Chapter 184: [184] : Forming a Grand Fleet? Marine HQ Announces the Public Execution!

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“Hm?” Hearing there was new coverage on Sky Sovereign Rowen, Hancock took the newspaper, her beautiful eyes narrowing as she read.

“What is it?” Elder Nyon asked.

“Marine Headquarters… was attacked,” Hancock murmured.

“WHAT??” Elder Nyon, Sandersonia, and Marigold gasped in unison.

Though they could get newspapers in the Calm Belt, their delivery was slower than in other seas.

The paper Hancock held detailed the attack on Marine HQ.

Sandersonia and Marigold, despite having collected this report, hadn’t read it themselves.

It was their firm conviction that their Elder Sister should always see the news firsthand. Hearing this shocking revelation now, they were stunned.

Marine Headquarters—that monolithic entity—was attacked??

The man who would dare do such a thing… Elder Nyon, Sandersonia, and Marigold swallowed hard.

Sky Sovereign Rowen!

Only an Emperor-like man—the one who had already wiped Enies Lobby from the map, would act with such wanton disregard.

The last man to act madly was the legendary pirate from Roger’s era, Golden Lion Shiki. But Shiki was defeated and imprisoned in Impel Down.

And since this report was one they collected about Rowen, the attacker could only be him.

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“W-What was the result?” Elder Nyon swallowed hard again.

Marine HQ. That was the Navy’s main base!

Though Enies Lobby was also hailed as unbreached for 800 years, its military strength couldn’t compare to Marine HQ’s.

Even the legendary Golden Lion Shiki was defeated there.

“Sky Sovereign Rowen didn’t appear in person. He just used his Rumble-Rumble Fruit ability, and it threw Marine Headquarters into chaos—” Hancock stated, looking at the report, her red lips pressed together.

“As expected of the World’s Strongest Devil Fruit User,” Elder Nyon marveled.

This horrifying long-range destructive power was astonishing.

It was almost like a legendary Ancient Weapon. Though perhaps not as powerful, its deterrent effect was no less potent.

As a former member of the Rocks Pirates, Elder Nyon knew something about the Ancient Weapons. They too required a massive energy source to power their attacks—

—But a Devil Fruit’s fuel was just the user’s stamina. And Rowen was a Door-Door Fruit user—a man who could control space.

His movements were even more unpredictable than an Ancient Weapon’s. His overall deterrent power was frightening.

The title ’Man Who Controls Space’ had spread across the seas after Rowen’s complete victory in the Enies Lobby battle.

Knowing this, Elder Nyon’s understanding of Rowen’s terrifying power grew even deeper. She knew the Door-Door Fruit on its own only granted the user the power of spatial manipulation.

But when combined with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit—it transformed into a humanoid super-disaster.

No one could track his movements—they could only be passively beaten.

And Sky Sovereign Rowen was also an Ultimate Human, with intellect rivaling Sengoku the Buddha.

Just thinking about it made Elder Nyon feel how scary Sky Sovereign Rowen was…

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“WAIT A MINUTE!” Elder Nyon’s eyes widened.

“Is the mandatory Warlord summons—to start an all-out war with Sky Sovereign Rowen??” she swallowed hard, her eyes filled with horror.

“Hm??” Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold’s pupils constricted simultaneously.

All-out war??

The mandatory summons wouldn’t explain the details of the war to the Warlords. It was still top secret. And Hancock, unlike Doflamingo, had no information network. But combining the intel they had now, this was the only logical reason for a mandatory Warlord summons.

“Granny Nyon, to deal with just Sky Sovereign Rowen, do they need to mobilize such forces?”

Sandersonia asked, unable to comprehend.

Marine HQ alone should be enough, right??

Why summon the Warlords too??

“Girl! Don’t Underestimate An Emperor! The Navy’s Crushing Defeat At Enies Lobby Is The Best Example! Facing This Man, Even Marine HQ Must Be Extremely Cautious! One Wrong Move Could Lead To Devastating Losses!” Elder Nyon roared.

