At the same time, somewhere in the Grand Line...
A crude yet massive raft was slowly sailing across the sea.
On the raft, a muscular triangle-shaped man wearing a weird perverted mask was laughing heartily like a maniac.
"Captain, how's the new ability treating you? Give us a demonstration!" asked Jesus Burgess, flexing his massive arms.
Marshall D. Teach, also known as Blackbeard, appeared thoughtful for a moment before bursting into laughter.
"Zehahaha! I can't use it recklessly yet! I've just become a Shichibukai. I don't want the Marines to know my full strength just yet."
Beside Teach, Van Augur, holding his long sniper rifle and adjusting his monocle, naturally understood his captain's caution but had another question.
"Captain, didn't you say before that the power you wanted most was Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit? What made you change your mind?"
Teach took a huge bite of a cherry pie, crumbs flying everywhere, before explaining.
"The tides of the world are moving too fast. I need to gain power sooner than I planned."
"Moving too fast? What do you mean?"
"Zehahaha! You'll find out when the time comes."
Just as Teach finished speaking, a News Coo appeared above their raft, dropping a newspaper.
After snatching up the paper, Blackbeard was the first to read it.
When he saw the headline, his pupils constricted abruptly.
Then, earth-shaking, maniacal laughter erupted from his throat.
"ZEHAHAHA! Just as I expected! This world is about to descend into complete chaos!"
"My dream is about to come true! Zehahaha!"
"Cough, cough... Damn it! I accidentally choked on the cherry pie! Shit!"
"Zehahaha! Even the cherry pie refuses to stay silent today, huh?"
...
Grand Line, aboard the Thousand Sunny.
The Straw Hat Pirates, after four days of sailing from the floating islands, were about to enter a strange, misty stretch of sea.
Coincidentally, a News Coo appeared at that exact moment.
"Usopp! Shoot that bird! Get the meat!" Luffy shouted excitedly.
WHACK! WHACK!
"Idiot! Get the paper, not the bird!"
Luffy was promptly restrained and beaten up by Nami and Sanji.
After successfully obtaining the newspaper (and sparing the bird), the entire Straw Hat crew jumped for joy.
"HAHAHA! I knew Ray could do it! This is amazing!"
Luffy and Chopper rolled around excitedly on the Sunny's grassy deck.
Zoro couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth upward while gripping his swords.
"Single-handedly taking down a Yonko... Tch. Somehow, I feel like I'm falling further behind Ray."
Despite his grumbling, an even stronger fighting spirit surged through Zoro's entire body.
He wanted to cut something now!
Nami was equally thrilled.
She put down the orange she was peeling and clasped Ray's new bounty poster with both hands, admiring it repeatedly with berry symbols in her eyes.
"3 Billion Berries... Tsk, tsk, tsk. If we sold Ray, wouldn't we live in luxury for the rest of our lives?"
Robin covered her mouth and chuckled beside her. "Would you really be willing to do that, Nami?"
"Of course! After we collect the bounty, Ray can always escape anyway. It's free money i tell ya!"
Franky, seeing the terrifying feat Ray had accomplished, struck various SUPER poses in excitement.
"OW! That's SUPER! Taking down a Yonko solo? that's insane!"
Though he hadn't known Ray for long, as a crewmate, he felt immense pride.
Franky couldn't wait to show Ray the modifications he'd made to the Sunny.
With such a powerhouse on their crew, he naturally wanted to showcase his engineering skills to match.
After the celebration died down, Luffy jumped onto the ship's lion figurehead, raised his hands high, and shouted to the crew:
"Ray is so strong—we can't afford to embarrass ourselves! Everyone, let's start training!"
"Huh?" Usopp blinked. "I thought you were going to say 'let's have a banquet.'"
"Yeah," Sanji lit a cigarette, "the sun must be rising from the west for you to choose training over food, Luffy."
Though everyone was complaining, they tacitly began their own training routines immediately.
Their friend were so strong—they couldn't afford to fall behind.
How could they stand beside Ray in the future if they were weak?
The Straw Hat Pirates, a crew of geniuses and monsters, were all quite prideful.
Just as they all threw themselves into training, the Sunny slowly entered a pitch-black, ominous sea area.
...
New World, on the White Horse Pirate Ship.
