Every move Whitebeard made drew the world's attention.
Especially now.
Everyone already knew exactly where he was going.
The other Emperor crews.
The Flying Pirates.
The Big Mom Pirates.
Countless pirate crews and factions across the New World.
The Marines.
The World Government.
Even ordinary civilians around the world.
Everyone was watching both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Nightfall Piratess.
Although the decisive battle had yet to begin, everyone could already sense the storm approaching.
It was drawing closer with every passing hour.
Morgans' World Economic News had already begun a live broadcast, monitoring every movement around the battlefield.
The long and monotonous wait had not worn down the audience's patience.
Instead, anticipation only continued to grow.
Marine Headquarters.
Nearly every senior Marine officer had gathered.
Their attention remained fixed on the intelligence reports arriving from the New World.
Although they had no intention of intervening, the Marines and the World Government had managed to rebuild enough of their intelligence network to continuously monitor major developments.
The Golden Sea War had dealt an enormous blow to both organizations. Their intelligence network throughout the New World had been devastated.
Fortunately, after pouring huge sums of money into rebuilding it, the Intelligence Department had gradually recovered from the chaos.
While still far from its former scale, part of the network was operational once again.
Meetings like today's had become routine at Marine Headquarters.
Even though they currently lacked the ability to interfere in the central New World, especially the deep waters still beyond Marine reach, they refused to ignore what happened there.
Whether it was the Chaos Sea War...
The Beast Pirates' campaign in Wano...
Or any other major event...
The Marines would always convene a special strategy meeting.
Everyone understood one thing.
The New World was a battlefield they would eventually return to.
The Marines would not remain trapped forever.
That made keeping up with every change there absolutely essential.
More Marine generals joined today's meeting through Den Den Mushi projection technology.
Over the past two years, nearly every senior Marine had been overwhelmed with work.
Especially those stationed overseas.
Many had not returned to Headquarters for years.
The current era produced an endless stream of pirates.
No matter where one served, pressure was unavoidable.
Many pirate crews possessed frightening strength, causing chaos across the seas.
The Marines had paid heavily while trying to suppress them.
Novoa also counted as an overseas Marine.
Although the Sabaody Archipelago lay close to Headquarters, it was still an independent command.
As a Commodore, Novoa already belonged among the senior officers, though he had yet to enter the Marines' true inner circle.
The moment his projection appeared, many eyes turned toward him.
Over the past several days, Novoa's reputation had spread rapidly throughout Marine Headquarters.
...
At the Sabaody Marine Base, Novoa sat comfortably inside his office.
He was eating.
A thick steak still steamed on the plate before him.
Holding a knife in one hand and a fork in the other, he leisurely enjoyed the meal with the manners of a refined noble.
Expensive wine sat beside fresh fruit on the table.
Rather than attending a solemn military conference...
He looked like he was enjoying afternoon tea.
Behind him hung a piece of calligraphy he had personally written.
Seven bold characters.
Justice at Will.
It almost felt like deliberate mockery.
Novoa had never hidden the kind of man he was.
Because of that, he had very few genuine allies within Marine Headquarters.
He didn't care.
His own subordinates would be enough.
Once he became a Vice Admiral, both his authority and influence would increase dramatically.
At that point, capable people would naturally gather around him.
As far as Novoa was concerned, reaching that rank would not be difficult.
With enough military achievements, combined with quiet support from the World Government, promotion was practically guaranteed.
Many Vice Admiral positions still remained vacant.
Only two had been filled over the past two years.
During his steady climb through the ranks, Novoa had also noticed several familiar faces.
They were Nightfall Pirates agents hidden within the Marines.
Every one of them had been carefully selected.
While none could compare to Novoa, they all possessed respectable talent and potential.
Their promotions had been remarkably fast, placing them among the most outstanding young Marines.
The Marine shortage of capable officers also worked in their favor.
As long as someone displayed ability, promotion came quickly.
Novoa naturally recognized them.
They, however, did not recognize him.
Whenever possible, he quietly pushed credit in their direction.
Not enough to arouse suspicion.
Just enough to smooth their advancement.
He completely ignored the curious stares directed toward him and continued eating as though nothing were happening.
Meanwhile...
A man standing quietly among the officers glanced toward Novoa.
His gaze lingered briefly before he resumed his proper military posture.
He wore sunglasses.
Lightning-shaped sideburns extended down both sides of his face.
Several french fries remained stuck to them.
Vergo.
One of Doflamingo's spies hidden inside the Marines.
Compared to the original timeline, Vergo had entered Marine Headquarters six years earlier.
