"Doffy... Momonga still hasn't withdrawn the North Blue Fleet. What should we do?"
Inside the residence hall, Trebol lowered the Den Den Mushi after receiving a report, his expression uneasy.
The other officers also turned toward their young master, their faces tense.
Rubeck Island was completely sealed off. With five Marine warships pressing down on them, none of them felt particularly confident.
The Donquixote Family knew better than anyone just how powerful the North Blue Fleet was.
This fleet—painstakingly built by Rogers Daren with massive funding—was outfitted with the most advanced high-tech weaponry in the world, modified by Germa 66. Every Marine aboard was an elite among elites.
The result of that astronomical military budget was a highly disciplined, powerful force that operated with absolute efficiency.
In contrast, the Donquixote Family's forces on Rubeck Island were very limited. Most of their outer members were stationed at other strongholds across the North Blue, making it impossible to match the strength of the North Blue Fleet.
"I didn't expect Momonga to move this fast... We underestimated him," Diamante muttered. "We always thought of him as just another one of Daren's adjutants."
Vergo, a chunk of steak still stuck to his cheek, frowned.
"According to covert intel, it seems the North Blue Fleet recently acquired a new type of technological weapon. Something with terrifying destructive power."
Trebol tightened his grip on his cane.
"Doffy... are they planning to go to war with us?"
The officers glanced uneasily at Doflamingo, who sat on the sofa smoking silently.
He took a calm drag from his cigar, crossed one leg over the other, and smirked.
"No need to panic. As long as Daren's still alive, Momonga won't move against us."
"Just do what you need to do."
With that, Doflamingo stood up from the leather sofa and headed into his study.
He walked to a large glass window, pushed it open, and let the cool sea breeze brush against his face, his pink feathered coat billowing behind him.
He understood exactly what Momonga was thinking by keeping his troops in place.
Momonga feared that if something happened to Daren, he wouldn't be able to hold the line... and the entire North Blue would fall into Doflamingo's hands.
Smart. Decisive. Assertive.
No wonder he was the man Daren trusted most.
That kind of vision and judgment alone made the otherwise unremarkable Momonga more than worthy of being the supreme military commander of the North Blue.
Doflamingo gazed out over the sea at the massive warships looming like steel beasts, their sides adorned with fluttering white seagull flags.
A wild grin slowly crept onto his lips.
"Don't you dare die that easily, godfather... because..."
Beneath his sunglasses, his eyes burned with raw ambition and madness. Bulging veins twisted across his forehead like writhing worms.
"The only one who gets to take you down... is me!"
Crack!
His hands clenched suddenly, splintering the wooden windowsill beneath them.
Woodchips scattered into the wind.
...
New World.
The sky was bright and clear, white clouds drifting lazily overhead.
Two mid-sized warships cruised at high speed over calm waters, carving long, snowy trails into the sea.
Standing at the bow of one of them was a towering, commanding figure, his brows furrowed as he stared into the distance.
It was Sengoku, dispatched from Marineford to lead the rescue mission.
Boom...
A thunderous explosion suddenly erupted from a distant island. Flames and black smoke shot skyward, painting the horizon in chaos.
Agonized screams from pirates echoed faintly from the island, only to be swallowed quickly by the crashing waves.
Two seconds later, a streak of golden light tore across the sky from the direction of the island.
The beam split midair, and countless photons gathered behind Sengoku, forming a tall, humanoid figure.
Borsalino stepped out of the blinding golden light, rubbing the stubble on his chin as he muttered,
"Nothing again... just another small outpost. Same as before. Those pirate grunts don't know a thing."
Sengoku's brows furrowed even tighter.
"Sengoku! Any leads?"
Zephyr's voice rang out from the stern, and in just a few flashes, he appeared beside Sengoku.
Sengoku rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed.
"Zephyr, don't you have your own ship? Why are you always hanging around mine?"
Zephyr waved him off impatiently.
"Save it. Just share the intel already, or Garp's going to beat us to the punch."
Sengoku let out a long sigh, then shook his head.
"No new leads... This Kaidou guy is even more cautious and cunning than we expected. Every pirate base we've hit along the way has been nothing more than part of the Beasts Pirates' outer network."
"We still have no idea where his actual base is hidden."
Zephyr's expression darkened at the news.
It had already been seven full days since they'd departed from Marineford.
Seven days might not sound long, but just the journey from Marine Headquarters to the New World had taken them three.
(In this timeline, Vegapunk hasn't yet developed the technology to embed Seastone into the bottoms of Marine warships, which would allow them to cross the Calm Belt freely.)
To reach the New World from Paradise, the first half of the Grand Line, the Marines only had two options: either coat their ships and dive to Fish-Man Island, or apply to the World Government for permission to cross the massive Red Line.
Even so, four days had passed since Sengoku and the others entered the New World, and they'd come up empty-handed.
They had raided seven or eight strongholds tied to the Beasts Pirates, and even cleared out a number of small to mid-sized pirate crews along the way.
But still—no sign, no clue.
Unlike the first half of the Grand Line, which had already been fully charted, large portions of the New World remained shrouded in the "fog of war." Its sea routes were chaotic and insanely complex.
To make matters worse, the New World's extreme weather added yet another layer of difficulty to their operations.
What troubled Sengoku the most was that the closer they got to the waters of Wano Country, the less freedom they had to act. They could no longer conduct operations openly like before. Every move had to be measured, cautious—so as not to provoke hostility or alert Wano to their presence.
Naturally, that made the search even harder.
...
(70 Chapters Ahead)
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