Sabaody Archipelago.
The end of the first half of the Grand Line is also the starting point for the New World.
This archipelago, composed of seventy-nine Yarukiman Mangrove, looks like a green gem floating on the sea when viewed from the air.
Giant air bubbles naturally form at the base of each mangrove tree, refracting the sunlight into a rainbow of colors, creating a beauty that seems unreal.
But at this moment, this beautiful archipelago is shrouded in an eerie atmosphere.
News of Roy's theft of the Heavenly Tribute had spread throughout the world in just a few days.
Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle.
The atmosphere in the Five Elders ' meeting room was as heavy as the sky before a storm.
Saint Saturn sat in the main seat, holding a piece of intelligence in his hand. His usually calm face was now clouded with gloom.
" Heavenly Tribute. An entire ship full of Heavenly Tribute was emptied by Roy all by himself."
His voice wasn't loud, but every word sounded like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth.
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter's expression was equally grim. "What did Zephyr say?"
"Say what?"
Saint Saturn sneered.
"They say the Roy Pirates only injured but didn't kill, and that Roy himself didn't even use his full strength."
It's a miracle he and his group of new recruits survived.
"You bastard!"
Saint Warcury slammed his fist on the table.
"A former Marine Admiral, unable to protect even a ship Heavenly Tribute!"
"Blaming him won't help."
Saint Saturn rubbed his temples.
"You all know how strong that brat Roy is."
" The Pure Gold incident happened only two years ago. Haven't the lessons learned by the Holy Knights been profound enough?"
When the Holy Knights were mentioned, the Five Elders all fell silent.
Nine people attacked one enemy; six died and three were seriously injured.
That humiliation is still etched in their hearts.
"Then what do we do?" Saint Shepherd Ju Peter gritted his teeth. "Just let it go like this?"
Saint Saturn remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking, "Let's wait. Let's wait for the navy to make a move. Sengoku is more anxious than we are."
The other four people fell silent.
A heavy silence filled the conference room.
Because they all knew that the World Government had very few options left when facing Roy.
Sabaody Archipelago, commercial street.
Roy walked at the front, hands in his pockets, looking as relaxed as if he were strolling in his own backyard.
They didn't consider robbing the Heavenly Tribute a big deal at all.
Yamato followed behind him, carrying a spiked club, looking around and peering at anything new and interesting.
"Roy, Roy! Look at this! Smoking candy!"
"Roy! That! That seashell can sing!"
Pea was dragged along by her, still holding the pot of snow lotus in her arms, looking helpless.
Savi and Jesus Burgess walked on either side of the procession, their two large heads resembling two moving walls, automatically separating the crowded throng.
Enel floated in mid-air, his golden staff held horizontally on his shoulder, his Observation Haki covering the entire shopping street.
"Boss, there's a navy." Tesoro whispered in Roy's ear.
Roy followed his gaze—at the street corner, two men in plain clothes were pretending to look at the goods on the stall, but their eyes kept drifting this way.
At the alley entrance, a fruit vendor stood with his back so straight, unlike any other vendor.
A shadow flashed across the opposite rooftop, moving at an abnormally fast speed.
"More than one," Roy said calmly. "There are at least a dozen on this street."
Tesoro's eyes turned cold: "Should we—"
"Need not."
Roy interrupted him.
"Let them keep an eye on us. We haven't done anything wrong."
Tesoro's lips twitched.
Didn't you do anything wrong?
Boss, you just robbed a whole ship Heavenly Tribute a few days ago!
But Roy said it wasn't necessary, so he stopped, though his body was crackling with lightning, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.
The group continued walking forward.
The commercial street was bustling with activity—selling slaves, weapons, information about Devil Fruit, and charts of the Grand Line... all sorts of people were there.
But Roy noticed that there were several times more people dressed as pirates in the crowd than usual.
"Have you heard? Red-Haired Shanks is on this island too!"
"Nonsense, it's been all over the place these past few days. That guy rejected the Shichibukai' invitation and is now heading to the New World."
"Not only him. ' Blood Axe ' Bullet —no, not that Bullet, but another one with a bounty of 230 million—is also there."
" Mona the Sea Snake, bounty of 180 million."
"' Iron Arms ' Gura, bounty of 150 million."
"Damn it, this island is a powder keg right now. The Navy definitely won't sit idly by either."
Roy listened to these comments and a smile crept onto his lips.
Shanks is here too.
interesting.
He was about to take his men to Shakky's Rip-off Bar when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.
In the crowd, a little boy wearing a spotted hat was squatting in front of a stall selling secondhand medical books, engrossed in flipping through them.
Luo.
" Roy," Yamato noticed as well, "It's that brat Roy."
Roy walked over and stood behind Roy.
That kid was too focused; he didn't even notice him getting close—and you know, Roy wasn't deliberately hiding his presence.
"You're cured of Amber Lead Disease, why are you still buying medical books?"
Luo paused, looked up, and stared at him expressionlessly. "Doctor Kureha said that studying medicine cannot be stopped."
Roy smiled.
This kid is actually quite cute when he gets serious.
He pulled a wad of Beli from his pocket and tossed it to the stall owner. "I'll take all of these books."
The stall owner caught the money and grinned from ear to ear.
Luo paused for a moment, looked down at the stack of wrapped medical books, and remained silent for a few seconds.
"... Thanks."
"Let's go," Roy ruffled his hair. "I'll take you to meet some interesting people."
Luo, clutching the medical book, obediently followed behind him.
Meanwhile, at the Sabaody Marine Base.
The atmosphere in the monitoring room was as tense as a string stretched to its limit.
Dozens of Den Den Mushi were operating simultaneously, and intelligence from surveillance points all over the island poured in like snowflakes.
"Third District: Pirate ' Iron Arms ' Gura, with a bounty of 150 million, has been spotted!"
" Mona ' Sea Snake ' has been spotted in the Seventh District! Bounty of 180 million!"
"Members of the Red Hair Pirates spotted in the 12th district! Location being confirmed!"
"Second block, discovery..."
The communications soldier's voice had gone hoarse.
The Vice Admiral in charge of the defense of the Sabaody Archipelago stood before the nautical chart, his face ashen.
As the highest-ranking officer from the Marine Headquarters stationed in Sabaody, he bore a heavier burden than anyone else.
Normally, it would be Big News Morgans if one or two pirates with bounties over 100 million were to gather on this island.
What about now?
" Blood Axe " Bullet, " Sea Snake " Mona, " Iron Arms " Gura, " Red Hair " Shanks...
And then there's the most deadly one— the Heavenly Dao Emperor, Roy.
"Has the location of the Roy Pirates been confirmed?" the vice Vice Admiral asked.
"Report! We spotted them in the shopping street an hour ago, but... we lost them quickly."
"Waste!"
The Vice Admiral slammed his fist on the table.
"With so many surveillance points, how could you not even keep an eye on a few people?!"
The communications soldier lowered his head, not daring to speak.
The lieutenant Vice Admiral took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
He knew he couldn't blame his subordinates.
The Roy Pirates are all monsters.
Let alone ordinary soldiers, even if he personally went out, he might not be able to keep an eye on them.
"Continue the search."
"Also, report the situation here to Marine Headquarters in its entirety and request reinforcements."
"Yes!"