Collapse!

"Hey, something big just happened!"

In a tavern on Tequila Wolf Island in the first half of the Grand Line, a drunk man stared at the newspaper in his hands, the shock sobering him up somewhat.

His loud voice immediately drew everyone's attention in the tavern.

"What's going on? What's got you so worked up?"

The people in the tavern looked at the man with the newspaper with disdain. But the man didn't respond; he was too engrossed in the contents of the paper, completely absorbed by the news.

His behavior piqued the curiosity of the others, even those who initially didn't care. One person nearby, driven by curiosity, peeked over his shoulder and was immediately stunned as well.

"This... this can't be real!"

The second man stuttered, clearly shocked by what he had read, unable to form a complete sentence due to the overwhelming news.

Seeing these reactions, the rest of the tavern's patrons realized something significant must have happened. The tavern grew noisy as everyone speculated, knowing that any major event on the sea could impact them all.

"Hey, what does the paper say?" one impatient customer shouted at the man with the newspaper.

However, the man continued to read, ignoring the questions around him, seemingly trying to confirm the authenticity of the news. The person next to him was similarly engrossed, offering no answers.

The uncertainty drove the patrons mad with curiosity. Finally, a burly, scarred bald man couldn't stand it anymore. He strode over, snatched the paper, and said, "Let's see what's so big that you can't even talk about it."

He glanced at the headline.

"Holy... Enies Lobby is gone..."

"What?!"

"Wait, I didn't catch that. Did you say Enies Lobby is gone?!"

The explosive news sobered everyone up instantly. The patrons stared at the bald man, trying to gauge if he was serious.

Seeing his sober and serious expression, the tavern fell silent, as quiet as a library.

Moments later, the silence erupted into chaos. Those nearby scrambled to see the paper for themselves.

"That's one of the World Government's three major institutions! How could it fall? Were all its defenders defeated?"

"Yeah, with the currents at the Gate of Justice, the Navy could have sent reinforcements quickly. Who could possibly take Enies Lobby?"

"I don't believe it! And what's the point of attacking Enies Lobby? If you want to rescue someone, go straight to Impel Down!"

"Exactly! In my opinion, if I had thirty large ships and sixty pirate crews, I'd first take Enies Lobby, open the Gate of Justice, and use the currents to reach Impel Down. Once we take Impel Down, we could recruit the prisoners, turn around, and attack Marineford before they react. Then, with the momentum of victory, we could march on Mary Geoise, overthrow the World Government and the Celestial Dragons, and become the new rulers of the world!"

"Brilliant idea! But we need a key element: making the Marines surrender without a fight. Then, we can use them to lead the attack on Mary Geoise while we command from behind. It'd be perfect!"

"Hahaha, you two think just like me! How about we become sworn brothers and plan this out together?"

Hearing the increasingly outrageous discussions in the tavern, the scarred bald man finally couldn't hold back and spoke up.

"When I said Enies Lobby is gone, I didn't mean it was captured. I mean the whole island was sunk into the abyss!"

"What!?"

The crowd, who had been in heated debate, suddenly stared at each other in shock and disbelief.

Enies Lobby wasn't just captured? It was sunk into the sea!?

"Hey! Are you sure Enies Lobby sank!?"

Realizing the gravity of the situation, everyone looked at the scarred bald man with a mix of anxiety and anticipation, hoping to hear the answer they couldn't even imagine.

Meeting their inquisitive gazes, the scarred bald man nodded with difficulty.

"It was the Pirate King, Roger, leading the Roger Pirates. After destroying Enies Lobby, they forced their way through the Gate of Justice, leaving a huge gap, and then disappeared through it."

Hearing this, the tavern fell silent once again.

At that moment, everyone's mind was filled with the name "Roger."

This was too outrageous, too exaggerated. Not only did he escape from the Navy's execution in Loguetown, but now he had also sunk Enies Lobby and left a gaping hole in the Gate of Justice.

What is he trying to do? Is this a declaration of war against the World Government? Is he challenging the World Government?

This man, who became the Pirate King a few years ago, has once again thrown the entire sea into chaos.

Similar scenes were unfolding all over the world.

People everywhere, even the old farmers in the fields, knew from reading the headlines that with the collapse of Enies Lobby, the World Government's authority was also in jeopardy.

In their view, first, it was Nicholas and the Revolutionary Army attacking Mary Geoise, causing massive destruction. Then, the Pirate King Roger, after setting sail again, forcefully sunk Enies Lobby.

Such events were unimaginable in the past eight hundred years.

The rule of the World Government seemed to be teetering on the brink of collapse with each successive incident.

...

Grand Line, Marineford.

At the rear of Marineford, in a tranquil cemetery overlooking the entire Marine Headquarters, stood a large, silent gravestone.

This cemetery didn't have neatly arranged tombstones with names inscribed on them but a massive unmarked stone with only the Navy's insignia, devoid of the World Government's symbol.

There were no bodies buried here.

This was understandable because in this dangerous sea, the Navy loses countless soldiers every year fighting pirates in the name of justice.

If each of them were to be buried at Marineford, the entire place would be filled with tombstones.

A gentle sea breeze blew, and white seagulls circled above, crying out.

In the cemetery, facing the direction of Marine Headquarters, Garp sat cross-legged in front of the massive unmarked gravestone.

A newspaper lay before him.

The sea breeze lifted one corner of the newspaper, revealing the name Gol D. Roger.

Garp silently watched the busy Marineford plaza in the distance.

His weathered face, hardened by the sea breeze and countless battles, was expressionless.

Clack, clack—

The quiet cemetery was suddenly filled with the clear sound of shoes stepping on stone.

Garp didn't need to turn around to know who it was. At this time, the only person who would come here was Sengoku.

Sengoku glanced at the nameless Navy tombstone and walked up behind Garp.

He looked down and saw the newspaper in front of Garp, his eyes flickering slightly.

"Rosinante is coming back."

Sengoku suddenly spoke after sitting cross-legged beside Garp.

Hearing Sengoku's words, Garp's body twitched slightly. He turned his head to glance at Sengoku, then continued to look at the unchanging scenery of Marineford.

Seeing Garp's reaction, Sengoku continued calmly, "Rosinante encountered Nicholas in Dressrosa. Nicholas appeared there with Dragon. And Morgans' report is true; when Nicholas appeared in Dressrosa, he was severely injured."

"..."

Garp frowned at Sengoku's words, seemingly waiting for what Sengoku would say next.

After a pause, Sengoku continued, "Nicholas asked Rosinante to deliver a message to me. He said that what we are facing might not be as invincible as it seems."

As Sengoku finished speaking, a sudden gale swept over the sea, causing the Marine flags in Marineford to flutter loudly in the wind.