The suffocating bounty posters of the Four Emperors were carried by flocks of news birds to every corner of the world.
"The World's Strongest Man," Whitebeard Edward Newgate — 3,846,000,000 Beli, a figure that inspired sheer dread.
"BIG MOM," Charlotte Linlin — 3,259,000,000 Beli, her ferocious reputation undiminished.
"Skyborne General," Tenma — 3,120,000,000 Beli, a latecomer surging forward with unstoppable momentum.
"The Beasts," Kaido — 2,836,700,000 Beli, savagely terrifying.
This was the World Government's official stance—drawing a terrifying gulf of tens of billions of Beli between these monsters and all other pirates.
There was no doubt about it: the most chaotic sea in the world, the New World, hadcompletely transformed into an ironclad domain ruled by four emperors standing in balance.
This was a realm utterly beyond the reach of mortals, a blunt declaration to the world that the gap between ordinary pirates and monster pirates was greater than a carp leaping the Dragon Gate.
The strength of these four monsters was beyond dispute, witnessed by the entire world.
As such, most people tacitly accepted this freshly minted title of the "Four Emperors."
And so, just as the World Government had hoped, the year-long storm stirred up by Tenma finally seemed to settle, the world gradually returning to a kind of precarious balance.
The only difference was that this New World—now completely reduced to the emperors' private garden—began attracting ever more opportunists.
From the Four Seas, from the Grand Line, countless people squeezed their way in, eager to pledge themselves to these Sea Emperors.
They wanted to ride the tide of the era, to cling to the coattails of the strong—even if it meant becoming nothing more than an accessory.
Among them, the most sought-after camps were naturally Tenma's and Whitebeard's.
After all, people strive upward. Even among the Four Emperors, there were ranks—any fool knew to follow the thicker thigh.
Tenma, upon receiving these reports, did not immediately shut the door on them.
But he wasn't running a charity either.
What he wanted were elites—wolves that could bite—not dogs that lived off scraps.
Thus, even though Wano possessed secure entry checkpoints, aside from its own citizens and specially approved merchant vessels, the gates remained firmly shut to outsiders.
Want to pledge allegiance to Tenma?
Fine—show some real skill.
Only those who dared openly challenge the perilous Whirlpool Seas, and then grit their teeth to climb the sky-piercing waterfall like a natural chasm, were qualified to receive an entry ticket.
And even then, that was merely the most basic preliminary screening.
Because of these absurdly harsh conditions, although countless people longed for Wano like carp crossing a river, the overwhelming majority turned back before those terrifying natural barriers.
That sea was as sinister as a ghost realm—one glance was enough to shatter courage, let alone facing its ever-changing natural disasters.
Even among the lucky few who scraped through, many were ultimately thrown out of Wano mercilessly due to insufficient strength.
As a result, after months of turmoil, only one or two fleets truly passed the trials and were accepted.
One had to remember: every month, at least ten pirate ships successfully entered the New World.
By comparison, Tenma's recruitment rate was dead last among the Four Emperors.
He couldn't have cared less.
With two Ancient Weapons in hand, plus a fully rolled-out militarized training system at home, he had no need to pad numbers with human-wave tactics.
Quality over quantity. Raising a few elites was better than feeding a horde of trash—cheaper, and far more efficient.
Of course, aside from those who came knocking, Tenma also took the initiative when it came to rising stars on the seas who caught his eye.
The "Crescent Hunter," Catarina Devon, was a prime example.
Beyond top-tier combat power, every other domain within Wano was developing at breakneck speed.
Tenma not only opened newspaper channels through Morgans, but also pulled in the underworld kings from the tea party onto his interest bandwagon.
Du Feld, the so-called "Loan Shark King," controlled the dark world's currency circulation.
Through his channels, Tenma quietly converted portions of Wano's gold reserves into standard Beli.
The "Shipping King" Umit and the "Warehousing King" Giberson were no exceptions.
Through their networks, overseas specialties and precision machinery poured endlessly into Wano.
Tenma was shaping his territory into a rich and diverse paradise.
At the same time, Wano's finely crafted weapons and Seastone products were sold worldwide through these underworld kings acting as agents.
The efficiency of this model was terrifying, and prices never fell—after all, the New World Emperor's brand was hard currency in the underworld.
The underworld kings themselves benefited as well, solidifying their positions. A true win-win.
As for the "Queen of the Pleasure District," Stussy, Tenma did not stop her girls from setting up shop either.
By blending more diverse entertainment elements into Wano's traditional courtesan and geisha culture, nightlife became even more vibrant.
Of course, this was clearly the planting of intelligence eyes—everyone knew it.
But what information was released, and what was sealed off, remained firmly under Tenma's control.
