"So even women aren't spared, huh?"
The thunderous commotion caught the attention of Shakky and Rayleigh — they both saw Elior striking down Bonney, one of the Supernovas.
"Wonder what'll happen to her... But this is pirate business, and it's Elior we're talking about — better stay out of it" Rayleigh muttered, shaking his head.
Shakky could only sigh in sympathy for Bonney.
The onlookers could only watch as Elior dragged Bonney away, limp in his grip.
After two crushing punches to the gut, Bonney felt like her entire body was falling apart. Elior had held back — if he'd gone all out, her stomach might've been blown right through. Her defense was far from formidable. The only women in the world with real durability were the likes of the Tobiroppo from the Beasts Pirates, and, of course, Big Mom herself.
Bonney's crew? Forgotten. From today on, they didn't have a captain anymore.
Unlike the Marine, where abducting a female officer might cause all kinds of trouble, snatching up a pirate woman was nothing. In the pirate world, this was just how things went.
When Elior later reunited with Bullet and the others, they noticed the woman he'd dragged back — the infamous Big Eater Jewelry Bonney.
She was shackled with sea prism stone cuffs — a precaution, since her ability to manipulate age could've been troublesome even for Elior. Now, powerless, she could only glare at everyone with seething hatred.
"Oho! Captain, what's the story here?"
Urouge chuckled, recognizing Bonney immediately.
"Jewelry Bonney, the Big Eater" Hawkins added flatly.
"Looks like she's gonna have it rough" Crocodile remarked dryly.
Bullet raised a brow. "What's so special about her fruit?"
Law explained, "I don't know the fruit's name, but it lets her alter her own or others' ages. She can turn you into an old man on the brink of death, or a newborn. She's not strong physically, but her ability is annoying."
"Alter age, huh?"
World chuckled. "Think she could make me young again?"
"She could — but would she want to?" Elior tugged on Bonney's chain, as she shot him a murderous glare. She would've cursed him out if she hadn't already screamed herself hoarse.
Shiryu offered a thought. "If she can change someone's age, could she keep herself or others young forever? Like a form of immortality?"
"In theory… maybe" Elior mused. But like Ain's Return-Return Fruit, which could revert a person's age, these abilities didn't actually restore vitality or heal internal damage. No matter how young someone looked, time still marched on inside.
He also recalled Toki's Time-Time Fruit — able to send people to the future, but not the past. A powerful yet restricted ability.
Bonney's fruit likely had limits too — this world always had a way to balance every power.
But still, who didn't desire immortality? No matter how strong, no one could escape aging and death — a cruel reality.
"The Ope Ope no Mi is the real deal" someone noted, glancing at Law.
"The Immortality Operation… that fruit's worth the head of Whitebeard himself"
But Elior smirked. "If the Gorosei had really gotten immortality from it, why did every previous user of the Ope Ope die? The current fruit holder is Law — can he perform it on himself? Doesn't seem so. There's more to this than we know."
Everyone chuckled, the topic stirring interest, but Bonney just kept glaring at Elior. She knew she was doomed the moment he dragged her onto his ship.
And any attempt to resist? Elior didn't care.
Even if she had a hundred ways to fight back, he had a thousand ways to break her — to make her beg for mercy.
Before even returning to Paradise, Elior deprived her of water and food for over two days. That alone was enough to break many.
Meanwhile, the news that Elior had abducted Bonney spread to the Marine, and from there to the World Government and the Gorosei.
Once again, the Gorosei fumed — but with Elior's growing power, they couldn't afford to act rashly. And Bonney…
Bonney was a special case. Even the Gorosei had headaches over her, but there was nothing they could do now.
At the same time, the World Government revised the bounties of the entire Elior Pirates:
Elior: 5,000,000,000 Berries — set personally by the Gorosei.
Bullet: 1,970,000,000 Berries
Shiryu: 1,500,000,000 Berries
Crocodile: 1,030,000,000 Berries
Weevil: 540,000,000 Berries
Law: 420,000,000 Berries
Urouge: 360,000,000 Berries
Hawkins: 320,000,000 Berries
The Gorosei had evaluated Elior themselves, the others were handled by government officials.
Meanwhile, the bounties for Redfield and World also rose —
Redfield: 2,060,000,000 Berries
World: 1,830,000,000 Berries
With these updated numbers, the world erupted. The news of the Summit War swept across the globe, along with the updated bounties.
The World Government officially declared the war a great victory, citing the deaths of Whitebeard and Ace as proof.
But Morgans' newspapers told a different story.
According to them, Elior — now crowned the ruler of Hachinosu — had personally joined the war:
He killed one of the World Government's top-secret powerhouses.
He killed Aokiji, crippled Akainu.
He killed Ace.
He ended Whitebeard.
His feats were unprecedented, horrifying even.
And with that, Elior was now officially recognized as a new Yonko.
The Great Pirate Era continued. The Yonko system remained — though Whitebeard was gone, a new monster had taken his place.
Whitebeard's final declaration — that the One Piece is real — sent the world into further frenzy.
At Paradise, Judge had just arrived with all his forces. Upon reading the news, he stood frozen.
"How… how is he this strong?!"
"Killed a Marine Admiral… crippled another… and Whitebeard too?!"
"Is he invincible?!"
Judge trembled with excitement and fear.
If he couldn't cling tightly to Elior's monstrous power now, he'd be forever left to rot in obscurity. Sacrificing Reiju? Worth it.
Unbeknownst to him, Elior had no intention of letting Germa survive — he would consume their tech and forces, just as Big Mom had tried to.
In the New World, waves stirred restlessly.
On Onigashima, Kaido, fully recovered from the wounds Elior had given him, read the latest newspaper — and the sake instantly lost its flavor.
Moments later, Kaido began to weep.
"Whitebeard… you bastard… you actually died."
"And not by my hand…!"
Kaido sobbed like a child.
"Elior… good. This world's about to get real fun again."
"You're finally recognized as the New World's sovereign, huh?"
"And Whitebeard… you finally admitted that the One Piece is real!"
His subordinates watched their mighty captain cry in confusion but dared not ask.
Whitebeard was dead — wasn't that a good thing?
Why was their captain weeping like this?
What King and the others didn't know was that Kaido and Whitebeard had once been crewmates. In Kaido's heart, Whitebeard was one of the few men he truly respected — alongside Rocks, Kozuki Oden, and Shanks.
Meanwhile, on Whole Cake Island—
"Heh… so Whitebeard's finally dead!"
"Which means… Fish-Man Island belongs to me now! Charlotte Linlin!"
Under the moonlight atop the Cake Castle, Big Mom twisted her bloated body, performing a grotesque dance that was neither graceful nor particularly watchable — thanks to her sheer size and hideous appearance these days.
"Smoothie!"
"Here, Mama!"
Smoothie, one of the Sweet Commanders, stepped forward at once.
"Go to Fish-Man Island," Big Mom ordered. "Tell their king that from now on, Fish-Man Island is under the protection of the Big Mom Pirates."
"Yes, Mama!" Smoothie answered promptly. Taking control of Fish-Man Island now was a simple matter — the Big Mom Pirates could crush them with ease.
Big Mom, meanwhile, was drooling at the mere thought of it. Her stomach acids — far more corrosive than sulfuric acid — dripped onto the floor, instantly burning holes in it and sending up plumes of smoke.
To her, the desserts of Fish-Man Island were the most delicious in the entire world.
However, what Big Mom didn't know was—Fish-Man Island was exactly what Elior desired the most.
And once Elior wanted something, no one else stood a chance.