The Red Count remained silent for a moment, a complex light flashing in his blood-red eyes.
" Roy, have you considered that this battle might be beyond anyone's control?"
Whitebeard wasn't a fool, the Marines weren't pushovers, and with Red Hair and Kaido both eyeing the battlefield—this was no longer just the Paramount War; it was a complete reshuffling of the maritime power.
Roy turned to look at him, a slow smile creeping onto his lips.
" Redfield, you're right. This is a reshuffling."
Roy withdrew his hand, put both hands in his pockets, and the sea breeze ruffled the stray hairs on his forehead.
"And I've been preparing for ten years, just to shuffle this hand of cards into the position I want."
The Red Count remained silent.
As he watched Roy's retreating figure, he suddenly felt that this young man was even more unfathomable than when he first arrived in the New World ten years ago.
The young pirate who once needed to use schemes and tactics to navigate the various forces has now become someone who can control the world's chessboard.
And this game has only just entered its most exciting phase.
In the deepest part of the ocean, in a place unseen by all, various forces are secretly preparing for battle.
Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit is poised to unleash its power, the Navy's 100,000 elite troops are urgently assembling, and the Shichibukai, each with their own agenda, are advancing towards Marineford.
Red Hair braves the storm, while Kaido sharpens his sword in Wano Country.
Roy stood at the highest point of Hachinosu, looking down at everything.
He is the player, not the piece.
A month later, Marineford.
Just as undercurrents were surging on the sea in preparation for Ace's execution,
Hachinosu, Roy's office.
Roy leaned back in his chair, a document that had just been delivered from the intelligence department in his hand, a slight smile on his lips.
This document records the Straw Hat Pirates' recent itinerary in such detail that it's like someone was writing a diary for Luffy.
That's pretty much the case. Every few days, Robin would send back a message via an encrypted Den Den Mushi, clearly reporting the Straw Hat Pirates's movements.
" Sky Island, huh?" Roy flipped to the first page of the document and chuckled softly.
Luffy and his crew rode the Knock Up Stream from Jaya Island to a height of 10,000 meters, causing a great disturbance on the White-White Sea.
Robin's report was written in vivid detail.
Enel's early recruitment of Luffy and his crew made Nola, the giant serpent and ruler of Sky Island, their greatest adversary.
Luffy and his crew defeated the gold that Nola brought down from Sky Island.
Robin reported that Luffy and his crew disembarked in Water 7, and the first thing they did was exchange their gold for Beli before excitedly running off to find the shipbuilder.
Luffy's original words were, "We're going to build a ship even more powerful Going Merry." When he said this, he was standing at the dock entrance, hands on his hips, his eyes shining like they were filled with light bulbs.
However, the Straw Hat Pirates had bad luck in Water 7.
It wasn't that he encountered any powerful enemy, but rather that the World Government's CP agents planted on the island had their eyes on Franky.
The cyborg wearing only underwear, due to Roy's interference, had his master Tom, taken to Hachinosu by Roy more than a decade ago.
Even without Tom, Franky remains a shipwright and gangster boss in Water 7, with CP agents secretly monitoring him, hoping to extract the whereabouts of the Pluton Blueprints from him.
Things got interesting when Luffy and his crew came to build a ship.
When Robin recounted this, he was barely suppressing a laugh.
The agents from CP discovered the Straw Hat Pirates ' whereabouts and tried to sabotage them from the shadows, but they were beaten to a pulp by Zoro and Sanji working together.
After the CP agents escaped, Luffy and his crew were finally able to finish building the ship in peace.
Roy almost burst out laughing when he saw this part.
These agents' fates aren't much better than in the original story; at least they're still alive, since Enies Lobby was already completely destroyed by him beforehand.
Originally, Lucci and the others on Enies Lobby had already been recruited by Roy, so those who remained in Water 7 were just small fry.
The new ship " Thousand Sunny " was successfully completed under Franky's supervision.
"It's much bigger than the Going Merry. Franky installed a lot of strange features on the ship, Luffy especially likes the lion head-shaped turret at the bow."
Franky himself also boarded the ship, saying he wanted to see the ship he built sail to the ends of the earth with his own eyes.
Roy nodded when he saw this.
Franky boarded the ship, Straw Hat Pirates ' shipwright was in place.
Although Tom is still alive and well on Hachinosu, his disciple still went down the path of shipbuilding and became Luffy's partner.
After leaving Water 7, the Straw Hat Pirates plunged into the Florian Triangle.
As the Thousand Sunny entered that eerie, fog-shrouded sea, Robin received instructions from Roy:
Moria will attack the Straw Hat Pirates with all his might, pushing them to the brink of death, but he won't actually kill them.
Robin's mission is to remain neutral throughout, avoid combat, and not be too conspicuous.
Robin carried out the order strictly.
When Moria's zombie army surged out of the thick fog, Robin immediately found a corner to sit down and read.
While Zoro was fighting the zombie swordsman in the castle, Robin was drinking coffee.
While Sanji was being chased around by the Shadow Bats, Robin strolled leisurely down the corridor, pretending to be lost.
Luffy was beaten black and blue by Moria's shadow clone, while Nami screamed in terror.
Usopp nearly fainted from fright at his own shadow, Chopper barely managed to hold off a wave of zombies by transforming into his monster form.
Zoro was cornered by Moria's Doppelman, suffering over a dozen cuts all over his body, his clothes stained red with blood.
" Moria, that's about it," Roy said into the Den Den Mushi.
Moria then began to "hold back".
He pretended to be exhausted, causing a flaw in his control of the shadow. Zoro seized the opportunity and found a glimmer of hope, cleaving the Doppelman's core with a single strike.
Luffy used Gear Second to punch Moria's true form out from deep within the castle, and then used Gum-Gum Giant Pistol to blast Moria into the wall.
Moria lay amidst the ruins, looking at Luffy's swollen yet still smiling face, with only one thought in his mind:
Roy's script was so stupid! I got beaten up like this by a Supernovas, how am I supposed to face anyone on Hachinosu now?
After the battle, Luffy and his crew were all badly injured.
Zoro had the most wounds, Sanji almost got a leg cramp, and Chopper was so tired he couldn't even move.
Only Robin was completely unharmed, not even a speck of dust on her.
Nami slumped on the deck, looking at Robin's clean clothes, and asked weakly, "Why aren't you hurt at all?"
Robin smiled slightly and closed the book in his hand, "I was lucky."
Moria reported the battle situation to Roy from deep within the castle using an encrypted Den Den Mushi:
"Boss, the performance is over."
I've taken countless punches from that Luffy kid.
The script said it would be 'easy,' but that kid really went all out."
Roy smiled and told him to stay put; the Paramount War was about to begin.