Flower Capital had already been terrified by the battle in the square. Now, the distant explosions in the air and the violent shaking of the ground plunged them into terror once more.
Outside the Flower Capital, before a small mound of earth, a burly pink-haired man pulled out a blade, glanced in the direction of Ringo, and plunged the blade into his own stomach.
By the coast, Thriller Bark remained fairly sturdy and had not been destroyed by the aftershocks of Lin Ye and Kaido's battle.
Shadows clung to the ship's hull. Moria's entire face twisted in terror as he looked back, then directly used his shadows to control the entire ship, turning it around and fleeing.
Monsters. These were the true Monsters of the New World.
He had fought Kaido for a while before, but now Moria understood completely.
Kaido had not been serious at all back then—or rather, he had never regarded Moria as a real opponent.
And there was that little monster, Lin Ye.
Moria looked back and could still see the thunderclouds above Ringo, as well as the dark violet lightning flashing beneath them with every deafening boom.
Terrifying Conqueror's Haki erupted without pause.
Leave this place. Leave this place.
Fear flashed through Moria's eyes. He turned back and did not dare look again.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford, which had only recently finished repairs.
A year ago, King of the Pirates Roger had been captured. Shiki had attacked Marine Headquarters alone, destroying half of it before being captured through the combined efforts of Sengoku and Garp.
Shiki's ability had still caused enormous destruction to Marine Headquarters.
In that battle, Shiki's ability had inflicted tremendous casualties on the Marines.
However, because Shiki's ability was too dangerous, it was better to throw him into Impel Down than execute him and let his Devil Fruit reincarnate elsewhere.
This was how the World Government and the Marines dealt with dangerous Devil Fruit Users.
That was also why Impel Down held so many powerful pirates.
Kong, the former Fleet Admiral, had stepped down after earning the merit of capturing Roger and gone to serve in the World Government. Sengoku, meanwhile, had been promoted to Fleet Admiral for capturing Shiki and Roger.
Still, becoming Fleet Admiral now was hardly a good time.
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office, Sengoku looked at the enormous stack of reports before him, exhaustion flashing across his face. But when he heard the crunching beside him, the veins on his forehead bulged.
"You bastard, can't you eat in your own office?"
Sengoku glared furiously at Garp.
"I ran out, so I came here!"
Garp stuffed a handful of rice crackers into his mouth and chuckled.
Sengoku was even more speechless.
"If you have nothing to do, get out there and patrol more. There are too many pirates now."
Sengoku looked utterly helpless.
Both the Marines and the World Government had underestimated the impact of Roger's shout.
Over the past year, the number of pirates putting to sea had increased dozens of times over compared to the previous year—and that was only counting the pirates they had discovered.
The sea was so vast that there were certainly many who had slipped through the net.
Thinking about it that way, the actual number of pirates going to sea was probably a hundred times greater than the year before.
The entire Four Blues and Grand Line were nearly in complete chaos.
The situation that had barely been maintained before was now on the verge of collapse. Even emergency recruitment had achieved little; the Marines could not possibly recruit a hundred times more soldiers.
The World Government would not allow it.
"What's the point? Catching a few small fry won't do much."
Garp spread his hands, looking somewhat amused by Sengoku's misfortune.
"You bastard, how about getting promoted to Admiral?"
Sengoku's eyes shifted, finally revealing his true intention.
Although Garp had repeatedly refused promotion to Admiral, the prestige he had gained from capturing Roger and Shiki, together with the Marines' publicity, meant his reputation was no weaker than an Admiral's. It even faintly rivaled that of a Fleet Admiral.
"The Celestial Dragons won't agree, and neither will I."
Garp shook his head at those words.
"You can't just collect a salary without doing any work, can you?"
Sengoku looked at Garp.
"Fine, fine. I'll go take a look around."
"Wait!"
Seeing Garp rise to leave, Sengoku immediately called out to him.
"What do you think of the Seven Warlords Plan?"
To deal with the growing number of pirates, relying on the Marines alone was unrealistic. Their numbers could not increase drastically, and the World Government would not bear the expense.
The Seven Warlords Plan had been proposed by the World Government to deal with the increasing number of pirates.
They would select suitable powerful pirates and recruit them as Shichibukai, using pirates to restrain pirates.
"Since when did the Marines need to cooperate with pirates?"
Garp halted and turned, his eyes fixed on Sengoku.
Sengoku's expression stiffened as he watched Garp leave.
How could he be willing either? But this method could indeed solve some problems.
Yet legal plunder would damage the Marines' reputation.
That was why he could not make up his mind.
"Brrring, brrring!"
Sengoku's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a Transponder Snail. He picked it up.
"This is Sengoku!"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
The Transponder Snail's face turned into a square-faced man's. He looked extremely serious.
"Gecko Moria, who has gained tremendous fame in the New World over the past year, has entered Wano Country with his ship."
"Hm? Isn't Kaido in Wano Country right now?"
Sengoku paused and asked in surprise.
"Yes, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Our warship is monitoring the outskirts of Wano Country. A major battle is currently erupting there."
Sengoku's expression immediately became extremely grave.
Wano Country was not a member nation of the World Government. It was highly isolated and had little contact with the outside world, but it produced Seastone, so Sengoku knew a fair amount about it.
Kaido had occupied Wano Country for several years already.
Now Gecko Moria had actually gone to Wano Country and started a battle with Kaido?
"Can you investigate the details?"
Sengoku's heart stirred.
Gecko Moria was also one of the candidates in the Seven Warlords Plan.
Over the past year, Gecko Moria's pirate crew had gained enormous fame. They had clashed with pirate crews large and small dozens of times, and each time they slaughtered their opponents to the last man.
Such ruthless methods would make him well-suited to intimidating certain pirates if he became a Shichibukai.
Moreover, Akainu seemed to greatly appreciate Moria's conduct and had said that if he encountered Moria, he would give him a quick death.
"Uh, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, we have no base in Wano Country. And our previous orders were to avoid conflict with Kaido, so we did not station anyone there."
Sengoku nodded lightly.
Still, he felt that the World Government should have agents hidden in Wano Country.
After all, it was a source of Seastone.
The World Government could not possibly fail to keep people watching it.
But could Moria really pose a threat to Kaido?
Before you continue