East Blue Overlord, Grand Line

A black shadow flashed, and Kalifa threw herself straight into Roya's arms.

She said excitedly to Roya, "Admiral~ I've received Sengoku's orders. I'm to be your adjutant, and I'll make sure you're well taken care of and kept nice and comfortable along the way."

Roya watched Kalifa's actions, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Lately, he had no idea what kind of stimulation Kalifa had received, but she kept coming over to "crave" him at every turn.

"All right, Kalifa, go get ready. We're leaving immediately!"

"So soon?"

"Of course. Justice waits for no one!"

--

The effects of the newspaper continued to spread.

Ohara.

Robin, having just finished training her Devil Fruit ability, sat in Olvia's arms and read the newspaper in her hands.

"Three Marine Admirals Officially Announced! White Dove Roya Is Actually the Strongest!"

That was the newspaper's biggest headline.

Following the headline downward, Robin saw Roya's picture.

This was Robin's first time seeing what Roya looked like, but for some reason, relying on her intuition, she immediately felt that the person before her was the real Roya!

After all, there were practically no others in these seas named Roya!

"Mom, when will brother Roya be able to come back and see us?"

Robin raised her bright, watery eyes toward Olvia, her gaze filled with indescribable anticipation.

"Don't worry, Robin. Your brother Roya will come back to see you before long."

Olvia said to Robin.

Robin nodded and began studying Roya in the newspaper again, an unintentional smile often appearing at the corners of her lips.

--

Amazon Lily.

Through Amazon Lily's special training methods, Hancock had already awakened Conqueror's Haki.

By now, she could rely on her Devil Fruit ability to fight the current empress on equal footing. She was truly a genius among geniuses.

Then again, that made sense. Even in the original story, Hancock's strength had been ranked among the elite.

At that moment, Gloriosa came to Hancock's side.

After glancing at Gloriosa, Hancock asked, "Is there any news about Roya?"

"Yes, it's all in this newspaper."

Upon hearing Gloriosa's words, Hancock shed her previous coldness.

Her peach-like cheeks immediately flushed crimson as she snatched the newspaper from Gloriosa.

Looking at Roya in the paper, Hancock felt as though she might faint from happiness.

"Wonderful, Roya! I finally have news of you!"

Gloriosa watched Hancock continuously rub her face against Roya's face in the newspaper.

The wrinkles already covering her face bunched together even more.

"Hancock, Roya has joined the Marines now! Even I can't guess what exactly he intends to do. We must be careful when dealing with him in the future!"

"So what if he joined the Marines? Roya must have his reasons. Roya saved my life. Even if he wanted to take it back, I wouldn't have a single complaint!"

Hancock looked at Gloriosa and added, "So were you trying to drive a wedge between us just now?!"

Hancock's face was frosty as she said coldly, "Anyone who speaks ill of Roya is my enemy!"

As Hancock's words fell, her already shapely long leg became coated in Armament Haki and sent Gloriosa flying into the sky with a kick.

--

Elsewhere, out at sea.

A violent wind swept up torrential rain.

The waves surged wildly, each one higher than the last!

The Grand Line's ever-changing moods were displayed to the fullest at that moment!

Within that stormy, wave-tossed environment, a massive pirate fleet of more than fifty ships sailed across the sea.

Yet amid such conditions, those fifty ships appeared incredibly tiny.

"Captain Don Krieg, Ship Number 34 has been damaged, and a huge amount of seawater is flooding into the hull!"

"Captain Don Krieg, the mast on Ship Number 12 has broken. If we don't transfer the crew, they may very well die at sea!"

"Captain Don Krieg..."

Don Krieg stood on the deck, tightly gripping his golden battle spear as he listened to the continuous reports, his face dark and gloomy!

He had set out from the East Blue full of confidence and entered the Grand Line, intending to spread his fame far and wide.

But he had never imagined that they would encounter something like this immediately after entering the Grand Line!

"Abandon every ship that has a problem!"

"Abandon them?! But Captain Don Krieg, our combat strength will drop drastically if we do that!"

"Drop drastically? It's only four or five ships. At most, that's just four or five hundred men!"

Don Krieg raised the battle spear in his hand and said to those around him, "Remember, we're a massive fleet of five thousand men. We're only abandoning four or five hundred people. It won't reduce our combat strength by much at all!"

"Yes, understood, Captain Don Krieg!"

His subordinate withdrew. Don Krieg stood on the deck, staring at the endlessly churning waves, unwilling to accept defeat.

"The Grand Line is the dream route yearned for by countless pirates. As long as one sails all the way through it, one can become the Pirate King!"

"Only a title like Pirate King is worthy of my strength!"

"Isn't it just a few hundred men? Once the time comes, I can find an island and make up those numbers again!"

In Don Krieg's eyes, personal strength was only one part of it; numbers mattered even more.

As long as there were enough people, they could bury their enemies beneath sheer numbers!

He had ruled the East Blue through human-wave tactics for a long time, which was why he possessed such overwhelming confidence.

What he did not know was that he was nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well!

The torrential wind and rain had arrived quickly, and they departed just as quickly.

About half an hour later, the wind and waves finally subsided.

"Captain Don Krieg, we've lost a total of six hundred and seventy-two men and six ships!"

The subordinate standing beside Don Krieg added, "Also, we discovered a warship approaching rapidly in the distance. But this warship seems different from the ones we've seen before. It's somewhat larger!"

"A warship?! Can you estimate how many people are aboard?"

"According to the navigator's report, around a hundred."

"Only around a hundred? One warship! Hahaha, are they here to deliver us a ship?!"

Don Krieg burst into laughter. With a swing of his battle spear, he ordered his subordinates, "All hands, listen up! Don't fire the cannons. Surround that warship ahead. I'm taking that Marine warship!"

"Captain Don Krieg is mighty!"

"Captain Don Krieg is mighty!"

"Captain Don Krieg is mighty!"

As Don Krieg's words fell, the crew shouted Don Krieg's name in excitement!