The Most Tragic Shichibukai in History Was Born

Marineford.

That was Marine Headquarters.

The Fleet Admiral, the three Admirals, and numerous Vice Admirals—it could be said that the Navy's top brass was gathered there.

As the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' Seventeenth Division, as a pirate himself,

rashly barging into Marineford—

what kind of upheaval it would cause, Lin Yan did not know.

But he could figure it out with his toes.

It would surely stir up monstrous waves across the seas!

However,

Lin Yan liked taking on difficult challenges.

"Boss lady, how much for the information?"

Lin Yan looked at Shakky and asked.

"Talking about money hurts our feelings. I already gave you information for free once before, so what's one more time?"

Shakky said to Lin Yan.

"Boss lady, you're really generous."

"I'll come by often from now on."

With that, Lin Yan left the Rip-off Bar.

Listening to Lin Yan's words,

Shakky covered her forehead with one hand.

You'd better not come back!

Meanwhile,

Marineford.

As Marine Headquarters, troops were firmly stationed there, and its defenses were extremely tight.

There were watchtowers between every post.

Once any disturbance occurred,

the watchtowers would immediately relay the information to every division.

The Navy would instantly enter a state of alert.

Lin Yan swept his gaze over the area.

Then he nodded. After all, this was the Navy's most important base; its defenses truly were exceptionally rigorous.

However,

even so,

it could not stump Lin Yan.

Very soon,

he landed on Marineford.

Marineford appeared to be an important island under Navy control.

But in reality,

the island was made up of Navy forces and civilian towns.

It was half military base and half residential area.

That was Marineford's current state.

After entering the residential district,

Lin Yan made inquiries in several places.

Under normal circumstances,

finding Whitebeard Jr. would have been like searching for a needle in the ocean.

But don't forget,

because Whitebeard Jr. had recently become one of the candidates for the Shichibukai,

he had grown very close to the Navy.

He had even settled directly in Marineford.

In order to obtain the title of Shichibukai,

Whitebeard Jr. had gone to great lengths.

As a result,

Lin Yan found Whitebeard Jr.'s temporary residence with remarkable ease!

Many people said Whitebeard Jr. was Whitebeard's biological son.

Even his name and surname

carried the "Edward" prefix.

To verify this matter,

Lin Yan had specifically contacted Whitebeard through a Den Den Mushi.

He questioned him carefully about it.

Yet the answer he received was—

Whitebeard had no biological son at all!

Hearing that,

Lin Yan knew what to do!

As for Whitebeard Jr.,

after a long wait,

Mary Geoise had finalized the selection.

With his formidable strength, Whitebeard Jr. naturally became the new Shichibukai.

What needed to be done next was

for the Navy to release the news, announce it to the seas, and declare that the new Shichibukai would be Whitebeard Jr., Edward Weevil, and so on.

However,

just as everything was proceeding as planned,

terrible news

rang out across Marineford overnight.

Whitebeard Jr...

was dead!!!

That night, the moon was dark and the wind was high.

As Whitebeard Jr. immersed himself in the joy of becoming the new Shichibukai,

he had no idea

that danger

was slowly drawing near.

On the street,

there was no one around. It was desolate and bleak.

The bells of the chapel echoed through the air, announcing the arrival of midnight beneath the crescent moon!

"Are you Edward Weevil?"

Lin Yan slowly walked up beside Whitebeard Jr. and asked.

Before him

stood a fat-bodied man with snot running from his nose and vacant eyes, looking like a child with an intellectual disability.

Other than his curved mustache,

there was absolutely nothing about him that resembled Whitebeard!

"I am. Who are you?"

Edward Weevil was full of confusion.

"That's all I needed to know!"

At that moment, tomoe appeared within Lin Yan's pupils.

The Mangekyō Sharingan opened once more.

Genjutsu activated.

Immediately,

Edward Weevil was struck by Lin Yan's Genjutsu.

His entire body froze in place.

The next second,

lightning flashed in Lin Yan's hand.

A long blade formed from the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's lightning appeared in his grasp.

Lin Yan raised his hand and brought the blade down.

"Slash!"

A spray of blood arced into the night sky.

Edward Weevil, who had defeated a former Navy Admiral, was no weakling.

But

Lin Yan's appearance

had been far too sudden.

Coupled with the nearly unsolvable Mangekyō Sharingan,

Edward Weevil, the newly appointed Shichibukai,

died on the spot at Lin Yan's hands.

The next day,

when Edward Weevil's corpse was discovered on the street,

even the bloodstains had already dried.

As soon as the news broke,

the entirety of Marineford erupted in uproar!

"Bang!"

