Angel Island (Skypiea), mountaintop villa. A spatial door quietly opened, and Sephiroth, Hancock, and Yamato walked out from the world within the door, arriving in the living room of the mountaintop villa.
At this time, more than ten girls, including Marie Gold and Sandersonia, were gathered around a table laden with food, eating heartily, while Sugar and Monet were continuously bringing food out from the kitchen and placing it on the table. "Sephiroth, you weren't injured, were you?"
Perona, holding a bagel sandwich in her hand, floated up from her chair and circled around Sephiroth and the two others, observing them from head to toe. "Hancock and I are fine, only Yamato suffered some minor injuries..." Sephiroth reached out and patted Perona's head, explaining casually.
During the Marineford War, Hancock mostly slacked off, backing him up, so she didn't even expend much stamina. Sephiroth himself, relying on his super-regeneration ability, had already completely healed all his injuries; now only his clothes were a bit dirty.
Yamato, however, had suffered some minor injuries from her fierce battle with King, and had consumed a considerable amount of Haki and stamina, but it was only to the extent that a good night's sleep would restore her to normal. Marie Gold put down the grilled fish in her hand, which had only a fishbone left, and while wiping her hands with a napkin, she asked him:
"What was the result of the war?
Is it time for the Kuja Pirates and the Skypiea God Officials to move out?" Due to the sudden interruption of the Marine's public execution broadcast, Marie Gold and the others, who were far away on Sky Island, did not know the subsequent developments of the Marineford War. But...
At this very moment, at the port dock on Angel Island (Skypiea) (Skypiea), eighty large sailing ships were anchored, with twenty thousand female warriors from the Kuja Pirates, twenty thousand Skypiea God Officials, four hundred mass-produced WM-1 units, and two hundred mass-produced WM-2 units, all troops were ready to go and could be put into battle at any time, even Marie Gold's Interstellar Ark and Gods Breath had been brought over.
Sephiroth's original purpose in arranging such a large-scale formation was to annihilate Kaido's Beasts Pirates... After all, before the war began, Sephiroth was not sure whether the Beasts Pirates would truly join the Marineford War, and even if the Beasts Pirates were involved in the war, the Marine might not be able to annihilate all the Beasts Pirates members, let alone a powerhouse like Kaido.
Therefore, Sephiroth had prepared another backup plan, gathering his core group, ready to launch a second attack on the Beasts Pirates after the war... However, plans never keep up with changes. Now Kaido had been killed by him, and he had also killed over fifty thousand members of the Beasts Pirates, leaving only Doflamingo leading a few thousand elites to retreat from Marineford. But...
The remnants of the Beasts Pirates were still a force that could not be ignored. After all, in terms of top-tier combat power, the Beasts Pirates had only lost one Kaido, and only Doflamingo remained; even if they were just remnants, the Beasts Pirates still possessed the strength of an Emperor crew. However...
Compared to the matter of pursuing and annihilating the remnants of the Beasts Pirates, Sephiroth had more important things to do right now, so he didn't mind letting Doflamingo continue to cause trouble; it would be best if he could stir up more major incidents. "The original plan needs to be adjusted.
We are not going to pursue the remnants of the Beasts Pirates who retreated from the war; we don't need to bother with those guys for now. Now, we are changing our strategic target... attacking Wano Country! It's time to bring this country under our control!"
Kozuki Hiyori set down her glass of tomato juice, her eyes lighting up as she leaned forward. Saving Wano Country—could it finally be within reach? If they freed her people from the Beasts Pirates' tyranny, perhaps her father's spirit could find peace in the afterlife. The thought filled her heart with a quiet joy.
After lunch, Sephiroth gathered the group: the Boa Sisters, Black Maria, Kuina, Iska, Kozuki Hiyori, and Yamato. Eight in total. He led them to the port of Angel Island in Skypiea, though he'd hesitated about Yamato's participation. Her injuries were still fresh, but she refused to stay behind. "I need to see Wano's liberation with my own eyes," she insisted. Reluctantly, he agreed.
With a flick of his butcher knife, Sephiroth opened a spatial door. Using the power of the Float-Float Fruit, eighty massive sailing ships and the Interstellar Ark passed through the portal in perfect formation. They emerged in the New World, hovering above an island near Wano Country.
The sudden appearance of the soaring fleet drew gasps from the island below. People pointed to the sky, some even scrambling for cameras to capture the spectacle. Sephiroth paid them no mind. He had no reason to hide his movements—let them see.
The World Government was in shambles. Holy Land Mary Geoise lay buried deep underground, and the Red Line had been torn open, leaving a massive gorge. Communication between Paradise and the New World was effectively severed. Though the distance was just tens of kilometers, crossing the Red Line without flight or special means was impossible. And that was enough.
Previously, the Red Line had funneled travelers through Fish-Man Island or Mary Geoise. Now, the gaping sea hole made it even harder to reach the New World from Paradise. Ninety-nine percent couldn't make the journey.
With most of the Marines' elite forces dispatched to Marineford during the war, the World Government's grip on the New World, North Blue, and West Blue had weakened drastically. Their other experts? They'd been gathered in Mary Geoise to protect the Celestial Dragons—and were now buried alongside them.
The weakening of the World Government meant chaos was inevitable. In the New World, North Blue, and West Blue, power vacuums would emerge, and new leaders would rise.
Therefore, Sephiroth prepared to strike first and swallow the large piece of meat that was Wano Country, using it as a base to seize Kaido's territory. From there, he would expand his influence, gradually extending his reach toward North Blue and West Blue.