"All of Luffy's crewmates are safe. They've already reached a secure location. And Luffy… the Revolutionary Army is helping him now, isn't it?"
At Sabaody Archipelago, Rayleigh once again sought confirmation from Kuma.
"That's right" Kuma said in his usual stoic tone. "Rayleigh, there's not much more I can say. But rest assured — Luffy is safe."
Kuma had spoken more today than usual, and it was clear the gravity of the situation weighed on him.
"Then I can rest easy" Rayleigh replied, letting out a deep breath. Knowing that Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army, was going to Impel Down to rescue Luffy brought him relief.
Luffy, Dragon… so father and son. And Garp, the Marine Hero, is Dragon's father. What a bizarre and tangled family—three generations tied to the Marines, Pirates, and the Revolutionaries, respectively. The three forces that shaped the world.
Now that Luffy was confirmed safe, Rayleigh felt no more unease.
Sabaody Archipelago was now full of people — not only pirates but also the evacuated families of Marines from Marineford. After all, during the Golden Lion's rampage years ago, half of Marineford had been destroyed. Now, with Whitebeard — the world's strongest man — and his forces about to descend upon them, there was every reason to believe that Marineford might be annihilated entirely. That's why the Marine had gathered 100,000 elite soldiers from around the world and summoned the Shichibukai. The scale of this battle was beyond comprehension.
"What kind of world will we see after that day…?" Rayleigh murmured, lost in thought, the newspaper in his hand detailing the meteoric rise of Elior — a force rapidly gaining momentum. Though his crew was small, it was clearly just the beginning. As the paper predicted, there was a very real chance that Elior would become one of the new emperors.
After all, even Kaido had been grievously injured by him. The Beast Pirates had lost over ten thousand men!
Meanwhile, deep in the New World, Elior and his crew had already set out, sailing on a newly constructed ship.
Their destination: Impel Down.
Elior had two goals. First, to release the legendary prisoners — Patrick Redfield and Byrnndi World. He believed that perhaps, given the right incentive, those two might eventually serve him. Elior admitted his ambition was massive, but it was worth the gamble.
His second goal: to take care of Blackbeard before heading to Marineford.
Elior understood Blackbeard better than anyone. He knew Blackbeard was heading to Impel Down to recruit the prisoners from Level 6 as part of his grand plan. With his current crew, Blackbeard couldn't possibly survive the New World, let alone challenge the Four Emperors.
To replace Whitebeard, Blackbeard needed overwhelming power and influence. But what he didn't realize was that Elior already knew exactly what he intended to do — and as long as Elior existed, that plan would never succeed.
"Captain, are we heading to Marineford directly?" Law asked, still unaware of Elior's real plan.
"No. First, we're going to Impel Down."
"Impel Down?!" the crew echoed in surprise.
"Relax" Elior said calmly. "Nothing will go wrong. There's something very important we need to do before Marineford."
Nearly a day later, their ship — coated and ready — submerged into the underwater passage leading toward the first half of the Grand Line.
"Fish-Man Island" someone whispered as the silhouette of the glowing undersea city came into view. Elior smiled.
"Soon, this island will belong to me" he thought to himself.
Once Whitebeard falls, Fish-Man Island would become a territory without a protector. As of now, it was under Whitebeard's banner. But Elior was certain it would soon draw the attention of Big Mom — if it hadn't already.
Fish-Man Island, with its dreamlike landscape, and the world's most delicious sweets, was irresistible to Big Mom. But Elior had his eyes set on something far more valuable — Shirahoshi, the one who could command the power of Poseidon.
If he could control her, then the power of the Sea Kings would be his.
"Roger visited this place once" Bullet commented.
"Did he really decode one of the Poneglyphs here?" Elior asked. "Bullet, could Roger's 'Voice of All Things' be used to interpret them?"
Elior was intrigued. If he could obtain that ability, he wouldn't need Nico Robin. And given that Robin's heart still lay with the Straw Hats, it would be hard to win her over.
"Yes" Bullet said. "The ancient scripts are carved on indestructible stones. Only those who can read the language—or hear the voice of the stones—can understand them. That's what Roger told me. He was the only one in this world who could hear all things."
"That's… exciting," Elior muttered. If he could ever acquire that power, he wouldn't need Robin. Without it, the red Poneglyphs would be useless to him, and Raftel would remain out of reach. But no matter what, he had to get there.
"Something's coming!"
Suddenly, the monk warrior at the bow pointed into the dark sea. A massive pair of glowing eyes stared back at them from the abyss.
"A Sea King, huh?" Elior murmured. "No problem."
"It's a super-sized octopus!"
Encountering a Sea King in these depths was dangerous. Wrecked ships and drifting corpses in the trench were reminders of how deadly these creatures were.
Elior didn't hesitate. As the massive octopus raised its tentacle to strike, he unleashed a wave of Conqueror's Haki, precise and overwhelming.
Ten minutes later, the once-feral giant octopus now carefully cradled their coated ship, ferrying them toward the exit of the deep-sea passage.
It was a taste of what was to come.
Elior had no intention of playing by the world's rules.
He was going to rewrite them.