"It is one thing to abolish the Shichibukai… but there's more. Saint Jaygarcia Saturn has issued a death order...within fifteen years, all chaos on the seas must be completely eradicated."
When Sengoku mentioned this, his expression hardened, the weight of the message sinking into the room.
"What? Fifteen years to wipe out every pirate?!"
"How could that even be possible?"
"This isn't something that can be done so easily…"
The voices of protest rose one after another. Even the most confident officers knew the truth: no matter how strong the Navy was, there was no way to guarantee the end of piracy in just fifteen years.
After all...if the Navy had truly possessed such overwhelming might, the institution of the Shichibukai would never have been necessary in the first place. Wasn't their very existence proof that the seas couldn't be fully suppressed?
Sengoku raised a hand, his tone firm.
"Don't panic. Saint Saturn has already ordered the Ministry of Science—Vegapunk himself, to provide us with complete support. The Pacifista Project and the Seraphim Plan are to be accelerated immediately."
The room fell silent at that name.
Even Garp, who had scoffed moments earlier, furrowed his brow. The other admirals exchanged looks, their indignation cooling into thought.
"…If Vegapunk truly commits all his resources to this…"
Akainu muttered, eyes narrowing. "Then it doesn't sound impossible."
They all knew Vegapunk's reputation...the genius whose science was decades ahead of the world. If anyone could shift the balance, it was him.
"And there is one more thing," Sengoku added, voice cutting through the tension. "Saint Saturn has decreed that military expenditure is to be doubled every year from now on."
"Ha!"
Akainu slammed his palm against the table, fire in his eyes. "Now we're talking! If you'd led with that, there would've been no complaints from the start!"
The mood shifted instantly.
"It seems," Vice Admiral Tsuru spoke at last, her sharp gaze gleaming with strategy, "that what we need now… is careful planning."
The room fell into a thoughtful hush. For the first time, the idea of a world without pirates did not sound like a fantasy but a terrifying possibility.
--
New World – Island of St. Louis
Buggy had originally been thinking of packing up and running away, but after reading the latest newspaper headline, he froze.
His jaw slackened. His hands trembled. For a brief moment, he even began doubting his own existence.
"The Holy Land… gone? A bunch of Celestial Dragons… dead? Six billion bounty?!"
Slap!
Buggy smacked himself across the face. The sharp sting shot through his cheek. Pain meant reality. This wasn't some bad dream.
"This… this is insane!" he muttered, eyes wide in disbelief. Just how many Celestial Dragons did Rain massacre to get slapped with six billion?! Even Captain Roger never had a bounty like that!
Click!
The office door creaked open. Rain strolled in with Mira at his side, followed by Hiyori and Robin.
"What's that you're staring at, Buggy?" Rain asked, raising a brow as his gaze flicked to the newspaper clutched in Buggy's shaking hands.
"Rain! You're back!" Buggy's eyes lit up, half with relief, half with desperation. Then suspicion crept onto his face.
"I just have one question… what the hell did you do? Why did the World Government put THAT kind of bounty on you?"
Buggy's tone was a mix of curiosity and disbelief.
Rain waved a hand casually, his smile infuriatingly calm.
"It's nothing big. I just wiped the Holy Land off the map and killed about… oh, eighty percent of the Celestial Dragons. That's all."
"???"
Buggy's brain short-circuited on the spot. His eyes rolled, his lips twitched. He couldn't believe Rain had said it like he was bragging about grocery shopping.
Versailles bastard! Buggy screamed internally.
But before he could spit out a retort, Rain's smile turned sharp.
"Alright. Enough chatter. Let's move to the real topic."
The air in the room shifted instantly...heavy and serious.
Rain fixed his gaze on Buggy.
"Buggy, you don't have to worry about CP0 making trouble for you anytime soon."
Buggy perked up, suddenly alert. "Oh? And why's that?"
Rain's grin widened, eyes glinting.
"Because CP0… no longer exists. They were completely annihilated along with the Holy Land."
Silence.
Buggy swallowed hard. His legs wobbled as the weight of Rain's words sank in.
"Good news!"
Buggy suddenly leapt up, his eyes sparkling. To him, Rain's words were the sweetest music. "Isn't this great news?!"
Rain, however, didn't let his excitement run too far.
"On the contrary… after this, the World Government will start digging like mad. They'll investigate every scrap of information about me. Once they confirm the truth, they'll act and it might drag you down with me."
Buggy froze, then slowly nodded. His grin slipped into something more serious.
"I know that much."
Then, puffing out his chest, he flashed a smug smile.
"But don't worry. I've made preparations. I'm not exactly broke anymore, and with money comes one important thing...insurance. As long as I stay alive, I can enjoy the fortune I've piled up!"
Rain chuckled at Buggy's self-satisfaction, but he was glad to see the clown wasn't completely careless.
"Good. Just make sure you're ready."
"Of course!" Buggy barked, full of confidence.
Rain's tone shifted, calm but firm.
"By the way, if you've got nothing urgent, don't come looking for me in the near future. I'll be… lying low for a while."
Of course, that was a lie.
The real reason was far beyond Buggy's imagination. Rain and Mira had already spent nearly ten years in this world.
The gate of time and space had recorded the coordinates completely. Which meant, at any moment, they could return to their original world Fairy Tail.
And with the ten-to-one flow of time, while a long time had passed for Rain and Mira, only a little would have slipped by back in Fairy Tail.
Buggy, oblivious to this, nodded along.
"Yeah… after raising that kind of hell, it makes sense to keep quiet for a while."
Rain smiled faintly.
"Mira and I are going back home for a time. So I'll need you to look after Hiyori and Robin."
"Don't worry, leave it to me!" Buggy slapped his chest with bravado, grinning ear to ear. Two young girls? That's nothing. Piece of cake for Captain Buggy!
Rain's eyes softened. "Thanks. Oh and before we head back, check the treasure vault. If there's anything you like, take it."
Buggy waved him off proudly. "Hah! Don't tempt me with a good time. You're too generous, Rain."
"Don't worry," Rain smirked, "I won't be polite about it either."
The two laughed together before Rain turned his gaze toward the treasure house.
Inside, piles of gold and jewels gleamed, but his eyes were drawn elsewhere...toward the racks of weapons and the strange fruits sealed away.
"Devil Fruits…"
Rain's gaze lingered on them, his thoughts already shifting to the future.
Lisanna's fruit is already prepared… but with five more sitting here, maybe I should bring back a few extras.
--------------------------------------
Support me at patreon.com/Arthorain and read upto 50 Advanced Chapters and Exclusive R-18 Content!
--------------------------------------
Every 100 power stones = 1 Extra Chapter
By voting with [power stones], you can easily get double the number of chapters.