One Piece: Rising to Power as a Warlord of the Sea

"Not bad! But still, compared to me, you've got a ways to go. Hahaha!" Garp laughed heartily in response to Natsu's inquiry, casually brushing the soot off his cloak.

"This kid fights with no sense of honor. Doesn't he know anything about respecting his elders?"

"Of course, Grandpa! You're the strongest Marine there is!" Natsu grinned, shamelessly buttering him up.

"Hmph, enough of that! I know what you're up to as soon as you open your mouth," Garp scoffed, waving him off. He'd expected this encounter to set his grandson straight, but apparently, he'd failed again.

Garp couldn't deny, however, that Natsu's growth was astounding. This kid had gone from being a formidable presence in his own right to wielding the kind of power that could hold up in the New World. Just what had he experienced with the Revolutionary Army?

"Goodbye, Grandpa!"

With that, the crew of the Smile Pirates, led by Natsu, walked out of the Navy's encirclement, unchallenged by any Marine.

"How would you rate the strength of the people around Natsu?" Garp turned to Bogart, who had been watching intently.

"Pretty much as expected," Bogart replied, taking a drag on his cigarette. "We have Enel with his Rumble-Rumble Fruit and Gin, who seems to possess a mythical Zoan-type power. They're formidable. To capture them, we'd need at least two Admirals."

"There's one person, though, I can't quite figure out," he continued, frowning.

"Oh? You too?" Garp's brow furrowed.

"Yeah. The girl... she seems to have a terrifying power awakening inside her. I wouldn't be surprised if she's a Devil Fruit user with immense potential."

"Hahaha! Just what are you planning, Natsu?" Garp muttered, adjusting his hat and squinting into the distance as if trying to see through it. He shook his head. A man makes his choices and stands by them. And anyway, if things fell apart, he still had his 'backup,' Luffy, to bring up in the ranks.

Meanwhile, on a hill in the East Blue, Luffy sneezed in the middle of a fight with Ace, causing him to drop his guard and get punched square in the face.

"Achoo! What was that? I never get sick!" Luffy murmured, scratching his head.

Three months had passed since Natsu's encounter with Garp. It had been a year since he set sail. As they continued their voyage, a group of seagulls flew overhead, dropping a newspaper on deck.

"Emperor of the New World Seas! Red-Haired Shanks Ascends as Yonko!"

"The Era of Three Powers Begins—What Will the Navy Do?"

"Two Warlord Positions Vacant? What's Next for the Grand Line?"

"So, the Yonko have finally come together," Natsu said, reading the paper with a wide grin. His face lit up with excitement. In the year 1516 of the Sea Calendar, Red-Haired Shanks ascended as a Yonko, staking his claim to his piece of the New World.

On Onigashima, Kaido laughed uproariously, his voice echoing through the entire island.

"Yonko? Haha! What a fancy title!"

Throughout his territory, pirates and subordinates looked toward his direction, filled with a mix of dread and awe, unsure whether he was laughing out of joy or drunken rage.

"A sea emperor? When did some kid get the right to stand beside me?"

Over on Whole Cake Island, Big Mom sneered as she listened to her eldest son, Charlotte Perospero, share the news. She was unimpressed with Shanks, even if he'd once been an apprentice on Roger's ship.

Meanwhile, aboard the Moby Dick, Whitebeard Newgate chuckled as he gazed at a bounty poster.

"That kid... he's come this far, huh?" Whitebeard mused, looking over at his "sons," unable to help comparing them to Shanks' achievements. "Roger, you were lucky," he thought, his mind drifting. But he was content with what he had—a family.

"Boss, you're a Yonko now!" a crewmate of the Red-Haired Pirates said, grinning from ear to ear as he took a massive bite of ham.

"Emperor of the Sea, huh? I like it." Shanks smiled, lifting his drink as his crew fell silent, eagerly awaiting his next move.

"Alright, then! To celebrate this occasion, let's keep the party going! Hahahaha!"

With that, Shanks raised his glass, breaking into a hearty laugh as his crew cheered. As the sounds of "Binks' Sake" drifted through the air, the Red-Haired Pirates reveled on the island, the song carrying across the sea.

Out on the open ocean, a lone figure approached, drifting along in a small boat with no sail or oars, moving as though by sheer will.

This man was none other than Dracule Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman and one of the Seven Warlords.

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