Ever since Ye Mu, captain of the Sky Pirate Crew, had appeared in Water 7 three months ago, he seemed to have vanished from the seas once again. No one could find a trace of him.
Ordinarily, that would have been no cause for concern.
Every marine knew how troublesome the Sky Pirate Crew was. They often disappeared at sea, surfacing only when they pleased. Otherwise, the marines would never have let them grow so powerful. This time, though, things were different.
There was one reason: of the Sky Pirate Crew's key members, Ye Mu was the only one missing!
Vice-captain Thunder God Enel and Erza had spent the past three months doing as they pleased across the Four Blues and the Grand Line. They had made such names for themselves that their fame threatened to eclipse their captain's.
Marine intelligence agents had spotted their navigator, Tiger the Fish-Man, on Fish-Man Island.
Eric, the swordsman known as the Sword Wind Swordsman, and Ayala, the crew's doctor, had also been spotted in Flevance.
The Sky Pirate Crew's decision to split into three groups had naturally caught the attention of the marines and the World Government. Their spies had learned what the crew intended: to recruit rapidly and expand its forces.
The Sky Pirate Crew had always favored a small, elite force. If it had suddenly begun recruiting in large numbers, it had to be planning something big.
That was what worried the marines and the World Government most.
Ye Mu had dared to break into the supposedly impregnable Impel Down alone.
No one could guess what dangerous things he might do with an army of followers at his command.
At that thought, Sengoku looked toward the Holy Land Mary Geoise, then shook his head.
If Ye Mu was raising an army