# Chapter 757: Cheaters Always Show Up Right on Time
On the sea, a pirate ship was sailing across the ocean, its figurehead shaped like both a lion and a sunflower.
At the top of the mast, the Straw Hat Pirates' flag fluttered in the wind. That's right, this was the Thousand Sunny!
On the deck, Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Mr. 2 stood shoulder to shoulder, arms linked together, staring out at the magnificent sea while doing a tap dance!
They shouted excitedly in unison: "New World! New World! New World!"
Zoro leaned against the mast, his face dark as he watched the four idiots having the time of their lives. He had wanted to sleep, but with these guys making so much noise, how could he? So he couldn't help but say to Nami beside him, "Aren't you going to control them?"
Nami, dressed in cool attire, was lounging on a sun chair, sunbathing while organizing her navigation notes. Hearing Zoro's words, she didn't say anything. Instead, she reached out, picked up a thick, heavy book from the table beside her, and threw it without even looking!
The book, as thick as a brick, slammed into the back of Luffy's head with a loud thud, instantly KO'ing him. As he fell with a huge bump on his head, he dragged the other three linked together down with him, all of them tumbling into a heap.
"Consider them controlled!" Nami said without raising her head.
Zoro: "..."
Jinbe, who was steering the helm, saw this and couldn't help but laugh. Indeed, the real captain of this ship was Miss Nami, wasn't she?
Suddenly, the door to the second-floor cabin creaked open. Sanji came out, kicking the door open while carrying a tray with both hands. The guy spun around as he made his way to Nami on the deck, presenting the plate in his right hand with gentlemanly grace. "Miss Nami, please try my newly made Fish-Man Island special Black Forest cake!"
Nami looked up and gave Sanji a smile. "Thank you!"
Sanji was instantly captivated, his legs turning into soft noodles. To him, Nami's smile was the greatest reward.
Luffy and the others, smelling the cake's aroma, gathered around. Luffy quietly stretched his arm, trying to steal the cake Nami had placed on the table, but Sanji noticed and slammed a high-pressure kick onto his head, shouting fiercely, "Don't steal Miss Nami's snacks! Yours are in the kitchen!"
Then the four idiots thundered off toward the kitchen...
The Straw Hat Pirates had been out of Fish-Man Island for quite some time now. After the Battle of New Edd War, when they went to retrieve their ship at Sabaody Archipelago, Uncle Rayleigh had kept them for a while. Because of Ian, the Straw Hat Pirates had been introduced to the concept of Haki earlier, so when Rayleigh took the time to teach them thoroughly, they mastered the use of Haki earlier than in history.
After that, they went to Fish-Man Island.
Jinbe had once invited Ian to visit Fish-Man Island, but Ian had been delayed by one thing or another and never made it. The Straw Hat Pirates, however, had a great time there.
The hidden dangers of Fish-Man Island had always existed, and as expected, just like in the original history, they were triggered by Luffy's arrival. With the Straw Hats' help, the Fish-Man Island incident was resolved. However, Jinbe was also invited by Luffy to join the Straw Hat Pirates.
Whitebeard Old Man hadn't died, and Fish-Man Island was still under his protection. Jinbe had no entanglements with the BIG MOM Pirates anymore, so this time, he readily accepted Luffy's invitation and became the helmsman of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Partly out of gratitude for saving Fish-Man Island, and partly because of the Straw Hats' relationship with Ian—Zoro was Ian's junior brother, and Luffy was Ace's younger brother—Jinbe knew that neither Ian nor Whitebeard lacked combat power like his. On the contrary, joining the Straw Hat Pirates would allow him to help Ian and Ace look after their younger brother.
Sea Knight Jinbe was a man of honor. He wanted to help Ian and Ace in this way.
His status as a Seven Warlord was gone, and the Fish-Man Pirates had been handed over to Aladdin. Jinbe was now ready to enjoy a different kind of adventure.
Brook and Franky came out from the bottom of the ship. They had just refilled the Thousand Sunny with cola. As they came out, Franky greeted Jinbe. Jinbe was about to respond when he suddenly noticed something on the sea ahead!
Jinbe's discovery alarmed everyone on the ship, and they all ran to the bow. As the ship got closer, they were shocked to find that the thing floating on the sea was a corpse wearing a Marine uniform!
Startled, they quickly hauled the Marine soldier's body aboard.
This Marine soldier had drowned, but his face still bore a terrified expression from before his death.
