Chapter 65: Seven Warlords, Changing Of The Guard
He reached out and adjusted the hat on his head.
The Navy hat, stained with some dust, firmly held its position. The string of pitch-black “MARINE” letters clearly emphasized the man’s identity: he was a Navy Soldier, one of the three Generals at Navy Headquarters, and the highest combat power at Navy Headquarters.
He stood at the ship’s bow, his back straight like an unyielding rock that could not be bent no matter how it was struck, standing tall on the deck.
The rumbling sound of cannon fire came from all directions. The gunpowder smoke whipped up by the wind still carried the heat generated when cannonballs were fired. The black hot wind blew across the triangular gull flag hanging at the top of the mast, scattering ash-like dust floating in the air.
The pungent smell of sulfur after the flames had burned filled his nostrils. It had been decades, but the smell was still as pungent as ever.
He had grown from initial discomfort to indifference now.
However,
He still didn’t like this smell.
This smell that represented war and death.
If people knew that Akainu, the most ruthless and cold-blooded General at Navy Headquarters, actually didn’t like war at all, probably not one in a thousand would believe such a “joke.” Yet in fact, Sakazuki did not enjoy war at all.
He knew his reputation was mixed among the mid-to-low ranking soldiers in the Navy. Those who hated him saw him as a ruthless butcher, an executioner who could strike down even his own people and civilians, but he didn’t care.
This rumbling cannon fire, the blazing flames, the rolling gunpowder smoke— it only forced him to throw himself into war, to start wars, to wage wars, to end wars, to maintain this endless vicious cycle.
For peace, war must be waged.
That was the helpless reality he faced.
But,
no matter how helpless it was,
as long as it could bring peace to the world, and in this era of rampant pirates, preserve as much living space as possible for ordinary people, he would not stop striking against pirates, against villains, against all lawbreakers. If necessary, let there be war.
That was his justice,
absolute justice.
“General Sakazuki, the Organ Hands Pirate Crew has been annihilated. All 157 members from top to bottom have been killed, with none escaping.” A Marine ran over, stood at attention and saluted in front of him, loudly reporting the news of victory.
“Handle it according to regulations.”
Sakazuki’s cold, rock-hard expression showed no change.
Annihilating pirates,
that was his daily work.
Not long ago, Kuzan had finished his mission and returned to headquarters. Only then could Sakazuki finally leave Marineford, commanding the fleet on this vast sea to sweep away these drifting trash on the sea that only caused trouble and were as hard to exterminate as cockroaches.
“General Sakazuki, headquarters has new intelligence.”
“What?”
“[Sea Knight] Jinbe announced on today’s newspaper that he is abandoning his position as one of the Seven Warlords. [Black Prince] Sokachio Elus from the Eckmond Kingdom in the New World will take his place as a new member of the Seven Warlords.” A middle-aged man walked to Sakazuki’s side, stating the newly received intelligence while presenting a document still warm from printing.
This was blockbuster news.
To this day, the Seven Warlords had become an important influence on the Grand Line, an indispensable supplementary force for the Navy.
This had nothing to do with whether the Navy liked or disliked them; it was an undeniable fact.
Since the establishment of the Seven Warlords and the completion of its roster, this was the first personnel change. What consequences would it bring? What level of impact would it cause? What would the New World become? All of these… were unknowns that were hard to predict.
So,
one couldn’t help but care.
When Sakazuki was still at headquarters, he already knew about this. Garp had passed the news back early. When Elus was still in the Eckmond Kingdom, Navy Headquarters had already held several meetings about it. As the only General stationed at headquarters at the time, he had attended all of them.
However, he didn’t wait for Elus to arrive at the Red Line. Kuzan returned to headquarters for rest, so he had to set out to continue suppressing pirates.
But before leaving, he had left orders that any intelligence related to the Black Prince must be forwarded to him immediately.
“Seven Warlords…”
Sakazuki flipped through the urgent report from headquarters. “Sokachio Elus… as expected, an restless guy. What are those damn old men of the Five Elders up to now? Abandoning the signboard of racial harmony they had established… what the hell are they plotting?”
