Iers near illo Isnd in the New World, a massive Marine fleet was gathered. Sengoku, the Marine Admiral, stood on the deck of a colossal warship, his expression unreadable as he seemed to be waiting for news.

  Behind him stood Borsalino, the future "biggest scker" in the Marihough now a Marine Vice Admiral. Since Drago, Borsalino had bee a top didate for the position of Admiral. Despite his incredible potential, his zy and indifferent attitude was a major fw. The only person capable of keeping him in line was Sengoku.

  "Admiral Sengoku," Borsalino said casually, "the longer we wait, the more likely it is the remnants of the John Pirates will realize something's up. And not just them… Shiki's Flying Pirates are sc the seas too. It won't be long befolden Lion Shiki himself shows up. That could plicate things."

  Sengoku kept his gaze on the horizon and replied, "We wait."

  Borsalino raised an eyebrow. "What exactly are we waiting for?"

  "Waiting for peaind," Sengoku muttered, clearly flicted.

  Though Sengoku had proposed the Buster Call to the Five Elders, it wasn't a decision he had taken lightly. It was the rational choice, but it weighed heavily on his sce. Part of him hoped the Five Elders would reject the proposal. But if they approved it… well, he wouldn't hesitate to carry it out.

  What Sengoku didn't know was that on this very isnd, not only was Cudius a Celestial Drago, but so was Dragon, the son of his good friend, Garp. If Sengoku had known that, he certainly would've thought twice before pulling the trigger on the Buster Call.

  Just as these thoughts swirled in his mind, Sengoku's transponder snail began t. After a brief versation, Sengoku's face turned cold, his deade. He ehe call and spoke without turning to Polusalino.

  "Return to your warship. Prepare for battle," Sengoku ordered.

  Borsalino sighed, his eyes briefly narrowing. Without another word, he transformed into golden light and zipped toward his warship.

  At the same time, Sengoku pulled out a golden transponder snail from his pocket. With a single press, the snail emitted a high-pitched screech.

  In respohe ten massive warships of the Marine fleet began to spread out, encirg illo Isnd. The Buster Call had officially begun.

  Unaware of the chaos that was about to unfold, Cudius and Dragon were rexing on the isnd.

  Initially, Cudius had po leave after chatting with Dragon, but Dragon had vinced him to stay a bit longer, saying it would be hard to meet again after this. Dragon wanted Cudius's advi how best to grow the Revolutionary Army.

  Cudius, having nothing urgent on his pte, agreed. He decided to spend a few more days on the isnd, resting while discussing Dragon's pns.

  In hindsight, maybe leaving earlier would have beeer, as they were now about to be caught in the middle of a full-blown Buster Call.

  Elsewhere on the isnd, Stussy was out shoppihe port with Nia. The streets were oddly quiet.

  "Nia, don't you think the isnd has beeier these past two days?" Stussy asked, gng around. "It's much quieter than when we first arrived."

  Nia looked around at the sparsely poputed port. "You're right. There are far fewer ships arriving. I wonder what's going on."

  "This isnd relies almost entirely on tourism to keep the local ey alive. If fewer ships are ing… maybe the weather's bad out at sea, affeg the routes?" Stussy mused, but somethi off.

  In the uable seas of the New World, odd weather patterns could halt travel for days. But this situation was starting to feel unusual, even for the New World.

  As they talked, Nia suddenly poioward the water, her eyes wide. "Isn't that a Marine ship?"

  Stussy turo look. "Yes, those are Marine ships. Three of them… and that huge one in the middle is an Admiral-css ship. Only an Admiral and one of those."

  Before she could finish her thought, the three Marine warships suddenly unleashed a barrage of on fire. The sky filled with bck dots, as shells arced toward the isnd.

  As a seasoned CP-0 agent, Stussy's eyes widened in horror. "Nia, ru back to His Highness! The Marines are attag!"

  The port, which had beeively calm moments ago, was obliterated by the first volley of on fire. The anchored ships were pletely destroyed in the blink of an eye.

  "They've destroyed the port," Stussy muttered, fear creeping into her voice. "They're cutting off our escape routes!"

