Although the landscape of the New World had not changed much, the sea had gained another Sea Emperor.
The impact, however, was enormous. The Dark Emperor had risen to power far earlier than anyone had expected, and his emergence had completely disrupted the ambitions of countless sea overlords who had once dreamed of becoming Emperors themselves.
Their forces were now caught between the territories of the various Sea Emperors. Under such circumstances, how could they possibly become Emperors? Unless they were capable of killing a Sea Emperor and taking their place, there was essentially no path forward.
A large portion of the southern rear of the New World was occupied by numerous sea overlords, with countless factions gathered throughout the region.
With the Nightfall Pirates no longer expanding eastward, this territory was theoretically large enough to accommodate another Sea Emperor. However, with Wano Country standing in the region, it was impossible for another Emperor-level force to emerge there. Wano Country would never allow it.
Although Wano Country's influence over the high seas was not extensive, its maritime territory consisted of only a relatively small area centered around the country itself, with very few surrounding islands. Even so, Wano Country's strength was sufficient to deter most forces from attempting to establish themselves nearby.
The vast territories in the front of the New World were even less likely to produce another Sea Emperor. Establishing a base there would inevitably attract severe attacks from the Navy, effectively turning any emerging Emperor into a shield that absorbed the Navy's strength for the benefit of other factions.
The Navy's return to the New World was only a matter of time.
For now, however, there were still no truly powerful individuals capable of replacing one of the existing Sea Emperors.
As the situation gradually stabilized, the structure of the New World evolved into something resembling a hierarchy. The Sea Emperors stood high above the rest, largely detached from ordinary affairs, while the sea overlords dominated their respective regions and constantly faced challenges from newcomers seeking to take their positions.
In a sense, these overlords were taking the blows meant for the Sea Emperors.
At the same time, the Sea Emperors were rapidly developing their own forces, expanding their territories, and increasing their influence.
The Beast Pirates were consolidating their territory, recruiting and training members while simultaneously seeking opportunities to expand and seize more territory.
They also possessed Queen, a world-class scientist, as well as a formidable research force that combined the resources of an entire kingdom, even the entire Beast Sea region.
Queen had ample funding to display his talents and conduct whatever research he desired. The longer he was given to work, the more terrifying the "results" he produced would become, providing an increasingly enormous boost to the Beast Pirates and living up to his infamous title of "Plague."
The Big Mom Pirates expanded through an entirely different method. They continuously produced children, using blood ties to expand the strength of their family and, by extension, their pirate crew.
Their children possessed immense potential and were growing rapidly.
Even those with relatively ordinary talents had inherited Big Mom's bloodline, giving them potential far beyond that of ordinary people. As long as they continued to mature, they could at least reach a strength equivalent to a bounty of one or two hundred million Berries.
With such a massive population base, the accumulated strength was naturally formidable. The Big Mom Pirates had no shortage of mid-level combatants, and their numbers were considerable.
At the same time, the Big Mom Pirates were expanding their influence through marriage alliances. The factions capable of marrying into the Big Mom family were invariably well-known forces within the New World, including powerful pirate groups and kingdoms representing special races.
Big Mom's latent power and influence continued to expand, and she was also actively recruiting powerful individuals who were willing to join the Big Mom Pirates.
Unfortunately, the number of outsiders willing to join was pitifully small.
Perhaps it was partly due to prejudice. Most pirates were men and were unwilling to serve under a woman, while women were equally unlikely to admire Big Mom's casual approach to having children.
As a result, very few outsiders were willing to join the Big Mom Pirates.
This might also have been one of the reasons Big Mom chose to expand her influence primarily through her family and descendants.
Even at this point, none of the Sea Emperors were willing to fall behind.
After the battle between Whitebeard and the Dark Emperor, the Nightfall Pirates continuously retreated, ceding all their occupied territories except for the Notting Sea region.
