PinkSnake - True Flame Emperor - Vol. 2 - 491/492

Chapter 491: Sphinx Island

New World, Sphinx Island.

Ever since the great battle between the Whitebeard Pirate Crew and the Blackbeard Pirate Crew ended over a week ago, with Whitebeard dying from his grievous wounds, the Whitebeard Pirate Crew had completely occupied the island so their Oyaji could return to his roots and be laid to rest in his homeland.

The people of the island also learned that the stranger who had secretly supported them all this time was none other than the legendary Great Pirate Whitebeard, Edward Newgate. As it turned out, Sphinx Island was Whitebeard’s former homeland.

After learning this, most of the residents quickly fled Sphinx Island, unwilling to have any connection to the Whitebeard Pirate Crew. Only a small number chose to remain in their homeland and live alongside them.

Their choice could not simply be judged as right or wrong.

After all, Whitebeard had fallen into a disadvantage and suffered severe injuries in that war because he tried to save them after Blackbeard took them hostage. But to those civilians, they were only ordinary people. They did not want to be dragged into battles between Great Pirates, just as they had been when Blackbeard used them as hostages.

After the Whitebeard Pirates took control of the island, Roger’s son, the captain of the Spade Pirates, who had accepted Whitebeard’s final request and formed an alliance with them, also led his crew here from Wano Country.

“Welcome, Ace! So these are your comrades!”

Marco led the members of the Whitebeard Pirate Crew to the harbor to welcome the Spade Pirates.

When the two sides met and looked at each other, they were all stunned.

Both the Whitebeard Pirate Crew and the Spade Pirates were covered in bandages and wounds, looking equally miserable.

Everyone glanced at one another, and for some reason, the distance between them seemed to shrink a little.

“Let’s go see Oyaji first. We can talk about the rest afterward!”

At Marco’s words, Ace brought his crew along with Marco and the Whitebeard Pirate Crew to the place where Whitebeard was buried.

In a world filled with flowers, a massive tombstone stood tall.

A gentle breeze blew, the sunlight was bright, and the fragrance of flowers filled the air.

Whether they belonged to the Whitebeard Pirate Crew or the Spade Pirates, everyone gazed at the name on the tombstone with deep respect: Edward Newgate!

Ace was deeply shaken as well.

Looking at Whitebeard’s tombstone, he felt the sorrow of losing family.

Thinking of the final words this great pirate had spoken before his death, Ace waved his hand.

Behind him, Deuce, already prepared, took a stack of papers from his bag and handed them to Marco.

“This is the Poneglyph. Robin has finished deciphering all of it! With this, we can reach Laugh Tale!”

The surrounding members of the Whitebeard Pirate Crew became excited when they heard that, their eyes turning involuntarily toward the Poneglyph.

Marco froze for a moment. After taking it, he noticed the looks in the eyes of the crew around him and felt a wave of emotion.

As the Whitebeard Pirates, once mentioned in the same breath as the Roger Pirates, how could they truly have no thoughts about the title of One Piece or Laugh Tale? But under Oyaji’s restraint all these years, everyone had kept those thoughts buried. Naturally, there had been some resentment and frustration in their hearts.

Perhaps the alliance between the two pirate crews that Oyaji proposed before his death had been his way of making it up to them.

However, Marco did not rush to look through it carefully. Instead, he brought up something else.

“We can discuss the Poneglyph later. There’s another matter I need to tell you about. Three days ago, a group of young brats arrived in the Whitebeard Pirate Crew’s territory. You should have heard of the three leading them. Their names are Eustass Kid, Joelle Bonney, and Monkey D. Luffy.”

“Luffy... What’s he doing here...?”

Ace had not expected to hear Luffy’s name here. Now that he thought about it, it had been a long time since he had heard any news about Luffy.

Seeing his reaction, Marco looked curious as well.

“So you really do know each other. Those three seem to have formed an alliance called the Gold-Silver-Bronze Alliance. The one taking the lead appears to be that brat Eustass Kid. The reason they came to the Whitebeard Pirate Crew’s territory is because they heard about our alliance, so their alliance wants to join forces with us too. As for why...”

Marco briefly explained what Kid had told them, especially the information about the four coordinates connected to the Poneglyph.

