That first pirate flag was only the beginning.
More enormous bubbles surged upward through the waters surrounding Red Port, rising one after another like underwater volcanoes.
Each coating enclosed the silhouette of a massive vessel, and despite their size, the ships climbed rapidly along the Red Line current until they burst through the surface in succession.
Pop! Pop-pop!
The coatings ruptured one after another, sending seawater cascading across the harbor below Mary Geoise.
One was the unmistakable ship of the Kuja Pirates, drawn by two enormous Yuda and carrying an atmosphere that was both alluring and dangerous.
Another was little more than a coffin-shaped raft, its solitary green-flamed candles giving the vessel a lonely, deathly presence that could belong to only one man.
A whale-shaped fish-man vessel surfaced nearby, while farther away rose the enormous Viking warship of the Giant Warrior Pirates, its bow decorated with two distinct skulls.
Seven vessels eventually occupied the waters around Red Port.
The security Den Den Mushi throughout Mary Geoise immediately relayed the images to the upper checkpoints, including the damaged avenue where Zaraki and Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro stood facing one another.
Several of the kings still being escorted toward the Bondola station stared at the screens with growing unease.
Those banners belonged to some of the most dangerous pirates on the sea.
The Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Or, more accurately, what remained of the system after months of upheaval.
The Giant Warrior Pirates occupied only one Government charter, with Dorry serving as its official representative and Brogy remaining his equal co-captain.
Other seats had been left uncertain by Crocodile's fall, Doflamingo's death, and the chaos surrounding the Government's recent candidates.
Yet seven ships had arrived.
That meant the Government had filled another vacancy.
"Do you understand now, brat?"
Nusjuro's voice carried a trace of cold satisfaction.
"This is the force assembled for you. Pirates powerful enough to overturn nations, gathered under Government authority for one purpose."
He paused.
"You may find the newest appointment particularly interesting."
Zaraki's golden gaze shifted toward the final vessel shown on the feed.
Its crude hull looked as though it had been hammered together without the slightest concern for elegance. Above it flew a flag bearing three grinning skulls.
For the first time since the Warlord fleet appeared, Zaraki's smile changed.
'So the idiot actually did it.'
His warning to Ace on Fish-Man Island immediately returned to mind.
At the time, Marshall D. Teach had still been a member of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Whitebeard had refused to suspect one of his own sons merely because of a warning, and Zaraki had left the matter there.
The news had broken only days later.
Thatch was dead.
The Devil Fruit he had obtained had disappeared with Teach.
Teach himself had fled the Moby Dick, and Ace had left soon afterward in pursuit.
The World Government, apparently desperate to complete the force gathered against Zaraki, had moved with disgusting speed.
Instead of hunting Teach for murdering a Whitebeard commander, they had offered the fugitive a provisional Warlord appointment in exchange for answering their summons.
Zaraki tapped Nozarashi's tip lightly against the stone.
Clink.
"No need for the introduction."
Nusjuro's expression shifted almost imperceptibly.
Zaraki grinned.
"Marshall D. Teach."
A coarse laugh erupted from the Red Port transmission.
"ZEHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The Government feed showed a huge, heavyset man stepping onto the bow of the crude vessel.
His shirt hung open over a hairy chest, several pistols were tucked around his waist, and missing teeth showed prominently when his grin widened.
Blackbeard. Marshall D. Teach.
"Never thought the Marines' War Demon would already know what happened!"
Teach tipped a bottle back, wiped his mouth, and laughed again.
"But you're behind the times!"
He spread both arms.
"I'm not some nobody from Pops' ship anymore."
"I'm one of the Seven Warlords now!"
Before the confrontation could continue through a Den Den Mushi feed, the massive Bondola platforms at Red Port began climbing.
The Government had prepared reinforced transport lifts specifically for the summoned Warlords, and within minutes the first platforms reached the Holy Land.
The mood on the avenue changed as the pirates stepped onto Mary Geoise one after another.
Mihawk arrived alone.
Hancock came with several Kuja warriors.
Jinbe stepped from another platform with a face like gathering thunder.
Kuma said nothing.
Moria remained visibly uneasy.
Dorry and Brogy required one of the enormous freight platforms used for oversized cargo and Giant slaves.
Teach came last.
The moment Jinbe saw him in person, rage flashed across his face.
"TEACH!"
His roar shook the avenue.
"You murdered Thatch, stole his Devil Fruit, abandoned Pops' ship, and then crawled straight to the World Government for a title?!"
"Crewwmate?"
Teach laughed as though Jinbe had told an excellent joke.
"ZEHAHAHAHA! You're still too damn sentimental, Jinbe!"
"The rules aboard the Moby Dick stopped mattering the moment I got what I wanted."
Black smoke began pouring from his palm.
The darkness did not behave like ordinary smoke. It pooled unnaturally around his fingers and seemed to drag nearby dust toward it.
Jinbe's expression darkened further.
"Enough."
Nusjuro's voice cut through them.
He regarded the assembled pirates with the same detached authority he might have used when addressing weapons laid out on a table.
"Your personal disputes are irrelevant."
His gaze settled on Zaraki.
"You were summoned for one reason."
"Kill War Demon Zaraki."
Silence spread across the avenue.
"Complete that task, and the World Government will overlook the offenses committed by those whose cooperation remains useful. Existing Warlord privileges will be preserved."
Cobra and Riku both stiffened.
Even after everything they had already witnessed that day, the hypocrisy was difficult to stomach.
The World Government was openly ordering pirates to execute one of the Marines' greatest fighters inside the Holy Land itself.
Teach did not care.
"ZEHAHAHAHA! Works for me!"
Ambition burned openly in his eyes.
"Killing a man like him right here? There's no better way to make my name echo across the world!"
He thrust one hand toward Zaraki.
Darkness twisted around his palm.
"Black Vortex!"
The gravitational pull had only begun spreading when two immense voices sounded from behind him.
Dorry and Brogy spoke almost together.
"We refuse."