New World.
Off the coast of a nameless island.
The Red Force lay quietly anchored near the shore.
Its flag swayed gently in the sea breeze, and the deck lacked its usual laughter and commotion.
The entire ship was quiet, oppressively so.
Shanks sat by the railing, holding the newspaper that had shaken the seas.
The edges of the paper fluttered slightly in the wind as Shanks stared at it for a long time.
From the moment Rock had allowed the Marines to enter the New World in full force, Shanks had known this day would come sooner or later.
He just had not expected it to come so quickly, so fiercely, and all at once.
Two monsters who had stood at the summit of the New World for years had been knocked from their thrones by the Marines on the same day.
Beckman leaned against the mast with a cigarette between his lips, smoke slowly dispersing in the wind.
His gaze fell on the newspaper, his voice low.
"The day you were stopped by Issho and Mihawk, they withdrew on their own halfway through the fight."
"Now it seems they weren't unable to stop us."
"They had already received the news. There was no need to keep fighting."
Nearby, Yasopp's expression was grim.
"In other words, Rock never intended for us to get involved from the start."
"He merely held us outside and made us watch Kaido and Linlin fall."
Lucky Roux bit into his meat, unusually without a smile.
He chewed twice, then suddenly stopped.
"Do you think... we'll be next?"
As soon as the words fell, the entire deck went deathly silent.
In truth, everyone had been thinking about that question.
If Rock truly intended to uproot every pillar of the Great Pirate Era, then the Red