After hearing it, Ace sank into thought and said, “They’re not wrong. That really would save us a lot of time and let us reach Laugh Tale before Kaidou and Big Mom.”

“Oh? Is that so? Looks like they weren’t lying to us, then.”

Ace looked back at Marco and asked directly, “Captain Marco, what do you think?”

Marco’s opinion represented the Whitebeard Pirate Crew’s stance.

Marco did not hide his thoughts.

“Personally, I don’t think there’s a need to form an alliance. Kaidou and Big Mom’s alliance is certainly troublesome, but it’s not enough to make us back down. Besides, if we form an alliance, trust between us will be a problem too. That said, this is only my personal opinion. We’re already allies now, and the Poneglyph they want will be provided by you, so in the end, it depends on what you think.”

Ace thought it over slowly. After a long while, he suddenly raised his head and looked at Marco.

“I actually think there’s no problem with forming an alliance.”

“Oh? Can you tell me why?”

“Of course. Time is one reason. The other is our enemy.”

Seeing that Marco did not seem too concerned, Ace explained, “I’m not talking about Kaidou and Big Mom’s alliance. I mean the Marines.”

Only then did Marco understand.

Ace continued, “If we really intend to go to Laugh Tale, then the Marines and the World Government will definitely try to stop us. We may not necessarily be at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, but compared to the united Marines, pirates are more like a scattered mess.”

“When you put it that way, it does make sense.”

“However, on their side, I want Luffy to take the lead. He’s the only one I trust.”

“I understand.”

Marco did not say much more and agreed to Ace’s proposal very readily.

“In that case, I’ll be the one to contact them.”

“Mm.”

Ace nodded. After saying that, he was about to leave with Marco and the others, but just then, as if he had suddenly thought of something, he stopped. With a strange smile on his face, he looked at Marco and asked,

“Don’t you think we could make this even bigger...?”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard Crocodile has set up something called the Cross Syndicate, right? Eagle Eye Mihawk and Doflamingo are in it too. And Buggy and Bullet have been making a lot of trouble for the Marines recently. They all seem to have been crew members of that cheap old man of mine once...”

...

Chapter 492: Epilogue (1)

New World, G5 Branch.

Ever since the Hero of the Marines, Garp, led the Marine forces here, the entire G5 Branch had been buzzing with activity.

The Marines had begun putting down roots in the New World, expanding their influence into the surrounding seas.

In particular, after the Rainbow Kingdom revealed the Poneglyph through the Martial Arts Tournament, countless pirates poured into the New World. Under the command of the Hero of the Marines, Garp, the Marines of G5 Branch successfully defended their base, greatly boosting morale throughout the entire branch.

Under the blazing sun, within the inner plaza of the G5 Marine Branch that stood by the shore like a fortress, rows upon rows of Marines were drilling in full swing.

After countless battles, these Marines from Marine Headquarters and the Four Great Oceans had grown quickly. They had already adapted to the terrifying New World, and to survive the battles ahead, they had begun training even harder.

Halfway through the drills, alarm bells suddenly rang throughout the entire G5 Branch.

“Assemble! Assemble! All Marine soldiers, board your assigned warships within ten minutes!”

…

Inside the G5 Branch, in the Marine building.

The Marine officers who had suddenly received the news hurried to the conference hall.

As more and more pirates flooded into the New World, the pressure on the Grand Line had sharply eased. The Marines had therefore transferred many officers to G5 Branch, including Admiral Kuzan, Admiral candidates Gion and Tokikake, and Vice Admirals Yamakaji and Momonga. Aside from them, Smoker, who had recently arrived and been rapidly promoted, was also here, along with Tashigi, Koby, and Helmeppo.

“Admiral Kuzan, what happened?”

Although Garp was the one truly in charge here, everyone knew he rarely handled actual affairs outside of battle. As a result, all eyes turned to Kuzan, who had only recently arrived.

Standing at the head of the room, Kuzan wasted no words. He looked at everyone with a serious expression and delivered the intelligence he had just received.

“The biggest trouble has arrived. Headquarters sent word that the Cross Guild, the Gold and Bronze Alliance, and the Buggy pirate crew have appeared on Sphinx Island, Whitebeard’s homeland!”