He had trained under Zephyr at the Marine Elite Training Camp, allowing his strength to improve rapidly.
Joining at twenty years old, he graduated as one of Zephyr's outstanding disciples.
His codename... Ghost Bamboo.
Immediately after graduation, he was assigned to the dangerous New World, enduring the brutal war between the Marines and New World pirates.
Not only had he survived...
Doflamingo had almost certainly provided secret assistance from the shadows.
Vergo's service record was flawless.
Meticulous.
Disciplined.
Leading from the front.
His subordinates trusted him completely.
Now he served as a Commodore stationed at G-1 in the New World.
Promotion to Rear Admiral was already approaching.
Eventually, he would command a Marine fortress of his own.
Years of New World combat combined with Zephyr's training had made him significantly stronger than his original counterpart.
Vergo paid close attention to Novoa.
This rapidly rising Marine monster had become impossible to ignore.
His strength.
His intelligence.
His Logia Devil Fruit.
Everything about him was exceptional.
Even Vergo admitted that if they fought, he would most likely lose.
The Steam-Steam Fruit was simply too terrifying.
Cold steam.
Superheated steam.
Burns.
Suffocation.
Explosive force.
Devastating impact.
Its versatility fully displayed the potential of a top-tier Logia.
Compared to Novoa...
Smoker, who had only recently joined the Marines with the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, was worlds apart.
What interested Vergo most was not Novoa's strength.
It was his methods.
Unlike ordinary Marines, Novoa openly built relationships with every faction imaginable.
He manipulated countless interests.
He profited openly.
Yet remained completely within the rules.
Doflamingo would undoubtedly be interested in someone like that.
Vergo believed establishing contact with Novoa would greatly benefit Doflamingo's businesses throughout Paradise.
Perhaps Doflamingo had already done so.
After all, his operations stretched across countless industries behind the scenes.
Vergo decided he would report the matter the next time they communicated.
Novoa had even established connections with the World Government itself.
That elevated his value to an entirely different level.
After all, Doflamingo's organization was still developing.
His core businesses included arms dealing, slave trading, and narcotics.
Expansion remained his highest priority.
Unfortunately...
Competition was fierce.
Powerful arms dealers already dominated the market.
The Dark Council.
The Beast Pirates.
The Nightfall Piratess.
Various technologically advanced kingdoms.
Independent underworld organizations.
Even the Brotherhood.
The Nightfall Piratess naturally maintained their own weapons factories.
They had always produced their own firearms and ammunition.
Years of warfare had made Nightfall Pirates weapons famous throughout the seas.
Although the New World served as Doflamingo's base of operations, the Brotherhood suppressed him heavily there.
He had managed to secure only a small share of the weapons market.
Most of Doflamingo's influence remained concentrated in North Blue.
Paradise lay between North Blue and the New World.
If he could fully establish himself there...
His arms business would expand dramatically.
Even with his status as one of the Seven Warlords, none of these businesses could be conducted openly.
They remained illegal.
Building influence throughout Paradise had therefore progressed slowly.
Vergo still believed Doflamingo would eventually succeed.
The faster that expansion occurred, however, the better.
The real obstacle was the World Government itself.
After suffering repeated intelligence failures, they had begun aggressively investigating internal traitors.
Government officials had become increasingly cautious.
Under those circumstances, establishing new connections became much more difficult.
Had the seas remained peaceful, Vergo believed Doflamingo's influence would already have expanded far more rapidly.
Thinking of Doflamingo's interests, Vergo naturally sought every possible opportunity to assist him.
Still...
Those thoughts were secondary.
He quickly pushed them aside.
His own mission remained far more important.
Although everything had progressed smoothly so far, he never allowed himself to relax.
Mentioning Novoa to Doflamingo later would be enough.
He trusted Doflamingo to understand.
Doflamingo was already extremely satisfied with Vergo's rapid advancement.
Becoming a Vice Admiral was practically inevitable.
Vergo himself believed the same.
From the information Doflamingo had shared, Vergo also knew his leader was searching for a Devil Fruit suited specifically for him.
Greater power meant greater survival.
If Vergo were ever exposed and killed, Doflamingo would suffer a tremendous loss.
Strength had always been one of Doflamingo's greatest concerns.
Among his subordinates, only Pica and Vergo truly satisfied him.
The others were merely acceptable.
The meeting officially began.
"Shouldn't we take advantage of this?"
One Marine officer spoke reluctantly.
"This is the perfect opportunity."
"If Whitebeard and the Nightfall Pirates fight, both sides will definitely suffer heavy losses."
