If judged by sheer numbers alone, pirates were the strongest force in this world. Their numbers far exceeded those of the Navy and the World Government.
Although countless pirates perished at sea every year, in this era, setting sail for the ocean was a man's romance.
The reason the Navy had always been able to gain local advantages was that pirates simply could not unite, just like during the Fish-Man Island War.
When the Navy dealt with the Whitebeard Pirates, other pirates would never lend a hand. If Ryan had not wanted to cause trouble for Sengoku, and if he had not been on good terms with the Whitebeard Pirates, then the world's strongest pirate crew at the time would most likely have been completely wiped out.
But what was happening now filled Sengoku with fear.
The pirates, who had previously been nothing more than a scattered mob, had actually united to fight the Navy. It was unbelievable, yet it was truly happening at this very moment.
It was only temporary, driven by interests, and someone had taken the lead.
But some things were like that. The beginning was always the hardest; once there was a first time, there would be a second. Sengoku could almost see every pirate in the world becoming the strongest force in this world under Ryan's leadership. And that force might threaten the World Government's rule.
Sengoku and Garp exchanged a glance, each seeing fear and shock in the other's eyes.
Why were pirates so numerous, yet still so thoroughly suppressed by the World Government and the Navy? The root cause was their lack of unity. No one accepted anyone else, and there was no true leader to step forward and lead them.
But now, that man had appeared. He was Ryan, the man who