Marine Headquarters,
Grandline-1 (G-1), Paradise.
Today was a very significant day of the year as this was the day when the yearly Warlord Summit would take place at the Marine Headquarters.
The security of the base, which was always at its best, was levelled up every further for this occasion, and such measures had never been taken before at any Warlord Summit.
Two of the Three Marine Admirals were present at the base for the meeting. Even the Hero of the Marines, together with the Great Staff Officer, was going to participate in it. And the meeting, as always, was being hosted by none other than the Fleet Admiral.
Needless to say, only some fool would dare to cause havoc in this place today.
However, when the Marines saw dark stormy clouds approaching the base from the west, crackling in raging thunder, flashing in the constant and soul-stirring lightning, their throats went dry and their hearts tensed up.
Even without seeing him, they already knew who was behind this phenomenon, and a sense of unease washed over all of them.
It was only a matter of few minutes before the sky above the Headquarters turned dark, and the Lightning in the clouds intensified.
"What is he doing?" Sengoku narrowed his eyes as he walked out onto the balcony of the Meeting Hall, and he was followed by Garp and Tsuru.
"The kid is trying to get on your nerves, of course. Kyahahaha..."
His brows twitched at the words of his old friend, and then his eyes narrowed at the Warlord, who had followed them onto the balcony and was now silently staring at the storm clouds, standing a little away from them.
The man was none other than Dracule Mihawk, the Strongest Swordsman in the world, and one of the most dangerous people in existence. And it was strange for him to show any interest in his fellow Warlords. At least, Sengoku had never seen him show interest in anyone.
But then he turned to look at the sky again, having sensed another presence, and he watched a tall, tanned man, wearing a pink feather coat, approaching them, walking on top of very fine strings that were being constantly created to provide him with some footing.
It was another impressive display of power and control, and this person was none other than the Joker, the Heavenly Demon, Donquixote Doflamingo, who also happened to be the current King of Dressrosa and one of the Eight Warlords of the Seas.
"Well, hello there! Consider me impressed, but you did not have to stand the ceremony, Fleet Admiral. Fuhuhuhuhuhu..."
"Doflamingo." Sengoku distastefully called out his name when the Warlord perched himself up on the railing, but both Garp and Tsuru simply ignored him. The former was busy eating from his bag of crisps, and the latter kept intently looking at the sky.
A loud thunderclap suddenly sounded out, followed by a brilliant flash of lightning, and a devious smile crept on Doflamingo's face as he raised his head and looked up.
"Someone loves showing off a little too much. But that makes it even more interesting..."
His words had not finished when several pillars of Lightning fell from the sky and hit the sea from all sides of the Island.
"My, my, is he here to pick a fight?" The Joker laughed maniacally, and Sengoku clenched his fists tightly as he watched the Island being surrounded by thick pillars of Lightning, caging it.
However, before he could shout to the sky, another pillar of lightning fell, landing on the balcony, a little away from them, and a young man, holding a beautiful girl with pink hair in his arms, materialised out of it.
"I hope you don't blame me for being cautious, Fleet Admiral. It's my first time here." Sin said, wearing a bright smile on his face. "Good Morning." He greeted them and then turned to meet Mihawk's eyes.
The Swordsman lightly smiled before he walked back inside the hall, not saying anything, and then took his seat, closing his eyes as he leaned back into it.
"You are quite a daring kid." Sin heard a gruff voice, and looked at the famous Vice-Admiral, who was revered as the Hero of the Marines, still munching on his crips, and then watched the old man walk into the hall without care.
Tsuru was the next one to move, and Sin just followed her inside, not staying back to exchange words with the Fleet Admiral or the other Warlord.
"Stop panicking!" The Fleet Admiral's shout resounded all over the Island.
Sengoku felt his blood pressure rising as he heard the worried voices of his Marines, and then he angrily walked inside as well, leaving the Joker perched on the railing, staring at the newest Warlord of the Seas.
"This is a meeting for Warlords, not their Crews," The head of the Marines said as he looked at the pink-haired girl sitting in Sin's lap.
