[TL/N: New Book -
Anime Group Chat in a Doomsday World!]
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One Year Later – East Blue, Windmill Village
"Everyone, I'm going to sea!"
A boy with a wide grin and a straw hat perched on his head stood in a small, simple boat, waving enthusiastically to the villagers gathered at the shore.
"Luffy! Become a great pirate!"
The villagers of Windmill Village cheered, laughing as they sent him off.
"We already have one big pirate from Windmill Village, but you need to outdo him! Make us even prouder!" one boisterous villager called out with a laugh.
"Shut it! One big troublemaker was bad enough. Now there's going to be two? How am I supposed to survive as the village chief?" grumbled the elder of the village. His stern expression didn't seem to faze the others, who chuckled knowingly.
Deep down, they all knew the truth: the old man was simply proud. When Ace had risen to fame as a pirate, the chief had secretly celebrated just as much as the rest of them.
"Hehe! Of course! I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King!"
Luffy's grin widened as he spoke with unwavering confidence.
"Hey, Luffy!" one of the villagers shouted. "If you run into Ace out there, tell him we all miss him, okay?"
"Got it! Don't worry!"
Tipping his straw hat slightly, Luffy laughed before grabbing the oars and rowing out into the open sea.
"Finally, I'm setting out!" he declared with a beaming smile. "Ace, just wait for me! Hehe, I've gotten so much stronger!"
Luffy's gaze swept across the endless horizon. "First things first, I need to find my crewmates. I'll gather ten of them! And, of course, I'll need a pirate flag!"
With dreams of adventure lighting up his face, Monkey D. Luffy embarked on his journey into the vast unknown.
And so, the boy who would one day shake the world with his ambition and spirit took his first step into history.
——
Wanokuni
Wanokuni had undergone dramatic and transformative changes compared to its past this past year.
First and foremost, the long-standing policy of isolation was abolished.
The once-treacherous sea routes, which even Marine warships struggled to navigate, had been reshaped by extraordinary human intervention. Now, ships from the outside world could travel to Wanokuni without difficulty.
Of course, the natural barriers protecting Wanokuni were not entirely removed. Instead, they had been cleverly concealed and weaponized. When activated, these barriers could transform Wanokuni into an impenetrable war fortress.
The traditional attire once associated with Wanokuni had been replaced by more contemporary clothing styles.
Under Kaido's oppressive rule, even basic necessities like food and clean drinking water were scarce. But those grim days had become a distant memory.
Now, Wanokuni enjoyed an abundance of resources, and the people held grand feasts multiple times a week. The stark contrast between the present and the past was nothing short of revolutionary.
On the outskirts of Wanokuni, sprawling shipyards dominated the landscape.
These shipyards produced massive seafaring vessels—larger and more advanced than Marine warships equipped with seastone technology. These leviathans set sail constantly, patrolling the territorial waters of Wanokuni.
Once closed off to the world, Wanokuni's ports were now bustling hubs of activity, with ships from various regions arriving and departing in a steady stream.
Under Kaido's reign, Wanokuni was infamous as a weapons factory. However, in just over a year, it had gained renown for the unparalleled quality of its weapons.
Wanokuni had also become a leading exporter of seastone, one of the most valuable resources in the seas. This further solidified its reputation and importance on the global stage.
However, strict control was maintained over the seastone trade, limiting its exports. Instead, Wanokuni's chief exports were its expertly crafted weapons.
The blacksmiths of Wanokuni, considered the best in the world, were responsible for creating countless legendary blades. While the weapons made for export were not as prestigious as these famed swords, they far outclassed anything produced elsewhere.
Wanokuni also produced a wide array of firearms, artillery, and ammunition. Here, as long as you had money, you could purchase virtually any weapon imaginable.
Adding to its transformed image, the flags of the Entei Pirates could be seen fluttering across the towering ships and throughout every corner of Wanokuni.
These flags, emblazoned with a flaming skull exuding overwhelming presence, symbolized unrivaled power. The presence of these flags alone ensured security better than that of any World Government-affiliated nation.
No pirate or bounty hunter dared to stir up trouble here. At the sight of the flags, eyes filled with awe and reverence.
After all, these flags represented the might of the Entei Pirates—the force that had annihilated the Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates.
The current state of the seas was a far cry from what it once was.
Before the rise of the Entei Pirates, the balance of power had been maintained by three major factions:
- The Four Emperors,
- The Naval Headquarters, and
- The Seven Warlords of the Sea.
These three forces restrained one another, keeping the seas relatively stable for years.
However, the advent of the Entei Pirates had upended this delicate balance. Rising swiftly, they emerged as a new superpower—one that surpassed the Four Emperors and could stand toe-to-toe with the World Government itself.
Despite this upheaval, the original three major factions remained intact for a time. But when the Entei Pirates crushed both the Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates, the balance of power shifted dramatically.
With two of the Four Emperors defeated in a single stroke, the title of "Four Emperors" lost its significance.
Only two emperors remained: Red-Haired Shanks and Whitebeard Edward Newgate, who continued to dominate the New World.
Above them all stood one man—the legendary Entei.
For this man, the title of "Four Emperors" was inadequate. No one referred to him by that title anymore. Instead, he was hailed as the "Emperor of the Seas," an absolute ruler unmatched in power and influence.
The current state of piracy had come to be known as the era of "Two Emperors and One Supreme."
In the past year, the Entei Pirates had addressed their final shortcoming: the lack of a clearly defined sphere of influence.
The vast territories that once belonged to the Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates now flew the flags of the Entei Pirates.
