One Piece: Deriving All Things

After the marine left from reporting to Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral picked up the Den Den Mushi again.

Brrr... Brrr... Brrr...

"Hello? Sengoku, what's the matter?"

An elderly voice echoed from the Den Den Mushi.

"Garp, where are you right now?"

Sengoku asked.

On the other end of the line was none other than Marine hero, Vice Admiral Garp!

"I was just about to head to the Calm Belt and make my way to the East Blue. Why, what's up?"

Garp replied casually.

"Off to visit your grandson again?"

"Don't head to the East Blue yet. Sanders has appeared in the New World. He seems to be preparing to challenge Whitebeard."

Hearing this, Sengoku sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Sanders?"

Garp sounded surprised.

"That guy hasn't been heard from in a year, and now he shows up?"

"But if he's going to challenge Whitebeard, just let him. Sooner or later, they'll fight anyway. Why do you need me to step in?"

Garp asked, puzzled.

Ever since Sanders had displayed his immense strength, the Marines had anticipated that he would inevitably clash not only with Whitebeard but with all the Sea Emperors. Sanders' reappearance was surprising, but not entirely unexpected.

"Akainu is in the New World and will soon learn about this. I suspect he'll lead his fleet there," Sengoku revealed his concern.

Among the Marine Admirals:

Kizaru (Borsalino) had the deepest grudge against Sanders, but he was also the least motivated to capture him.

Aokiji had fought Sanders the most often, but their battles rarely escalated to life-and-death struggles.

Akainu had the least personal history with Sanders. There was neither friendship nor enmity, but Akainu was the most adamant about capturing him, even repeatedly submitting requests to lead an operation to Dressrosa—requests that Sengoku had denied each time.

Now that Sanders had reemerged, seemingly intent on challenging Whitebeard, Akainu would undoubtedly take action upon hearing the news. With Akainu's temperament, Sengoku worried that things might escalate uncontrollably. This was why he decided to send Garp. If a conflict did arise, at least Akainu wouldn't be without backup.

"Alright, I'll turn around and head to the New World."

Garp's tone grew noticeably more serious as he replied through the Den Den Mushi.

After speaking, the line disconnected.

In the Grand Line's first half, near the Calm Belt, Garp stood on the deck of his ship, holding the Den Den Mushi.

"Bogart, order the fleet to turn around and set a course for the New World!"

Garp gave the command as he stowed the Den Den Mushi.

"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp!"

Bogart replied in a steady voice before leaving to relay the order.

Garp remained on the deck, gazing toward the Calm Belt. Beyond it lay his hometown in the East Blue.

"That damned brat really went and became a pirate…"

"Once I'm done in the New World, I'll come back and drag you home myself!"

"Ace!"

Garp muttered under his breath.

The New World.

A Marine fleet sailed across the vast ocean.

Akainu stood on the deck, clad in a maroon suit and a white "Justice" cape, his Marine hat perched on his head. The cigar in his mouth puffed out thick smoke.

"Admiral Akainu, we've received a message from headquarters,"

A Marine Major hurried to Akainu and delivered the report.

"Captain Sanders of the Thunder God Pirates has appeared near the Whitebeard Pirates. Headquarters suspects a battle may break out between the two. We've been ordered to monitor the situation closely."

Hearing the names "Sanders" and "Whitebeard," a slight change flickered in Akainu's stern and unyielding expression.

"Understood. Order the fleet to head to where Whitebeard is!" Akainu commanded coldly, his face expressionless and his demeanor icy.

"Yes, Admiral Akainu!"

Following Akainu's orders, the battleships immediately changed direction and set off toward the location of the Whitebeard Pirates.

On the deck, Akainu stared ahead with a piercing gaze. A mass of magma appeared in his hand.

"Sanders!"

"You've finally shown yourself!"

"Let me capture you once and for all!!"

As time passed, the other Emperors of the Sea also received the news.

Somewhere in the New World

A large ship sailed across the waves. Onboard, the pirates were singing loudly, raising their mugs and drinking to their heart's content.

Red-Haired Shanks held a bottle of alcohol in one hand and had his arm slung around a crewmate's neck, laughing heartily without a care in the world.

Ben Beckman put away a Den Den Mushi and walked calmly to Shanks.

"Something up, Beckman?"

Shanks, slightly tipsy, glanced at him with a smile.

