Half a month later — Hachinosu Island
Three navy battleships slowly approached the island that, over the past two weeks, had become a symbolic battleground between pirates and the Marines — all thanks to some mysterious force.
Although the recognized Sea Emperors of the New World— "Whitebeard" Edward Newgate, "Big Mom" Charlotte Linlin, or the infamously brutal Kaido of the Beasts— none of them showed up for this gathering, the atmosphere was anything but dull.
Even without the big names, the presence of pirates representing at least 40% of the New World's top crews was more than enough to send the whole island into a frenzy.
Some overly excited pirates, hyped up by a particularly loudmouthed troublemaker, even proposed flipping the script on the World Government — putting bounties on high-ranking Marine officers and government officials.
"Heh! If the Marines get to redefine what a pirate is… why don't we show them what a real 'pirate' looks like?"
It got so wild that Wang Zhi, the current lord of Hachinosu Island and a veteran pirate with both strength and seniority, had to step in hard just to keep things from spiraling completely out of control.
For a moment there, he genuinely considered bailing on the whole event.
"Bunch of damn savages…" he muttered.
Inside the communications network powered by pairs of linked Den Den Mushi, Sakazuki —the newly promoted Admiral Akainu— sensed the chaos on the island through his Observation Haki and scoffed. "Trash!"
"They haven't set up the visual feed yet?"
"Easy, easy," came a laid-back voice from another line.
It was Borsalino — the newly promoted Admiral Kizaru, who also now led the Navy's science division. He casually pressed a button. "Moshi moshi? Are we good to go yet?"
"All connections to the global signal network are stable," replied the technician on the other end.
"Great! Then let's get this show started~"
Borsalino turned to the two Den Den Mushi that connected him to Sakazuki and Kuzan. "Alright, I'll count to three and we all go at once, yeah?"
But before he could even say "one"—
Sakazuki launched his attack early.
Molten lava erupted from his shoulders, shooting skyward before raining down in a blazing shower of magma fists — turning Hachinosu Island into a hellish inferno in seconds.
"Well, someone's in a rush..." Borsalino said with a theatrical grin. "Honestly, if the higher-ups hadn't ordered this, I'd say Sakazuki could handle this all on his own. Don't you think so, Kuzan?"
"Less talk, more action," Kuzan replied flatly.
The man known as "Aokiji" adjusted his eye mask and leapt from the bow of his personal ship straight into the sea.
The instant his feet touched the water, the surrounding ocean froze solid for miles around — though the blazing inferno on the island raged on, unaffected by the chill.
"Wait, when did you get infected by that guy's drama?" Borsalino chuckled as he transformed into light and zipped straight into the heart of the island.
The three Logia-type powerhouses — magma, ice, and light — launched their assault in unison.
The resulting devastation looked less like a military operation and more like the wrath of gods descending upon the earth.
And thanks to the visual Den Den Mushi, it was all broadcast live to every corner of the world.
All across the globe, people gathered on islands packed to the brim thanks to the World Government's heavy promotion of the event.
Civilians stared, stunned, as the terrifying scene played out before them.
So this… this is the true power of the Marine Headquarters?
On one southern island, in a village square crammed with hundreds of locals, someone suddenly shouted:
"Hey, Darwin! Didn't you say you were gonna raise the pirate flag and set sail soon? Looking at those three… which one do you think you could beat?"
The young man, Darwin, being called out swallowed hard as he stared at the screen.
The frozen figure of a massive pirate was someone he recognized — a big name who made it out of the North Blue and had a bounty of 390 million berries on his head years ago.
That was the guy he had once dreamed of surpassing.
That very same pirate had just been frozen solid like a popsicle without even catching the eye of the man who did it—Admiral Aokiji. The guy didn't even break a sweat. Just strolled past and bam—instant ice sculpture.
How the hell was he supposed to fight that?
Darwin pretended to play dead, hoping the teasing would stop. But his childhood friend—who'd basically disowned him the moment he started shouting about becoming a great pirate—wasn't about to let up.
"What's wrong, Darwin? Don't tell me you think fighting them one at a time is boring—you wanna take all three at once?"
"Shut up! When did I ever say I wanted to be a pirate?!"
Cornered and out of excuses, Darwin tried to salvage his pride. "I said I wanted to set sail and hunt for pirate treasure, that's all. You've heard of Captain John, right? Word is, his treasure could buy an entire country!"
"Yeah? Funny, 'cause just the other day when I walked past your house, Darwin-san, I swear I heard you yelling from inside, 'Restore the glory of the pirates—it's our sacred duty!'"
Another villager jumped in, clearly enjoying this.
"You're hearing things! I was talking about finding pirate treasure, not… whatever nonsense you think I said. And what would you know about treasure? You can't even read!"
Darwin's face turned bright red as he kept insisting he'd been misunderstood.
"Pirate glory, huh? I'll give you some pirate glory!"
An old man with a full head of white hair whacked Darwin on the head with a cane. "I'll give you some treasure, too! I've been wondering why you've been wandering around in a daze lately—turns out you've been daydreaming about this crap every day!"
"Grandpa, don't listen to them! I just had a couple drinks and was talking nonsense, that's all!"
As his grandfather chased him around the square with that cane, Darwin's dream of becoming a pirate shattered completely—right alongside the broadcast of those three admirals laying waste to the island like it was nothing.
The whole square was bursting with laughter and lighthearted chaos.
That tiny village in the South Blue was just one of many scenes playing out all over the world after the Hachinosu broadcast went live.
For many young dreamers who'd only heard the thrilling tales of legendary pirates, this was their first real taste of actual power.
Multiple top-tier pirates wiped out in minutes, all by Logia-type admirals unleashing their full strength—it was overwhelming.
Even if some hadn't fully abandoned the idea of setting sail, this brutal reality check had them seriously reconsidering their life goals.
Were they really cut out to stand against those monsters someday? Or were they more suited to being travelers, explorers, or treasure hunters?
And just when people thought it couldn't get any crazier—
A massive hand made of condensed clouds shot down from the sky.
With a single strike, it obliterated Hachinosu Island from the map, leaving behind a bottomless crater several dozen kilometers wide in the sea.
That one move—executed after the admirals had already finished their job—sent a chilling message to every would-be pirate still clinging to the dream sparked years ago by Gol D. Roger's final words:
"Want my treasure? You can have it. I left everything in one place. Go find it."
The legendary treasure of the Pirate King—One Piece—was still as tempting as ever.
But was it worth going up against the full might of the Marine HQ's top monsters… and the mysterious force behind that monstrous finger?
Who says only pirates can hunt for the Pirate King's treasure?
The Great Pirate Era may be over.
But the Great Treasure Hunt?
It's just getting started.