At that moment, every officer and ordinary Marine in G-1 had the same thought.
"This is provocation... blatant provocation..."
The Marines had spent months searching the seas for the Sky Pirates without finding a single trace of them, only to come up empty-handed every time. And now the Sky Pirates had delivered themselves right to their doorstep. It felt like open mockery of the Marines' incompetence.
The expressions of all the senior Marine officers turned ugly.
"Well, well, that's scary."
"My, this really is hard to stomach."
Borsalino and Kuzan were the first to make their stance clear as they stepped forward.
Whatever they may have thought of each other before, whatever their respective positions had been, at this moment the Sky Pirates had ridden right up over their heads. There was no way they could stay calm.
Tsuru, on the other hand, remained remarkably composed. Looking up at the pirate ship surrounded by waves of impact, she said,
"So that's how it is. No wonder we couldn't find any trace of them. Their ship can actually fly? If that's the case, then it's no surprise they can cross the Calm Belt as well."
That seemed to offer the Marines an excuse for their failure, but at the same time it raised even more questions.
"Who exactly built that ship...?"
Zephyr clenched his fists tightly and stared into the sky.
He did not dare act rashly. Since the Sky Pirates had come swaggering right into a Marine base, they had to be relying on something.
And as if in answer to that thought, the man every Marine present had been dreaming of capturing, Yemu, stepped out onto the bow of the Twin Goddesses in the sky.
"Don't misunderstand, Marines. I didn't come here to fight you..."
The moment those words were spoken, Zephyr could clearly sense the ordinary Marine soldiers on the scene unconsciously let out a breath of relief.
"On a festive occasion like the New Year, I have no interest in being the villain and ruining everyone's holiday mood..."
At that, Zephyr stepped forward as well and shouted harshly toward the sky,
"Is that so? Then you shouldn't have shown up here in the first place..."
Standing on the deck, Yemu replied as if that were perfectly reasonable,
"You're right. We are pirates, after all, and from your perspective, you Marines are our enemies. Showing up like this without warning really is a bit rude. But it couldn't be helped. Besides, we came here for your sake as well..."
The entire G-1 base, and even the ordinary merchants over at nearby Red Port, were stunned.
Then Yemu spoke in a tone like a formal declaration,
"The only reason I came here is to inform all of you Marines that from here on, the Sky Pirates will be leaving the New World. As for where we're going, you can guess. Maybe one of the Four Seas, maybe the first half of the Grand Line, maybe even the Red Line. I'd like to go take a look myself and see what's really up there..."
Everyone's expressions changed instantly.
"In other words, from this point on, the battlefield between us won't be limited to the New World anymore. It'll be this entire sea..."
After saying that, Yemu paid no attention to how the Marines below reacted and simply waved a hand.
"Well then, the announcement is over. Time to say goodbye..."
As soon as his words fell, a huge Air Door appeared in the sky, like the gate of heaven itself.
"Don't think you're getting away!"
Zephyr roared in fury, and Borsalino moved at once, but he was still too late.
The entire pirate ship vanished into the Air Door and disappeared without a trace...
Hovering in midair, Borsalino had only managed to get halfway through Yasakani no Magatama before he had to let the light disperse and return to Zephyr's side.
"What a shame, Zephyr-sensei."
Zephyr did not say much.
"Annoying ability. Report everything to Headquarters. Trouble's coming."
...
Three hours later, above the Calm Belt on the way from the New World to the East Blue.
As an Air Door opened, the Twin Goddesses emerged from the sky and slowly descended onto the sea.
"Whew... that was exciting..."
Only after they had finally reached the Calm Belt did everyone let out a long breath of relief.
There was no way anyone could stay calm after charging straight into a Marine base so close to Mary Geoise.
Even Yemu, calm as he had looked on the surface, had been on full alert the whole time.
Who knew whether Mary Geoise had some hidden power that might strike them down after seeing Yemu provoke them so openly?
But judging from the result...
"Our objective should be temporarily accomplished. After the scene we just caused, the Marines' attention will definitely shift, which should make our next move easier..."
Hearing Yemu say that, everyone on board nodded.
Yemu then turned to Tiger.
"Tiger, how confident are you that you can persuade Tom-san to come to our country?"
"Leave it to me, Captain. I know Big Brother Tom well. I'll definitely convince him to come to our country."
"Good. Then I'll leave it to you. Next, let's make some real trouble. First..."
Just as Yemu was about to arrange the next step of the plan, the Den Den Mushi in his pocket suddenly began ringing. That caught everyone on board by surprise.
After he pressed the receiver, a voice came through that startled all of them.
"Yemu, it's been a long time!"
"Shakky-san!"
That's right. The voice on the other end really was Shakky from the Sabaody Archipelago.
"Oh, it's Flare-chan. Hearing that voice again really brings back memories."
"Hello, Shakky-san..."
Flare greeted her obediently.
"Is Rayleigh-san looking for us about something?"
"No..."
Shakky's voice hesitated slightly on the other end, but in the end she still said it.
"This has nothing to do with Rayleigh. I'm the one looking for Yemu. I want to ask him for help..."
Everyone on board was taken aback, while Yemu said,
"Go ahead, Shakky-san. What is it?"
Shakky did not answer directly, and instead said,
"Yemu, what you just did by barging into Marine G-1 has already become huge news. May I ask where you're headed next?"
"Well... there's nothing I can't say. My next destination is Water 7. Tom-san once helped us, and now he's run into a bit of trouble..."
"I see... so that means you'll be crossing the Red Line? Then would you happen to pass by the South Blue?"
"That wasn't part of the plan, but if Shakky-san needs it, then taking the East Blue route or the South Blue route makes no difference to us."
"That's wonderful. What I'm about to say is a request from me as a woman, and also a way to atone on behalf of Rayleigh and Roger. If this puts you in a difficult position, then that's all right too..."
Yemu had been somewhat puzzled at first, but the moment he heard what Shakky said next through the Den Den Mushi, he understood.
"On an island in the South Blue called Baterilla Island, there's a group of pregnant women who've been detained by the World Government because of Roger's posthumous child. I've heard they may be in danger, so if you, Yemu..."
"No problem."
Yemu agreed without the slightest hesitation.
"As it happens, I have a favor to ask of you too, Shakky-san, but let's talk about that after I rescue those pregnant women."
"Really? That's wonderful! Then I'll wait for your good news, Yemu!"
After the Den Den Mushi call ended, Yemu looked at everyone.
"Looks like we'll have to split up..."