In a fury, Fleet Admiral Sengoku slammed his palm onto the table and sprang to his feet. "What exactly is going on?"

"This..."

"Fleet Admiral, we don't know either!"

Inside the conference room, the lieutenant broke out in a cold sweat as he felt Sengoku's rage.

Only yesterday, Edward Weevil had just been announced as the next Shichibukai.

Yet in the blink of an eye,

Edward Weevil was dead.

The crucial point was

that he had died in Marineford.

A place proclaimed to have the Navy's tightest defenses and to be the safest place on the entire Grand Line!

If this news got out,

what would outsiders think of Marineford?

Without question,

Marine Headquarters would become the laughingstock of the world.

"Can the news be suppressed?"

Sengoku asked in a deep, grave voice.

"It can't be suppressed anymore!"

The lieutenant shook his head.

The instant Edward Weevil died,

the media outlets that had already gathered in Marineford rushed in one after another.

Those taking pictures took pictures, while those gathering intelligence gathered intelligence.

By now,

the slower ones had probably already turned it into newspapers.

The faster ones had likely already spread those newspapers to many places across the Grand Line!

"Investigate!!!"

"Get to the bottom of this no matter what!"

Sengoku issued an absolute order.

The death of one Shichibukai was not much of a blow to the Navy.

There were countless powerful people on the seas.

They could casually pick another Shichibukai to take his place.

The problem was

that Edward Weevil had died at Marine Headquarters.

They had to give Mary Geoise an explanation for this matter!

"I'll go right away!"

The lieutenant hurried off.

That very day.

The whole of Marineford went into lockdown.

Large numbers of warships began patrolling within Marineford's jurisdiction.

Radars activated.

Not even a fly was allowed to escape.

To investigate the Edward Weevil incident.

The navy even mobilized two to three troop divisions, numbering as many as ten thousand personnel.

Unfortunately.

No matter what efforts the navy made.

The ultimate result sank like a stone.

As this news gradually spread.

A wave surged across the entire ocean.

You must know.

Mary Geoise had only just announced Whitebeard Jr. as a Shichibukai.

Yet.

The Shichibukai throne was not even warm yet.

Immediately following.

Did Edward Weevil just die like that?

Although his death was very bizarre.

Everyone's focus was not on that.

Bear in mind.

Edward Weevil had been in office for less than a day!

In other words.

He had only been a Shichibukai for a single day.

And then he happily typed GG.

Why?

The speed of that GG.

Deserved to be called the most tragic Shichibukai in history!

Of course.

After several days of investigation.

Although the navy found no mastermind.

They did track down a tiny clue.

The day before Edward Weevil's death.

Someone spotted traces of members of the Whitebeard Pirates operating around Marineford.

"Members of the Whitebeard Pirates?"

Hearing these words, even Sengoku deeply furrowed his brows.

If it were anyone else.

Sengoku would definitely pursue it to the end.

Yet when this matter involved the Whitebeard Pirates.

Sengoku knew.

He had to stop!

"Pass down the word, this matter doesn't need to be investigated anymore!"

If they followed this lead, they could certainly sniff out the mastermind, but doing so would implicate the Whitebeard Pirates.

Involving the Whitebeard Pirates was a situation Sengoku did not want to touch.

Just a while ago.

Ace, the 2nd division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, had been secretly escorted and delivered to them in Marineford by the Blackbeard Pirates!

In order for the navy to once again climb to the pinnacle of dominance in the Grand Line.

Sengoku was already plotting against Whitebeard.

And as luck would have it, the 2nd division commander fell into the hands of their navy.

Sengoku realized.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for their navy.

Crushing the Whitebeard Pirates.

Was just a matter of time!

To put it bluntly.

The entirety of Marineford was currently preparing for the upcoming Marineford War!

The more crucial the juncture, the less they could afford extra complications.

This was also the reason why Sengoku was unwilling to continue the investigation.

What if they startled the snake in the grass?

"Fleet Admiral, why is that?"

The lieutenant was extremely puzzled.

"You don't need to know about this!"

"Also, regarding the title and position of Shichibukai, just go with the flow and hand it over to Blackbeard and the others!"

Sengoku did not say much, telling the lieutenant to act according to his wishes.

"I understand!"

As the lieutenant left the place.

The entire fleet admiral's conference room suddenly grew quiet.

Sengoku, acting as fleet admiral, stood up straight.

He walked out to the balcony with his hands behind his back.

The sea breeze blew over.

The long coat behind him snapped in the wind, the two characters for "Justice" on it particularly eye-catching.

Looking out at this expanse of ocean before him.

Sengoku's gaze was complex and immensely weathered: "Finally... the reckoning of the old era is about to begin!"