But news of Byrnndi World's downfall was soon overshadowed.
No one even cared about the Whitebeard Pirates and the Overlord Dragon Pirates fighting over the World Pirates' former territory.
That was because the long-running war in the New World—between the Flying Pirates and the John Pirates, Silver Axe Pirates, and Five Peaks Pirates—
had finally reached a historic turning point.
From early April of last year to June of this year,
the deadlocked war had dragged on for more than a full year.
Even the World Pirates' war in the West Blue had lasted only half as long.
Both sides had suffered terrible losses. Of the Flying Pirates' force of more than sixty thousand, only forty thousand remained.
The John Pirates, Silver Axe Pirates, and Five Peaks Pirates had barely ten thousand fighters left between them.
Overall, setting the top combatants aside, the Flying Pirates still held a slight edge in the fighting between ordinary pirates.
The losses might not have looked as heavy as those in the West Blue war, but the fighting was fiercer.
A minor clash every three days, a major battle every two weeks. It never stopped.
During that time, each crew replenished its ranks, and more pirates kept joining the meat grinder.
They hoped to make names for themselves and catch the eye of the great pirates.
To gain an advantage and spur their crews on, each side offered clear rewards. Kill a well-known pirate, for instance, and earn a set amount of Beli.
Some rewards even included Devil Fruits.
Plenty of other forces were involved, too, with groups large and small backing each side.
Each crew represented an alliance of interests.
The forces behind the Flying Pirates were undoubtedly stronger.
As the war dragged on,
the John Pirates, Silver Axe Pirates, and Five Peaks