Chapter 40: The Looming War
Ever since the King of Maritime Transport fell, the New World, which was already rife with constant wars, became like a furnace doused with gasoline; the flames of war expanded several times over in an extremely short time, and all countries and influences associated with Umit were drawn into this great war.
At the beginning, the war still maintained a certain order, with conflicts basically erupting around the heritage left by Umit.
But as the conflicts intensified, many influences that already harbored deep-seated grudges added new enmities between them; the war kept expanding and escalating, with many affiliated influences under the Four Emperors joining this chaotic war. The only fortunate thing was that the Four Emperors did not personally intervene.
War,
seemingly entering a white-hot phase,
but in reality, it had not yet developed into the worst situation, still maintaining a relatively stable scope without completely losing control.
Until—
His Highness Elus did not stay too long in Dressrosa. This small country currently held little interest for him beyond King Donquixote Doflamingo and the Tontatta Kingdom hidden in Green Bit, but it was merely a slight curiosity, not enough to drive him to do anything.
As for the SMILE factory,
it was still unknown if it would even have a chance to be established!
Leaving Dressrosa, His Highness Elus did not head straight home. He contacted his father via Den Den Mushi, drew a large army from the country, and then personally joined the chaos of the New World.
He tortured enough intelligence information from Umit’s subordinates, swiftly taking over the influences left by Umit based on this information. Those who dared resist, dared steal his trophies, or dared play mind games with him were directly killed.
The territory left by Umit was simply too vast.
To fully take over the maritime transport network spanning most of the New World, he had to make contact with over ninety percent of the organizations and influences in the New World. The situations involved were naturally extremely complex; trying to sort them out one by one would likely take one or two years with little results.
So,
His Highness Elus chose to cut through the chaos with a swift blade.
Regardless of who you were or who stood behind you, anyone who dared block his path was killed outright. What the four aide-de-camps could handle was left to them; for what they could not resolve, His Highness Elus would personally step in, chopping off the heads of resisters, extracting their souls, and suppressing all who refused to submit with the most brutal and direct methods.
In just one short month,
the war in the New World, which had momentum like a prairie fire, was suddenly extinguished at its roots. The powerful figures who suffered losses at His Highness Elus’s hands naturally turned their hateful gazes toward him.
But having been frightened by his thunderous methods before, they dared not bark openly at His Highness Elus and could only bare their teeth in the shadows.
Thus,
compared to the ceaseless wars a month ago, a very delicate period of calm unexpectedly emerged.
Of course, this calm was false, a sandcastle built on His Highness Elus’s absolute authority. Once that authority was broken, the sandcastle standing atop it would collapse in an instant, and the Sokachio clan would be targeted by the enemies His Highness Elus had provoked.
These jackals were waiting for the day His Highness Elus was struck down, firmly believing that such a day would eventually come.
As the killer who slew Umit, the BIG·MOM Pirates would absolutely not stand idly by. As long as BIG·MOM did not intend to abandon control over the Dark World, she must give some account for Umit’s death; otherwise, the other magnates of the Dark World might not remain as obedient as before.
BIG·MOM herself might not understand this reasoning, but fortunately, the BIG·MOM Pirates were not without people who understood.
So,
they believed His Highness Elus’s arrogance would not last much longer.
————
Frank Aroma Sea Area.
In the royal palace of Saiboi Island.
A headless corpse in luxurious attire slumped crookedly on the throne, with thick, warm fresh blood slowly flowing down from it.
“Your king has been killed by me. Next, it’s your turn to make a choice.”
Holding the head still dripping with blood droplets, His Highness Elus coldly gazed at the crowd kneeling in the grand hall. These were the powerholders of the Ximuyel Kingdom second only to the king he had killed—high-ranking ministers, prominent nobles, wealthy merchants, and more.
The Ximuyel Kingdom was not a World Government member nation, but it was also an old overlord of the New World that had ruled the Frank Aroma Sea Area centered on Saiboi Island for three hundred years. It had shown some signs of decline in recent years, but after becoming Umit’s ally, it experienced a resurgence like dead wood sprouting new life under Umit’s help.
It could be said
that the Ximuyel Kingdom was Umit’s staunchest supporter, with no equal. After Umit’s death, His Majesty the King of the Ximuyel Kingdom knew full well that even the full power of the nation could not match His Highness Elus, yet he still chose to resist to the death.