This action was somewhat unexpected, but it was not difficult to understand. Regardless of the circumstances, the Nightfall Pirates had gained enormously from the war, both in terms of the Notting Sea region and the prestige they had earned.
Seeing this, the Whitebeard Pirates naturally reclaimed their former territories.
It was worth mentioning that during this period, Kaido of the Beasts suddenly came looking for trouble with Whitebeard. After a fierce battle that lasted six days and six nights, Kaido lost his ability to continue fighting, fled, and eventually fell into the sea, leaving his whereabouts unknown.
Everyone, however, knew that Kaido of the Beasts had not died.
A few days later, the Beast Pirates found Kaido in a certain sea area, salvaged him from the water, and brought him back to his territory.
Kaido's path of self-destruction had not ended there. Instead, it intensified.
Just five days later, he left his territory and headed toward the Sky Kingdom of the Flying Pirates, where he provoked the Flying Pirates and began wreaking havoc.
With Kaido causing such arrogant destruction within the Flying Pirates' territory, how could Golden Lion Shiki simply let him go?
Combined with the other powerful combatants of the Flying Pirates, Kaido simply could not withstand them. He was no match for them and was defeated after only two days, his stamina completely exhausted before he was captured alive.
The Flying Pirates had still underestimated Kaido's tenacity.
Two days later, Kaido seized an opportunity, broke free from his Seastone chains, transformed into a blue dragon, and escaped.
This became major news throughout the world. Kaido had successively challenged two Sea Emperors, ultimately fleeing in defeat both times, yet the fact that he could survive and escape after challenging them still demonstrated his terrifying strength.
Meanwhile, a plan targeting the Navy also began to be put into motion.
High in the sky, an aircraft was rapidly flying from the New World toward the first half of the Grand Line.
Inside the aircraft was Douglas Bullet.
Airplanes and submarines provided completely different experiences.
After witnessing the aircraft of the Flying Pirates, Bullet had become interested in their technology and secretly stolen it.
As a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user who possessed the Combine-Combine Fruit, Bullet was essentially a super engineer. As long as he touched an aircraft, his ability allowed him to understand its manufacturing structure and operating principles.
With sufficient materials, he could completely reproduce the aircraft. He could even combine it with his existing technology to synthesize and upgrade the design.
Consequently, Bullet was extremely comfortable as he sat on a sofa inside the aircraft, controlling the plane while watching the clouds continuously pass outside the window.
In his hand was an Eternal Pose pointing toward an important food-production area belonging to the Navy. With its suitable soil and climate, the region could produce enormous quantities of food.
The twelve thousand Marines he wanted were there as his "hostages." Ten thousand were farming Marines, while the remaining two thousand were responsible for garrisoning the area.
"Really, has the Navy fallen to the point of farming?" Bullet muttered with a hint of disdain, recalling the intelligence he had received from Hote.
Finally, the Eternal Pose shifted, its needle beginning to move downward, indicating that Bullet had reached his destination.
"Are we there?" Bullet asked with a smile, although there was no excitement in his expression. The Marine headquarters on the island did not interest him in the slightest. "Still, let's try it out first."
The aircraft quickly changed direction before diving straight toward the island.
As it rapidly approached the Navy's food base, the entire aircraft visibly transformed. Bullet's figure emerged from within it as the plane itself changed form.
Under the effect of the Combine-Combine Fruit, the aircraft transformed back into inorganic matter. Silver liquid enveloped Bullet's right arm, forming a gigantic fist that was further enlarged under the reinforcement of Armament Haki.
The speed was simply too fast. Without sufficiently powerful individuals present, no one could detect Bullet's approach. The Marines could only hear the sound of the wind rushing past.
Then, with a deafening boom, the fist slammed into the island.
The earth trembled violently as though struck by an earthquake, and the ground itself shifted beneath the tremendous force.
A violent hurricane erupted from the center of the island, stirring up enormous quantities of dust and sweeping outward. The weaker Marines could not withstand the impact and were immediately thrown aside.
