Marineford, Marine Headquarters.
A warship sailed into the crescent-shaped harbor and found a berth.
Inside the harbor.
Rows of warships lay at anchor, at least thirty or forty at a glance.
As soon as they docked, a messenger waiting at the harbor came over and told Sakazuki to report to the conference room.
After arranging for his soldiers to replenish their supplies, Sakazuki headed toward the tallest building at headquarters.
On the way, he greeted a few officers he knew and entered the conference room with them.
He was not particularly good at socializing.
But the notebook Jorison had given him back then had proved a great help.
Sakazuki himself was also beginning to stand out among the hawks.
"Hey, Sakazuki! Over here!"
A man smoking a cigar called out to Sakazuki.
Vice Admiral Ward Morris.
The leader of the hawks, he had been competing with Zephyr for the last Admiral position over the past two years.
Marine Headquarters currently had Sengoku, the Buddha, as an Admiral.
There was also Garp, whom everyone already regarded as an Admiral in terms of experience and strength, though he refused promotion.
One position remained vacant, and Zephyr and Morris were competing for that final spot.
But Morris's chances were slim.
It took more than experience and strength; the higher-ups had other factors to consider.
Leaving aside the current Fleet Admiral, Kong, both Sengoku and Garp favored Zephyr.
Tsuru, the leader of the female Marines, was also very close to those three.
All four had enlisted in the same year and served together.
As for Morris's bid to become an Admiral, Tsuru could only be said not to oppose it. She did not support it either.
The Five Elders of the World Government above them were another matter entirely. As long as someone was useful, that was enough.
They needed to give some thought to the choice of Fleet Admiral, but they did not care all that much about the Admirals.
After all, if the Fleet Admiral they chose could not control the Admirals, what was the point of choosing him?
And factoring in the plot he remembered from his previous life.
Morris had no chance at all, though he was still formidable, one of the Marines' top fighters.
Sakazuki walked over and greeted him:
"Vice Admiral Morris."
Morris motioned for Sakazuki to sit beside him:
"Come on, sit, sit."
Once he was seated, Sakazuki asked:
"Vice Admiral Morris, do you know why headquarters suddenly summoned us?"
"Ah, what else? Those scum out at sea."
"Rocks has been gathering forces in huge numbers, hasn't he? After several months, most of the pirates in the New World have assembled."
"Our scouts sent word that the Rocks Pirates have set out."
"They're heading for God Valley in the West Blue."
"God Valley? Isn't that the Celestial Dragons' retreat?"
At this point, God Valley could still be found on nautical charts.
Sakazuki had seen it while studying a chart before. It had been marked as a retreat for the Celestial Dragons.
Morris took a drag on his cigar and exhaled:
"Yes. Apparently, there are five Celestial Dragons on the island right now, along with countless slaves."
"Rocks has Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit powers on his side. They're racing toward the West Blue."
"The Five Elders sent an urgent message ordering us to muster troops immediately to defend the Celestial Dragons at God Valley."
Sakazuki frowned slightly as he listened.
Everyone knew that if someone wanted to kill Celestial Dragons.
They could stake out the Sabaody Archipelago for a day and kill several.
Flying all the way from the New World to the West Blue just to kill a few Celestial Dragons was downright insane.
Noticing Sakazuki's confusion, Morris lowered his voice and told him:
"There was more to the urgent message. If necessary, launch a buster call and destroy God's Island."
Sakazuki's pupils contracted sharply.
Rocks was throwing everything he had into taking it.
And the Celestial Dragons would destroy it if they could not hold it.
Seeing Sakazuki sitting there in a daze, Morris said:
"Don't worry. Sengoku, Garp, and the others have already left for God Valley."
"We're gathering forces for a buster call, ready to support them at any moment."
As more people arrived and the seats filled up.
Fleet Admiral Kong hurried in and announced the buster call assignment, its commanders, and the other details.
After making the arrangements, he hurried out again with a mysterious figure wearing a uniform and a mask.
Suddenly, both of them vanished from Sakazuki's Observation Haki.
Was this... a Devil Fruit ability?
The World Government's hidden resources...
A sense of an approaching storm weighed on everyone's hearts.
Without a word, they all gathered their forces as quickly as possible and set out for the West Blue.
In the New World, floating ships raced through the air toward the West Blue.
A banquet was underway in the hall of the largest ship.
At the head sat a man with wild hair, gulping down liquor: Rocks D. Zebek.
The tables below him were arranged in two rows, left and right, filled with notorious pirates.
"Golden Lion" Shiki.
"Whitebeard" Edward Newgate.
"Big Mom" Charlotte Linlin.
"Silver Axe."
"Ochoku."
"Captain John" and the others were all officers of the Rocks Pirates, great pirates with bounties in the hundreds of millions.
Setting down his large bowl, Rocks laughed wildly:
"As you all know."
"God Valley is a retreat for those swine."
"And we have gathered the strongest force in the world."
"Slaughter to your hearts' content."
"Drag those high-and-mighty swine down from their pedestals."
"Everyone, our conquest of the world begins now! Ahahahahaha!!!!"
Hearing Rocks's wild proclamation, the pirates seated below burst into laughter along with him.
They drank deeply. Whatever they actually thought did not matter; no one would call anything out on an occasion like this.
The world, huh? But what I want most is still a family... Whitebeard thought as he smiled and drank a bowl of liquor.
The world... Unreadable looks filled the eyes of Shiki, Charlotte Linlin, and the other great pirates as they laughed.
They all possessed the qualities of a king.
How could they tolerate a king standing high above them?
And something that could conquer the world...
The banquet continued amid laughter and cheer...
The Oro Jackson.
Roger had reached Lodestar Island not long ago.
Rather than continue toward the legendary final destination, he had ordered them to turn around and head for the West Blue.
Night fell.
Leaving the banquet hall, Roger stood at the bow, feeling the gentle sea breeze. There was no telling what was on his mind.
"What are you thinking about?"
Rayleigh, his first mate, walked to the bow with a bottle of liquor, drinking as he went.
He turned, leaned back against the railing, set his bottle on it, and asked Roger.
"Rayleigh, that thing..."
"Whether the Celestial Dragons get it or Rocks does, neither would be good."
"Should I... go stop them?"
"So that's what's troubling you. Haven't you already found your answer?"
Leaning against the railing, Rayleigh answered with a chuckle.
Roger's smile gradually widened until it resembled a crescent moon.
"Yeah. I have my answer."
"Ahahahaha! Momora! More food! More food!!!"
"Let's drink our fill tonight!!!"
"Hey, hey! My liquor!"
Laughing, Roger shouted as he dragged Rayleigh toward the banquet hall.
Rayleigh was suddenly pulled away. Once he realized what was happening, he still tried to reach for that bottle of fine liquor he had only taken one sip from!
"What a waste..."
Before you continue