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The battle between the Red Hair Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates raged for several days and nights. Once again, news birds scattered the headlines across the globe.
Following the Thunder Emperor's lead, Whitebeard had seemingly given his tacit approval of the Red Hair Pirates' strength. As the conflict wound down, Shanks—fueled by an unstoppable momentum—set sail once more. His targets: the Beast Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates.
With the return of the Thunder Emperor and the rise of a new king, the New World had officially entered the era of the Four Emperors and the Lone Sovereign.
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North Blue—Minion Island.
This small island adjacent to Swallow Island was virtually unknown. Due to its freezing climate and year-round snowfall, it was uninhabited. Currently, however, a stroke of incredible luck had led a pirate crew to occupy it. They were waiting in the shadows for a representative of the World Government to arrive with five billion Berries.
"I can't believe something this small is worth that much..."
Diez Barrels, a former Marine officer and current captain of the Barrels Pirates, held the heart-shaped, crimson Op-Op Fruit before his eyes. His gaze was filled with wonder. He shifted his weight, his prominent "X" scarred chin catching the light.
Nearby stood his crew and his son, the boy who would one day be known as the "Fallen Rear Admiral," X Drake.
"Then again, it makes sense. Any doctor who eats this instantly becomes a miracle worker that everyone on Earth would kill to hire."
"Legend has it that someone in the past used the Op-Op Fruit to perform impossible surgeries, curing every terminal disease known to man!"
"But for pirates like us," Barrels muttered, "the only way to realize its true value is to sell it!!"
He spoke mostly to himself, carefully locking the fruit into a chest on the table.
"Captain, the Thunder Emperor put out a massive bounty on this fruit years ago," one crew member said, clearly reluctant to sell to the Government. "Word is, if you bring it to him, he'll grant any wish you ask for!"
"It's a bit late for that now..." Barrels' face darkened instantly. "If I'd known the Thunder Emperor was alive, do you think I would've let Doflamingo broker a deal with the Government? I would've sailed straight for the New World!"
"But Doflamingo is on his way, and Vice Admirals Tsuru and Garp are coming too. It's too late to change course!"
If only the Thunder Emperor had returned sooner, Barrels' crew might have skyrocketed to power in the New World. But the man had reappeared right as the deal with Doflamingo was being finalized. The timing couldn't have been worse.
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Donquixote Rosinante, clad in his signature black feathered cloak, stood miles away, peering through binoculars at the activity on Minion Island.
Cradled in his arms was Law, who was listless and frail, his body ravaged by the final stages of Amber Lead Syndrome. If they didn't get the life-saving Op-Op Fruit soon, Law wouldn't survive the week.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, Vice Admiral Garp, there's smoke coming from the ruins on Minion Island. The Barrels Pirates are almost certainly stationed there," Rosinante reported through a transponder snail. As the foster son of Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the younger brother of Doflamingo, he was the primary informant for this transaction.
"Don't be scared, Law. Once we get that fruit, your disease will be cured. After you're healthy, you'll come back to the Navy with me. With your talent, they'll train you into an incredible Marine," Rosinante said, patting Law's head gently.
"Cora-san... it's too dangerous... let's just go..." Law struggled to speak. The bond they had formed made him hate the idea of Rosinante risking his life.
"No. Hope is right in front of us, and a man doesn't give up when the goal is in sight, Law!" Seeing Law's pitiable state only hardened Rosinante's resolve to steal the fruit.
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The air was frigid, and a biting wind swept through the sky, but Arthur—flying at high altitude—hardly felt the cold.
After delegating his affairs, he had departed Thunder God Island immediately. He crossed the Calm Belt without a single pause, pushing himself to his absolute maximum speed until he finally breached the North Blue.
However, once he arrived, he hit a snag. The world map he kept in his "Fortress" storage bracelet didn't have any record of an "Minion Island." It was too insignificant.
He had no idea where to go next.
"I need directions..." Arthur hovered in the air, frowning. After a moment of thought, he picked a direction and accelerated.
He was on the verge of obtaining the key to his second great evolution. The excitement was almost difficult to contain. As for whether he could actually get it? He didn't have a shadow of a doubt. Whoever held the fruit would either hand it over or die. Nothing was going to stand in his way.
If I can develop that "Conceptual Surgery"...
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"KILL THEM!!"
"Slaughter these heartless bastards!"
"Damn Germa 66! An army of evil like this will face judgment one day!!"
A brutal battle was unfolding on the island below. While it lacked the sheer scale of the New World wars, the scene was far more visceral and stomach-turning.
On one side was a kingdom's army—thousands of soldiers of all shapes and sizes, their strength varying wildly. On the other side stood a force where every soldier looked, dressed, and acted exactly the same, as if they had been stamped out of a single mold.
The number "66" was emblazoned on their cloaks.
There was no mistaking them: the Vinsmoke Family, former rulers of the North Blue who maintained the right to attend the Reverie despite having no fixed territory. This identical Germa 66 army was a force of terrifying clones, modified through "Lineage Factors."
These soldiers had one supreme advantage: absolute obedience and peak efficiency.
The battle was a one-sided massacre. The kingdom's soldiers, who were merely normal humans, couldn't hope to stop the Germa juggernaut. High-tech weaponry flashed across the field as the thousand-man army was systematically torn apart from front to back.
Most striking of all were four children, no older than seven or eight, who were tearing through groups of adults. In the face of such a blood-soaked scene, their expressions remained completely cold and detached.
Vinsmoke Reiju, Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji. As for the "failure" of the modifications—the third son, Sanji—he was cowering behind a pile of crates, trembling amidst the sea of corpses.
"So, it's Vinsmoke Judge. The man who worked on research with Vegapunk," Arthur muttered from high above. He watched the slaughter with bored eyes.
He descended slowly, landing directly in front of Judge. He sized up the tall, imposing man; Judge looked more like a brute than a world-class scientist.
"The Thunder Emperor??"
SHING—!
In an instant, the entire Germa 66 legion pivoted, aiming their weapons at Arthur as if facing the greatest threat in existence.
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