“What? When?”

“Three hours ago...”

“Who showed up?”

“Buggy the Clown, Douglas Barrett the Devil’s Descendant, Mihawk the Eagle Eye, Crocodile the Desert King, Donquixote Doflamingo the Heavenly Yaksha, Eustass Kid, Joelle Bonney, and Monkey D. Luffy...”

When the last name was spoken, everyone turned to look at Garp, whose expression had darkened.

“And on top of that, Roger’s son and the members of the Whitebeard pirate crew!”

“They’re all major figures!”

“What arrangements has Headquarters made?”

“They can’t be expecting us to attack them, can they?”

Everyone spoke at once, but their words made one thing clear. Even these Marines, who proudly carried the banner of justice, did not dare rush in and oppose those people. Any one of those major figures would be enough to give the entire Marine force a headache, let alone all of them gathered together. Even if the entirety of Marine Headquarters charged in, it still might not be enough.

“Relax.”

Kuzan spoke softly, calming everyone down.

“Headquarters has no intention of sending all of you to your deaths. But with the pirates acting this brazenly, the Marines can’t simply do nothing. So, Garp-san...”

“Leave it to me!”

Garp’s expression was solemn.

“That bastard Luffy. This time, I’m going to give him a proper lesson...”

As the Marines moved into action, warship after warship sailed out from the G-5 Branch.

…

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

Inside the Fleet Admiral’s office, only Sengoku and Tsuru stood there.

“Have Garp and the others moved out?”

As Fleet Admiral, Sengoku asked with a sharp gaze.

“Yes. Has the moment finally come?”

Within the entire Marine force, only Sengoku and Tsuru likely knew the truth behind this operation.

“Both the Marines and the World Government are fully prepared. This time, we cannot let things go the way they did twenty years ago. We Marines must seize absolute initiative!”

At this point, Sengoku looked at Tsuru and confirmed in an extremely grave tone.

“Have Sakazuki and Araki set out with the SSG unit?”

“They have. To prevent eavesdropping, Headquarters has granted them full discretion for this operation.”

“Good. Then let us Marines bring the age of pirates to an end.”

…

Holy Land Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle, the Chamber of Power.

At this moment, an urgent appointment was underway.

Standing before the Five Elders, who held the highest authority in the world, was Kong, Commander-in-Chief of the World Government’s armed forces.

“Kong, from this moment on, the five of us are jointly assigning you a mission. In the coming period, we need you to recruit as many soldiers as possible, impose military sanctions on every non-World Government Member Nation that has joined the Rainbow Kingdom, and at the same time, completely eradicate the Rainbow Kingdom’s forces from every sea except the North Blue and the New World. Can you do it?”

Kong was nearly eighty years old, but he could still be considered hale and hearty. Even so, when he heard the Five Elders’ mission, his brow furrowed deeply.

“Recruiting troops isn’t something that can be done overnight!”

“We understand. Don’t worry. This time, we will grant you the authority to mobilize the kingdom armies under every World Government Member Nation. You may also use CP as you see fit, even CP0.”

That surprised Kong, because those powers, especially CP0, had always been reserved for the Celestial Dragons and the Five Elders alone.

However...

“I can try, but over the past twenty years, even some World Government Member Nations have developed doubts about the World Government. They may not cooperate...”

“You don’t need to worry about that. In a few days, this problem will no longer be a problem...”

Kong froze, as if he had realized something. His expression shifted slightly, and he spoke in a low, pensive voice.

“Has it already come to this?”

“That is not your concern. You only need to complete the mission we have assigned to you!”

Kong thought for a long time, but in the end, he nodded.

“I understand. I’ll do everything I can.”

And three days later, a piece of news spread across the entire world...

“Sphinx Island, the homeland of Whitebeard and an island in the New World, suffered an unknown attack and vanished entirely into the sea...”

“All members of the Whitebeard pirate crew, Spade pirate crew, Buggy pirate crew, Cross Guild, Kid Pirates, Straw Hat Pirates, and Bonney pirate crew who appeared on Sphinx Island are missing...”

“The pirate world has been thrown into upheaval...”

Along with it came another piece of news, though the human world cared little about it.

“Fish-Man Island has lost its light...”