News of the Pirate Expo was spreading in secret. Though widely circulated, it was only reaching those directly connected to the matter.
On the surface, however, there was no public announcent. The World Economy News Paper had not reported a single word about it, treating it as if it didn't exist.
A smokescreen.
After all, World Economy News was now effectively an official newspaper.
The fact that it wasn't covering the event suggested that the World Governnt was deliberately controlling the narrative.
Perhaps they didn't want too many pirates getting involved.
Makes sense—after all, the circulating rumors claid that a Road Poneglyph would be at the Expo. If that were true, then the World Governnt definitely wouldn't want pirates showing up.
What if one of them actually found Laugh Tale and beca the Pirate King?
This line of reasoning made it seem less likely that the World Governnt was behind so grand conspiracy. But in the end, belief depended on perspective, the wise saw wisdom, the skeptical saw deception.
Whether one chose to believe or not was irrelevant.
Claudius certainly wasn't going to lose either way.
The Four Emperors remained quiet, pretending to be uninterested. But Claudius knew better.
No matter what choice they made—whether they attended or stayed away—the result was the sa.
They might gain sothing, but Claudius would definitely co out on top.
And as far as he was concerned, once they thought it through, they had to go.
Alabasta – The Royal Palace in Albana
In the first half of the Grand Line, deep within Alabasta's capital, Crocodile sat in the palace, looking down at a summons in his hand.
It was an official call for the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
His expression was one of irritation.
"Maybe it's ti I finally quit being a Warlord," he muttered.
Daz Bones, standing beside him, smirked. "And if you do, would they really let you go?"
Crocodile rolled his eyes. "That joke isn't funny."
Seriously, what difference did it make to him whether he was a Warlord or not? Even without the title, who would dare to challenge him?
As long as he stayed loyal to Claudius, nothing else mattered.
He had bigger concerns anyway, Alabasta was undergoing major changes. Claudius had ordered an expansion of military production, increasing the supply of warships. Internal policies were shifting, with plans to transition Alabasta into direct governance under the World Governnt.
But before any of that could be completed, this summons had arrived.
The Warlords were being ordered to head to the New World—to attend the Pirate Expo.
Back in his early years, Crocodile had ambitions of becoming a legendary pirate. He had dread of claiming the title of Pirate King.
But he had followed the wrong man.
Captain John had betrayed him, and he had ended up being picked up by Claudius.
From that point on, he had risen through the ranks under Claudius's guidance, climbing all the way to the highest levels of the World Governnt.
On paper, he was still a Seven Warlord of the Sea. But in reality, he was a ruler—King of the Desert, Alabasta's true overlord.
At this point, the title of Pirate King was aningless to him.
Why would he care about being the ruler of a bunch of thieves?
He had seen too much, learned too many secrets. He knew that the pirate era was running out of ti.
Even Claudius seed to be laying the groundwork to manufacture a Pirate King, perhaps soone like Ace just like the Warlords had been a manufactured balance of power.
Knowing this, why would Crocodile care about the Eternal Pose to Laugh Tale?
Why would he be interested in deciphering ancient texts or Road Poneglyphs?
And as for the rumor that an Ancient Weapon capable of conquering the world lay hidden on Laugh Tale…
He scoffed.
What a joke.
Did these people even know what Ancient Weapons were?
Crocodile did—because Claudius had told him.
Poseidon—still alive.
Uranus and Pluton—lost forever, unusable.
Back in the day, Imu had planned everything. Claudius had taken advantage of that knowledge to ensure that no foolish, power-hungry upstart would ever dream of using an Ancient Weapon to overthrow the World Governnt.
And yet, the rumors persisted.
Thinking about it now, Roger must have known that Ancient Weapons were just bait.
But instead of saying anything, he let everyone believe in the myth—digging a massive hole for every pirate chasing after his legacy.
Including Shiki.
Crocodile clicked his tongue.
That bastard Roger… he played the whole world for fools.
The End of the Warlords?
"This might be the last ti, Boss. Just bear with it a little longer," Bonez said with a smirk.
Crocodile was silent for a mont. Then, with a sigh, he said, "Yeah… this might be the last ti the Warlords are called together."
He knew what this was really about.
Claudius had orchestrated this entire event, using Bullet as bait to lure in Shiki, Charlotte Linlin, and Kaido.
Then, in one decisive strike, they would all be eliminated.
With the three of them gone, the New World would fall into chaos.
Marine Headquarters, backed by overwhelming military power, would sweep through the region unchallenged.
Even if Shanks tried to step in, he wouldn't be able to hold the balance alone.
The Great Pirate Era would be finished.
And once it was over, the Seven Warlords of the Sea would beco obsolete.
There would be no need to call them together ever again.
"Maybe I can retire after this," Crocodile mused, laughing bitterly to himself.
For a mont, he thought back to his ti in Mariejois. A life without stress. No real responsibilities.
Back then, he had always dread of challenging Claudius, regaining his freedom.
But as ti passed, that ambition had faded.
How long had it been since he had even thought about it?
"...Once this is over, maybe I should challenge that guy again," Crocodile muttered to himself.
"The so-called 'King of the World'..."
Then, shaking his head, he sighed.
"Enough thinking. Daz, get the ship ready. We leave for the New World tomorrow."
Daz nodded. "Understood."
He found it amusing, his boss complained, but when it ca down to it, he was always the first to act.
Elsewhere, Eustass Kid and the other Supernovas had finally caught wind of the Pirate Expo.
Unlike the Emperors, they had no solid footing in the New World yet. They had charged in recklessly, without any real strategy.
Their information network was weak, so they had only learned about the Expo much later than the major players.
Still, the mont he heard about it, Kid's reaction was predictable.
"A Log Pose to Laugh Tale? Doesn't that an I'm about to beco the Pirate King?" he declared arrogantly.
Killer, standing beside him, was more cautious. "Wouldn't an event like this attract a lot of big shots?"
Kid shrugged. "Good. This New World hasn't been nearly as intense as I expected. I've been here all this ti and still haven't t a real challenge. If there are so big nas at this thing, I'll just crush them and take the Pirate King's throne!"
As he spoke, Kid clenched his fist.
A dark layer of Armant Haki coated his hand. Faint sparks flickered around him, a sign of Conqueror's Haki.
Kid had made huge progress since entering the New World.
But his arrogance was blinding him.
He thought he was ready to conquer the sea.
What he didn't realize was that the only reason the New World seed "calm" was because the Emperors and the Marines were holding back—for now.
But soon, that restraint would be gone.
And when the chaos erupted…
Kid and the other Supernovas were about to learn the hard way what it really ant to survive in the New World.
(To be continued.)
***
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