On the sea surface outside the waters of the Sabaody Archipelago.
Countless seagulls wheeled among the clouds.
"Coo!" "Coo!"
They cooed at each other, seemingly coordinating to systematically encircle the entire sea area, ensuring there were no blind spots.
If one looked closely, they would discover that without exception, these seagulls wore caras or recording equipnt around their necks.
That was enough to indicate their identity—they were the 'News Coos' from the World Economy News Paper.
Right now, through the recording equipnt on these seagulls.
Many reporters and news writers inside the World Economy News Paper were discussing.
"How terrifying, what on earth happened?"
"Has the situation of the islands in the sea area near the Sabaody Archipelago been confird?"
"They are almost completely destroyed, the waves are too huge."
They discussed while looking at the images transmitted from the projector Transponder Snails.
It was a scene that could be called horrifying.
Within the sea area that originally belonged to the Sabaody Archipelago—the entire sea level seed to have surged upward at this mont.
With the complete death of the Sunlight Tree Eve, the giant waves and natural disasters on the entire sea surface beca even more terrifying.
In fact, within just the past two hours, they had successively heard news of islands large and small in the surrounding waters being completely subrged by seawater. Moreover, the entire Grand Line and even the four initial seas had experienced abnormal tidal surges.
The influence of this incident had expanded to the entire sea, and the phones at the World Economy News Paper hadn't stopped ringing since it began.
"As expected, did they make a move against Fish-Man Island?"
"Could simply attacking Fish-Man Island really cause a reaction this massive... If you told a part of the Red Line sank into the sea causing this situation, I'd believe it."
As one of the most well-inford factions in the entire world, the World Economy News Paper naturally also knew about the Governnt's unusual movents towards Fish-Man Island recently.
But clearly, even with their intelligence network, it was impossible to capture news like 'the Sunlight Tree Eve has been completely destroyed' in advance... After all, that ancient giant tree existing in the deep sea had long been deeply rooted in people's hearts just like Elbaf and the Red Line, serving as a kind of symbol of this world.
However, although they couldn't obtain exact information, they could know one thing—naly that this was almost certainly the Governnt's doing, not so special sudden natural disaster.
"Could it be that the Governnt dispatched the Star Hunter Unit there just for this? To rescue people at the critical mont?"
They looked at the content on the intelligence screens—within this natural disaster sea area where almost no normal ships could pass, where the islands originally were, there were only the coated ships of the Star Hunter Unit ferrying refugees out.
"It feels very strange, since when did the Governnt care about the life and death of the commoners? I feel it's more like independent action by the Star Hunter Unit."
"Hard to say, hasn't Marine Headquarters also dispatched warships over there? I heard it's even a warship led by Admiral 'Kizaru'."
"That's clearly just because the Marines' intelligence is a step behind, right? Moreover, their purpose for coming here doesn't look like disaster relief, more like maintaining stability."
"More importantly, how should we write the report? Our phones are about to explode!"
"Just write truthfully. The President has already been summoned for a talk by the Governnt because of The Zodiac matter, and hasn't returned yet... Let's not add extra spice this ti—although it'll make the news boring, it can't be helped."
"More importantly, did you guys hear so kind of sound?"
And amidst their discussions like this.
The News Coos stationed outside the Sabaody sea area had by now spotted Marine warships arriving from Marineford.
"Admiral Borsalino, we have reached the coastal waters of the target sea area, but the warships can't sail in!"
On the warship, a Captain was giving a report like this: "The Yarukiman Mangrove Grove seems to have completely sunk. Even the coating craftsn within the Marines cannot complete high-intensity coating at a ti like this."
"Oh~ how terrifying."
Kizaru rested his chin on one hand, looking at the terrifying waves in the sea area ahead that were extrely clear even from a distance.
"The situation has blown up bigger than expected. Fleet Admiral Sengoku ordered to figure out the situation, especially the situations of Vice Admiral Garp and Vice Admiral Roy—let's use the SSG's 'Temporary Coating Technology', shall we?"
