Viscount Nass stared at the golden-coated ship as it sailed away from the port. The sails were furled, and only a small black pirate flag fluttered on the mast. It was the Hell Pirates.
"No!! Brook, you can't leave! Return Saint Rothschild to me, now!!"
Vice Admiral Dorodo felt a chill run down his spine as he watched the golden ship dive beneath the sea. His naval career was as good as over.
The reinforcements from Navy Headquarters hadn't even arrived yet, and a Celestial Dragon had already been kidnapped. How the hell was he supposed to explain this to the World Government? He thought about the despicable nature of the Celestial Dragons—their cruelty, their arrogance.
A desperate idea formed in his mind. If he stayed in the Navy, he'd be blamed. The World Government and the Celestial Dragons would demand his head. He had dedicated himself to serving the so-called "gods" of the world, but that loyalty wouldn't save him now. He was never popular at Navy Headquarters anyway.
In the distance, pirates and civilians who had been knocked out by the earlier battle were finally regaining consciousness. The moment they took in the destruction, chaos erupted. Screams of terror filled the air as people scrambled to flee the island.
"Ahhh! The Celestial Dragon is dead! Run! The Admirals are coming!"
A pirate bolted toward his ship, desperate to escape Sabaody before a storm of retribution crashed down on them.
"The Celestial Dragon is really dead! Everyone, get out of here before it's too late!!"
Shipwrights, coating specialists, and merchants alike rushed back to their homes, gathering whatever they could before abandoning Sabaody for safer islands.
"What?! His Highness, the Celestial Dragon, is dead?"
Vice Admiral Dorodo grabbed a terrified coating worker who had been trying to escape. His hands trembled as he demanded answers, his face twisted with disbelief.
From afar, Viscount Nass also caught wind of the shocking news. This wasn't just a kidnapping—someone had actually killed a Celestial Dragon.
"Ahh! Please don't kill me!" The coater frantically struggled in Dorodo's grip. "His Highness disappeared into that giant crater! He was vaporized by that massive lightning pillar!"
Dorodo's hands went slack, and the coater wasted no time scrambling away.
Viscount Nass took a step back, his breath shallow. His father had warned him about the sheer horror that would follow if a Celestial Dragon was harmed.
Now one was dead.
This wasn't just some big event—this was history. This was the kind of thing that happened once in centuries. And he had actually witnessed it.
Terror seized him, and without hesitation, he turned and fled.
"Lord Nass, let's get out of here!" Several wealthy merchants tried to urge him to leave, but he was already running at full speed, desperate to return to the Kingdom of Valoran.
Even though Valoran was currently at war with the Vodka Kingdom, anywhere was safer than Sabaody right now.
He still couldn't believe it. A Celestial Dragon… killed by a pirate? That was rarer than a Devil Fruit falling from the sky!
The other merchants didn't need any more convincing. They, too, bolted, rushing toward their ships to escape the inevitable wrath of the World Government.
Vice Admiral Dorodo stood frozen, his mind racing. If there was any hope of salvaging his career before, it was gone now. There was no escaping the punishment that was coming.
He reached for his Den Den Mushi with shaking hands, dialing a secure line.
"Pack your things," he whispered to his wife and family. "Get on a ship. Now."
Then, he turned to his remaining marines. With a grim expression, he slowly removed his Navy cloak of justice and let it fall to the ground.
"Listen up." His voice was hoarse, but firm. "The Celestial Dragons won't stop at the ones responsible—they'll punish everyone involved. They'll make us scapegoats."
Silence. The marines around him were pale with fear.
"I'm done with the Navy. I'm defecting. I'll become a pirate and enter the New World."
Gasps rippled through the group.
"If any of you want to come with me, take off your uniforms. If not, get the hell out of here. Run away, or go back to the nearest Marine Branch and beg Headquarters for mercy."
Dorodo wasn't entirely heartless. He knew some of these men had joined the Navy for the right reasons, and he wouldn't force them down the same path as him.
