The first half of the Grand Line, a certain port.
On the deck of the Sun Pirates' ship.
"This is bad. Marine Headquarters seems to be serious this time, forcibly demanding that all Warlords of the Sea must participate in the war."
The ship's doctor and vice-captain, Aladdin, put down the Den-Den Mushi, clicked his tongue twice, and turned toward the man beside him:
"Boss, what should we do?"
The man referred to as "Boss," wearing a yukata and wooden clogs (geta), was none other than Jinbe.
Jinbe stared quietly at the sea, saying nothing.
Not long ago, he had only been Vice Captain. Ever since the Sun Pirates were founded, the captain had always been the fishmen's beloved big brother: Fisher Tiger.
But last August, Fisher Tiger—after rescuing the slave girl Koala and bringing her back to her hometown—was reported by local residents and ambushed by the G-2 Marine forces.
The one commanding the operation was none other than Admiral Candidate Borsalino (Kizaru). The Sun Pirates fought fiercely but were overwhelmingly outmatched, nearly annihilated.
Then, at the most critical moment, Kizaru suddenly retreated. It was only later they learned—he had received a phone call from Nao.
The fishmen ultimately escaped, but with heavy casualties. Fisher Tiger even lost an arm. He blamed himself deeply, believing that the "crimes" he committed in the past had made him a permanent thorn in the side of the World Government.
If he remained captain, he would only bring trouble to the Sun Pirates—and even to Fishman Island itself.
So half a year ago, he stepped down and handed the burden of captaincy to Jinbe. Tiger himself hid his identity and quietly returned to Fishman Island to live in seclusion.
Arlong and others left with him. Their ideals clashed with Jinbe's frequently, and without Tiger to mediate, they naturally had no intention of remaining under Jinbe's command.
Failing to persuade them, Jinbe had no choice but to shoulder Tiger's responsibilities.
Over the past six months, he had been actively collaborating with Queen Otohime, working together for the fishmen's dream of returning to the surface and earning equal rights.
During that time, he accepted the World Government's invitation and became one of the new Seven Warlords.
"Boss… we should accept, right?"
Seeing Jinbe remain silent, Aladdin hesitated and said, "Queen Otohime's signature-gathering campaign is almost finished. She's just waiting for the next Reverie to submit it officially. If we offend the Marines now…"
"We absolutely can't accept this, Boss Jinbe!"
Hachi's angry voice immediately rang out from the side. "Sure, we became a Warlord crew for the sake of our brothers. But don't forget how badly those damned Marines hurt us last year! How many of our comrades died in that ambush?!"
"Exactly! If Lord Nao hadn't intervened, we'd all be dead already! And now we're supposed to fight for the Marines? How's that honoring Big Brother Tiger?!"
"But Queen Otohime—"
"Quit talking about the Queen for a second! I'm asking you—what's more important, the Queen or Big Brother Tiger?!"
The deck immediately erupted into chaos—two groups of fishmen arguing with red faces, neither side willing to back down.
"Enough!"
Jinbe's roar cracked across the ship, instantly silencing everyone.
Countless eyes turned toward him. Jinbe closed his eyes, let out a long breath, and looked toward the doctor.
"Reject them for now, Aladdin."
"Yes, Boss."
Aladdin didn't seem surprised. His gaze flickered slightly as he nodded and turned to make the call.
Watching his back fade from view, Jinbe fell silent again.
The brothers were right. No matter how righteous one tried to be, the hatred of the past couldn't simply be forgotten. With Fisher Tiger's example in front of him, there was no way Jinbe could turn around and help the Marines—the same people who had once ambushed them.
Unless…
Jinbe glanced toward the distant sky, then shook his head and let out a self-mocking smile.
What was he even hoping for…? Impossible.
Everyone in the world knew that that man was still in the New World, busy hunting down Kaido. He hadn't been on the Marines' side for a long time. And he had already been gone for three years—if he really wanted to return to Marineford, he would've done so long ago.
———
"That's basically the situation."
Sengoku rubbed his temples tiredly as he explained to Nao:
"Among the current Seven Warlords, only Crocodile and Buggy the Clown agreed without hesitation. Gecko Moria gave an unclear answer, and Bartholomew Kuma said he needed time to consider it."
"But Dracule Mihawk, the Pirate Empress Hancock, and Jinbe the Knight of the Sea all responded coldly—and even outright refused."
