The South Blue sun rose over the land of the Sorbet Kingdom for the first time.
A day before, half this place had been an outcast land — a refuge for the expelled.
Today, every inch of it had become lawless territory.
The Sorbet Kingdom had been removed from the World Assembly.
At the harbor outside the church a large ship was already prepared.
The crew gathered on deck. Sharn turned and walked toward the railing.
Old men and grandmothers from Sorbet came to the shore to see them off.
"I've decided to leave too!" Kuma declared from aboard the ship.
He had planned to say goodbye to Kinny, but he worried that if he didn't become stronger he wouldn't be able to protect those he cared for. That was why Sharn could come and go freely: he had absolute strength. Kuma wanted to grow stronger so that when he returned to Sorbet he could protect Kinny, Queen Koni, and everyone else.
"Set sail!" Sharn raised his arm; the sails billowed in the wind.
Fresh bounty posters and newspapers fluttered and landed across the bow.
This world was entering a new, stormy age. If they didn't carve out a foothold during the chaotic aftermath of Rocks' death, the road ahead would only be harder. In the future, when Roger, Gold Lion, and Whitebeard rose and the three great powers vied for dominance, even Riri, Kaido, and Wangzhi would have to be careful. For now, Sharn's ship had already assembled a number of promising strong fighters. Next would be a hunt for Devil Fruits — a voyage into the Grand Line to make a name for themselves.
"Wow! Kuma has a bounty—five million Berries! That's his first bounty, amazing!" Kinny munched a slice of pizza and swung her feet on the balcony.
"Why are you here?" Kuma asked, surprised that she had come aboard.
"I felt you acting strange last night—did Sharn show you something weird?" Kinny finished a bite of bacon pizza and licked her lips.
"Ask Sharn! He'll say yes to me joining, right?" Kinny chirped. She'd simply assumed she could join, and Kuma was bewildered—life at sea could be dangerous; who would protect her if something happened?
"You there can't protect everyone just by standing beside them," Sharn said, passing a slice to Kuma. "Don't assume safety beyond your sight." Kuma, Mo'lia, and Ulki stood together—three young, comically overgrown trainees. Kuzan was sweating and training hard; he wasn't a Fruit user and had to train the Navy's Rokushiki on his own.
"Olvia—anything I can help with?" Kinny hopped toward the navigator's cabin. Bounty posters fluttered across the ship; the crew hardly cared about the Marine hostility. The headlines were absurd, but so what? If you fear being enemies with the whole world, you shouldn't take to the sea. Olvia scanned the papers; nothing about the headlines surprised her.
"South Blue's Sorbet Kingdom has fallen—devoured by the tyrant Sharn!" read one headline.
"Former King Bekory executed—cast into the sea."
"Sharn is ruthless; Sorbet suffers," the papers cried. This was the third major incident: Flower Country, Ohara, now Sorbet. The public read and concluded Sharn's ambition had swollen grotesquely. The bounty read loud and clear: Tyrant Sharn — Bounty: 370 million Berries!
Kaido laughed, pleased. "Sharn, you're still five million lower than me!" Others looked over the paper. Mo'lia blinked; his own bounty had broken a million. Ulki and Kuzan hadn't been listed yet.
"I'm the strongest among the trainees—I'm the strongest!" Mo'lia wailed with pride; he finally had a breakthrough. "But Kuma's first bounty is five million," Ulki marveled, clutching Kuma's poster even though he himself had no bounty yet. "So unfair—Kuma and the captain have history." Mo'lia sulked and went back to training his Shadow Fruit. Laughter and cheer filled the deck.
"We must root out all that darkness!" Kuzan trained hard, resolved by what had happened at Sorbet.
On the island that once belonged to Sorbet, the tavern owner stared at the paper in confusion. "We were occupied by pirates? But nobody invaded us!" People were stunned—no pirates bothered them now, and no Marines patrolled anymore. Soon a royal fleet arrived and told them not to worry about the Sky Money (the Celestial tribute). Having left the World Assembly, they would now be under Sorbet's protection. The tavern owner thought back to Kuzan leaving.
Across the Grand Line, Roger prepared to head for the New World. Reilly and others laughed at the news. "Sharn's causing trouble again, ambitious kid!" Reilly hoped Sharn would enter the Grand Line soon. But he'd run into resistance—the Marines wouldn't let him in easily; letting him in would be like setting a tiger loose.
At Shabondy, Whitebeard looked at the paper in confusion. "How did he go to the South Blue? What happened at Ohara?" Marco found the reports absurd and noticed Sharn's crew contained youth near his age. New questions brewed.
Far to the east, the New World's third great pirate after the god-valiant wars had already begun to swell. Sharn and Kaido's belligerence drew ire. Perospero and Katakuri read the news, their faces unreadable. Katakuri told Perospero, "Sharn's bounty passed three hundred million! But he'll have a hard time entering the Grand Line—Marines will block him."
Brûlée popped up from the mirror, excited: "Is this the Sharn that Katakuri always mentions? He looks gentler than Kaido." Both pirates and Marine HQ watched the newcomer, hoping he might reach the Grand Line.
Sharn's ship had now reached the entrance to the Grand Line.
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