This resolve was indeed admirable.
However, His Highness Elus would not show mercy for it. On the contrary, the more outstanding the Ximuyel Kingdom’s performance, the more he wanted to crush this nation. Only thus could he thoroughly erase the traces of Umit, this King of Maritime Transport reduced to historical refuse.
For this, His Highness Elus personally rushed to Saiboi Island, slaying three powerful guardians of the Ximuyel Kingdom and chopping off their king’s head before the eyes of these predators.
The bloody methods indeed took effect.
Not everyone had the courage to sacrifice themselves, especially these weak-willed predators. After personally feeling the terror of death, they were scared witless and immediately lowered their once haughtily raised heads to His Highness Elus, foreheads pressed tightly to the ground, offering their loyalty with utmost submission.
The only issue was uncertainty how long their loyalty would last.
However,
as a show of loyalty, the items they offered were all quite good.
“Your Highness Elus, I can provide five hundred kilograms of top-quality frankincense.”
“Ah! You bastard dare steal away—Your Highness Elus, this humble one is willing to offer five, six… eight hundred kilograms of frankincense as military expenses!”
“I can provide one thousand kilograms of frankincense.”
“……Six hundred kilograms of frankincense.”
The Ximuyel Kingdom itself prospered from producing frankincense. This precious spice and medicinal herb was quite valuable; beyond its medicinal value, it was mostly used in religious rituals. No matter the religion, they all seemed to have an astonishing obsession with frankincense.
One kilogram of frankincense was worth even more than its weight in gold on the market.
“A bunch of spineless scum.”
His Highness Elus cursed, too lazy to waste words with these soft-boned fools. As long as they chose to surrender, the specific terms would naturally be negotiated by his subordinates. He tossed aside the head that had lost its warmth and strode out of the blood-scented grand hall.
Standing on the steps outside the grand hall,
His Highness Elus looked down from above at the prosperous city below the royal palace.
“Fran, the suppression of the Ximuyel Kingdom is complete. Where is the next target?” He asked without turning his head to the maid following behind him.
“The Ximuyel Kingdom is the last one. There are no more targets worth Your Highness’s personal action afterward.”
“Already none left?”
“Yes. Dillon, Dick, Kappas, and Eschbach’s suppression operations have all gone very smoothly. If nothing unexpected happens, by the beginning of next month, Umit’s maritime transport network can basically be rebuilt. The Ximuyel Kingdom was the last stubborn nail.”
Fran, dressed in a classic black-and-white maid outfit, reported the work meticulously.
“So…… the next issue is BIG·MOM, right?”
“Exactly. According to the intelligence we’ve gathered in secret, many people in the New World are now waiting for the conflict between Your Highness and the BIG·MOM Pirates. They firmly believe the BIG·MOM Pirates must give an account for Umit’s death. Moreover, they are not just waiting—they are actively using many means to push the BIG·MOM Pirates to act against Your Highness.”
“These bastards, they sure are capable!”
His Highness Elus laughed, hands clasped behind his back, gaze looking toward the distant seaport.
“Speak of the devil! Our guests have arrived. To pinpoint my location so accurately…… looks like quite a few people put in effort behind the scenes!”
Where sea met sky.
A strange fleet appeared: egg tart-like warships swarmed densely like locusts onto the sea, surrounding over a dozen extravagantly decorated large warships. The pirate flags fluttered in the wind, and even the sails were painted with the pirate crew’s emblem.
It was a waving skeleton wearing a top hat, with fluffy collar trim and lipstick.
This was—
the flag of the BIG·MOM Pirates.
Even children in the New World recognized this flag, enough to scare them from crying at night.
Neuro-Scan released to its maximum limit,
His Highness Elus “saw” the brilliant, blazing humanoid flames one by one on the pirate ships heading toward Saiboi Island—soul fluctuations of such high quality and density that he had only seen them before in the Whitebeard Pirates’ main crew.
Especially at the center of these high-quality souls was a rather strange one. Unlike ordinary stable souls, this was a highly active soul, even reaching the point of detaching from the body and interfering with the physical world.
“To think…… she personally came!”
His Highness Elus was somewhat surprised.
He hadn’t expected to really provoke such a monster. He thought it would be the Generals coming, but instead, it drew out the other’s big boss directly.
