With Sakazuki's casual words, it was over...
The Great Pirate Era, which had unleashed monstrous evil and thrown the entire world into chaos, was over just like that...
When that moment truly arrived, everyone stood frozen, their minds blank.
No one doubted whether Sakazuki was telling the truth.
Everything so far had been open and transparent. The foundations of the Great Pirate Era had been utterly severed, and the path to becoming Pirate King had been sealed off completely.
They could no longer express their feelings. They could only watch the broadcast, trembling as tears streamed down their faces...
But Sakazuki did not seem satisfied. On the screen, he slowly began to speak:
"But is that alone enough?"
"Of course not."
"This world has never lacked people willing to gamble on a sliver of hope."
"So..."
The footage switched abruptly.
A green island came into view. Towering trees shaded it like enormous parasols, while countless tiny bubbles drifted skyward below them.
Those unmistakable features were enough for many viewers to recognize the place.
The reporters at Headquarters swallowed hard:
"N-no... surely not..."
The screen showed the Sabaody Archipelago. Aside from government vessels, which could take the route across the Red Line, anyone seeking to enter the New World had only one option.
They had to get their ships coated at the Sabaody Archipelago and take the route through Fish-Man Island.
But six months earlier, the Marines had forcibly evacuated the population from Sabaody. The place had gradually become a lawless zone. No one had imagined it was all preparation for today...
Knowing Sakazuki's methods, they could already imagine what fate awaited the island.
The reporters kept their cameras trained on Sakazuki, not daring to relax for even a moment. They had to record every detail.
On the Execution Platform.