Bullet's punch created a gigantic crater in the center of the island. The terrifying force spread outward, directly shattering the island and causing the landmass to collapse downward.
The Marines had not even had time to react. None of them understood what had happened, leaving them completely confused.
Then, a terrifying Conqueror's Haki erupted from the center of the island like the aura of an Asura, spreading outward in a visible red wave.
Most of the Marines were instantly engulfed by it. Their eyes rolled back as they lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.
With this series of attacks, the island was completely overwhelmed, leaving the Marines no opportunity to resist.
"How boring," Bullet muttered with a pout.
Now that he had unleashed his ability, the entire island was effectively under his control. The soil churned beneath his command, completely destroying the farmland that the Marines had worked so hard to cultivate.
Under Bullet's control, the unconscious Marines were bound and gathered together with iron chains that he created.
Bullet selected exactly ten thousand Marines.
The remaining two thousand Marines were easily "captured" by Bullet as well. A massive amount of soil buried them, and they suffocated to death without being able to put up the slightest resistance.
As for why he had done this, the answer was simple. Bullet wanted to infuriate the Navy.
Only then would the Navy send stronger forces, giving him the opportunity to fight to his heart's content.
With his preparations already complete, Bullet had no reason to worry. The more people the Navy sent, the greater their losses would become. As for being captured by the Navy, that would not be so easy.
If he truly wanted to escape, Bullet could completely withdraw whenever he pleased. The Navy simply did not possess the means to stop him.
Perhaps because of a malicious sense of humor, Bullet deliberately spared the strongest person on the island, the officer responsible for guarding it. He did not kill the man, merely severely injuring him and leaving him unconscious.
Bullet was counting on him to inform the Navy.
Although the Navy would eventually discover what had happened regardless, Bullet wanted Marine Headquarters to learn of the incident as quickly as possible.
On the shore of the island, a massive submarine had already been created by Bullet. The ten thousand Marines were casually piled together in a huge warehouse, arranged in a disorderly fashion.
Compared to an aircraft, a submarine was undoubtedly more practical, and Bullet was more proficient with one. With ten thousand people aboard, whether a synthesized aircraft could even fly was another question entirely.
"Haha, it's about to begin!" Bullet thought about the upcoming battle with excitement before taking a gilded card from his pocket and flicking it lightly.
The card instantly flew away and embedded itself in a large rock that Bullet had deliberately created. On the now-leveled island, the rock was extremely conspicuous and could be seen at a glance.
The buildings on the island, along with the warships, had all become raw materials for Bullet to construct the submarine.
He could already imagine the Navy's furious expressions, but he had absolutely no scruples about it.
With a light leap, Bullet jumped directly into the submarine through its self-opening entrance, which was large enough to accommodate his body. Soon afterward, the massive submarine sank beneath the sea and began heading back toward the New World.
Shortly after Bullet left, a bloodstained hand suddenly broke through the soil.
"W-what on earth happened?" A bewildered, trembling voice escaped the man's throat as his dull eyes stared at the completely transformed island.
He looked around in disbelief. Everything was flat. Where were the people? Where were the buildings? Where had the farmland gone? Where had everything disappeared to?
A desperate fear rose within his heart. He knelt blankly on the ground like a stone statue, tears flowing uncontrollably down his face.
After a long time, he finally regained his senses as though remembering something important. Lowering his head, he weakly pulled a Den Den Mushi from his pocket.
The Den Den Mushi suddenly slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.
He could not even hold it properly. His body trembled violently before he collapsed again.
Most of his bones had been shattered, and his survival was entirely due to his superhuman physique. Even so, it would take a long period of recuperation before he could fully recover.
Enduring the pain, he tremblingly reached out, picked up the Den Den Mushi, and opened the communication line.
Soon, the Den Den Mushi opened its eyes.
"Buruburu! This is Headquarters. How may I help you?"
"I, I am Rear Admiral Joen. The T-Third Food Base is gone." Even now, Joen still could not believe what had happened.