As long as these agents believed they were controlling the situation, Tenma could instead use them to wage a subtle information war.
Spies were tools—it all depended on how you used them. Especially the ones who believed their disguises flawless; those were the most valuable.
It had to be said: leveraging the methods of the dark-world kings brought enormous convenience to Wano as it gradually emerged from isolation.
These earth-shaking changes were on full display during the annual Fire Festival.
The Flower Capital blazed with lights.
On a magnificent stage crafted by overseas national-treasure artisans, a musical troupe personally trained by the Shogun's own songstress Emelie Chord performed.
Led by Maria Fang and Yamato, the girls sang their hearts out, melodies blending domestic and foreign styles, drawing wave after wave of cheers.
Across the streets of every district, crowds surged. Shops were decked in lanterns and banners, bustling with life.
Here gathered not only Wano's own delicacies, but exotic foods from across the world.
Vendors hawked refined Fish-Man Island pastries; the air carried the spicy aroma of Alabasta cactus stew.
Elbaf's Samra exuded cloying sweetness; Snow Country's frozen sashimi sent chills through the palate.
There was even Sea King tube pasta from Amazon Lily made with Gongzolola cheese—an eye-opening sight.
These once-feared foreign goods had now become objects of intense study for Wano's chefs.
From precision machinery to cultural cuisine, everything on this land was changing with each passing day.
That deeply rooted image of a backward, sealed-off nation had been utterly shattered in just three years under Tenma's rule.
Aside from strict outbound travel restrictions and the lack of foreign tourists due to Wano's illegal status, in terms of cultural inclusiveness and prosperity, Tenma's Wano already ranked among the world's best.
To meet the nation's surging demand for entertainment, Tenma even once again used his island-moving divine power.
Combined with the Momo-Momo Fruit's amplification, he forcibly created special zones of every function imaginable:
An all-night entertainment city.
Grand stages.
Professional opera houses.
Blood-pumping sparring arenas.
Heavily guarded military bases.
Luxurious auction halls.
Even scenic, colorful coastlines.
These new landmarks not only sent Wano's internal economy snowballing, but also made this self-sufficient land richer and more vibrant than ever.
In the New World under a Four Emperors standoff, everything evolved steadily—yet violently—with time.
Whitebeard and Big Mom continued to guard their territories like twin gate gods.
The former sailed about adopting sons; the latter busied herself with political marriages.
It was rumored that the madwoman was pregnant again, preparing to add yet another rare species to her All-Nations family.
Kaido occupied the Vodka Region of the New World, launching massive construction to build a new Onigashima stronghold.
He expanded his fleet by over a dozen pirate warships and recruited a fresh batch of cannon fodder.
All of this intelligence was painstakingly gathered through Shadow Guard infiltration of the underworld.
As Tenma broadened his underground connections, he naturally didn't forget to extend his own tentacles into that muddy darkness.
The rats scurrying in the gutters often held the most secret knowledge.
Big Mom's so-called world's number-one intelligence network was built on exactly these connections—Tenma had no intention of letting such a ready-made resource slip by.
With the Shadow Guard's ever-growing scale, deploying them into these dark corners rather than Wano—already fully controlled—played to their strengths far better.
The one maintaining single-line contact with each Shadow Guard captain was Robin.
Her Hana-Hana Fruit made recording and integrating such vast intelligence absurdly convenient—like cheating.
As for Tenma himself, he had largely become a hands-off ruler.
Aside from major decisions requiring his approval, all trivial matters were dumped on Kozuki Toki and Robin, his two most capable aides.
With the time freed up, Tenma began focusing on honing his own strength.
Naturally, he also made time to personally tutor promising talents within the Oniwabanshu.
Kuina's foundational swordsmanship had already reached mastery; Tenma began guiding her toward deeper sword techniques.
Elsewhere, she trained with Perona at the military base, focusing especially on Armament and Observation Haki.
These two girls proved exceptionally gifted.
Kuina's Armament Haki multiplied her sword power—every slash carried overwhelming force.
Perona, meanwhile, displayed astonishing talent in Observation Haki; paired with her Hollow-Hollow Fruit, her reconnaissance and ambush abilities were nearly impossible to guard against.
Lafitte had become a true martial fanatic, obsessively researching Haki.
His Armament had touched the threshold of Ryuo, constantly seeking breakthroughs through real combat.
Hancock and Maria Fang, two budding beauties, pursued a pure physical-combat path.
Beyond daily Haki training, their primary improvement method was—beating the crap out of each other.
For now, the Pirate Empress, not yet fully matured, was still suppressed by Maria Fang, who had received Tenma's guidance earlier.
As for Yamato, after being force-fed a mountain of electromagnetics knowledge, her development of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit skyrocketed.