Thinking back to the descriptions of Rowen in the Enies Lobby battle reports, Sandersonia and Marigold also swallowed hard.

It seemed that was indeed the case…

A military force of—ten thousand elites, five Vice Admirals, and one Admiral—was almost completely annihilated.

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“At Marine Headquarters… will I be able to see that man?” Hancock’s beautiful eyes flickered.

“Hah!” Hancock stood up.

FWOOSH!

Hancock stood up.

“Elder Sister?” Sandersonia and Marigold looked at Hancock, shocked.

“I… will go,” Hancock stated, her eyes shining.

A man who would directly attack the stronghold of the Celestial Dragons, Mariejois!

This man had shown the world that the Celestial Dragons were not so high and mighty!

Haki could defeat others, and it could defeat Celestial Dragons too!

Because of Rowen’s actions, her inner demons had been greatly alleviated. This was the first man on these seas who had the guts to openly attack the Celestial Dragons—

—Not just one, but all of them in their very stronghold, Mariejois, suppressing them with Conqueror’s Haki!

Hancock had long wanted to meet this legendary man…

And now… this might be the only chance in her lifetime!

“Elder Sister??” Sandersonia and Marigold cried out.

Elder Nyon sighed in relief, though her expression was complex. She had been the one to bring the three sisters back to Amazon Lily.

Though Hancock often threw her out—she undoubtedly viewed Hancock as family. But for the sake of Amazon Lily, Hancock had to respond to the summons. And Hancock was now a Warlord—she shouldn’t be in danger.

’But… Snake Princess’s expression… why does it seem a bit strange?’ Elder Nyon looked at Hancock’s shining eyes, blinking.

But before she could figure it out, Hancock had already started walking towards the warship.

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“BOA HANCOCK!”

Vice Admiral Bastille, the only one not petrified, sweated profusely.

This woman was really strong. Her Love-Love Fruit, combined with her stunning beauty, was terrifyingly powerful.

The Love-Love Fruit amplified the user’s beauty, and anyone captivated by it would be turned to stone. It was a terrifying ability that could manipulate people’s hearts—and Boa Hancock, possessing world-renowned beauty, amplified the fruit’s power to its extreme.

Forget this woman’s Haki—just her Devil Fruit alone, he was no match for.

VMM!

Hancock activated her Love-Love Fruit, releasing the petrified Marines.

“Huh?” Seeing the petrification undone, Bastille’s eye twitched.

“Let’s go,” Hancock stated, ever arrogant, looking coldly at Bastille.

“…” Though unsure why the Pirate Empress suddenly agreed, Bastille remained extremely polite. Gaining a powerful asset like the Pirate Empress was very important for the Navy.

The warship departed from Amazon Lily.

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Marine Headquarters!

“Fleet Admiral! The Pirate Empress has complied!” a reporting Rear Admiral announced eagerly.

To preserve Marine HQ’s dignity, he even used the word ’complied’.

“As long as she arrives on time…” Sengoku, as Fleet Admiral, wasn’t concerned with such trivialities; he only cared about whether this powerful asset would arrive on time.

“The other Warlords are also heading towards Mariejois. Only the newly appointed Warlord, Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach, has not responded…” the reporting Rear Admiral added quickly.

“Hm? Ignore him. If he doesn’t arrive on time, strip him of his Warlord title,” Sengoku stated gravely.

All Warlords had their own goals and ambitions—Sengoku knew this well. Blackbeard, who betrayed the Whitebeard Pirates, captured Fire Fist Ace, and exposed his Pirate King lineage—was undoubtedly planning something big.

But right now, Sengoku had no spare energy to care about a mere Blackbeard. Compared to the Emperors he had to worry about, Blackbeard was insignificant.

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“They’ve already reached Sabaody Archipelago and captured all the Supernovas?” Sengoku sighed, looking at the report in his hand.

He had issued a strict order forbidding anyone from spying on Rowen. They absolutely could not anger him again at this time—

—Though the Supernovas were all killed or captured by Rowen, for the Navy, this only highlighted their own incompetence.