Some of the marines, seeing no other way out, ripped off their uniforms and started coating their warships. They would leave Sabaody behind and follow Dorodo into the New World.
Others wanted nothing to do with piracy but still feared the Celestial Dragons' wrath. They quit the Navy then and there, discarding their uniforms before fleeing back to their hometowns.
The last group—the most disciplined officers—refused to abandon the World Government. They believed Headquarters would only punish the ones directly responsible. Instead of running, they returned to the Marine Branch to await further orders.
As news of the Celestial Dragon's death spread across Sabaody, panic consumed the island. Even criminals from the lawless areas put their operations on hold and temporarily fled.
Shops closed. Hotels shut down. Restaurants and bars were abandoned.
The only business still running? Ship-coating. Everyone wanted out.
---
Navy Headquarters – Marineford
When the transmission reached the upper ranks, chaos erupted at Navy Headquarters.
"WHAT?!"
Fleet Admiral Kukulkan's roar shook the walls.
"Saint Rothschild of the Celestial Dragons is dead?! And White Peizhen, the president of the Dove of Peace News Agency, is dead as well?!"
The signal officer swallowed hard. "Y-yes, Fleet Admirall! And… Vice Admiral Dorodo has defected. He feared the Celestial Dragons' punishment and took his men into the New World as pirates."
Kukulkan's face twisted in rage. His talon-like fingers gripped the edge of his desk so tightly that it cracked.
"That bastard…" His feathers bristled as his vertical pupils turned ice-cold. "Issue a wanted order. I want him brought back immediately."
The entire room was tense. A Celestial Dragon had been killed. This was a nightmare.
Chief of Staff Weimark stepped forward, his expression grim. "Fleet Admiral, with White Peizhen dead, the White Dove News Birds will start losing control. We need to act fast—either train new News Birds or locate the reborn White Dove Devil Fruit."
Kukulkan exhaled sharply, barely containing his fury. "Find every single member of the Hell Pirates. I want every scrap of information on them." His eyes burned with cold determination. "For hundreds of years, no Celestial Dragon has ever been killed by a pirate. This cannot go unanswered."
He picked up a secure line and connected directly to the Holy Land of Mariejois.
Within minutes, word of Saint Rothschild's death reached his family.
Their response was swift and brutal.
The Rothschild lineage was one of the most powerful among the Celestial Dragons. The moment they heard what had happened, they erupted with fury.
They didn't just want the Hell Pirates executed.
They wanted them alive.
Captured. Tortured. For years.
They wanted vengeance.
And the Navy had no choice but to deliver it.
----
The Navy Headquarters soon received orders from the World Government. The Celestial Dragons, outraged beyond measure, demanded that every single member of the Hell Pirates be captured alive as soon as possible.
Not only that, but the Celestial Dragons themselves issued bounties in the underground world and the Pirate Hunter Guild, offering astronomical rewards.
"The dignity of the Celestial Dragons is absolute! Anyone who defies it will die!"
After thoroughly investigating the crew members of the Hell Pirates, the Navy quickly released updated bounty posters. And thanks to the massive sum poured in by the Celestial Dragons, those bounties had been heavily inflated!
---
Deep beneath the ocean, the Erebus, a golden-coated ship, drifted along the deep-sea currents toward Fishman Island.
At that moment, Brook and Redfield felt a little guilty toward Fishman Tom.
"Tom, I might've dragged you into this mess," Brook said, his tone heavy. "From now on, you'll probably be carrying a bounty just like us."
Brook knew that Tom's dream of returning to Water 7, reviving the shipbuilding industry, and completing the Sea Train would be much harder now.
Tom, however, didn't seem the least bit troubled. "Captain Brook, I was prepared for this. I'm happy to be on this adventure with you all," he said with a big grin. "Besides, I've found what I was looking for—the pyrobroin particles from Sky Island. They can be suspended in water and serve as a foundation for the Sea Train tracks."
Brook's eyes widened. "Seriously?!"
