"Sengoku... has he left?"
Whitebeard raised his flask, watching his old rival depart.
He sighed deeply.
"You never thought you'd die here, did you?" Whitebeard lamented.
Today should have been the most glorious moment for the Fleet Admiral of the Navy.
Yet, he was killed.
Fate was unpredictable.
"This era is about to change."
Whitebeard looked at the sky wistfully.
Roger's death had kicked off the Great Pirate Era.
Now, Sengoku's death carried a shockwave and influence no less impactful than that of the Pirate King, Roger.
Both were unprecedented events.
As one of the leading figures among pirates, Whitebeard should have been the one steering the era, but now even he couldn't see the future clearly.
"What will Kuke do next?"
Whitebeard's gaze fixed on Kuke, his words treating Kuke as an equal, no longer calling him "kid."
"Old man, is Sengoku really dead?"
"Is it possible that something could still happen?"
Diamond Jozu and the others swallowed hard.
Even seeing it with their own eyes, it was still hard to believe.
Though pirates often cursed the Navy as the lackeys of the World Government, they also envied some of the "privileges" held by high-ranking officers.
No matter how powerful, a pirate's end was usually grim.
But most of the high-ranking Navy officers could have peaceful ends.
"We don't know how Kuke was revived, but Sengoku definitely can't come back," Whitebeard said firmly. "Sengoku is dead, truly dead."
Everyone stared at the screen.
They could hardly believe that Kuke had really done something that had never been done before.
They kept their eyes fixed on Sengoku's body, shrouded in black cloth, as if the next moment the cloth would be lifted and the Fleet Admiral would rise.
But there was no miracle.
Dead meant dead.
"Hahaha, the Fleet Admiral is dead!"
"From now on, it will be the era of pirates!"
The pirates pounded their chests in excitement.
The whole world witnessed the entire process of Sengoku's death.
He died in a dramatic, yet humiliating way.
...
"He's dead."
The remaining Navy members at the scene clutched their heads in despair.
"It's hard to imagine, but Kuke actually did it." Bartholomew Kuma's usually stoic expression looked almost comical with shock.
He gazed up at Kuke in reverence.
"Dragon, Kuke's single battle today has surpassed all our years of efforts," Kuma admitted.
The Revolutionary Army had worked tirelessly for years, struggling to undermine the World Government.
But today...
It was far beyond anything they could accomplish.
"Some people are just born kings, I suppose," Kuma said, looking at Dragon. Even facing Dragon, Kuma never felt the same level of awe he now felt towards Kuke.
Jinbe shared the sentiment.
He recalled how the entire Sun Pirates had to flee, chased by Borsalino before he became an Admiral, ending with the crew's disbandment.
"No wonder Boss Tiger held Kuke in such high regard."
Jinbe understood now.
It was only fitting.
"With Kuke on our side, who would dare mess with Fish-Man Island?"
Jinbe was visibly excited.
The only thing dampening his spirits was the realization that today he hadn't contributed much. Even without his help, the Sun and Moon Pirates could have accomplished all of this, and he hadn't even managed to provide a supporting role.
Crocodile couldn't help but say, "The Seven Warlords' opportunity is gone, but today, witnessing the rise of an Emperor, it was worth it."
The words echoed throughout the world.
An Emperor?
There was only one kind of Emperor among pirates—the Yonko.
"Emperor of the Sea..."
Everyone murmured.
In the entire sea, only three people were worthy of being called Emperors: Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom.
Red-Haired Shanks was not yet recognized as an Emperor of the Sea.
In this era, the number of Yonko had never exceeded four.
They stood at the pinnacle of the pirate world.
"Does Kuke qualify as an Emperor of the Sea now?"
"Of course, he does. I'd even say the title 'Emperor' is beneath Kuke."
"Hold on now, strictly speaking, Kuke hasn't made a mark in the New World yet. Can he really be called an Emperor?"
"Hahaha, which of the other Emperors has ever killed a Fleet Admiral? Forget a Fleet Admiral, they haven't even killed an Admiral."
Soon...
The entire sea reached a consensus.
Kuke was now an Emperor of the Sea.
The fourth Pirate Emperor.
"The Yonko are here."
The recognition spread.
