Marine Headquarters – VIP Reception Room
At that moment, the Shichibukai were all gathered in one place —except for Jinbei.
Boa Hancock, Dracule Mihawk, Donquixote Doflamingo, Gecko Moria, Bartholomew Kuma, and the newly appointed Blackbeard.
"Who would've thought we, the Shichibukai, would all be in the same room for a chat? Isn't this a rare sight?" Doflamingo chuckled darkly, scanning the room with his ever-mocking eyes.
"Kishishishi... So you're the infamous Blackbeard?" Moria grinned, sizing up the man who stood at the heart of the conflict between the Whitebeard Pirates and Marine Headquarters.
All eyes—except Hancock's—were on Blackbeard. This unremarkable, borderline grotesque man had somehow become the trigger for the war now brewing between the world's strongest pirate and the Navy.
"Zehahaha! Damn right, I'm Blackbeard — Marshall D. Teach!"He let out his signature raucous laugh.
"One of the D clan, huh? A bunch that never lets the world sleep peacefully" Doflamingo commented, his gaze sharp and cold.
Even Mihawk, the stoic swordsman, couldn't hide a slight frown. He had no real desire to take part in the war. To him, this was just formal participation. Still, deep down, he couldn't help but wonder how he'd fare against the man known as the world's strongest—Whitebeard.
"Men are such creatures... Even their laughter disgusts me." Hancock muttered, turning her back on them all as she stared out the window.
"There's only one perfect man" She whispered longingly, clearly waiting for someone else's arrival. Of course, she knew Elder Nyon had tricked her into coming here.
"Well, well, Boa Hancock. Never thought you'd agree to join the war" Doflamingo smirked, his tone teasing. He was well aware that the Marines had spent nearly three days waiting in the Calm Belt just to secure her presence.
"A pointless war" she replied, without sparing him — or any man in the room—a glance.
Seeing that she wasn't biting, Doflamingo changed the topic with a smirk.
"Before this war even begins, the world has already birthed another monster. Someone who might just rise to become the next sea emperor."
"You mean Elior?" Moria leaned forward, eyes gleaming. The young man who had defeated Kaido intrigued him — after all, Kaido had been his enemy once.
At the mention of Elior's name, even Mihawk and Hancock were visibly stirred.
In just over a week, Elior had become the center of the world's attention. His rise was even more explosive than the Supernovas. No one could ignore him now.
"This age of madness is inevitable" Doflamingo said. "After this war, who knows where the world will go? If the Whitebeard Pirates fall, sure, one pirate crew is gone... but will that really stabilize this age of piracy?"
"Zehahaha! People's dreams... will never die!"
That afternoon, Blackbeard, satisfied from a hearty meal, left Marineford. His next destination: Impel Down.
Naturally, his infiltration had to happen without the Marines or World Government noticing.
As for the rest of the shichibukai?
Honestly, Blackbeard didn't care. Shichibukai? They were beneath him. If everything went according to plan, he would soon become one of the emperors.
And compared to that, the shichibukai were just second-rate players.
As he left Marineford, Blackbeard could already envision his future.
A crew of monsters. The power of both the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and the Dark-Dark Fruit. Whitebeard's throne, claimed as his own. A New World brought under his reign. Wealth. Status. Power. Women.
But what he didn't know... was that his dreams were about to end.
Impel Down – Level Six
Led by Magellan, Garp descended once again into the deepest level of the prison. Last time, he had only managed a brief meeting with Luffy, before Kizaru escorted him here via Calm Belt.
Garp looked exhausted. His own grandson had been imprisoned, and even though Luffy was still alive for now, the World Government's silence was deafening. They had no intention of letting the bloodline of the world's most dangerous criminal — Monkey D. Dragon — walk free forever.
Even Garp couldn't fight against the tides of the world anymore.
Two men he helped raise were now both locked inside this hell.
Today, he had come to escort Portgas D. Ace.
The moment Garp entered Level Six, the criminals behind the cells began howling and jeering.
But one roar from Magellan, followed by a colossal Hydra made of poison crashing through a cell, silenced the level. After the screams faded, no one dared make another sound.
"Well, well, Ace. Never thought I'd see you in such a pathetic state" Garp sneered as he stood outside Ace's cell.
The bruised and broken Ace slowly looked up. His eyes were dull, lifeless.
Garp's sneer wasn't true cruelty — it was disappointment. He had hoped Ace would follow a different path. As the son of Gol D. Roger, his existence was already too dangerous. Had he joined the Marines, Garp might have been able to protect him. But now... all he could do was grieve silently.
Two hours later, three warships set out from Impel Down, escorting Ace. The Calm Belt was calm again.
But over the next two days...
No one could have imagined what would come.
The Elior Pirates, the Blackbeard Pirates, the Revolutionary Army, Ivankov, and Luffy himself...
All hell would break loose inside Impel Down. A rebellion the likes of which the prison had never seen.