"It's fine. I am sure we don't discuss secrets here," Sin dismissively replied, and received a kiss from Bonney on his cheek, which he returned.
The door of the hall opened right after he said his words, and then the two Admirals, Kizaru and Aokiji, walked inside, silently taking their seats at the round table.
"You finally caught up with me." Sin teasingly said, looking at the Admiral in the yellow, striped suit.
"Ooh... you are a nuisance-ne," He lazily replied and then glanced at Bonney before looking away.
Of course, the Marines in this room knew who she was, and they could even guess why she was there.
"Fuhuhuhuhu..." They all heard Joker creepily laughing as he walked over and took his seat, and then looked right at Sin. "Are you going to attend the Reverie next year?"
It was an out-of-the-blue question, and the atmosphere at the table immediately changed.
All eyes turned to look at Sin, who threw the King of Dressrosa a glance.
"I might." He acknowledged, and his admission made Sengoku frown at him.
"You are taking over the Drum Kingdom?"
"I have already taken it over." He smiled, and his words made the Joker laugh again. "And it will be called Winterheim when the new year begins," He informed them.
"What do you want to do on the Drum Island?" The Fleet Admiral grimly asked.
"That's obvious, isn't it?" Bonney deadpanned. "He wants to rule, of course." She said, causing Sengoku's brows to twitch at her words.
"And make it a better place," Sin added, chuckling under his breath. "That reminds me, we have designed the Marine Base near the Capital City, and you need to pay for its construction." He seriously said, and even Mihawk could not restrain his smile at his words.
Garp was unceremoniously laughing now, and Tsuru had an amused smile on her lips as well. Only Kuzan and Sengoku were wearing serious expressions, and the latter seemed to be on the verge of lashing out at Sin, partly because of words, and mostly because of Garp's irritating laughter.
However, he restrained it and looked at the door that soon opened again, and in walked the rest of the Eight Warlords of the Seas.
The first to step in was Gild Tesoro, wearing a little too much gold on him, and right behind him was Gecko Moria, a freak of nature who made Bonney frown at his appearance.
A few seconds later, Crocodile and Jinbe entered the hall, and Bonney's heart started accelerating as she heard some familiar footsteps.
Sin tightened his arm around Bonney's waist and squeezed her against his chest when Bartholomew Kuma entered the hall, and the girl, whose heart was threatening to burst out of her chest, bravely kept quiet and kept her eyes away from her father.
Yes, the Warlord was her father, the former King of Sorbet Kingdom, the man who was known as the Tyrant, and now one of the eight Warlords of the Seas.
He was the reason that his dear Bonney was adamant about accompanying him to the Warlord Summit.
"Impressive display out there. You are a true showman."
"Thanks." Sin laughed as he heard Tesoro's words, and then looked around the table.
He saw Jinbe greeting him with a nod, and he smiled at the Fishman, returning his greeting.
Sin raised his brow when he saw Gecko Moria creepily looking his way, and then smiled lightly.
"You should know that killing you would not even make me sweat."
It was a blunt threat, and the Warlord seemed taken aback by his words. It was the same for almost all the people at the table but for different reasons.
Sengoku, who had also sensed the evil interest that Gecko Moria had suddenly shown in Sin, was a little apprehensive in heart as he could not tell that this young Warlord possessed a terrifying Observation Haki, especially when it came to sensing someone's intentions.
An ugly expression manifested on Moria's face as he felt he was being ridiculed, but then he creepily laughed, which almost sent Bonney into a fit of giggles.
"Kishishishishi... I already dislike you."
"You are digging your own grave." He smiled some more, making Moria angry, but then they all heard someone harshly smack the table.
"Enough!" Sengoku said as he stood up. "Since everyone is here, let's begin the meeting. There are a lot of things that need to be discussed, and there is something important that you should know as well. There is a change in the Warlord system, a new rule, and we will talk about it at the end of this meeting."
His words caught their attention, and Sin feigned curiosity as well. He had already been informed by Tsuru about the new rule and the plan of the World Government. A real headache.