"New World monster 'Golden Emperor' Gild Tesoro defeated!"
"The world's greatest entertainment city changes hands!"
"The one who ushers in the Worst Era!"
By the afternoon of the third day, the World Economy News had already spread across the seas.
The Magic Eye Pirates, who had vanished from the public eye for a time, had reappeared—and the commotion they caused this time was no less than the incident at Sabaody Archipelago.
Most notably, the bold headline personally penned by Morgans, president of the World Economy News:
"The One Who Begins the Worst Era."
Those words once again sent shockwaves through the Grand Line and the Four Seas.
Since the Magic Eye Pirates first entered the world's sight, there had only been three major appearances.
The first was when they defeated one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Sir Crocodile.
The second was the worldwide broadcast of the Sabaody incident.
And now the third—
not only had they defeated the Golden Emperor, they had directly seized the independent kingdom recognized by the World Government, the world's largest entertainment city:
Gran Tesoro.
Each appearance was more outrageous than the last.
Even the dullest observers had now realized just how overwhelming this pirate crew's momentum had become.
Compared to them, the other pirate crews once grouped together as Supernovas now seemed to be on an entirely different level.
The Magic Eye Pirates could no longer be described as rookie pirates.
Many couldn't help but marvel at Morgans' sharp instincts.
Even back during the Sabaody incident, he had already declared that the Magic Eye Pirates far surpassed the other Supernovas.
And now—
he had gone so far as to describe them as the force that would begin a new era.
But because of that—
the Magic Eye Pirates now stood directly in the eye of the storm.
The immense wealth aboard Gran Tesoro was enough to make any faction covet it.
Previously, Gran Tesoro had been protected on the surface by the Golden Emperor, who could control gold itself.
And in the shadows—
the World Government had stood behind him.
But now—
Gran Tesoro had become a fragrant slab of meat exposed before countless starving pirates.
It wasn't that the Magic Eye Pirates lacked deterrence.
It was simply that the staggering amount of gold—and the fortune representing twenty percent of the world's Beli—was enough to drive any pirate mad.
First Half of the Grand Line
On an unnamed island town—
the streets were eerily quiet.
From half-shuttered windows, frightened residents could be seen trembling inside their homes, too terrified to step outside.
Only the large restaurant at the center of the street was filled with noise.
Loud shouting.
Raucous laughter.
The excited sound of drinking contests.
Hearing the commotion, the nearby shops hurriedly slammed their windows shut.
Inside the restaurant—
the owner was drenched in cold sweat as he frantically urged his staff to keep bringing food to the pirates occupying the entire building.
At the same time, he carefully stole a glance at the figure seated at the center table—
a man with crimson spiky hair devouring food at an astonishing pace.
His face instantly turned pale again.
The infamous Kid Pirates.
The moment he thought of the rumors surrounding them, his back went cold.
At this point, he no longer dared hope for payment.
As long as they didn't cause trouble and simply left town after eating, he would already thank the heavens.
"Captain Kid!"
One of the crew members burst in from outside, holding the newest bounty posters and newspapers.
He rushed to Kid's table.
"As expected of Captain Kid! Your bounty's gone up again—it's now 315 million Beli!"
The crewman waved the wanted poster excitedly.
Immediately—
the entire restaurant erupted in cheers and howls from the Kid Pirates.
The waiters trembled in fear.
"That little increase isn't worth making such a fuss over!"
Kid raised his vicious eyes and stuffed a meat bun into his mouth, swallowing it in one gulp.
He snatched the wanted posters, gave his own a casual glance, then began flipping through the others.
Very quickly—
his gaze locked onto one.
"Hah?"
"Magician Yuuki — 1.3 billion Beli."
"It hasn't even been a month, and it's gone up another 300 million."
"Now that actually looks worthy!"
Kid's tone was full of irritation.
Especially when he thought of the newspapers calling Yuuki someone who might begin a new era—
it made him even more displeased.
Yuuki had set sail later than the other Supernovas.
Yet his bounty had risen the fastest.
He was the first rookie pirate crew to reach the New World.
Not only had he left all the others far behind—
he had already completely shed the label of Supernova rookie.
For someone as ambitious as Kid, that was the last thing he wanted to see.
"Hmph!"
"I don't care how great he is."
"There's only one throne for the Pirate King!"
"I'll head to the New World and meet him myself!"
