The spread of Laugh Tale's Log Pose caused an even greater stir across the seas than Daniel Davis initially anticipated. It had been over twenty years since the Great Pirate Era began, and with nobody finding Laugh Tale in all that time, many pirates had nearly lost hope. But now, with the sudden emergence of the Laugh Tale Log Pose, their resolve was reignited.
The impact of this Log Pose's appearance was almost as significant as Whitebeard's final declaration that the One Piece truly existed.
It's ironic that Sengoku, the so-called "Strategic General," hadn't demonstrated much strategic foresight. The Summit War indeed eliminated Whitebeard, but rather than reducing the number of pirates, it ended up fueling even greater chaos across the seas.
In fact, it was deeply ironic that a pirate had done more to maintain peace than the Navy had.
Sengoku wasn't the only one feeling frustrated; another person was even more troubled—Buggy the Clown, the captain of the Buggy Pirates. He would one day rise to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, famous for his incredible luck, which rivaled even the Luck-Luck Fruit.
"Who's the bastard framing me?" Buggy shouted at the sky on a deserted island he'd recently washed up on in the Grand Line.
And as if the heavens themselves were mocking him, a bird promptly dropped its load onto his head, sending him into a furious rage.
Buggy had originally intended to chase after Luffy to settle a score. However, due to his incredible luck, he ended up striking it rich in the first half of the Grand Line and momentarily forgot about Luffy. He returned to his old ways of hunting for treasure, until one day, the Navy and other pirates came looking for him.
Luckily, Buggy's luck saved him yet again; he escaped in the chaos of a battle between the Navy and rival pirates.
This trouble Buggy found himself in, of course, was due to Daniel Davis.
Creating a fake Laugh Tale Log Pose was simple. Just carve a name onto a Log Pose, and there you have it. But getting the entire sea to believe it was a different matter; neither pirates nor the Navy were fools.
In fact, after the initial years following Roger's execution, there were rarely any authentic items supposedly leaked from Roger's crew. And back then, the struggle for such items, especially Roger's navigational logs, sparked many fierce battles.
With Laugh Tale's Log Pose, if any random person came out claiming to have it, they'd more likely face mockery than create a sensation. After all, how could such an item really exist?
To be believed, the Log Pose needed a reliable source. After some consideration, Daniel chose Buggy. The ship's doctor, Crocus, was a strong candidate, but Daniel ultimately decided against involving the retired old man. That left Buggy.
Originally, Daniel just wanted to give the Navy and the World Government something to worry about. Even if it was fake information, they would still investigate anything related to Roger or Laugh Tale, as such matters were of utmost importance to the World Government.
Who could have anticipated that Buggy would unknowingly play along, exaggerating his tales, which, combined with his crew's own embellishments, blew the story out of proportion? While the Laugh Tale Log Pose Daniel spread was fake, there was indeed some truth to it—someone from Roger's crew really did leave behind a Log Pose. Although it was reportedly thrown into the sea by Roger later, the fact that it once existed turned the situation into something uncontrollable.
"Borsalino." Sengoku looked at Admiral Kizaru immediately after putting down the Den Den Mushi. The strategic importance of the G1 branch was clear, and of everyone present, only Kizaru could reach it the fastest.
"Understood." For once, Kizaru didn't dawdle. He transformed into a flash of golden light and disappeared from Navy Headquarters. As an admiral, he understood the gravity of the situation. Had he delayed even a second longer, Sengoku might have exploded in anger.
"Kuzan, Garp, you should go too."
"Alright."
As soon as Kizaru left, Sengoku turned to Vice Admiral Garp and Admiral Aokiji. Both stood up, nodded, and walked out. With an opponent like Kaido and an unknown Mythical Zoan user, one admiral alone might not be enough. Kizaru was only sent ahead to minimize the damage to the G1 branch before the others arrived.
Facing an opponent of Kaido's level, Sengoku had a strong premonition that Kaido's opponent might be from the Akatsuki.
In most cases, even the Four Emperors avoided direct conflict with the Navy. Even Roger's crew never directly attacked a naval base.
If not to save Ace, Whitebeard wouldn't have confronted the Navy head-on during the Summit War. After all, pirates aren't revolutionaries; their ideals and goals are wealth, dominion, or the One Piece—not overthrowing the Navy or World Government.
With two admirals and Garp, Sengoku was determined to capture any trace of Akatsuki. If he weren't bound by his duty as Fleet Admiral, he would have gone personally.
Explosions rang out, and the sky above the Navy's G1 branch was ablaze. Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and two dragons, one black and one blue, clashed intensely, barely a few meters above the ground.
Daniel intentionally kept the fight close to the ground to inflict maximum damage on the G1 branch. By now, not a single building remained intact, and nearly all the Navy ships docked at the port had been destroyed in the raging flames, lightning, and torrents of rain.
Only a few lucky ships managed to escape with evacuating sailors on board, but the vessels at the Red Harbor weren't as fortunate.