He said softly.
"But..."
Hearing this, the Captain originally wanted to advise against it—the temporary coating technology is a special technology developed by the SSG, capable of performing coating through artificial bubble films outside the Sabaody Archipelago.
But due to the 'Egghead Island Incident' where Saint Saturn fell not long ago, Dr. Vegapunk, the chief scientist of the SSG, mysteriously disappeared. It seed he was abducted by The Zodiac, and there are even rumors that he might have joined The Zodiac.
This directly led to additional scrutiny being applied to most technologies related to Dr. Vegapunk. There are no results yet, and the related technologies had been temporarily suspended.
But before he could finish speaking, his gaze t Kizaru's slightly sarcastic expression.
"Y-Yes!"
The Captain's heart skipped a beat, not daring to hesitate anymore: "I will imdiately notify them to perform temporary coating."
While speaking, he also imdiately turned around preparing to leave.
But...
"Hm?"
While turning around, he heard Kizaru's soft exclamation carrying surprise and confusion.
"Ad-Admiral Borsalino?"
He looked at Kizaru confusedly.
Kizaru had already stood up by this ti.
In those usually listless eyes, a rare sharpness flashed.
Seeing this, the Captain was about to ask—but before he could voice his words, he saw Admiral Kizaru had already moved.
"VMMM!"
The Admiral's body turned into light in an instant. His figure leaped high, gazing down at the sea surface below, his hands crossed in front of him.
"Yasakani no Magatama..."
As the low words fell, countless fragnted light beam bullets were explosively fired by him into the sea in front.
Then, Kizaru gently snapped his fingers.
"Mirror of Heaven."
The words fell.
Those light beam bullets, the mont they hit the sea, erupted with intense, brilliant light.
Illuminated by the intense light—the entire sea in front of the Marine warships seed to have turned into a vast mirror.
From that mirror, the Marines could glimpse the countless behemoths swimming and rising from beneath the sea.
Those massive creatures that had existed in the sea since ancient tis—in front of them, the Marine warships couldn't even compare to one of their eyes or even a single scale.
"What is that!?"
"They are Sea Kings!"
"What's with this size? They are over a thousand ters long, right!?"
"Th-They are Deep... Deep-sea Sea Kings!?"
And right now, whether it was that Marine Captain, or the commanders and crew mbers on the other warships at this ti, almost without exception let out cries of disbelief and alarm.
They naturally all recognized it—Sea Kings of this size must be those existing in the deep sea, the true 'Masters of the Sea', Deep-sea Sea Kings.
"Why would they appear in the shallow sea, and this quantity..."
What made them feel even more unbelievable was—even though the sea surface illuminated by Kizaru's ability wasn't particularly wide, they could still see the silhouettes of more than one giant creature within it.
That was enough to show that the Deep-sea Sea Kings currently existing in the sea area before them were absolutely not as simple as one or two.
At that, the Captain stopped in his tracks.
Deep-sea Sea Kings had already surfaced to the shallow sea—under these circumstances, forcefully applying 'temporary coating' and then entering the sea area ahead was equivalent to offering a buffet to the Sea Kings.
"Admiral, we now..."
He looked hesitantly at Kizaru.
Kizaru ignored his subordinate and scratched his head.
"Oh my, this is truly an unexpected developnt... Hm?"
He muttered like this, but mid-sentence he seed to sense sothing, and abruptly raised his head to look into the distance.
"..."
His expression suddenly sank, and then he asked in a deep voice: "I say, little brother—did you hear so kind of sound?"
"Sound?"
The Captain was even more confused after hearing this.
But just a mont later, he understood Kizaru's aning.
"VMMM!"
As a Captain of Marine Headquarters, and simultaneously the herald on Admiral Kizaru's warship, although the Captain himself had not mastered Tri-color Haki, his grasp of Observation Haki was already quite proficient.
So right now, he could also begin to faintly catch a certain sound.
It existed beneath the crash of waves and breakers, beneath the low hum of the Sea Kings and the echo of their massive bodies in motion.
