The gathering storm was already making itself felt!
Nearly all the elite pirates of the New World had gathered on Blood War Island.
The pressure this placed on the World Government and the Navy was immense.
The forces assembled this time were nearly twice those of the previous bloody war.
And more pirates kept being drawn in, even from the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line.
"Moonlight" Moria, for instance, had led his followers from the West Blue, cutting a relentless path toward the New World.
Almost all the Navy's main forces had been drawn to the New World. They had barely stationed anyone even at the Sabaody Archipelago.
There truly were few Marines capable of stopping him.
Similar situations were unfolding in many places.
"Hawkeye" Mihawk had originally intended to challenge renowned swordsmen, but after learning that the bloody war had broken out, he changed course and headed for Blood War Island.
This was a rare opportunity to see firsthand the great pirates who stood above all other pirates on the seas, keeping countless other powers from rising.
Plenty of other pirates had been drawn in as well.
Opportunities like this were simply too rare.
Many people on the seas had only heard the names of those great pirates whose might shook the world, never having seen them in person.
And the Navy? Once again, it drew troops capable of fighting New World pirates from its various Marine Bases.
It assembled an army of two hundred thousand.
Even those two hundred thousand were close to the limit of what the Navy could muster.
The trade routes still needed protecting.
And the vast majority of Marines from the Four Seas would merely be marching to their deaths if thrown into the New World's bloody war. They