“Fran, pass the order: have all civilian staff return to the ships as much as possible and temporarily stay away from Saiboi Island……” His Highness Elus issued commands one by one, all centered around combat.
Combat,
no, it should be war,
war was about to descend on this country.
————
“The New World has become a total mess!”
“Hasn’t it always been like this? The New World.”
“That’s true, but…… Tina still thinks the current New World is too chaotic, with no sign of justice anywhere. Tina doesn’t like this place!”
A warship flying the gull flag sailed on the vast blue sea.
Chatting idly on the deck at the ship’s bow were two Navy officers who looked fairly young. Their coats emblazoned with “Justice” and casual private clothes indicated their ranks were at least Major; the Navy had strict dress codes, and combinations like “Justice coat + casual wear” were only allowed for Majors and above.
“Same here!”
Smoker, cigar in mouth, leaned his elbows on the railing, head tilted back gazing at the white sea of clouds in the sky, slowly exhaling a perfect ring-shaped smoke circle. “The New World is the Four Emperors’ New World—what a…… disgusting phrase! But even more disgusting is that it’s the unvarnished truth.”
[White Hunter] Smoker.
[Black Cage] Tina.
Both were Majors at Navy Headquarters and representative figures of the Navy’s young faction. Especially Smoker, a Logia Ability User like the Three Admirals, was seen as a future Admiral candidate and cultivated by Headquarters. This time, they were dispatched under Vice Admiral Garp for training, heading together to the New World for a confidential mission.
“Hey, Smoker, what do you think this confidential mission is?”
“Probably related to the death of the King of Maritime Transport Umit! Isn’t the current chaos in the New World because of that? Just don’t know what the big shots up top plan to do—they haven’t leaked a single bit of news. We’re like blind men charging rashly into the New World. If not for Vice Admiral Garp leading, I’d suspect some big shot finally got fed up with my temper and threw me here to die!” Smoker spoke in a cold tone as if it were completely unrelated to him.
“Tina is surprised! So the famous ‘White Hunter’ knows his temper isn’t likable!”
“Hmph, I’m too lazy to curry favor with those pot-bellied bureaucrats. As a human, I have no common language with pig-like things.”
“If those big shots heard you say that, you’d definitely be listed as KIA.”
“Whatever they want.”
Smoker’s rotten attitude really made it hard to feel any goodwill.
And indeed it was so. Though seen as a future Admiral candidate for the Navy, Smoker’s popularity in Marineford was truly terrible. Apart from a few friends like Tina he could talk to, anyone else who knew him kept their distance.
“Your temper…… is just……”
Long accustomed to Smoker’s foul temper, Tina lit a ladies’ cigarette, gaze toward the distance, and the conversation ended anticlimactically.
This was routine!
On this long sea voyage, chatting was an important way to relieve boredom. The content didn’t matter; what mattered was easing the inner pressure. Yes, these two Navy prodigies felt heavy pressure in their hearts.
As Navy Headquarters officers, they knew full well how perilous the New World was.
Unlike Paradise, the New World was a true Asura hell where survival of the fittest and law of the jungle were pushed to the extreme. The weak had no rights in this cruel arena of the New World, even if hailed as representatives of the Navy’s young faction.
But they knew their own weight best.
In the New World, just the small goal of not dragging Vice Admiral Garp down filled them with uneasy trepidation, let alone delusions of helping him—they didn’t even dare think it.
“Smoker, Tina, come here.”
Suddenly,
Garp’s loud shout came.
The summoned pair didn’t dare dally. Even the usually rebellious, free-spirited Smoker behaved impeccably before this “Navy Hero” Garp, showing no hint of defiance. They quickly arrived at the bridge on the deck.
Here,
they saw Vice Admiral Garp with a serious expression.
This was completely different from the jovial Garp they remembered, who was either eating or sleeping. Realization dawned in their hearts: this must be the true face of the Navy Hero; his usual laziness was just a facade.
However,
Their already pressured hearts now felt even more burdened.
Even Vice Admiral Garp showed such a serious face—could they two really be of any use? If they really dragged his legs…… they couldn’t imagine having the courage to keep living then.
“You two, stand behind me. It’s time you knew about these things.”
Seated on a single-person sofa, Garp beckoned the two over.
Then,
Garp looked toward his adjutant on one sofa and the three Rear Admirals dispatched for support on the other.
“Begin!”
Garp waved his hand.