Across the New World, countless Entei Pirate flags soared proudly, cementing their dominance over these seas.
This new era belonged to the Entei Pirates, whose strength and influence reshaped the very foundations of the world.
The sphere of influence controlled by the Entei Pirates had grown to a level more intimidating than the combined territories of the Red Hair Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates.
Even more alarming was the apparent alliance between the Entei Pirates and the Revolutionary Army.
Initially, the Revolutionary Army operated covertly due to its limited combat strength, liberating only nations outside the World Government's jurisdiction. But now, their actions were more frequent, and uprisings to free oppressed nations occurred regularly.
Shockingly, even the royal families of World Government-affiliated nations were being overthrown.
In many of these uprisings, the shadow of the Entei Pirates loomed large.
Every liberated country, without exception, raised the Entei Pirates' flag. In return, these nations contributed substantial resources and manpower to the pirate fleet annually.
Despite this obligation, the people of these nations rejoiced, venerating the Entei Pirates' banner as a symbol of hope and faith.
Why?
Because even with their contributions, their lives under the Entei Pirates' protection were immeasurably better than before.
Under the Entei Pirates' guidance, resources were utilized with unparalleled efficiency, multiplying their impact.
Innovative technologies introduced by the ENTEI pirates led to prosperity and significant improvements in quality of life.
Street children, once a common sight, had vanished entirely. Food shortages were a thing of the past, and the citizens now enjoyed enough surplus to host banquets regularly.
The transformation was so profound that instead of complaining about their contributions to the Entei Pirates, the people worried they weren't giving enough.
There were even incidents where citizens competed fiercely for opportunities to join the pirate fleet when recruitment drives were announced.
The Entei Pirates had risen to become a force equal to the World Government in both military power and influence—a true superpower at sea.
This left the world with two opposing poles: the Entei Pirates and the World Government, locked in a tense preparation for the ultimate confrontation.
While the Revolutionary Army's actions and the Entei Pirates' support for their uprisings provoked occasional interventions from the World Government and Naval Headquarters, these efforts often ended in disastrous losses.
Whenever the government deployed forces to counter the Revolutionary Army, high-ranking cadres of the Entei Pirates would appear unexpectedly, their arrival often attributed to the leader's unparalleled Devil Fruit ability.
This power, surpassing the Door-Door Fruit, was revealed to be the Space-Space Fruit, a superior Devil Fruit that enabled instantaneous travel to any corner of the seas.
Faced with such overwhelming might, the World Government eventually ceased direct intervention, choosing instead to focus on amassing strength for an inevitable final battle.
Among the three major powers of the past, the Seven Warlords of the Sea had effectively been dismantled.
Unlike the world of old, where political summits would be convened to debate the system's abolition, the Entei Pirates had rendered such discussions irrelevant.
In the past year alone:
- Moonlight Moria publicly resigned from his Shichibukai position and joined the Entei Pirates.
- Jinbei, the "Sea Knight," also left to become a member of the Entei Pirates.
- Boa Hancock, the former Pirate Empress and an original Shichibukai, now stood as one of the top officers in the Entei Pirates. Her strength was said to rival even that of the late Big Mom.
With three former Shichibukai joining the Entei Pirates and two others—Crocodile and Doflamingo—killed by Entei himself, the once-mighty Seven Warlords of the Sea system was reduced to a hollow remnant of its former self.
Even with the addition of Whitebeard II, only three Shichibukai remained, and the World Government lacked the means to restore the balance.
The reshuffling of power in the seas was absolute. While the pirate world now revolved around two emperors (Shanks and Whitebeard) and one supreme ruler (Entei), it was clear to everyone:
The true overlord of the seas was none other than Entei.
He had effortlessly crushed the alliances of the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom Pirates, and it was widely believed that he could destroy the remaining Four Emperors with the same ease if he wished.
The world's true power struggle now boiled down to two colossal forces:
The Entei Pirates' vast fleet and The World Government.
Both factions prepared for the final war. The current peace was merely the calm before the storm. When these two superpowers clashed, the seas would descend into chaos, and only one true ruler would emerge!
——
In the grand halls of Wanokuni, Ace reclined with a smile as he addressed the screen in front of him.
"How is it? Are you satisfied with my arrangement for the Charlotte family, Katakuri?"
On the screen, Charlotte Katakuri—the new leader of the Charlotte family—stood amidst the familiar backdrop of Cake Island, the former stronghold of the Big Mom Pirates.
"Thank you for your arrangements," Katakuri replied respectfully. "The Charlotte family will serve as your unwavering force, Admiral."
After the fall of Big Mom, Ace had extended his hand to Katakuri and the surviving members of the Charlotte family. Recognizing Ace's vision and overwhelming strength, Katakuri accepted.
In an unexpected act of trust, Ace even allowed the Charlotte family to reclaim Cake Island and oversee their former territories.
This level of generosity was unheard of under Big Mom's rule. To Katakuri, who had always dreamed of protecting his siblings, Ace was the perfect ally.
Though Katakuri's loyalty was ultimately tied to his family, his dedication to fulfilling Ace's missions was unwavering. For Ace, this pragmatic loyalty was enough.
As the screen faded, Sabo burst into the room, a wide grin on his face.
"Ace! We've got news!" he exclaimed, holding up a bounty poster.
Ace's eyes gleamed with interest as he took the poster from Sabo.
The corner of his mouth curved into a knowing smile.
The bounty read: Straw Hat Luffy – 35 Million Berries.
"So, you're finally here… Luffy," Ace murmured, his expression softening as he looked at the familiar smile on the poster.
A deep, satisfied smile spread across his face.