It sounded like so massive behemoth churning the world itself.
And also like the sound of war drums as an army finally launches a charge against the enemy.
And...
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
As the Captain listened more carefully, he discovered that sound was becoming increasingly obvious, increasingly clear, and increasingly imnse.
He could even pinpoint the source of that sound—just like those giant Sea Kings, it too was coming from...
"Below!?"
He lowered his head, picked up the binoculars on his chest, and looked at the sea surface.
Then he saw, on the sea surface in the distance, beneath the vast, dark shadows of those countless Deep-sea Sea Kings.
Sothing even more massive had appeared.
"Rumble!"
Its ergence shattered even the catastrophic rogue waves that had been battering the Sabaody sea area. Vast, dense clouds of bubbles churned up from beneath the deep sea.
"Sothing is surfacing!"
As a Marine who had served for decades, the Captain imdiately judged—these dense bubbles were iconic 'surfacing bubbles'.
That ant sothing massive and indescribable was surfacing.
And the fact was indeed so...
"Thud!"
"Ooo—ang!" ×N
The next mont, he heard all the Sea Kings beneath the sea surface seem to raise their heads simultaneously, letting out long, ancient calls.
It was as if a group of guards were standing sentinel to welco the appearance of their King.
Subsequently, that massive object broke through the sea surface.
Its size was so imnse it looked as if the entire seabed had been hauled to the surface.
That massive figure shed seawater as it rose, which cascaded down like a brilliant waterfall under the starlight.
The sizes of the countless giant Deep-sea Sea Kings couldn't compare to it. 'Noah' and 'Fish-Man Island' embedded on the hull were clearly visible.
"Th-That is..."
The Captain was completely speechless.
He put down the binoculars in his hand—with that kind of exaggerated size, one didn't need binoculars at all to see it clearly.
"A... continent!?"
Yes—that massive thing looked to him almost like a 'continent'.
Although not as gigantic as the Red Line, it undoubtedly had a scale beyond comprehension.
But...
"No..."
At this ti, Kizaru's brows were furrowed deeply, a rare sight.
He stood up straight, his sharp gaze carrying a rare complexity of emotion.
As a Marine Admiral, his Observation Haki was clearly countless tis stronger than the Captain's.
So he could clearly see—under the reflection of that starlight, the mountain-like shape of a mast on that suddenly appearing 'massive object'.
On that massive 'mast', right now, a pattern was slowly manifesting amidst the convergence of starlight.
That was a flag similar to the World Governnt's symbol, the 'Cross-Star Flag'—unlike the Cross-Star Flag, this one bore twelve stars.
They surrounded the largest star in the center, and outside the twelve stars, there were also nurous tiny morning stars.
Therefore, Kizaru naturally understood.
"That is the 'Ship of Stars' ntioned in the intelligence from Elbaf previously."
He said in a low voice, still resonating with what sounded like drumbeats.
"That is... the ship belonging to The Zodiac."
Kizaru's words were mixed with a trace of a bizarre feeling.
As a Marine Admiral, he naturally knew what that ant.
One must know.
Although the existence of The Zodiac had long been a well-known fact on the sea, and they had even achieved the remarkable feats of crushing Four Emperors and killing a Five Elder.
But before today, their operational pattern had always been one of individual action.
People all believed they were a tightly knit organization, but had never seen them act as a collective body — where their lair was, whether they had their own territories and islands, everything was completely unknown.
Currently, no one could even track the whereabouts of The Zodiac.
But now, this was the first ti.
The Zodiac displayed their symbol to this world for the first ti.
A ship — in this world covered by oceans, a ship and the flag it flies are symbols.
It symbolizes a faction no longer hiding itself, truly displaying its existence to the world.
And Kizaru naturally also understood.
This inevitably ans that what The Zodiac does next... will be unlike anything they have done before.
"This is truly..."
Kizaru grinned, seeming to want to say sothing, but ultimately didn't voice it.
"Troubleso."
He finally said like this.
(End of Chapter)
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