  Without wasting another moment, Stussy grabbed Nia's hand, and the two of them ran back toward the hot spring hotel where Cudius and Dragon were staying.

  Back at the hotel, Cudius and Dragon had been startled by the thunderous booms of the bombardment. They rushed to the window to see what was happening. The hotel, built on the side of a mountain, gave them a clear view of the Marine warships shelling the port.

  "Is that… the Marines?" Dragon said in disbelief. He had expected pirates or some other threat, but the sight of Marine ships b the port shocked him.

  "What the hell are they doing? Why are they attag the port?" Cudius asked, just as fused.

  The bombardment tinued, with the warships gradually expanding their range, bsting away at the coastline.

  Suddenly, Dragon's eyes widened in realization. "It's a Buster Call! That's Marine's Buster Call!"

  As a former Vice Admiral of the Marines, and nearly an Admiral didate, Draghe pattern of attack immediately. The indiscriminate, devastating bombardment was unmistakable.

  "A Buster Call?" Cudius echoed, stunned.

  Dragon quickly expined, "A Buster Call is areme measure authorized only by the highest-ranking Marine officers. It involves an Admiral leading five Vice Admirals and ten warships, all loaded with elite troops. O's triggered, the isnd and everyone on it will be annihited. Nothing survives a Buster Call everyone and everything deemed a threat to the Wover gets wiped out."

  Of course, Cudius knew what a Buster Call was. He was just shocked that he, a Celestial Dragon, had gotten caught in one. In his memories, Buster Calls had only been unched a few times: once against Dougs Bullet, again at Ohara, aime at Enies Lobby, and then ter again for Bullet after his escape.

  But here he was, a Celestial Dragon, randomly hit with ohis was beyond absurd.

  "Are you kidding me? I'm a Celestial Dragon! Am I going to be the first Celestial Dragon to get wiped out by a Buster Call?" Cudius cursed under his breath.

  Dragon, deep in thought, added, "There must be some dangerous criminals hiding on this isnd. The Wover wouldn't issue a Buster Call without a serious reason. Whoever it is must have been deemed a grave threat."

  Cudius shot him a gnd said sarcastically, "Could it be that some traitor from your Revolutionary Army got found out? Aren't you the grave threat here?"

  Dragon rolled his eyes. "As long as you haven't sold me out, I'm still . I'm the former Vice Admiral of the Marines. No way they'd hit me with a Buster Call."

  "If I had sold you out, do you think I'd still be standing here, waiting for the Buster Call with you?" Cudius snapped back.

  Despite the looming dahe two didn't seem overly ed. They bantered bad forth as if a Buster Call wasn't about to ftteire isnd.

  The truth was, Buster Calls didn't have a perfect track record. Despite their destructive power, they hadn't always lived up to their reputation. Except for Ohara and the battle with Bullet, most Buster Calls hadn't delivered the crushis the Marines had hoped for. That ckluster history made Cudius feel a little less worried. After all, as long as he wasn't blown to bits right away, he was still a Celestial Dragon. Ohe Marines nded and realized who he was, he'd be fine.

  As fon, he was in a simir mi. As long as his revolutionary ties weren't exposed, the Marines would have no reason to go after him. He still had enough credibility within the Marine ranks to avoid being a target.

  While Cudius and Dragon strategized how to deal with the situation, elsewhere on the isnd, in a hidden cave, a group ed pirates gathered around their leader Captain John's remnants.

  They had known they were exposed the moment the Marine fleet arrived. Now, gathered around their wounded captain, they were scrambling to find a way off the isnd.

  If Cudius had been there, he would have been surprised to see a familiar face among John's crew her than a young Crocodile. The future Warlord of the Sea was still in his teens, a mere rookie pirate.

  Cudius had always thought Crocodile began his career after Roger's execution, but that wasn't the case. Crocodile had been in the game for years, even joining Captain John's crew after the disba of the Rocks Pirates.

  Crocodile had been part of John's crew ever since, gaining valuable experien the harsh world of piracy. After Captain Joh his end, Crocodile would eventually strike out on his own, famously challenging Whitebeard and ter joining the Seven Warlords of the Sea. He was one of the oldest and most experienced pirates among the Warlords, having been in the game long before some of the other notorious names made their mark.