"We've received news. Sanders is clashing with Whitebeard." Beckman replied coolly.

As one of the Emperors, even though the Red-Haired Pirates operated as an elite crew, they had no shortage of informants providing intelligence.

"Oh?"

Shanks sobered up slightly and smiled.

"So it's an all-out war now?"

"That guy thinks he's ready for it?"

"It's just Sanders. None of the other Thunder God Pirates have been spotted heading there," Beckman shook his head.

"Hahaha, going alone, huh? That's bold!"

"Looks like the Thunder God Pirates spent the past year preparing for a grand debut!" Shanks laughed heartily.

"What do you think? Who's going to win?" Beckman asked.

"I don't know," Shanks shook his head.

"Don't let Whitebeard's age fool you—his strength hasn't diminished one bit."

"Defeating him isn't easy."

"But…"

Shanks paused, then continued:

"If Sanders dares to go alone, he must have something up his sleeve."

"The seas are about to get chaotic!" Shanks sighed.

"Do we need to do anything?"

"No. It has nothing to do with us." Shanks shook his head and returned to drinking and singing with his crew.

On Onigashima

Ever since his fight with Sanders, Kaido's attempts at suicide had become far less frequent. He spent more and more time on Onigashima, only occasionally venturing out to find opponents.

"Kaido-san, we've received intelligence. Sanders is confronting Whitebeard. Judging by the timing, they've probably started fighting already."

Wearing a mask, King (Calamity of Wildfire) reported to Kaido.

"Oh ho ho ho!"

"That guy is finally making his move?"

"Looks like the seas are about to gain a new Emperor!" Kaido laughed uproariously and took a huge swig from his massive gourd of sake.

A year ago, Kaido had already recognized that Sanders wouldn't settle for anything less than the title of the world's strongest. Now, after a year of preparation, his first move was to seek out Whitebeard, clearly indicating that he believed he was ready.

"Kaido-san, do you have that much faith in Sanders?" King asked.

"Of course!" Kaido nodded without hesitation.

He understood all too well just how terrifying Sanders would become after addressing his weaknesses. Though he hated to admit it, Kaido knew deep down that he in his current state was no match for a fully prepared Sanders.

Kaido firmly believed that true mastery of Haki could surpass all Devil Fruit abilities.

However, Sanders' Devil Fruit abilities are overwhelming.

On top of that, his Haki is immensely powerful.

While Whitebeard may still hold the title of the strongest in the world, Kaido knew deep down that Whitebeard had aged. In the end, Kaido was certain that victory would belong to Sanders.

"Should we do something?" King asked.

If Whitebeard and Sanders were preoccupied with their fight, it might be the perfect opportunity to seize some of Whitebeard's territories.

"Send someone to take a few of Whitebeard's territories," Kaido mused after a moment.

"Opportunities like this don't come often."

With everyone focused on Whitebeard, Kaido figured it was the perfect time to expand his domain. If Whitebeard died in the process, Kaido could further involve himself in carving up Whitebeard's holdings.

"Understood. I'll make the arrangements immediately," King nodded and turned to leave.

Before he could go, Kaido called out to him.

"How is Yamato doing these days?"

"The same as always, not much has changed," King replied.

"Once the fight between Sanders and Whitebeard is over, find a time to propose an alliance with Sanders."

"Send Yamato over to form a bond between us." Kaido took another swig of sake as he spoke.

This was a decision he had made a year ago. With Sanders stepping out into the world again, it was time to put their alliance into motion.

"Yamato-sama probably won't agree to this," King remarked.

"Oh ho ho ho!" Kaido laughed boisterously.

"Tell that brat that if they don't marry Sanders, I'll kill one person every day!"

"Doesn't Yamato dream of going out to sea? If they go with Sanders, that dream will come true. They'll agree."

Though Kaido didn't spend much time with Yamato, he understood them well. By threatening to kill the people of Wano Country and dangling the opportunity to set sail, he knew Yamato wouldn't be able to resist.

"Understood. I'll make the preparations once everything settles down," King nodded and left.

Both conditions struck Yamato's weak points, so it was inevitable they would agree.

However, King couldn't help but wonder: Would Sanders, who didn't seem interested in women, accept someone like Yamato, who identified as a man?

While Yamato had an impressive appearance, there was no evidence to suggest Sanders had any interest in such matters.

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T/N:

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