Before long, the sound of a soldier's running footsteps drew near.
Sengoku called out:
"Come in."
Clatter-
The office door slid open.
The soldier ran inside:
"Reporting, Fleet Admiral!"
"Charlotte Linlin, captain of the Big Mom Pirates, one of the Four Emperors of the New World..."
"Has gathered her forces and set out. Her suspected target is the Red Hair Pirates."
Sengoku frowned slightly:
"Red-Hair again..."
"He's just like Roger."
"Have you found out what caused this?"
The soldier hesitated, sounding uncertain:
"Uh... it seems the Red Hair Pirates are suspected of attacking a force under Big Mom."
"It happened so suddenly that we haven't uncovered much else."
"All we know is that every member of Big Mom's garrison on Candy Island was killed."
"The Red Hair Pirates were on the island at the time."
"The news has already spread throughout the New World."
Sengoku thought for a moment:
"It happened suddenly, yet word has already spread throughout the New World..."
"Understood."
"One more thing. Investigate the movements of the other pirates in the New World."
"Red-Hair has provoked two Emperors in succession. If he gets away unscathed this time..."
"There'll be no shortage of people wanting to follow him."
The territories of the Four Emperors in the New World were mostly contiguous. Because of the way their domains were laid out, a scattering of remote islands remained beyond anyone's control.
Their conditions were somewhat harsh, but they offered a place for pirates unwilling to live under the Four Emperors' oppression to scrape by.
After all, serving under Big Mom meant not only paying tribute every month, but surrendering part of one's lifespan every six months... who thought they had too much life to spare?
Those serving under the Steam Sea Pirates were required to complete a set quota of