In the year 1487 of the Blue Sea Calendar, December. The climate on Snail Island seemed even more frigid than usual, as howling winds mixed with ice pellets lashed against the skin, more painful than blades.
Meanwhile, at the Sabaody Archipelago, a large group of reporters gathered around the virtual screens projected by Den Den Mushi, nervously waiting for the battle to begin.
For them, this was a strange confrontation. Who would have thought that a pirate crew's battle would be broadcast almost like a live event? And it seemed one side had even contacted the news division, a baffling move.
"It must be Golden Lion who contacted the news division. He definitely wants to wash away his previous humiliation with this battle," many onlookers said.
Morgans watched this scene with excitement. This was a huge news story delivered right to his doorstep. Although he didn't understand what Ren was thinking by arranging this live broadcast, it didn't matter to him. All he cared about was whether the news was explosive enough.
Unlike Morgans' excitement, the current Marine Fleet Admiral Kong did not look pleased at all.
"Just a battle between two pirates, yet it's being broadcast to the entire world. What on earth is that Golden Lion guy trying to do? Show off his might to the world?" Kong cursed angrily. He had assumed it was Golden Lion who had arranged this.
Setting Shiki aside, with Captain John added, it was nearly impossible for Inazuma to win.
However, Sengoku and Tsuru fell into deep thought.
These two could be considered the intellectual backbone of the Marines, but even they couldn't understand the purpose of this live broadcast.
By the way, they were still currently Vice Admirals. Zephyr wouldn't be promoted to Admiral until next year.
"Tsuru, can you tell where this video is taking place?" Garp's fists were itching as he couldn't help but ask.
Vice Admiral Tsuru rolled her eyes. There were countless winter islands in the Grand Line, and this island didn't appear to have any special features. It would be strange if she could recognize it. But after thinking for a moment, she said:
"The climate seems extremely harsh. If I'm not mistaken, it should be in the New World."
The New World, huh. Then it's fine.
Kong obviously breathed a sigh of relief. The World Government and Marines had little control over the New World. It was completely a paradise for pirates, and there weren't many World Government member nations in the New World. A conflict happening there wouldn't have much impact on them.
If it weren't for this battle being broadcast, he might not even have wanted to intervene. After all, out of sight, out of mind.
But now it was different. If they could locate this island, they might be able to surround it while Shiki and Ren were fighting. If they were lucky, they might be able to arrest two or even three great pirates at once, adding to his achievements—or rather, contributing to the peace of this world.
"Golden Lion Shiki is a brutal pirate, and the Lightning Ren is an arms-dealing war criminal! We must take this opportunity to arrest them all! Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr! I'm leaving this to the three of you!" Kong said solemnly, making no mention of the fact that the Marines were actually Inazuma's biggest weapons client.
"But how do we get there?" Garp picked his nose, his thumb-sized little finger constantly spinning in his nostril.
"It's time for our spies to play their part," Kong said.
There were quite a few Marine spies in Shiki and John's fleets. These were all pirates who had started their careers in Paradise, some even becoming rising stars among pirates. Like Drake, unless the Marine side made contact with them directly, they would continue to maintain their pirate identities.
At the risk of exposing these people, Kong obtained the location of Snail Island.
"Excellent. Since there are three of you, strive to arrest all three pirates—Shiki, John, and Ren!" Kong said. In his mind, Shiki was the strongest of the three pirates, followed by Ren.
Although John had been an officer on the Rocks ship just like Shiki, there were different levels of strength among officers.
Shiki and Whitebeard were clearly the two strongest, followed by Charlotte Linlin and Wang Zhi.
Silver Axe and John were even weaker. Not to mention anything else, they fell short of Shiki and Whitebeard when it came to Conquerors Haki. John didn't even have the aptitude for Conquerors Haki, let alone Advanced Conquerors Haki.
The actual strength of the three—Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr—was roughly equal. Garp and Sengoku were very strong, but Zephyr was no slouch either. Although he couldn't use Conquerors Haki, his Armament Haki was incredibly strong, just like Garp's, to an absurd degree.
Although their ranks were Vice Admiral, rank didn't equal strength. Zephyr's combat ability exceeded John's.
And so, Garp and the others each took a warship, accompanied by several more warships following behind, forming a mighty fleet. If one looked closely, the captain of each warship was at least a Vice Admiral from the Headquarters.
This formation far exceeded that of a Buster Call.
...
Ren stood at the bow of the Death Star, and the snowstorm on the distant winter island was now within his view.
The weather didn't look good today. Thick snow clouds covered the sky, the layers of clouds were light gray, and the closer they got to Snail Island, the more intense the wind and snow became.
Behind the Death Star, several large ships followed, carrying the pirates who had recently sworn allegiance to Ren.
Ren's fleet had been proceeding without any obstruction, as if Golden Lion had no intention of making any moves before they reached the island. But in reality, that was impossible.
He looked up, his gaze directed deep into the clouds. By emitting radio signals himself, functioning like a human radar, he had already seen through what was hidden in the clouds—an island!
To be precise, it should be fragments of an island. Although they were fragments, each one was far larger than any ship in terms of volume. If they were caught off guard and struck by Shiki, it would indeed be troublesome.
Not to mention that Shiki hadn't made his move yet. Presumably, he was waiting for Ren's fleet to get closer to the island, waiting until the ships entered the narrow harbor where there would be no room to dodge.
"Hahahaha! It looks like they haven't noticed at all!" Golden Lion watched Ren's fleet approach from a distance, laughing triumphantly.
Observation Haki wasn't all-powerful. It was difficult to affect the environment unless one reached the level of hearing all things or foreseeing the future.
The static rocks hidden in the clouds couldn't possibly be detected by Observation Haki. Only his killing intent could be sensed.
"However, those island fragments alone won't be enough to kill them," John said.
"Of course I know that. I just want to completely annihilate his fleet," Shiki said calmly, then smiled cruelly. "When we use all our forces, wouldn't it be easy to take him down?"
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