However, the blind swordsman swiftly put an end to the pirates attempting to escape the port by summoning a meteorite from the sky.
This move left the NEO Marine and onlookers astounded.
Could battles be fought like this?
The blind swordsman introduced himself to Zephyr. His name was Issho, a wanderer who, upon hearing about Zephyr's goals during a live broadcast, developed the desire to join the NEO Marine.
Issho had blinded himself to avoid witnessing the world's wickedness and had a deep yearning for justice. He initially held a favorable view of the Marine, but recent QnA broadcasts exposed the dark side of the Marine and the World Government.
Whether it was Akainu's actions in Ohara or the World Government recruiting Weevil as one of the Shichibukai, it disgusted him. He wanted to plug his ears whenever he heard about it; it was sickening.
When Issho learned that Zephyr intended to establish a Neo Marine and create a world without pirates, he decided to lend his support to Zephyr. At the same time, he intended to monitor Zephyr and intervene if Zephyr strayed from the righteous path.
The idea of destroying the New World was horrifying.
Whether it was out of support for the NEO Marine's ideology or monitoring Zephyr, Issho embarked on a journey to find the NEO Marine after the QnA broadcast.
After hearing that the NEO Marine frequently operated in non-affiliated countries to combat pirates, he headed to those countries and eventually encountered Zephyr, just as expected.
Since then, the NEO Marine had not only Smoker, who held the honorary rank of Admiral, but also another Admiral named Issho. Due to his preference for wearing purple kimono, Zephyr gave him the code name "Fujitora" according to Marine regulations.
From then on, the NEO Marine had two Admirals: Zephyr, Issho.
This matter naturally reached the Marine and the World Government's attention.
Ever since Zephyr's escape, the Marine, and the World Government had been closely monitoring the NEO Marine's activities.
Meanwhile, the Five Elders were contemplating strategies to eliminate this trouble.
However, Zephyr did not oppose the World Government or the Marine, nor did he commit any outrageous acts. Instead, they pursued pirates every day, carrying out acts of justice.
This made it difficult for the Marine to send forces to eliminate the NEO Marine, as these were all Zephyr's former students. It was challenging to find a legitimate reason to dispatch them to destroy the NEO Marine
The Marine's perspective differed from that of the World Government. The Marine's goal was to combat pirates in the name of justice, while the World Government aimed to maintain control and eliminate threats to its rule.
Those considered thorns in the World Government's side were not necessarily enemies in the eyes of the Marine.
Similarly, those seen as enemies by the Marine were not necessarily enemies in the eyes of the World Government.
The NEO Marine was an example of this.
Unable to find a solution, the Five Elders decided to send Cipher Pol agents to infiltrate the NEO Marine, attempting to destroy it from within.
On the NEO Marine's side, they were concerned about the World Government's potential attacks. Instead of establishing a fixed base like the Revolutionary Army, they adopted a guerrilla warfare approach, using warships as temporary bases until their strength was sufficient.
The Five Elders were deeply worried and vigilant about the NEO Marine's growth. However, the Marine remained relatively optimistic.
This was because their former teacher, Zephyr, hadn't deviated from the Marine's path and was currently assisting non-affiliated countries in combating pirates.
Non-affiliated countries no longer received the Marine's protection because they couldn't afford the exorbitant Heavenly Tribute.
Instead of protecting non-affiliated countries, the World Government would capture slaves from these countries.
Under such circumstances, the fate of non-affiliated countries was evident.
However, the Marine couldn't do anything about it. Now that Zephyr's NEO Marine provided shelter and justice to these people, it was something they welcomed.
Zephyr shone the light of justice in places where the Marine's light couldn't reach.
Many within the Marine hoped that Zephyr would expand and develop the NEO Marine, offering them new choices.
After the incident where Aokiji and Garp joined forces and failed to capture Zephyr, Sengoku didn't blame them, as he had expected.