"What? What do you mean? Be clearer."
"Something happened to the Third Food Base! Quickly inform Fleet Admiral Sengoku!" Joen's thoughts had been chaotic ever since he regained consciousness, but he still clearly understood his duty. "Quickly send people over! The food base is gone. I'm the only one left on this island. Where did everyone else go?"
Joen spoke angrily, his tone unusually forceful.
Hearing his voice, the operator could tell that Joen was not joking.
The importance of the food bases was obvious to the Navy, especially the few critical bases with lower identification numbers.
It seemed that something truly serious had happened.
"Understood. I'll inform the Fleet Admiral immediately!"
Even if the intelligence turned out to be false, the Inspection Department would naturally investigate and handle the matter. The operator only needed to perform his duty and promptly report the information to the higher-ups.
The intelligence was soon delivered to Sengoku.
"What? Send people immediately!" Upon hearing the report, Sengoku immediately developed an ominous premonition.
The Marines assigned to guard the food bases had all been carefully selected.
Precisely because of this, Sengoku's heart tightened.
Only one person remained?
The entire food base was gone?
What exactly did that mean?
For the Navy, the implications were almost unimaginable, and the loss was undoubtedly enormous.
"It really is tragic."
The nearby Navy forces had already arrived at the island. Large numbers of bodies were being unearthed from beneath the soil. They had been trapped by a powerful force and subsequently suffocated to death, with many Marines still having dirt filling their mouths and noses.
Whoever had committed such an act was undoubtedly cruel.
Admiral "Kizaru" Borsalino, dispatched personally by Sengoku, had arrived at the scene. Looking down at the destruction below, he no longer wore his usual carefree expression. His face was solemn.
Although Borsalino could sometimes appear unreliable, he never failed to perform his duties when it truly mattered, and he upheld justice according to his own principles.
The golden card was already in his hand.
It looked like an invitation, but in reality, it was a challenge.
The figure who had disappeared from the sea for many years had finally appeared once again.
Borsalino recalled the earlier reports of Bullet appearing on Punch Island. He had never expected Bullet to directly target the Navy afterward.
"Let the Fleet Admiral worry about it," Borsalino muttered.
As soon as he finished speaking, his body transformed into a beam of light and rapidly flew toward Marine Headquarters.
At Marine Headquarters, everyone had not expected to hold so many important meetings in such a short period.
Unlike the previous meetings, however, this one was directed entirely at the Navy itself.
"Damn Bullet! If you want to issue a challenge, just say so! Why use methods like this?!" Sengoku roared furiously, his terrifying aura erupting uncontrollably.
The destruction of the food base meant that all their previous efforts had been wiped out and would have to be rebuilt from scratch. More importantly, two thousand Marines had been sacrificed.
The other Marines present were equally furious.
The contents of the challenge letter Bullet had left behind were fully disclosed.
He had taken ten thousand Marines hostage and demanded that Marine Vice Admiral Garp go alone to Baltigo Island to fight him if the Navy wanted to save them. Otherwise, Bullet would kill the hostages directly.
It was a blatant threat.
The Navy had no choice but to respond.
Surely Bullet simply did not trust the Navy, right?
Novoya could not help but complain inwardly. The battle location was in the New World. If Bullet had chosen Paradise instead, Marine Headquarters would undoubtedly have surrounded him with overwhelming forces.
In reality, everyone understood that they would not simply follow Bullet's demands.
For the Navy, Bullet being alone also represented an excellent opportunity to capture this enormous threat.
"Calm down. Those are the lives of ten thousand Marines. This matter cannot be made public. We need to act in secret," Tsuru said seriously.
"Yes. Not only do we need to rescue those ten thousand Marines, we also need to imprison this demon's descendant in Impel Down."
"Then let Garp go first. We can secretly rescue the ten thousand Marines while Bullet is preoccupied, then cooperate to capture Bullet afterward."
The plan and objectives for the upcoming operation were quickly established.