"Right, boys?!"
Kid roared, crushing the wanted poster into a ball.
"That's right, Captain!"
"We won't lose!!"
The deafening roar nearly lifted the roof off the restaurant.
Somewhere at Sea
A pirate ship with a strong Wild West cowboy aesthetic sailed through a sea of violent weather and towering waves.
At the bow stood a girl wearing cowboy suspenders, long boots, and sporting long pink hair.
One of the Supernovas—
captain of the Bonney Pirates:
Jewelry Bonney.
Thud!
Bonney planted one foot on the railing at the front of the ship.
She stared at the dark, violently churning sea ahead.
There was not a trace of fear in her eyes.
Only hope.
And anticipation.
At that moment, a burly man in a black cowboy hat and white vest approached.
"Bonney, here's the latest newspaper."
"Didn't expect a News Coo to still be flying in weather like this. That's dedication."
He spoke in a rough voice.
Bonney immediately grabbed the paper.
As she skimmed through it, she grumbled:
"Call me captain!"
After finishing the article—
and realizing the person she had been hoping to see wasn't mentioned—
her face fell in disappointment.
She shoved the newspaper back into the man's hands.
"That Yuuki guy's been awfully active lately."
Bonney lifted her head once more and stared toward the dark sea.
"The intel you gathered is reliable, right?"
Her voice carried both expectation and frustration.
"Why can't we find him?"
The burly man scratched his head.
"The intel is definitely solid."
"Kuma was seen at Sabaody."
"Really?!"
Bonney's eyes lit up.
Then she turned around in annoyance.
"How many times do I have to say it?! Call me captain!"
The man laughed.
"No need to rush."
"Since we've already gone out to sea as pirates…"
"Sooner or later, we'll meet him."
"Captain."
Bonney broke into a bright grin and somehow produced a chicken leg from nowhere, taking a huge bite.
"You know…"
"I also want to find Nika before that."
"When I see Dad, if I can tell him where Nika is…"
"Do you think he'd be happy?"
She spoke through a mouth full of food.
"He definitely would."
The man laughed heartily.
Blue Sea beneath the White Sea
A massive ocean vortex swirled across the sea, swallowing everything that came near it.
At the edge of it—
the Going Merry was being dragged downward.
Into the endless abyss below.
"So cool! So cool!"
"This Yuuki guy is amazing!"
Luffy waved the newspaper excitedly, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"But I'm definitely gonna become Pirate King!"
Unfortunately—
the ship's current situation left no one with the mood to respond.
"You idiot! This is not the time to argue about that!"
Usopp's eyes bulged as he grabbed Luffy by the shoulders.
As the Merry was steadily being pulled into the giant vortex, tears and snot streamed down his face.
"Luffy! Let's go back!"
"If we turn around now, it's not too late!"
"With a whirlpool this huge, we're definitely going to die at the bottom of the sea!"
"Sky Island is just a dream beyond dreams!"
But after hearing Usopp's desperate cries—
Luffy simply lowered the newspaper.
The determination in his eyes only grew stronger.
"Yeah, Luffy…"
"I also think this is way too reckless."
Nami looked equally panicked.
"But that's an island straight out of dreams!"
"If we miss an adventure like this…"
"we'll regret it for the rest of our lives!"
Luffy looked around at everyone on deck, flashing a bright grin.
The moment those words left his mouth—
Usopp, Nami, and Chopper instantly collapsed to the floor in utter despair.
Nearby, Zoro and Sanji wore helpless expressions, though their eyes remained fixed on the massive whirlpool with grim seriousness.
"What a reckless man."
Robin pressed the brim of her hat down slightly.
Using her Devil Fruit, she sprouted multiple arms from the deck to firmly anchor her legs in place.
Just as the Going Merry was about to be completely swallowed—
Rumble—!
A violent tremor rose from the depths below.
Then—
a colossal blast of water erupted upward from beneath the sea, launching the Merry straight into the sky.
Gran Tesoro
Top floor of the Golden Hotel.
Yuuki, who had been fully immersed in studying the magic script formation and had finally made some progress, suddenly snapped out of his concentration.
"This coordinate shift…"
"Sky Island?"
Yuuki looked toward a distant direction.
Sensing the dramatic movement of the location marker spell placed on Robin, he murmured calmly to himself.
(End of Chapter)
Next Bonus Chapter at 5600 powerstones.