One Piece: Deriving All Things

While Sanders and Whitebeard were engaged in battle, a Marine warship appeared in a nearby sea area.

"Report to the Rear Admiral!"

"A frozen pirate ship has been spotted ahead!"

"Huh?"

On the deck of the warship stood a man with short white hair, three cigars clamped in his mouth, and a face filled with gruff determination. This man, slightly startled, was none other than Smoker.

"A frozen pirate ship?"

"Yes, Rear Admiral Smoker. The entire ship is completely frozen."

This Smoker was the same one who had been stationed at Loguetown. After leaving his post there, he had undergone advanced training at Marine Headquarters before being assigned to a New World fleet.

Thanks to his relentless pursuit of pirates and his battle achievements, Smoker had been promoted to Rear Admiral. He now had the authority to command a warship as its captain.

"Can you make out which pirate crew it belongs to?" Smoker asked, slowly exhaling white smoke that was soon dispersed by the sea breeze.

Had this conversation been in the cabin, the room would have already been filled with so much smoke that no one could stay inside.

"It's the Sword Pirates!"

"Their captain is a swordsman with a bounty of 400 million!"

"According to the intel we have, he was heading out to challenge Whitebeard. We don't know why they ended up here," the Marine reported.

"Challenging Whitebeard, huh?"

Smoker furrowed his brows, making his already stern face look even more intimidating.

"Bring the ship closer. Let's see what's going on."

"Yes, Rear Admiral!"

Under Smoker's orders, the warship quickly approached the Sword Pirates' vessel.

"What happened here? How could everything be frozen like this?" a Marine exclaimed as they observed the scene more closely.

The pirate ship was entirely encased in ice, along with the pirates aboard it.

"Could this be Aokiji's doing?"

Smoker examined the life-like ice sculptures and murmured uncertainly.

To freeze an entire ship along with a notorious pirate with a 400 million bounty, Smoker could only think of one person—the Marine Admiral Aokiji, a user of the Ice-Ice Fruit.

Jumping onto the Sword Pirates' ship, Smoker quickly noticed two frozen figures lying on the deck.

"Defrost these two immediately," Smoker commanded.

The Marines quickly fetched hot water to melt the ice encasing the two individuals.

Soon, their appearances became clear.

"That's Sword!"

"And his first mate?!"

"It really is the Sword Pirates!"

Even though both men were badly beaten, their faces swollen and unrecognizable, the Marines instantly identified them.

"What could have happened to these two? How did they end up like this?"

"They look like they were beaten to death. Was this Whitebeard's doing?"

"Probably not. As far as we know, the Whitebeard Pirates don't use ice-based abilities."

"Could it have been Admiral Aokiji?"

The Marines speculated about what had happened as they stared at the captain and first mate of the Sword Pirates.

However, Smoker silently dismissed the idea that Aokiji was responsible.

Judging by Aokiji's usual style, he would have defeated them and sent them to Impel Down, not slaughtered them in such a brutal manner.

Moreover, Aokiji typically didn't operate in the New World.

Among the Admirals, Aokiji was most active in the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line.

Kizaru generally stayed near Marine Headquarters, while Admiral Akainu was the one most active in the New World.

"Report this incident to Marine Headquarters," Smoker said after a moment's thought. "We'll continue searching for Sanders."

"Yes, Rear Admiral Smoker!"

As the Marine tasked with filing the report departed, Smoker turned to look in a specific direction.

"Was this your doing, Sanders?"

"So, it seems you really are here to challenge Whitebeard!"

"A Year Later, and You're Already Challenging Whitebeard?"

Smoker muttered to himself, his words carried away by the sea breeze into the vast ocean.

The news about the Sword Pirates quickly reached Marine Headquarters.

The death of a pirate with a bounty of 400 million was an event the Marines could not ignore.

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku! The Sword Pirates have been annihilated. This is intelligence from the frontlines!"

A Marine officer handed Smoker's report to Sengoku.

Hearing that it involved a pirate with a 400-million bounty, Sengoku immediately took the document and began reading.

As his eyes scanned the report, his expression turned serious.

"The entire ship was frozen?"

Upon reading this line, Sengoku's first thought was Aokiji.

"Where is Aokiji? Did he go to the New World?" Sengoku asked in a deep voice.

"He shouldn't have, Fleet Admiral. Aokiji was recently seen in the first half of the Grand Line, and there is no intelligence suggesting he has gone to the New World," the Marine officer promptly replied.

Before reporting to Sengoku, the officer had already verified Aokiji's whereabouts.

There were two ways to enter the New World: crossing the Red Line or traveling through Fish-Man Island. Either route would have been recorded by the Marines or the World Government.

Hearing this, Sengoku nodded slightly.

Aokiji had no reason to secretly head to the New World, and such brutal methods didn't align with his character.

If it wasn't Aokiji…

Sengoku's expression shifted as a certain possibility came to mind—a name that had been absent from the seas for a year.

The captain of the Thunder God Pirates, Thunder God Sanders!

If anyone else possessed abilities comparable to Aokiji's Ice-Ice Fruit, it would undoubtedly be Sanders.

The massive battle near Onigashima a year ago had also shown traces of similar freezing abilities, which the Marines had noticed.

"Do we have any intelligence on Thunder God Sanders?" Sengoku adjusted his glasses, his voice calm yet firm.

"Yes, Fleet Admiral. A few days ago, there were reports of someone resembling Thunder God Sanders appearing in the New World. The location wasn't far from where the Sword Pirates were found," the Marine officer said as he handed over another document.

Sengoku skimmed through it and recalled a line from the earlier report stating that Sword had intended to challenge Whitebeard.

"Is Whitebeard in that area as well?" Sengoku asked.

The Marines had always closely monitored the movements of the Four Emperors. If not for the risk of provoking these New World monsters, Sengoku would have assigned a fleet to keep constant surveillance on them.

"Yes, Fleet Admiral. The Moby Dick and several of Whitebeard's flagship vessels are in the vicinity," the Marine officer confirmed.

Sengoku placed the document on his desk, his face showing deep contemplation.

After a long pause, he muttered, "So, Sanders intends to challenge Whitebeard."

"One year of silence, and now you can't resist stirring up the seas?"

All the intelligence pointed to Sanders heading for Whitebeard.

The Marines were well-acquainted with Sanders, a former member of their ranks. They knew he had no prior direct connection to Whitebeard.

The only overlap was Fish-Man Island, which was under the joint protection of the Whitebeard Pirates and the Thunder God Pirates.

Given this, it was highly likely that Sanders was heading to challenge Whitebeard.

Among the Four Emperors, Whitebeard was the strongest—this was a widely accepted fact.

As a veteran powerhouse from the Roger era, Whitebeard's reputation was unquestionable.

While "there is no first place in literature, nor a second in martial arts," the top fighters of the sea were unlikely to all accept Whitebeard's title of the "World's Strongest."

Sanders, being in his early twenties and exceptionally powerful, was naturally motivated to challenge the strongest.

To Sengoku, it was even surprising that Sanders had waited this long. He had anticipated that Sanders, upon arriving in the New World, would immediately clash with Whitebeard.

Yet an entire year had passed without any news of Sanders, as if he had vanished.

"Inform Admiral Akainu, who is stationed in the New World, about this situation. Tell him not to act without explicit orders," Sengoku ordered after a brief moment of thought.

"And keep a close watch on Whitebeard and Sanders!"

"Yes, Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"

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T/N:

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