One after another!

Meanwhile,

Several pirate ships had already chosen to dock.

As the ships docked, pirates in all sorts of outfits, with no sense of order, began to disembark onto Lodestar Island.

Facing these unruly pirates, the small-fry pirates from the Beasts Pirates, who were in charge of welcoming them, bowed and nodded, knowing they couldn't afford to offend anyone who made it this far to Lodestar Island.

The pirates who landed first were either confident in their strength or eager to seize the advantage early on.

Compared to those already landing, many pirate crews in the nearby waters chose to observe from a distance.

In a distant castle, Festa controlled the live broadcast, scanning the flags on every pirate ship appearing in the waters of Lodestar Island.

The scenes from Lodestar Island were broadcast live to locations worldwide where visual Den Den Mushi had been placed.

Within just ten minutes, people across the world saw hundreds of bizarre pirate ships gathering in this sea area.

Even through the screen, those watching could sense the bloodthirsty aura emanating from the pirates. After all, pirates were never known for being gentle.

"Tsk tsk, they're all moderately famous pirate crews, but none of the big shots have shown up yet."

Festa memorized each flag, muttering to himself. In his eyes, these people didn't even count as supporting characters—just small fry.

But Festa wasn't worried; the grand event wasn't until later. He believed it wouldn't be long before the real big names appeared.

As Festa predicted, over the next hour, dozens more pirate ships gradually arrived near Lodestar Island.

This only highlighted how tempting the Eternal Pose to the Final Island, the Celestial Gold Bullet had plundered, and the vast treasures were to these pirates.

As more ships arrived, Festa, like a professional director, immediately switched the live feed to any newly arriving pirate ship, allowing viewers worldwide to see every new pirate crew.

"There are already over a hundred pirate ships…"

"A hundred pirate ships mean over a hundred pirate crews have gathered there, right!?"

"And this is just the beginning. It's terrifying to think how many more will come when the so-called Pirate Festival officially starts."

"Not even the Navy could handle this many pirates. Are we on the verge of chaos?"

"Where's the Navy? Are they really just going to let these pirates gather like this?"

"And what about the World Government? We pay them so much every year; they promised to protect us!"

Ordinary people watching the live broadcast saw ship after ship, each flag representing a terrifying pirate crew, and fell into panic.

They didn't believe these pirates were getting together to play games. If they decided to act, ordinary people like them would be the ones to suffer.

Worse still, the number of pirate ships kept increasing.

With each new ship, their hearts sank a bit more.

They could hardly imagine how many warships and soldiers it would take to defeat so many pirates.

On Lodestar Island,

Bullet and Kaido stood side by side, gazing toward the shore.

Due to the distance, they could only see the ships docked by the coast and more in the distant waters. The people looked no bigger than ants from where they stood.

"Plenty of people have shown up."

Bullet's eyes glowed red as he said coldly, "But they're all worthless."

"Worororo, Bullet, my spies tell me the Navy is on its way. Let's see if your fists are as strong as your mouth."

Kaido rested his spiked club on his shoulder, eyeing Bullet as he spoke.

Both of them had their own agendas. Kaido wanted to trigger a world-shaking battle. What Bullet intended, Kaido didn't care.

With that, Kaido turned and left, preparing for the war soon to break out.

Meanwhile,

Festa continued monitoring the pirate ships arriving from all directions.

Then—

He finally spotted a ship that caught his attention.

"Oh, the Baroque Gustav. So, Crocodile is here?"

Festa grinned at the sight of the Baroque Gustav on screen and immediately switched the live feed to the Baroque Works ship.

The image of the figure standing at the bow appeared on screens everywhere.

Crocodile, the Sand Crocodile, a Logia user of the Sand-Sand Fruit.

He had made a name for himself in the New World long ago. He had challenged Whitebeard multiple times without dying and had even fought Bullet to a standstill. He later went quiet but resurfaced as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Despite Crocodile's bounty being just 81 million berries—lower than most captains seen so far—Festa didn't dare underestimate him.

On the Baroque Gustav,

Crocodile, with a cigar in his mouth, gazed at the shore crowded with pirate ships.

"Hmm? Interesting."

Noticing a ship trying to take the same route as his, a cruel smile spread across Crocodile's face.

The New World certainly wasn't boring.

As he finished speaking, a massive sword made of sand shot out, slicing the other pirate ship in half.

The Baroque Gustav docked, and Crocodile, transforming into sand, appeared on land, sweeping his cold gaze across the pirates sizing him up.

As Crocodile's gaze swept over them, the pirates quickly lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.

Among pirates, the strong rule. If you're strong, you're respected.

"Captain, that guy's pretty arrogant. Should we take him down? His bounty's only 81 million," one pirate asked his captain, viciously.

The captain glanced at his subordinate.

This guy didn't seem like a traitor; maybe he was just stupid.

The captain smacked him on the head with the hilt of his sword.

"Are you an idiot!? Don't you know that the Warlords' bounties don't increase anymore? Judging them by bounty alone is dumb!"

The captain scolded while continuing to knock his clueless subordinate on the head.

"Captain, those guys are really strong."

Nearby, Daz Bones, also known as Mr. 1, remarked.

"…"

After a moment of silence, Crocodile nodded, glancing at the pirates nearby.

For someone like Daz Bones, who was new to the New World, these pirates were indeed formidable foes.

Or perhaps Crocodile had neglected his crew's training during their time in the first half of the Grand Line, where they rarely encountered real threats.

"Indeed, Mr. 1, you should start learning Haki."

Crocodile realized that his subordinates weren't quite up to par in the New World.

"Apologies, Mr. Crocodile. I'm too weak," Daz Bones said.

Before Crocodile could respond, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Then, Crocodile sharply looked back toward the sea.

Out on the water,

A double-masted pirate ship with a dragon-shaped figurehead had appeared in his view.