As the saying went, the great powers of the New World, long divided, would unite; long united, they would divide.
Now, four great powers each held a quarter of the world.
The first was the Whitebeard Pirates.
At the heart of the Whitebeard Pirates stood Whitebeard.
As long as he was there, their position was unshakable.
The second was Kaido's Beasts Pirates.
When Charlotte Linlin died, despite the navy's interference, the Beasts Pirates had seized every opening and reaped considerable benefits.
Now entrenched in Wano Country, they commanded immense power.
The third force was the newly risen Sword Demon Pirates.
Their captain was a swordsman who had eaten a Devil Fruit, powerful enough to rival Kaido.
His forces, however, were somewhat weaker.
The fourth force was an alliance of three great pirates.
Ghost Hand Rocks, Cloud Claude, and Steam Demon King Steem.
Any one of these three great pirates was a formidable figure in his own right.
Each was stronger than the likes of Marco and King the Conflagration.
But against an Emperor, any of them would inevitably lose.
Only by joining forces could the three compete with the other Emperor-led pirate crews.
At that moment, the three pirates were drinking together.
Ghost Hand Rocks took a great swig of liquor, then said:
"I discovered a real talent recently. That kid's pretty good."
At his words, the other two turned to look.
"Oh? A talent? A Devil Fruit user?"
Cloud Claude's interest was piqued.
Ghost Hand Rocks chuckled and said:
"His name's Morse, and he's a genuine monster at body arts."
Steam Demon King Steem said with a wicked grin:
"Then we absolutely have to capture him and bring him back.
Submit or die!"
Aequus compiled the information he had gathered on the pirates, then picked out a few