Sengoku slowly shook his head.
"Pointless."
"This battle belongs to Whitebeard and the Dark Emperor."
"Both crews will naturally guard against interference from any outside force."
He continued calmly.
"And don't forget..."
"The Nightfall Pirates still have two Sovereigns who haven't entered the battlefield."
"I don't believe the remaining Whitebeard Pirates can stop either Shadow Dragon Redyat or Ares the Fierce God."
Those words caused many officers to inhale sharply.
Only then did they truly realize how terrifying the Nightfall Pirates had become.
Three Sovereigns.
Three world-class monsters.
Redyat.
Ares.
Teach.
The sheer thought of it was enough to make anyone uneasy.
Tsuru nodded.
"Exactly."
"It would be more accurate to say Whitebeard was forced into this battle."
"The initiative has remained entirely in the Nightfall Pirates' hands."
She sighed quietly.
"Even with Whitebeard himself..."
"The Whitebeard Pirates are still considerably weaker overall."
"The gap between the two crews is quite obvious."
She looked around the conference room.
"We'll simply observe."
"We've only recently recovered from our lowest point."
"This battle will give us valuable intelligence."
"Analyzing both sides' abilities will benefit us far more than intervening."
With both Sengoku and Tsuru expressing the same opinion, no one raised further objections.
Even Sakazuki agreed.
As head of the Marine Inspection Department, he understood Headquarters' true condition better than most.
The Marines remained far too weak.
The incident involving the Giant Race had only made matters worse.
The Giants despised deception more than anything.
Once Elbaf recalled its people, every Giant serving in the Marines had left.
Even if they held no personal grudge, they refused to continue serving.
The Marines had lost one of their greatest military assets.
Now that they had finally begun recovering...
They absolutely could not afford another disaster.
Being driven out of the New World a second time, especially while their foundations remained fragile, would be catastrophic.
They had only just emerged from darkness.
No one wished to experience that nightmare again.
More importantly...
The central New World remained pirate territory.
Any Marine fleet entering there would almost certainly face a united siege.
Retreat would become impossible.
Death would be the only outcome.
Sakazuki silently shook his head.
The officer who had suggested intervention had failed to grasp something so obvious.
In Sakazuki's eyes, such a person lacked the judgment required of a true commander.
Strength alone was not enough.
A Marine general required wisdom.
Leadership.
Strategic thinking.
Without those qualities...
There was little value in further cultivation.
Sengoku and several other senior officers had already reached the same conclusion.
That Marine's future promotion prospects had effectively ended.
He was fit only to execute orders.
Nothing more.
Afterward, the meeting shifted toward broader world affairs.
"We may not be acting now," Sengoku declared as he rose to his feet, "but we cannot become complacent."
"We'll continue monitoring every major force in the New World."
He looked across the room.
"We'll endure a little longer."
"Then..."
"The Marines will officially begin clearing Paradise."
"Meeting adjourned."
"Yes, sir!"
The announcement immediately energized everyone present.
The so-called clearing naturally referred to eliminating pirate forces throughout Paradise.
At present, the Marines effectively controlled only thirty percent of the first half of the Grand Line.
They had waited years for this moment.
Compared to the terrifying pirates of the New World, those in Paradise were far more manageable.
"Clearing Paradise..."
After the meeting ended, Novoa leaned back in his chair, quietly reflecting on everything that had been discussed.
The operation itself would have little effect on him.
It was inevitable.
Although the number of pirates in Paradise would decline, the Marines would also unintentionally filter out the strongest survivors.
Only true elites would make it into the New World.
As the commander of the Sabaody Archipelago, the final stop before entering the New World, Novoa would naturally accumulate tremendous military achievements.
His promotion would only accelerate.
Those matters were relatively insignificant.
What truly occupied his thoughts...
Was the battle between Whitebeard and the Dark Emperor.
Although he served as a Marine...
He remained a Nightfall Pirates at heart.
Naturally, he hoped Teach would emerge victorious.
Still...
That outcome was beyond his control.
After all...
Teach's opponent was Whitebeard.
Even now, most people still believed the world's strongest man held the advantage.
Of course...
A battle to determine Emperor status did not necessarily require one side to die.
While the Marines held their meeting, the World Government had already begun making its own moves.
Agents quietly infiltrated the New World once more.
The Nightfall Pirates' rise had become impossible to stop.
Following the devastating losses suffered during the Golden Sea War, CP0 had been severely weakened.
More importantly...
Its mysteries had vanished.