Even without accounting for the Navy casualties, the loss of ships alone was enough to make Sengoku spit blood.
Red Harbor was the name of the port behind both Navy Headquarters and the G1 branch, the only known route through the Red Line. This port served as the connection point between the Grand Line's first half and the New World for the Navy. Daniel had considered destroying it immediately but decided against it. If he destroyed it now, the Navy and World Government would just repair it. But if he did it at a critical moment later, they wouldn't have time to fix it.
Without this passage, the Navy couldn't easily deploy ships between the two areas. Although the Fish-Man Island route remained an option, it wasn't suitable for large-scale operations, considering it lay ten thousand meters below the sea.
Of course, damaging the Red Harbor wasn't easy. Reinforced with Seastone, it was resistant to nearly all Devil Fruit powers, preventing sabotage by abilities like those of the Revolutionary Army's Western Army Commander Morley, who could manipulate earth. Without Seastone, he could've destroyed the passage single-handedly.
"Who the hell are you?" Kaido bellowed mid-battle, surrounded by surging lightning and causing massive destruction.
"After this battle, you'll know."
Just then, a golden light streaked from the Red Harbor tunnel. In an instant, Admiral Kizaru appeared above the G1 branch, materializing in the air between Kaido and Daniel.
"It's Admiral Borsalino!" The surviving Navy soldiers cheered as Kizaru appeared.
"This is really something," Kizaru muttered as he gazed down at the battling dragons and the ruined G1 branch. He raised his hands, emitting countless beams of golden light that rained down upon the two dragons below, his Eightfold Yata Mirror attack.
Kaido looked up at Kizaru, his face filled with grim determination.
"Borsalino…" Kaido's dragon form began to shrink. Against an opponent like Kizaru, remaining in his massive dragon form would make him a giant target, and while Kaido was reckless, he wasn't foolish.
Simultaneously, Daniel's black dragon form faded, revealing a young man with short white hair dressed in Akatsuki's cloak.
"Given your attire, you must be with Akatsuki. What should I call you?" Kizaru asked, positioning himself between Kaido and Daniel. He was here to stall for time; Sengoku would never send him alone against Kaido and a powerful, unidentified individual.
"Akatsuki's Blue Dragon, Tobirama Senju. A pleasure to meet you, Borsalino," Daniel replied, masking his real identity. After some thought, he chose to assume the identity of Tobirama Senju, the younger brother of Hashirama.
"Blue Dragon, huh? That dragon was clearly black," Kizaru thought to himself but kept quiet.
"Akatsuki truly is an organization full of talent," Kizaru commented. Currently, three members of Akatsuki had surfaced, each displaying strength on par with admirals or Yonko. And judging by the situation, this "Tobirama Senju" wasn't even Akatsuki's leader. Even if they were playing it mysterious, Akatsuki's demonstrated power was shocking enough: three individuals with strength comparable to an admiral or Yonko—a force even the Yonko crews didn't have.
"Kaido, I think this is where we call it a draw. With Admiral Kizaru here, I'd bet other admirals, maybe even Vice Admiral Garp, are on their way, and I'm not eager to face them."
"You're messing with me? Take one punch from me first!" As one of the Four Emperors, Kaido wasn't a fool; he could tell that Akatsuki had deliberately used him to destroy the Navy's G1 branch.
Being played like a fool enraged Kaido, and
despite Garp's impending arrival, he charged at Daniel to test his strength.
Though Kaido feared nothing—not even Whitebeard—he would rather avoid meeting Garp unless necessary. Kaido had been captured multiple times, with most of those defeats coming at Garp's hands.
While Whitebeard had weakened with age, Garp remained at his peak, an almost miraculous exception. In general, aging weakens all warriors, like Rayleigh, Sengoku, and Zephyr. Even Madara Uchiha experienced this. But Garp was the lone exception.
With a dark haze of Armament Haki and flashing lightning on his right arm, Kaido charged forward, aiming to test Daniel's power.
"The pirate world really does differ from the Shinobi world. If this were the Shinobi world, given the situation, the Four Emperors would definitely unite to first overthrow the Navy and World Government, then decide who'd rule," Daniel thought as he prepared to counter Kaido.
Back in the era of Madara Uchiha and the First Hokage, the other villages had always formed alliances. Pirates, however, would never unite.
Daniel refocused as Kaido launched his attack. He covered his right hand with Armament Haki to match Kaido's form, mirroring his Thunder Bagua attack.
A thunderous explosion resounded as Kaido and Daniel's fists collided. A massive shockwave rippled outward, shattering everything within several hundred meters.
"The hell?" Kaido muttered as he was forced to retreat nearly ten steps, while Daniel only stepped back three. Roaring with frustration, Kaido rushed at him again.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two exchanged nearly ten punches, leaving a crater dozens of meters deep. In the end, Kaido was the one who faltered, his strength marginally weaker.
Kaido could hardly believe it, and even Kizaru's brow furrowed tightly at the outcome.
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