The middle-aged Colonel officer kept his head down, pretending not to hear the General’s remarks about the Five Elders, and simply said, “Besides this intelligence, Fleet Admiral Sengoku also passed word that the World Government is preparing to replace another underperforming Seven Warlord and is asking for your opinion!”
“Replace another one?”
Sakazuki gripped the document in his hand. “Moonlight Moria?”
Among the Seven Warlords, there were plenty of defiant ones who didn’t obey orders. Only Jinbe, the honest one, was often called upon by Fleet Admiral Sengoku to do work. But disobeying orders was one thing; pirates like the [Pirate Empress], [Heavenly Yaksha], and [Crocodile] had remarkable results in striking down pirates.
And among all the Seven Warlords members, the one with the worst work performance was Moonlight Moria.
This guy, who once was full of ambition but had all his partners killed by one of the Four Emperors, Kaido, in the New World, leaving only himself alive, now huddled in Thriller Bark. He neither heeded the World Government’s summons nor actively struck down pirates; he just waited like a rabbit hunter for prey to come to him.
To be honest,
if not for lacking a suitable replacement, the World Government and Navy would have wanted to replace this guy long ago.
“So, the World Government has a replacement candidate?”
Sakazuki asked.
“It’s [Fire Fist], Portgas D. Ace. The World Government seems prepared to invite this rising pirate newcomer, who hasn’t been around long, to join the Seven Warlords.”
“That Logia kid?”
Sakazuki had never relaxed his monitoring of pirates.
Whether veteran thieves like Whitebeard and Beasts, or the new pirates constantly emerging from the Four Seas and Grand Line, any he deemed a threat were recorded in his mind. Among them, [Fire Fist] was the most notable target this year.
“Inviting a kid who hasn’t tasted failure and doesn’t know the heights of heaven and earth… the World Government is just wishful thinking.” Sakazuki recalled the intelligence on Fire Fist stored in his mind and came to a conclusion.
“Go tell the Fleet Admiral, that’s my view. Fire Fist will never agree to something like this.”
The Colonel was silent for a moment, saluted Sakazuki, and turned to withdraw.
Sakazuki stood on the deck, clutching the document in his hand, his gaze looking toward the New World. “Black Prince… I hope you don’t make the New World worse!”
The murmur vanished into the sea wind still carrying the smell of gunpowder smoke. The surrounding cannon fire finally stopped, leaving only the cheers of the Marines in his ears, the surging waves, the howling sea wind, and the pirate ship, stripped clean, slowly sinking.
The battle here was over,
but new battlefields awaited him!
Shortly after Sakazuki received the news, the World News Paper also published this story. At almost the same time, major newspapers that received the news early through different channels also published the news of the Seven Warlords change.
It was like throwing a 500-pound chef into a swimming pool, directly exploding the originally calm and peaceful pool.
[Sea Knight] Jinbe announces withdrawal from the Seven Warlords!
As replacement, [Black Prince] Sokachio Elus takes the position in the Seven Warlords.
Saying it’s the entire world would be too exaggerated. The Seven Warlords thing is only one of the three major forces alongside the Four Emperors and Navy Headquarters on the Grand Line. It has some influence in the Four Seas, but ultimately not much.
However,
at least the Grand Line was shocked by this news.
“Seven Warlords… joined the World Government? Is this your choice? Mamama!!!” Holding a super-large newspaper processed with secondary magnification, looking at the front-page news published above, BIG MOM suddenly let out a joyful laugh.
“Mom?”
Katakuri, sitting in the lower seat, looked at BIG MOM with some confusion.
Not just Katakuri felt puzzled; basically all the children of the Charlotte Family were baffled.
Because BIG MOM’s marriage alliance proposal to Elus had been rejected, they worried that Mom seeing the news of Elus becoming a Seven Warlord would make her fly into a rage, so they specially invited Brother Katakuri over.
Now it seemed the situation was not what they thought.
“Mom!” Katakuri was the only one among the siblings who faced BIG MOM without any fear. Even Smoothie and Cracker of the Sweet Three Generals couldn’t face Mom without any fear.
“About the Black Prince…”
Before Katakuri could finish his question, BIG MOM spoke again: “The World Government will suffer a loss.”