A small incident occurred during one training session: under deliberate pressure from Tenma's aura, both Yamato and Hancock awakened Conqueror's Haki simultaneously.
This made Tenma invest even more heavily in their training.
Beyond individual elites, Wano's overall military foundation expanded explosively under Tenma's policies.
Riding the recruitment surge sparked by the Big Mom conflict, Tenma waved his hand and further opened national enlistment.
No matter your background—if you wanted to grow stronger, you could join the army.
The camps taught not only weapons, but even Marine Six Powers and the most practical New World skill of all: Haki.
Even Isshin Dojo was folded into the system.
Koshiro, the sword master acknowledged by Tenma, gained immense fame after defeating several renowned Wano samurai; his dojo was packed to bursting.
Recruits had to attend in rotating batches—such was the demand.
With all these benefits stacked, a nationwide enlistment frenzy erupted.
Nearly half of all able-bodied adults signed up in a surge of hot-blooded enthusiasm.
Even so, Tenma deliberately capped numbers—after all, someone still had to farm and keep the nation running.
Speaking of farming, Wano's agriculture that year was nothing short of cheating.
Not only did it achieve self-sufficiency, it became a massive food-exporting nation.
The profits were terrifying—on par with arms and Seastone trade.
This wasn't because Wano's land suddenly became fertile.
The credit went entirely to a Devil Fruit.
That Lira Blackveil, brought back earlier, was originally a royal noble from a major agricultural kingdom.
Upon learning of her agricultural expertise, Tenma bestowed upon her the Ripe-Ripe Fruit that Shinobu had surrendered.
Aside from some creative uses in private moments, this fruit was practically a divine artifact for agriculture.
In designated planting zones, Lira Blackveil activated her power, and crops grew as if fast-forwarded.
Aside from fragile seedlings, every crop tested achieved efficient mass production.
Where three harvests per year had once been a blessing, with Lira Blackveil's large-scale ripening every three months, yields more than doubled.
Already grain-rich Wano exported the surplus overseas.
In an age of chaos, food was even more valuable than weapons.
Wano's cheap, abundant grain instantly shook the underworld, even earning its own newspaper feature as a famed grain powerhouse.
The profits made even Kaido jealous—he shamelessly called via Den Den Mushi asking for a cut.
Tenma replied with a single word:
"Get lost."
Now that they stood as equals, his fist wasn't any softer—why give face?
If not for wanting to milk Kaido as a sucker for artificial Devil Fruits—and plant a hidden landmine against the World Government—Tenma might have cut off the arms trade entirely.
As for alliances?
Don't joke.
When Big Mom moved against Wano, Kaido was already scheming on the sidelines. Tenma had long seen through this plastic brotherhood.
That hidden landmine was none other than the Kibi-Kibi Fruit, which would later shine during the Onigashima War.
Though not yet obtained, it would almost certainly appear in Wano.
And if not—Tenma would dig three feet into the ground to find it.
He planned to let Kaido push artificial Devil Fruits worldwide. The World Government would never resist mass-producible combat power.
If he could quietly mix Kibi-Kibi control elements into those artificial fruits…
When that bomb finally went off, the spectacle would be glorious.
Time flowed on.
Even as the New World entered a relative stability under the Four Emperors, the sea was never truly calm.
Sea Circle Calendar 1504 — the sunglass-wearing flamingo stirred chaos in the North Blue.
The Donquixote Family's underworld business grew ever larger, hinting at an advance into the New World.
Doflamingo repeatedly escaping Vice Admiral Tsuru only boosted his notoriety.
That same year, to suppress this arrogant flamingo, the Marines successfully planted an undercover agent within the family.
Doflamingo never dreamed that after all these years, he would meet again the younger brother who shared his blood.
Sea Circle Calendar 1505 — a kingdom suffered a heinous incident: pirates kidnapped soldiers and forced the king to abdicate.
The World Government dispatched 13-year-old Rob Lucci.
This cold-blooded boy slaughtered all 500 hostage soldiers single-handedly. The brutality instantly maxed out the government's "authority."
Sea Circle Calendar 1506 — once again, major events erupted.
The quadrennial World Summit convened grandly at Mary Geoise.
Beyond discussing the Four Emperors of the New World, the focus lay on countering the increasingly rampant pirates.
To boost Marine and World Government funding, the Heavenly Tribute was forcibly raised.
Though many nations complained bitterly, last year's bloody coup silenced dissent, and the vampiric agreement passed.
Beyond the tribute, the summit also discussed the rising Revolutionary Army, and the final completion of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Besides the existing Sir Crocodile, Gecko Moria, and Bartholomew Kuma—
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.
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