“Aside from the Kid Pirates being annihilated and Drake escaping, all other Supernovas were captured by Rowen?” Sengoku frowned.

This generation of Supernovas had strong potential—otherwise, they wouldn’t have been called the Worst Generation.

Instead of killing these Supernovas, he captured them all… Was this man planning to absorb them all into his own forces?

A Grand Fleet!

This term appeared in Sengoku’s mind.

A Grand Fleet—an extension of a pirate crew. Each was composed of multiple pirate crews, forming an incredibly terrifying force. Only the most powerful great pirates on these seas could form a Grand Fleet.

Like the Four Emperor crews, besides their main crew, they all had numerous subordinate pirate crews.

The main Emperor crew, plus numerous subordinate crews, formed a Grand Fleet—that was an Emperor’s true power!

The Whitebeard Pirates, for instance, had 43 subordinate New World pirate crews under their banner—totaling about 50,000 men. This vast military might was why Sengoku was gathering 90,000 elite Marines to face them!

(Due to the heavy losses at Enies Lobby, they couldn’t assemble a full 100,000.)

Though the Straw Hats crew was easily on par with an Emperor’s main crew, without an affiliated fleet, Rowen’s overall influence couldn’t compare to the Four Emperors.

This was why, despite Rowen’s terrifying battle record—even more terrifying than the Four Emperors’, causing greater damage to Marine HQ—his bounty was still lower than theirs.

If this man absorbed all these Supernovas into his forces… his power would become even greater—and If these Supernovas were allowed to fully mature under Rowen’s banner—that would be a major problem…

With an Emperor’s protection, their growth was practically guaranteed. A Supernova with an Emperor’s protection and one without were two completely different concepts.

Sengoku felt as if he were watching a new monolithic power rising on the seas. He clutched his head, feeling a massive headache coming on.

And what gave him an even bigger headache was the upcoming battle!

Against just the Whitebeard Pirates, Marine HQ’s forces could easily handle them. After all, they had five Admiral-level powerhouses. And the Whitebeard Pirates, though 50,000 strong, the only one they truly needed to worry about was the aging Whitebeard.

Such a force against Marine HQ was practically a suicide mission!

But Sengoku still told his subordinates they might lose. They had to prepare for the worst!

Because Sengoku had calculated the worst-case scenario:

FACING MULTIPLE EMPEROR CREWS!

Red-Haired Shanks was a former apprentice on Gol D. Roger’s ship. They were about to publicly execute Fire Fist Ace—they had to expose his identity to the whole world.

And Red-Hair and Whitebeard had recently made contact.

The Red Hair Pirates were very likely to show up at the battlefield. In that case, they would be facing two Emperor crews—and Red-Hair was even more troublesome than the aging Whitebeard!

The Red Hair Pirates were an ’Impenetrable’ crew, renowned for the high average bounties of their commanders.

And that wasn’t even the worst-case scenario…

The worst-case scenario was—what if Sky Sovereign Rowen also show up??

Sengoku’s forehead veins throbbed.

Sky Sovereign Rowen possessed Fire Fist Ace’s Flare-Flare Fruit ability, and Ace was still alive; there was definitely a connection between them.

And given this man’s wanton recklessness and his hostility towards the World Government and Marine HQ… He might very well intervene!

Then Marine HQ would be facing THREE Emperor-level pirate crews simultaneously!

Thinking of this scenario, even Sengoku felt immense pressure.

The mandatory summons for the Warlords was absolutely necessary. And the Pacifistas, humanoid weapons created based on Kuma’s Buccaneer bloodline, were also ready.

But even so, Sengoku had no guarantee of victory.

But the arrow was already on the bowstring; it had to be fired. The horns of war had already sounded; there was no retreat…

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“Make the announcement,” Sengoku stated gravely.

“Yes, sir!”

A news report shook the seas.

Marine Headquarters—was going to publicly execute the Whitebeard Pirates 2nd Division Commander, ’Fire Fist’ Portgas D. Ace.

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