New World – Kingdom of Adams
From the moment Imu and the Five Elders were "driven back" at Fortress G-18, the entire kingdom descended into chaos.
Countless royals and nobles scrambled to pack their fortunes, boarding ships in a frenzy to flee this no-longer-safe homeland of the Celestial Dragons.
The defeat of the World Government signaled the collapse of order across the New World.
Soon, this sea would belong only to pirates and monsters.
Neither allied nations nor the Celestial Dragon's ancestral kingdoms would have the protection of the Government or the Navy anymore. Their only chance at survival was to retreat to the Grand Line.
The naval officers stationed at Fortress G-9 became the personal escorts guarding the nobles' desperate flight from Adams and the surrounding territories.
That same day, every naval branch across the New World began a total withdrawal.
It marked the end of the World Government's dominance in these waters.
Ruins of the G-1 Main Base, New World.
Members of the Arlong Pirates — Bartolomeo, Burgess, and Ed Largo — were all sent crashing to the ground by the paw-shaped shockwaves of the Pacifista Kuma, leaving enormous crater prints wherever they fell.
Not long after, Souta Kiryuu, PX-Bruno, and the Seraphim Kuma appeared as well.
They'd returned faster than Lafitte and Bege's airships, reaching the captured zone first.
Overhead, a fleet of skyships hovered — massive crafts carrying high-profile prisoners: Warden Isaac, Pirate King Jitsu, and the legendary "Black Arm" Zephyr among them.
Guarding this prison fleet were PX-Crocodile, the war demon Wiper, two Seraphim, and the women Baby 5, Monet, and Sugar.
If necessary, Sugar could simply turn every captive into a toy and erase them from existence.
Kiryuu leapt from the crater, dusted himself off, and turned his cold eyes toward Mary Geoise.
He still felt a twinge of guilt over abandoning Moonlight Moria — but Imu and Saint Mars' attacks had brought him terrifyingly close to death.
"Wahaha! That was close! I thought those black arrows were gonna skewer me! And that giant bird— freakish as hell!"
Burgess climbed out of his crater, laughing with relief, showing off his "trophies": a Celestial Dragon's severed head and a bag of treasure hanging at his belt.
"I didn't even get to test if my barrier could block those black arrows."
Bartolomeo spat in frustration. He was confident his "invincible" barrier could withstand even the King of the World's shadow bolts.
"So damn scary… that Imu."
Ed Largo swallowed hard. Even his famously reckless nerves were shaken by the aura Imu radiated.
"Kiryuu! You actually pulled it off!"
Baby 5 dropped from the sky like a rocket, smacking Kiryuu's head playfully with a loud slap, laughing with childish excitement.
Kiryuu's icy glare immediately made her flinch. If she weren't close to Arlong himself, he'd have punished her for daring to touch him.
"Hey… where's Moria?"
Burgess and Bartolomeo finally noticed someone missing — the main commander of the Mary Geoise raid.
"…"
Kiryuu said nothing. His silence was enough. Moonlight Moria hadn't made it back.
"That bastard didn't return?!"
The brutes erupted in disbelief and frustration.
"Let's move. Once Lafitte and Bege regroup with us, we'll set course to meet the boss."
Kiryuu teleported back to one of the skyships above, unwilling to explain further.
Hours later, Lafitte and Bege returned. Once their fleets joined, they immediately set out toward the central New World.
Between Fortresses G-18 and G-9 – Mid-Sea.
A small fleet of five skyships cut through the clouds at incredible speed.
On the largest of them stood Arlong Higashino, Kaido of the Beasts, and Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin.
"Arlong brat, we're taking those three airships. Don't forget about our deal for the artificial Devil Fruits.
And about Yamato— go fetch her yourself when you've got the time," Kaido said, gulping down sake without hesitation.
"Arlong! Remember our bargain? I'll allow it. You can choose two of my daughters to marry.
If you want Smoothie, one of my Sweet Commanders, that's fine too — but you'll pay me enough of a dowry to raise two new Commanders in her place."
Big Mom was devouring Arlong's finest banquet food while smiling wide, though her beady eyes gleamed with greedy calculation.
If Arlong didn't offer the right price, she had no intention of letting him marry Smoothie.
"Eheheh! Deal. Take the three skyships, they're yours," Arlong said easily, chewing a chunk of roasted meat. The loss of two airships and the Impel Down raiders was acceptable; they still had enough vessels for his core crew.
He even took time to show Kaido the airship's systems — powered by lightning engines, emergency wind-shell boosters, and the floating ability of the Float-Float Fruit. The performance was unmatched.
If the energy cells ran dry, Kaido himself could recharge them with his own lightning.
Even Big Mom looked tempted to buy a few.
"Hmm… what kind of dowry would make you hand over Smoothie?"
Arlong asked, half-joking but clearly intrigued. Smoothie's power surpassed Cracker's, rivaled only by Katakuri's among Big Mom's elite.
With Boa Hancock, Yamato, and Smoothie under his command, Arlong could assemble a force equivalent to a Four Emperor crew on his own — his own "Three Calamities" or "Sweet Commanders."
"An airship or two… maybe a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit… or one of those Seraphim," Big Mom said, voice dripping with greed.
A Seraphim's might was irresistible, far beyond the cloned soldiers of the Vinsmoke family. Big Mom desperately wanted that technology for herself.
"No deal on the Seraphim," Arlong said smoothly, glancing meaningfully at the man behind Kaido — King the Wildfire, last of the Lunarian race. His genetic code was the key to mass-producing the Seraphim.
Meanwhile, the Pirate Empress sat nearby, her face dark with irritation as Kaido and Big Mom casually offered up their daughters.
If she were strong enough, she would've turned both of them into stone right there.
As these three titans conversed — their words alone capable of shaking world politics — their small airfleet closed in on a fleeing Marine warship below.
At the ship's stern, "Iron Fist" Garp stood tall with arms crossed, his coat of justice whipping in the wind.
He glared defiantly at the sky, unafraid of the descending pirate fleet.
Only a handful of old soldiers remained on board, manning the sails and the helm.
The rest — dozens of Marines — were gone.
Two small landing craft were rowing away in opposite directions.
On one of them, Kuzan (Aokiji) and Bogart sat in silence, fists clenched, watching that doomed patch of sea with heavy hearts.