"This war cannot be lost. We need to gather as much strength as possible. The Seven Warlords are an indispensable part of that."
Sengoku stroked his goat beard and gave a wry smile.
"If they don't participate, our chances of victory will inevitably… drop."
"If they don't want to come, then forget it. After the war, we can settle the score with each one of them."
Akainu suddenly spoke coldly:
"The so-called Seven Warlords… are pirates in the end. They've never been reliable. Do we Marines really need them to win a war? What a joke."
"You're not wrong, but you can't put it that way, Sakazuki."
Across the table, Tsuru lifted her teacup and said quietly:
"If all the Warlords show up, that's obviously ideal. It's not just about increasing our chances of victory—our lower-ranking soldiers and officers will suffer far fewer casualties."
"But they're not coming," Akainu said flatly.
"So in my opinion, there's no need to waste any more time on this. Let's move on to the next agenda—"
"Wait."
Nao suddenly spoke, cutting Akainu off.
"So you're telling me… only two Warlords are confirmed to participate?"
"Yes. And one of them is basically useless…"
Sengoku nodded with a bitter smile. Then something seemed to occur to him—his eyes brightened as he looked at Nao with anticipation.
"What? Do you have a solution?"
"Probably." Nao shrugged. "Do we have contact information for the other five?"
"We do, Mr. Nao."
Momonga immediately stood up and reported seriously:
"For the past few days, Yamakaji and I have been in charge of contacting the Warlords. I have a complete set of their communication records with me…"
"Bring it here," Nao said casually.
"Yes, sir!"
Since Nao had not officially rejoined Headquarters yet, his rank was undetermined—so "sir" was the safest form of address. Momonga searched through a thick stack of documents, pulled out one, and walked over to present it with both hands.
Nao flipped through it briefly, then looked up.
"Den-Den Mushi."
On cue, Onigumo stood up and hauled the large transponder snail from the corner of the conference table, setting it before Nao.
What is he trying to do?
Could it be…
All the high-ranking officers in the meeting room turned their eyes toward him—curious, intrigued, and slightly disbelieving.
Buru buru~
After a few rings, the call connected. Nao glanced at the file.
"Moria?"
"Mm, it's me. I'm back with the Marines."
"…What? What do you mean you understand what I mean? I haven't even said anything yet. Definitely coming? OK, that's fine. I'll wait for you at Headquarters. Good. No problem. Hanging up now."
He looked up. Seeing everyone staring at him blankly, Nao shrugged and said to Sengoku, "Gekko Moria is settled."
Wait, it's only been ten seconds, right?
He settled a Warlord with just a few sentences?
The group of Headquarters high-ranking officials stared dumbfounded, looking at each other, while Nao had already dialed the next number on the keypad.
"Hello, this is No—"
"KYAAAA! LORD Nao!!!!!!"
Nao hadn't even finished his sentence before an ear-piercing, excited scream blasted through the transponder snail, stabbing into everyone's eardrums.
The officers, who had just regained their composure, froze again.
Huh? A woman's voice? If I heard correctly, this should be the Pirate Empress Hancock, hailed as the world's most beautiful woman, right?
Didn't they say this legendary world's most beautiful woman was cold, arrogant, and aloof to everyone?
Her idol image just shattered!
"Wow… how scary,"
Kizaru muttered from a corner, legs crossed, eyes half-lidded. "For even the mighty Empress to turn into a crazed fangirl… As expected of Nao…"
"When did you arrive at Headquarters?"
Gion suddenly noticed him and turned around. The seat beside her, which had been empty moments ago, now had Kizaru sitting in it.
"You may not believe this,"
Kizaru sighed tragically,
"I followed behind Nao when he came in. But from the port all the way to Headquarters, neither the recruits nor any of you paid the slightest attention to me. Everyone's eyes were glued to that kid. How disgraceful…"
"If you're ugly, of course your presence is low. Whose fault is that?" Gion scoffed.
"HEY! Little Gion!! That's too much! You weren't this sharp-tongued before!!"
Kizaru looked devastated.
"As expected… marrying that guy ruined you. Damn it… how did HQ's once-untouchable flower fall so far…"
"Oh, right."
Suddenly the sorrow vanished from his face. He leaned close to Gion's ear, eyebrows wiggling lecherously.
