Flying Pirates

Rock and Garp once again refused appointments as Admirals at Marine Headquarters.

When their decision was formally submitted to the World Government, it caused quite a stir. Objections flew from the other side of the conference table.

"Refusing promotion again and again—isn't that a challenge to the system?"

"Does a force we can't fully command pose a risk of slipping out of control?"

"If their personal prestige grows too great, could it shake the foundations of order?"

Every question was reasonable.

Every concern was valid.

But in the end, they could only remain matters for discussion.

Because no one could deny one fact: simply by standing there, those two were order itself.

Deterrence had always been the World Government's most expensive resource, and the one it could least afford to mass-produce.

Now, two men held that deterrent firmly in their hands.

So the only possible conclusion was tacit acceptance.

People grumbled, but no one dared to actually cross the line.

That tacit acceptance soon showed its effects in the New World.

The New World fell unusually quiet.

No pirate wanted to be the first to stick his neck out and get struck by Thunder.

Even the most arrogant pirates began watching which way the wind blew. Many crews chose to lie low—

Some simply continued their voyages, with no interest in plunder or slaughter;

Some poured all their energy into "family," "banquets," and their own territories, content to drink their days away in familiar waters;

Others made themselves as inconspicuous as possible, no longer even flying their pirate flags proudly, hoping only to avoid notice.

It was as if an invisible hand had pressed down on the waters of the New World.

But—

Not every pirate chose to bow his head.

One fleet still roamed the New World without restraint.