If they couldn't capture him, they couldn't capture him. They had done what they could, and the rest was up to fate.
Sengoku wondered if fate would favor Zephyr in the final stages of his life and allow him to realize his ideals.
Afterward, Sengoku focused on combating pirates. Regardless of the circumstances, he was the Fleet Admiral of the Marine, and politics were not his concern. His duty was to fight pirates.
He also received news recently that Blackbeard, Teach, hadn't died.
It seemed that Whitebeard had ultimately spared his life.
After leaving the Whitebeard Pirates, Teach gathered a group of companions and set sail.
With old and new grudges combined, Sengoku was very displeased with this disgraceful individual. Consequently, he issued a bounty of 800 million berries on Blackbeard and placed him on the Marine's most wanted pirate list. If spotted, he was to be captured at all costs.
This was an ambitious individual. Even if he hadn't managed to devour the Dark-Dark Fruit in secret, his peculiar body had to be monitored. Failing to apprehend him would make him another formidable enemy of the Marine.
Another piece of news was that the Drum Kingdom had been overthrown by the Straw Hat Pirates and their allies and renamed the Sakura Kingdom. The former king, Wapol, had been expelled from the country.
The World Government didn't pay much attention to the change of kings in the Drum Kingdom. If Wapol ruined the country and couldn't afford the Heavenly Tribute, it would only give them a headache. Now that a new king was in place, the Heavenly Tribute would continue.
What they were more concerned about was the situation with the Straw Hat Pirates.
The Straw Hat Pirates had expanded from their original five members to six, and they now had a pet deer on their ship. The World Government wasn't concerned about the deer; they were more interested in the addition of Nico Robin.
Nico Robin had indeed joined the Straw Hat Pirates, just as in Luke's video. This further confirmed the accuracy of Luke's predictions.
However, the Five Elders currently had no interest in capturing Nico Robin. Her value was no longer as significant as before. She would have been important if she know the Pluton location, but Luke now had Pluton in his possession. Nico Robin had lost her value.
The Five Elders couldn't be bothered with the Straw Hat Pirates, and the Marine even less so.
Due to the Straw Hat Pirates' "highlighted performance" against Zephyr in the footage, they gained a lot of favor within the Marine. Furthermore, they hadn't done any evil deeds and had actually done many good deeds. The Marine, out of respect for Luffy, didn't specifically chase them.
Smoker, who had ill intentions towards the Straw Hat Pirates, was taken by Zephyr to the NEO Marine to compete with the pirates of non-affiliated countries. Luffy and his crew had a relatively smooth journey.
The entire world underwent tremendous changes amidst these developments.
Originally, due to the immense treasure hidden by the Great Kingdom and Raftel, many people set sail.
However, surprisingly, the world didn't become more chaotic as a result.
The Marine hadn't suffered any significant losses, so their strength in combating pirates remained unchanged.
The sudden rise of the NEO Marine allowed them to clean up areas that the World Government-controlled Marine couldn't reach.
In addition, after forming an alliance with the Revolutionary Army, the Revolutionary Army incorporated the task of combating pirates into their agenda, primarily targeting those pirates who had committed crimes of burning, killing, and looting.
Furthermore, after the revelation of the ENDPOINTs in the New World, the Four Emperors and the Marine fought over control of the three ENDPOINTs. In the end, the Marine took control of one, while Red-Haired Shanks and Whitebeard controlled one each, and Big Mom and Kaido controlled another.
This matter was also announced to be concluded.
This brought a sigh of relief to the people of the New World.
They were concerned that after this matter was revealed, there might be people seeking revenge on the world who would come to destroy the ENDPOINTS and bring the entire New World to ruin.
Meanwhile, the instigator of these changes, Luke, was on the moon, looking for the opportune time to host the next live QnA session.
One day, Luke took notice of something on a certain part of the Grand Line.
He saw a familiar face, Trafalgar D. Law.