"There are now four Emperors ruling the seas. The Yonko system has appeared."
At that moment...
The sea was no longer divided into a tripartite power structure—it was now a four-emperor system.
A new era had begun.
"A new Emperor?" Kaido slowly furrowed his brow.
Is he on equal footing with us now?
Seeing his leader frowning, Queen the Plague mistook it for disdain, scoffing, "Does he have what it takes to be the fourth Emperor? We'll see if he can stand his ground in the New World."
Kaido silently glanced at Queen.
"If you think he doesn't have what it takes, why don't you try him when the Sun and Moon Pirates officially enter the New World?"
Queen: "...."
Instantly deflated.
"The fourth Emperor, he's earned it. Well done, Kuke."
Kaido's roar echoed across the Land of Wano.
He acknowledged it.
"Mama... The New World is about to welcome a monster."
"I'm afraid being an Emperor of the Sea isn't his final goal," Whitebeard looked at Kuke.
He wasn't even twenty years old yet.
And now, he was on par with me.
Whitebeard, who had always been looked up to by all pirates, suddenly felt that his life had been somewhat lacking.
All three Emperors of the Sea...
Had acknowledged it.
Kuke, as the fourth Emperor of the Sea, had secured his place.
The power structure of the sea had changed.
The Yonko!
For the first time, they had emerged.
Newspapers went into a frenzy, printing editions like wildfire.
The massive headline "Yonko" spread across the world.
The Yonko had emerged.
The only one who seemed a bit lost was Red-Haired Shanks.
"Yonko?" Shanks's feelings were complicated.
The title of Yonko...
It wasn't new today.
For years, the sea had already been murmuring about the four-emperor system.
And Shanks was widely recognized as the next Emperor of the Sea, the man closest to becoming an Emperor.
Even the rebellious Kaido and the others...
Hadn't opposed it.
Everyone knew that Red-Haired Shanks would eventually become an Emperor on equal footing with them.
Shanks had never been in a rush for the title of Emperor of the Sea, knowing that it was only a matter of time—maybe just a few years.
But now...
The Yonko had emerged.
And Shanks realized that he wasn't the fourth Emperor.
What about me?
Where am I?
The Yonko had emerged, but it didn't include Shanks. He was feeling down.
Wasn't I supposed to be the acknowledged fourth Emperor?
"Damn it, Kuke got there before me," Shanks looked at Kuke, annoyed.
You took a shortcut.
Doesn't the order matter to you?
"Boss, we need to step it up. We're falling behind."
The Red-Haired Pirates, their eyes blazing, looked at Shanks.
Before, they hadn't thought much of it.
Even after encountering Kuke in the East Blue and witnessing his battle with Shanks, they hadn't felt a sense of urgency.
They still believed that their boss, Shanks, would definitely become an Emperor of the Sea before Kuke.
Becoming an Emperor of the Sea wasn't just about one's personal strength—it also required a matching crew and influence.
One had to be strong.
Their crew had to be strong, too, to qualify as an Emperor of the Sea.
Just like Mihawk—though everyone knew that his battles with Shanks were even, no one considered Mihawk an Emperor of the Sea, as he was a solitary figure.
He couldn't become an Emperor.
The same went for the still-living Golden Lion.
A former Emperor of the Sea from the previous era.
Everyone knew that he had escaped from Impel Down.
But the title of Emperor of the Sea still didn't belong to the Golden Lion.
Because he, too, had lost the crew and influence required to match the title.
The Sun and Moon Pirates had surpassed the Red-Haired Pirates, becoming an Emperor of the Sea before them.
It wasn't just Shanks who was falling behind.
It also meant that Yasopp, Lucky Roux, and the other crewmates were falling behind.
Sensing his crew's enthusiasm...
Shanks felt a long-forgotten excitement.
Becoming an Emperor of the Sea step by step, compared to Kuke, seemed like a much weaker feat.
"Alright."
Shanks stood up, raising his one arm.
He shouted in rallying cry.
A roar erupted from the Red-Haired Pirates.
"This time, we'll take on Emperor of the Sea Kuke as challengers!!"
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DONT FORGET POWER STONE FOR EXTRA CHAPTERS
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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 154+ at patreon.com/Emik01.
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