Cavendish and his crew also saw Ray's new bounty poster.
Cavendish's crew members were so excited they were jumping up and down like little kids.
"Is this really the Boss of our White Horse Pirates?!"
Though they were shocked when they first heard he defeated Big Mom, it still felt unreal. Like a rumor.
But now, seeing Ray's bounty poster and the official news reports, that unreality gradually transformed into boiling excitement.
Solo killing a Yonko!
Such a feat had never been heard of in the entire New World.
Ten months ago, when they followed Cavendish into the New World, they were bullied everywhere.
Other crews even laughed at them.
If Cavendish hadn't improved his strength so quickly, they'd probably have become food for Sea Kings by now.
But now? Those days of constant fear were gone forever!
Their boss's boss was a terrifying existence capable of killing a Yonko—who would dare bully them now?
Huh? Who else would dare?!
Demon God Ray.
Such an imposing name.
At this moment, every member of the White Horse Pirates, whether officers or ordinary deckhands, stood with unbelievably straight backs.
They walked with swagger!
As for Ray, he didn't have much reaction to his 3 billion berry bounty.
It was within expectations.
And his attention had already shifted to another place over a hundred nautical miles away—the Whitebeard Pirates' base.
...
New World, Red Hair Pirates.
Shanks and his crew naturally saw this news that was enough to shock the entire world.
He looked at Ray's bounty poster, his brow seemingly shrouded in thick fog.
"An old Emperor has fallen... but no new Emperor has ascended."
"The Marines didn't announce Ray as the new Yonko—is it because they're concerned about his status as merely a crewmate of Luffy's? Or because the Straw Hat Pirates' overall strength is too low since they lack the fleets and territory?"
Benn Beckman saw his captain's serious expression and smiled wryly.
He walked over and patted Shanks' shoulder.
"Why do you always get so gloomy whenever you see news about that Ray?"
"Worried again that Luffy can't keep him under control?"
But this time, Shanks shook his head very decisively.
"What relationship Luffy and Ray have isn't important right now."
"I just feel a strong sense of unease."
"Unease about the future."
Normally, when anyone hears a friend express unease about the future, their first thought is to offer comfort.
But Benn Beckman was different
Because these words came from Shanks, the man who dominated the seas with his Haki.
Shanks had reached the peak level in Conqueror's, Armament, and Observation Haki alike.
Especially his Observation Haki—his future sight far surpassed others.
And Shanks' intuition had always been accurate.
Scary accurate.
Since he said this... combined with Whitebeard stubbornly refusing to listen to his advice...
Benn Beckman also developed a strong, sinking premonition.
This world was about to fall into great chaos, and the center of that chaos might be related to Ray and the Straw Hat Pirates.
...
New World, Wano Country, Onigashima.
"Guruuu... WAAAAAAAH~!"
A burly man with two massive demon horns, standing seven meters tall with mountainous muscles and a distinct X-shaped scar on his chest, was currently wailing uncontrollably while chugging sake.
"Old hag! How could you died just like that?!"
"Aren't you supposed to become the Pirate King with me?! How could you just die like this?!"
The drunken Kaido was freely venting his emotions as tears streaming down his face!
Big Mom had provided him with considerable help during his youth.
She was like an older sister to him back in the Rocks days.
The two had known each other for decades.
Even though they appeared like mortal enemies to outsiders as rival Yonko, only Kaido himself knew how important that woman named Linlin was to him.
CRASH!
Kaido smashed his massive gourd of sake onto the floor.
"Ray, is it?!"
"Since you killed Linlin, you'd better be prepared for me to come after you!"
After saying this, Kaido swung his spiked club, Hassaikai, wildly.
He smashed walls, pillars, and everything in sight, terrifying his subordinates who quickly scrambled away like rats, fearing they might accidentally get flattened.
...
One day later.
New World, Whitebeard Pirates, Moby Dick.
Marco glanced at the bounty poster in his hand, then at the silver-haired, calm-looking man standing boldly before his father, Whitebeard.
Marco couldn't help but hold his forehead, inwardly sighing in frustration.
'First, the Yonko Shanks comes here to lecture us... and now the guy who literally killed a Yonko shows up at our doorstep...'
'What the hell is going on with this week?'
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