One Piece: Crown of Darkness

Marineford.

On this island, almost at the center of the world and steeped in ancient history, stood the guardians of the sea, the Marines, whose own history was glorious. This was the core of Marine Headquarters.

Inside the towering building, in the office of the Fleet Admiral.

Kong, the highest-ranking officer of the Marines, renowned as "Steel Bone" for his steel-like body and will, recently felt overwhelmed. He was too busy, too tired, and the pressure was immense, stemming from... the Marines' natural enemy, pirates.

The World Government's high command, disregarding the Marines' advice, insisted on publicly executing the self-surrendered "Pirate King" with a global live broadcast, attempting to deter the turbulent situation that arose before and after the "Pirate King's" birth and to maintain stable rule.

This decision was the root of all trouble.

It provided the "Pirate King" with a suitable stage, and he, with premeditation, uttered his dying words, thereby ushering in the so-called "Great Pirate Era."

According to the Marines' incomplete calculations, in just half a month since the "Pirate King's" demise, the number of pirates had surged tenfold and was still continuously rising!

This massive increase instantly shattered the previous balance of power between the Marines and pirates, where Marines outnumbered pirates. It briefly reversed, with pirates now outnumbering Marines. Especially with the Marines' generational change being slow and protracted in recent years, their relative lack of strength made them appear even weaker. Consequently, every Marine was extremely busy, exhausted, and under immense pressure.

During a small break after handling official correspondence, Kong finally had a rare moment to breathe. He glanced at his still formidable and muscular physique, then stroked his steel-brush-like Mohawk and inverted-mountain-shaped mustache. Full of lingering doubts, he secretly sighed, "Am I getting old? Why do I feel so powerless?"

Thump! Thump!

The door suddenly knocked.

"Fleet Admiral Kong!" A Marine officer entered. After saluting, he handed over a stack of documents, saying, "Vice Admiral Tsuru ordered her subordinate to deliver this list of proposed bounty posters and information on wanted criminals. Please review them."

Kong was taken aback. "Isn't this Tsuru's job? Why is she sending it to me too?"

"Uh... Vice Admiral Tsuru didn't explain. She just said you'd understand once you saw it."

The Marine officer replied.

Kong shook his head but picked up the documents and began to browse. Soon, he was astonished. "'Desert King' Crocodile, a Sand-Sand Fruit user of the Logia type? He's truly a dangerous fellow. No wonder Tsuru set his first bounty at a high amount of 81 million Berries and even listed him as a candidate for that plan..."

"..."

"'Hawk-Eyes' Dracule Mihawk, almost possessing the strength of a sword master before he's even twenty?"

"..."

"'Hero of the West Blue' Gecko Moria, already had a 20 million Berry bounty before entering the Grand Line, and his second bounty directly added 100 million Berries."

"..."

Before he even finished reading, Kong couldn't help but sigh, "These trendsetters riding the wave of the era's changes are extraordinary."

Continuing to browse, Kong flared with rage. "Destroyed an island? Killed over two hundred bounty hunters and civilians, that damned bastard! Edward Weevil!" His anger quickly turned to bewildered exclamations. "'Sea Scourge', Donquixote... Doflamingo, Donquixote... Dammit, it was bound to happen! Why do we Marines always have to clean up the messes left by those idiots in the World Government?!"

The Marine officer who delivered the documents quickly bowed his head, pretending he hadn't heard anything.

Kong rubbed his forehead in distress. "Each one is more troublesome than the last." Helpless, he meticulously reviewed Doflamingo's file, muttering, "Disappeared for six years, a blank history... Before effortlessly subduing Edward Weevil, he already had former pirates Trebol and Diamante following him... What kind of monsters have they created?"

Leaning back in his office chair, weighing and pondering repeatedly, Kong remained silent.

After a long while.

"Tell Tsuru to proceed with the others as she intended. As for Donquixote Doflamingo, ignore him for now. Report it to the Gorosei and let them handle it themselves," Kong scoffed, his voice heavy.

The Marine officer straightened. "Yes, Fleet Admiral Kong!" He then lowered his hand, hesitating. "There's still one page you haven't seen."

"Hm?" Kong surprisingly flipped the page again, and his previously settled emotions exploded like a volcano. "Garp! Look at the good-for-nothing son you've spawned!!!"

A raging Kong tore the document. A fragmented piece of paper, glaringly, was pasted with a photo of Monkey D. Dragon, detailing his new whereabouts after silently abandoning his post as a Marine Rear Admiral—he hadn't raised a pirate flag, nor formed a pirate crew, but he was undoubtedly venturing into the Grand Line just like a pirate.

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