Sea Era 1518.
Seven years had passed since the United Government was founded.
In those seven years, the state of the seas had changed beyond recognition.
The new world brimmed with life.
Order had returned to the seas, and prices had fallen.
Trade was flourishing.
Under the United Government's plans, the seas were recovering at an astonishing pace.
The return of order had brought the islands closer together.
Underground forces and pirates still existed, and reality was not always so rosy.
But things were clearly far better than before.
Rampant slaughter had also become rare.
After all, any pirate crew that committed such an atrocity would immediately become a Marine target.
The Marines would send powerful fighters to wipe them out in short order.
The United Government needed to show others—especially pirates and underground forces—with blood where the line was drawn.
Over those seven years, the United Government's influence had truly surpassed the World Government's.
The Marines alone now fielded over a million troops.
They were stationed throughout the seas.
They maintained order in their assigned waters and protected shipping lanes.
Notably, the Moonlight Pirates had been destroyed two years earlier.
With so many Sea Emperors no longer holding them in check,
the major powers had joined the United Government.
Although they still called themselves pirates, the crews that had founded nations were plainly different from other pirates.
The Red Hair Pirates and Storm Pirates had even changed their flags, abandoned piracy, and become adventurers.
That left only four major pirate crews in the New World: the Whitebeard Pirates, Moonlight Pirates, Swift Pirates, and Deva Pirates.
The world called them the new Sea Emperors.
They were also known as the "Four Emperors."
History had a way of repeating itself.
With so many top pirates gone, "Moonlight" Moria's ambition had been