“Ah?”
Katakuri was a bit dazed.
What was this about?
“Katakuri, don’t you understand?”
“Yes, Mom.”
“Sokachio Elus, this is a super arrogant monster! And he’s not a swordsman like Hawk Eyes who’s single-minded.” BIG MOM said so.
Katakuri frowned slightly, then showed a look of realization. “Mom, you mean the Black Prince isn’t sincerely joining the World Government… wait, he will inevitably break with the World Government?”
“He rejected my invitation, so how could he submit to trash like the Celestial Dragons?” BIG MOM said matter-of-factly. “The World Government actually made him a Seven Warlord, hahahahaha!!!” Probably envisioning the future where Elus breaks with the World Government, she laughed joyfully again.
BIG MOM’s laughter echoed in the spacious dining hall.
…
In the captain’s room of the Moby Dick,
“Hey, Sachi, why are there so many medicines today?”
“Starting today, three more have been added, Old Man. You have to take your medicine properly.”
“Aren’t you the cook?”
“Yes! But if you don’t take your medicine, Old Man, the ship doctor will beat me up.”
“Tch!”
Whitebeard reluctantly took the medicines from the tray one by one into his mouth, swallowed them with the warm boiled water in the cup, then complained like a child, “So bitter!”
“Isn’t it said that good medicine tastes bitter? But these new medicines were obtained thanks to that annoying prince.”
“Sokachio Elus… Hmph! He actually did it!”
Whitebeard grabbed the newspaper spread out on the table.
“Old Man, is Jinbe okay? Abandoning the Seven Warlords…” Sachi was a bit worried; he had a good relationship with Jinbe.
“Fish-Man Island is now my territory.”
Whitebeard shook the newspaper in his hand. “As for Jinbe himself, he’s no pushover. Anyone who dares underestimate Jinbe will suffer greatly. Compared to that, Sachi, can you drink one more cup today? There’s still a lot of ginger mud mixed with cuttlefish left from breakfast. It’s a shame not to drink with such good stuff…”
“Old Man, I don’t want to be hung off the stern by the ship doctor for a swim.”
“Not even one cup?”
“The ship doctor’s orders cannot be disobeyed. Even the captain can’t be willful in this regard.”
————
Not just the Pirate Emperors of the New World,
there were also—
In the castle on Kuraigana Island,
In the royal palace of Dressrosa,
In the bathhouse of Amazon Lily,
In the underground casino of Alabasta,
In the Revolutionary Army base on the island of Baldo,
On the world’s largest pirate ship in Thriller Bark,
In these places, the other members of the Seven Warlords looked at today’s newspaper—some burst into laughter, some watched coldly, some remained silent… their attitudes toward this new partner varied.
At the same time,
At the end station of Paradise, Sabaody Archipelago, special guests also arrived.
The pirate flag fluttered in the wind.
“So big…”
Standing on the deck of the pirate ship, looking up at the Yorunomaru Tree that appeared in view, he let out a heartfelt sigh of amazement.
“Bubbles! So many bubbles! Sabaody Archipelago… so it’s the Soap Bubble Islands!!!”
Standing here was a towering giant tree beyond everyone’s imagination. The roots of the tree secreted a special natural resin, which, with the tree roots’ breathing, filled the air, expanded, and turned into large and small bubbles floating into the sky.
The bubbles under the sunlight refracted rainbow lights, and this dreamlike scenery truly mesmerized many people.
“Hey, Deuce, is that [Great Bag] really that delicious?”
“Where did you hear that from… Sigh! Whatever, Boss Ace, just remember, once on the island, don’t randomly set things on fire, especially the World Nobles. Don’t burn something you shouldn’t on a whim; that’s no joke.”
“I know! You’re so nagging, Deuce!”
“Huh? Nagging, you think I’m nagging for no reason?”
“Hehe! Deuce, the coating is up to you. I’m going to try if that [Great] bag is really delicious first!”
“Hey, Boss Ace…”
The man named Deuce powerlessly slumped over the ship’s side, watching his captain’s back disappear from view, while the partners behind him showed knowing smiles as if it were nothing new.