Tom nodded. "In the time I spent up there, I experimented with different materials, combining pyrobroin with metals. The result? A new alloy with both the strength of steel and the buoyancy of island clouds."
With this, he had discovered a way to build tracks on the sea. Even if he couldn't return to Water 7 to complete the project himself, he had already laid the groundwork for his dream.
Brook broke into a wide smile. "That means, Tom… you'll always be one of us!"
Excitement filled the air. Tom wasn't just a master shipwright—he could very well be the one to recreate Pluton, the legendary ancient weapon!
"I'm happy to be part of the crew too!" Tom declared, his heart swelling with warmth.
"Then it's official!" Brook announced. "To celebrate Tom joining the Hell Pirates, I'm cooking today!"
"Welcome, Brother Tom!"
"Long live Captain Brook!"
With laughter and cheers, the crew pushed aside the weight of their battle against the Celestial Dragons and embraced their future with determination.
Meanwhile, Redfield clenched his fists, his eyes burning with conviction. No one had blamed him for what happened—he was still their comrade.
I swear on my life—I'll get stronger. I won't let anyone else fall into danger again!
---
At the same time, aboard another coated ship deep in the ocean, the atmosphere was far more somber.
Vice Admiral Dorodo and his men—once proud Marines—were now labeled as outlaws. The shift from Marines to pirates was a tough pill to swallow.
But rather than stopping at Fishman Island, Dorodo made a decision.
"We'll skip Fishman Island and head straight into the New World through the underwater passage of the Red Line," he said firmly.
He had no interest in fighting the Hell Pirates right now.
And so, on that day, the Dorodo Pirates were born.
"We're done following those corrupt rules," Dorodo declared. "From now on, we'll rob pirates and survive on their resources. But we'll never harm civilians, and we'll never kill the innocent."
His men looked at each other before nodding in agreement.
"Captain Dorodo, even as pirates… we should still uphold justice!"
Dorodo's lips curled into a smirk. "Well said. The only reason I didn't fight to the death back there is because the Celestial Dragons don't care about justice. They would've slaughtered us no matter what."
Fire returned to the hearts of his crew.
"Then let's keep our strength and carry on justice our own way!"
Their battle cries echoed through the ship, their spirits burning with new purpose as they set sail for the New World.
---
Fishman Island
For years, Fishman Island had suffered under the cruelty of human traffickers and slavers. Both fishmen and merfolk had become wary of outsiders.
Without a true powerhouse to protect them, the island had long been a target for oppression.
Inside Ryugu Castle, a soldier from the royal guard rushed in.
"Your Majesty! Another pirate crew is requesting entry!"
King Mars, the ruler of Fishman Island and its strongest guardian, sat upon his throne, gripping his trident. His powerful affinity with water made him a master of Fish-man jujutsu, and he could even communicate with sea creatures.
"Hmph," he scoffed. "They're actually requesting permission? Pirates usually just barge in."
By his side, a young, orange-haired fishman grabbed his own trident. His eyes burned with excitement.
"Father, let me come with you!" Prince Neptune said eagerly. "I've mastered my Fish-man jujutsu—I want to fight too!"
Mars eyed his son before letting out a chuckle. "You're still young. Real combat is nothing like your training drills."
"But Father, everyone calls me The Great Knight of the Sea now! That proves my strength!"
Mars shook his head, amused by his son's arrogance. Fine. It's time for you to see what real battle looks like.
---
Back aboard the Erebus, Fishman Tom wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Captain Brook, please wait patiently," he said. "I believe the soldiers of Fishman Island will grant us passage soon."
He had specifically requested that the Hell Pirates not force their way in.
Redfield, however, wasn't the patient type. If it weren't for Tom's plea, he would have already stormed in. After all, he was the man who had dared to strike down a Celestial Dragon.
Just then, a massive whale approached their ship, carrying two enormous figures—one of whom Brook and the others instantly recognized.
Fishman Tom stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
Brook and Redfield exchanged glances but remained silent. This was Tom's moment.
Would Fishman Island welcome them as friends… or as enemies?
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