"And you still have the mind to mock me? Aren't you the least bit curious? Since when were the Empress and Nao acquainted? And they seem very familiar too. She's the world's greatest beauty, you know… Little Gion, aren't you worried th—OW OW OW STOP STEPPING ON ME!!!"
Ignoring the grimacing, half-crying Kizaru under her heel, Gion narrowed her eyes, staring at Nao—who was still smiling casually into the transponder snail. Her expression grew increasingly unpleasant.
"…Alright, mm-hmm, okay. Don't cry anymore. There are a lot of people listening on this side. Remember to arrive early—don't be late."
Nao, completely unaware of Kizaru's muttered sabotage, hung up on the Empress and immediately dialed the next number—Hawkeye Mihawk.
"I'll be there."
That one was simple. The taciturn swordsman said only three words after hearing Nao's voice, then hung up immediately.
Then came Kuma, Jinbe… Quickly, after going through the list, all the Warlords who had previously been cold or dismissive completely changed their tune, guaranteeing they would arrive at Marineford on time.
The entire process took only two to three minutes.
"All done."
Nao tossed the receiver aside, leaned back, and stretched.
"All Seven Warlords accounted for. They'll all participate. That's settled—let's move on to the next agenda item."
But no one moved.
The conference room was dead silent.
Everyone just stared at him like they were staring at a ghost.
Even Sengoku had frozen mid-sip, teacup held in the air.
Only when Nao looked around in confusion did the old Fleet Admiral finally snap out of it. His eye twitched as he slowly set down his cup and sighed with a wry smile:
"Truly worthy of your reputation…"
——————-
Because Nao and Kizaru had suddenly arrived, the Marine Headquarters' highest-level meeting ended an entire hour later than scheduled.
The meeting had more or less finalized all preparations for the war, and the elite forces of the Marines had almost completely gathered.
Now all that remained was to wait for the New World pirate alliance to make their move, upon which the Marine would determine its next strategic step.
The moment the meeting ended, Nao immediately rushed home at full speed to be with his wife and children.
An arrow returning to the heart—that expression fit perfectly.
After all, the last time he saw his family was before he'd gone to the East Blue. It had been several months.
However, that peaceful, warm family reunion didn't last long—it was broken by an unexpected visitor around dusk.
And the "outsider" who broke it was the Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself, arriving in person.
Sengoku held a folder under his arm as he stood outside the garden gate, rang the bell, and waited. A moment later, the door opened, revealing a cute blue-haired girl, who tilted her head sweetly and chirped:
"Hello, Grandpa Sengoku~"
"Oh, hello, hello. It's been a while, Little Nojiko. You've grown even prettier."
Sengoku's heart melted instantly as he happily patted Nojiko's head.
"Where's your dad?"
"Dad…?"
Nojiko's expression turned a little strange, like she was trying not to laugh. She glanced back over her shoulder.
"He's right there."
Following her gaze, Sengoku saw—
The invincible White Dragon Nao, currently being chased around the entire garden by his wives, while his other ungrateful daughter stood nearby clapping and cheering them on.
"I swear, how could Kizaru slander me out of thin air like that?!"
"What do you mean 'why am I so familiar with her'? I'm NOT familiar! Really! I swear on the lives of every Celestial Dragon in Mary Geoise—I've only met her ONCE these past few years!"
"Why does she admire and trust me so much? Please, how many young girls in this world don't admire me?"
"OW OW OW OW!! Stop hitting me, Rear Admiral! If you keep going, I swear I'll fight back! Really fight back! As in take all three of you down at once—!"
Ahem! AHEM!
Sengoku finally couldn't watch anymore and coughed heavily several times.
A few seconds later—
A bruised and battered Nao appeared at the door. With one swipe of his hand across his face, the "injuries" he'd purposely created to humor his wives vanished instantly, leaving him handsome as ever.
"When did you get here?"
He scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"You needed something from me? Or did old man Garp drag you along to freeload dinner again?"
"What freeloading! I'm not as shameless as that old man! This past year, I've only come to your house—at most—once a week!"
Sengoku huffed angrily.
Once a week is still a lot, you know… Nao complained silently.
"Then you're here because…?"
"For official business, of course."
Sengoku rolled his eyes and pulled the folder from under his arm, handing it over.
"Here. I personally went to the Holy Land to handle this for you. Go on, open it."