The abilities of both vice commanders had already been exposed.
Ironically, that revelation also strengthened the World Government's deterrence.
Other factions now understood that the Government still possessed terrifying hidden strength.
Two years were nowhere near enough for CP0 to recover.
True elites could not be created overnight.
Every CP0 operative represented one exceptional talent among tens of thousands.
Naturally...
There were exceptions.
People like Spandam still held CP0 authority despite lacking corresponding strength.
The sacrifice of so many operatives had crippled the organization.
Unlike the Marines, CP0 could not recover simply by waiting.
Even so...
Orders remained orders.
Their newest mission involved infiltrating the New World once again.
The exposure of the Road Poneglyphs had thoroughly enraged the World Government.
They desperately wanted one for themselves.
As long as they possessed even a single Road Poneglyph, they could rest easier.
The truth they had buried for centuries would remain incomplete.
Unless...
Someone managed to steal it from them afterward.
For that reason, agents infiltrated Big Mom's territory...
Whitebeard's territory...
And Wano Country itself...
Searching desperately for every Road Poneglyph.
Finding one proved anything but easy.
Whole Cake Island was completely controlled by the Big Mom Pirates.
The Road Poneglyph there remained under Charlotte Linlin's personal protection.
Discovering its location bordered on impossible.
Many Government agents were exposed and killed.
Those who survived hid among the population, periodically surrendering fragments of their lifespan to Big Mom to preserve their cover.
The Beast Pirates presented an even greater challenge.
The real Road Poneglyph remained hidden.
Only Kaido, King, and Queen knew where it truly was.
The stone publicly guarded by the Beast Pirates was merely a decoy.
After all...
Abilities like Nelson's or certain CP0 Devil Fruits capable of tunneling underground made secrecy essential.
Even there, several agents still died.
Whitebeard's territory proved slightly easier.
Unfortunately...
The sea was vast.
Searching for a single stone was like searching for a needle in the ocean.
Wano Country remained the Government's highest priority.
When Kozuki Oden marched out with his army, CP0 launched an infiltration operation.
After suffering heavy casualties, special Devil Fruit abilities finally revealed the Road Poneglyph's location.
Inside the Shogun's Palace.
Following the exposure of the Road Poneglyphs, Oden had moved the stone there for protection.
He trusted only a handful of loyal retainers.
Ironically...
That decision exposed its location.
The isolated people of Wano understood little about Devil Fruit abilities.
They had never imagined such methods of espionage existed.
While Oden fought the Beast Pirates...
Another fierce battle erupted within Wano itself.
Using deception, poison, sacrificial agents, and countless elaborate schemes, the World Government came dangerously close to success.
In the end...
They still failed.
CP0 lost two more elite operatives.
One of them...
The agent known as Gentleman...
Fell beneath the blades of Wano's samurai.
Wano itself also paid a heavy price.
The Government had nearly succeeded.
No one had anticipated that the Road Poneglyph would be stored inside an entire structure built from Seastone.
That final obstacle ruined everything.
Despite enormous sacrifices, the operation failed.
Even so...
The Government refused to abandon the objective.
Compared to the unknown locations of the remaining Road Poneglyphs...
The one in Wano remained the easiest target.
The entire incident remained strictly classified.
Only the World Government and Wano knew it had ever happened.
Even Oden himself never imagined that while he fought elsewhere...
His homeland had nearly been robbed.
The struggle over Wano's Road Poneglyph would continue.
Whenever another opportunity appeared...
The World Government would strike again.
Compared to that mission...
The battle between Whitebeard and the Dark Emperor no longer seemed especially important.
Both men already stood among the world's greatest threats.
Nothing the Government did would change that.
Handling them remained the Marines' responsibility.
The Government's own priorities were different.
The Road Poneglyphs.
And...
Pure Gold.
They had never abandoned their search for the legendary treasure.
Especially the World Nobles.
To people who already possessed unlimited wealth...
Only eternal life remained unattainable.
Their obsession with Pure Gold had become almost fanatical.
After learning that Shiki possessed it, they immediately dispatched countless agents, including CP0 operatives, into the Flying Pirates' Sky Kingdom.
The Celestial Dragons commanded immense private influence.
Even the Five Elders could not always restrain them.
Naturally...
Their movements quickly attracted the Flying Pirates' attention.
One operation after another ended in failure.
Their strength continued to erode.
"The Captain has arrived."
Mostima gently set down the Den Den Mushi before smiling.
The news instantly excited everyone present.
Beneath the endless night sky...
Teach's figure sped rapidly toward the battlefield.