Such corpses weren't the only ones. As they continued sailing, the Straw Hat Pirates found more bodies drifting along with the current. Not only Marine soldiers' bodies, but also fragments of warship wreckage floated by.
"What happened?" Everyone was puzzled. They quickly maneuvered the ship, searching for survivors.
However, when they approached a nearby country called Castom, they finally learned that a major battle had taken place in the waters two days ago.
Marine Admiral Kizaru, Vice Admiral Momousagi, and Vice Admiral Chaton, leading over thirty warships, had been nearly completely annihilated in battle against the Beast Pirates!
The locals described the scene like this: At the beginning, the Marines had a slight advantage in the sea battle against the Beast Pirates. But suddenly, a huge black mist appeared on the sea, enveloping all the remaining warships. When the mist cleared, what remained on the sea were countless fragments of warship wreckage, as if the ships had been shredded by some immense force within that mist...
This was a rare and devastating defeat for the Marines.
When they learned that not only the Beast Pirates but also the Red Hair Pirates had been involved in the battle, the Straw Hat Pirates looked at each other in shock.
Jinbe frequently traveled through the New World and was well-versed in its dynamics. Upon hearing this, he had a bad feeling and suggested that the Straw Hat Pirates visit the Whitebeard Pirates.
Everyone was puzzled and asked why. Jinbe sighed and said, "War is coming..."
---
Azathoth was the manifestation of Blackbeard's power combined with his new abilities. So, like the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit, that mist contained immense gravitational force. Everything trapped inside was compressed and crushed, even sturdy warships could be destroyed, and the Marines naturally suffered heavy casualties. Although Kizaru and the other two Admirals were leading this time, they were Devil Fruit users. Once they lost their footing on the sea, their situation wasn't much better.
In the end, Kizaru and the others flew out of the mist's range and seized two pirate ships from the Beast Pirates that were trying to leave the battlefield, barely managing to rescue some people.
Many Marine soldiers drowned when their warships were destroyed, dragged to the bottom of the sea, and then carried away by the currents. That's why the Straw Hat Pirates found so many bodies on the sea.
They weren't the only ones who saw this. Many ships passing through the nearby waters also witnessed it. In no time, the news of the Marines' crushing defeat spread everywhere.
The World Government tried desperately to suppress the news, forbidding the World Economy News from publishing it.
They had no choice but to suppress it. This was the Marines' second defeat since the Battle of New Edd War. That live broadcast had already severely damaged the Marines' prestige. If this happened again, who knew what terrible consequences would follow?
On the Marine side, they had already contacted Kizaru and the other two Admirals, learned the full story, and investigated the truth. They knew this time they had been set up by the Beast Pirates. But Fleet Admiral Akainu was still burning with uncontrollable rage!
Here we go again! Why hadn't there been a single piece of good news since he became Fleet Admiral?
First, Aokiji left the Marines, then Zephyr left. Fine, they left. But before the impact of those events could be suppressed, the newly recruited White Wolf Arest from the world military draft had died too!
And even if he died, that was one thing, but it had to involve the explosive news that CP0 had been planted among the Four Emperors!
One thing after another—all of it was damn black history!
And now, a group of the most dangerous ambitious men and troublemakers on the sea had joined forces, including a Four Emperor, two former Seven Warlords, and a legendary pirate who hadn't appeared in over twenty years!
MMP! Was heaven trying to destroy me!?
The World Government wanted the Soul Fruit, but it hadn't been secured. Akainu endured the World Government's reprimands, but no matter how furious he was, he couldn't take it out on Kizaru and the others. This was no longer the time to assign blame; they had to figure out how to fix things.
And Akainu knew he wasn't the only one worried. The World Government was also anxious. This incident involved Doflamingo, so the World Government had reason to suspect that Doflamingo and Kaido had joined forces to steal the Soul Fruit because they were after the Celestial Dragons' national treasure!
This time, even the lofty Celestial Dragons felt threatened. To them, Doflamingo, who knew the secret of the national treasure, was a huge hidden danger. Before, this hidden danger wasn't a big deal. Doflamingo alone couldn't do much about the national treasure. But now, not only had he allied with Kaido and the others, but they had also stolen the Soul Fruit, which had similar functions to the Surgery Fruit. This was a massive threat.
Just as the World Government and the Marines were figuring out how to respond to this situation, Ian arrived at Marineford with the captured prisoner, Queen the Plague...