https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1263-Wait-for-Me-to-Get-My-Blade-Then-I-ll-Slaughter-You-All/13542100/
Chapter 1262: Eliminate Pirate Era!
Chapter 1262: Eliminate Pirate Era!
While Kuro celebrated New Year in Wano Country, another location in the New World was also experiencing its own kind of "liveliness."
Mizu Saki Island, the endpoint of the Grand Line's journey, marked the edge of the known world. Beyond it lay an endless ocean where compasses failed to detect any magnetic forces, as there were no islands ahead to record.
"Gomu Gomu!"
At the island's center, a darkness erupted, and from its depths shot a wisp of flame. A jet-black, colossal fist tore through the air.
"Karmic Musket!!"
...
Half a month later.
Marine Headquarters.
Sakazuki stared at the young man who had suddenly returned, his perpetually gloomy face cracking a rare smile. "You’ve been away for a whole year."
"Well, I’m back to report in", the young man replied. He handed over a stack of reports, then sat back on the sofa, pulling out a cigar and lighting it. "The details are all there."
"Leave that for later."
Sakazuki didn’t even glance at the reports. At his level, reading or skipping them made no difference. Especially since this was the young man he admired most—Lucius Kro.
After New Year, Kuro had returned to Headquarters to report.
"The Old Man heard Kuzan took a position under you?" Sakazuki asked.
"Yeah. Better than letting him drift around the seas. At least now he’s tied down somewhere instead of turning pirate", Kuro replied casually.
The two of them had clashed styles in the Navy before, but that didn’t make them mortal enemies. They still shared deep camaraderie—otherwise, they wouldn’t have fought so fiercely during the Fleet Admiral succession.
"Fine by me. That idiot’s head isn’t sober enough. Let him stay with you instead of wandering the Grand Line and becoming a Navy humiliation."
Sakazuki looked up at Kuro. "About the Poneglyph in Wano Country—confirm no one copied it?"
Kuro raised an eyebrow, thinking. "Shouldn’t have been. It wasn’t in the Flower Capital’s Castle Tower Palace. Baohuang kept it hidden and handed it over after surrendering to Wano. She claimed no one found her hidden Poneglyph."
The Poneglyph—the red Poneglyph, the Road Poneglyph. Originally Kaido’s, it was likely hidden on Oni’s Island. But Kuro had destroyed that place long ago. After defeating Kaido and arriving in Wano, the girl Baohuang had surrendered and handed it over.
Kuro couldn’t read it anyway. Keeping it was a liability—it made him a target. So he’d directly handed it to the World Government. Of course, to satisfy his own collecting desire, he’d made a copy and sent it skyward.
Such rare artifacts were a shame to leave without a trace. If anyone wanted to search, let them go to Mariejois. None of Kuro’s business.
"Then read this intelligence."
Sakazuki handed Kuro a document, walking over to place it on the table beside him before settling onto another sofa, exhaling smoke from his cigar.
"Hm?"
Kuro picked it up, his eyes catching the bold heading:
"Mizu Saki Island Combat Overview?"
He muttered, then froze.
Mizu Saki Island? That was the journey’s endpoint.
Kuro’s gaze sharpened as he read further. "Marshall D. Teach and Luffy clashed?!"
The report detailed Luffy and Blackbeard’s confrontation on Mizu Saki Island, their battle ending inconclusively when the island shattered.
Sakazuki bit down on the steam-powered cigar Kuro had given him, blowing a jet of smoke. "The pirates reached the end. If you hadn’t assured the Old Man the Wano Poneglyph wasn’t leaked, he’d have assumed they’d found all the Poneglyphs and were heading for the One Piece."
"What? Impossible! Only two Poneglyphs are known—Kaido’s and Big Mom’s. Don’t we need four?" Kuro asked.
The World Government knew of two. Katakuri, now a Seven Warlords of the Sea member, had demanded concessions from the World Government in exchange for his Poneglyph—a deal Kuro had ignored.
Besides, few could read them. Only Nico Robin was known to decipher them, making Katakuri’s Poneglyph useless to the World Government. They’d abandoned pursuing it.
Kuro also knew Zou held another, but since no one else knew, he’d left it be. Luffy’s crew had passed through Zou before Wano, and with Nico Robin aboard, they’d likely already decoded it. Collecting it now was pointless.
One remained unaccounted for.
"Blackbeard knows the Poneglyph’s contents", Sakazuki said solemnly.
Kuro jolted. "What?! He knows?!"
Sakazuki nodded. "According to intelligence, he does. They fought fiercely on Mizu Saki Island, raising suspicions. We wonder if Luffy has Poneglyph information too. He visited Wanokuni. If he copied it, both sides might have Road Poneglyph intelligence. We can’t confirm if they exchanged info or stole from each other. But we must prepare for the worst-case scenario."
Kuro inhaled sharply. "This’s getting wild. I just came back to report and now I’m hearing this?"
Luffy’s crew might have Zou’s Poneglyph. If they traded info with Blackbeard—or stole from each other—three Poneglyphs would be in play. The only missing one? Wano’s.
Which meant...
"We’ll have to fight them."
Kuzan entered, his voice grave. "The higher-ups have decided. We must strike first—capture Luffy and Blackbeard, and destroy their influence completely."
"Wait, you’re serious?!"
Kuro stood, shocked. "A preemptive strike? You’re sending us straight into the New World? Won’t that repeat the past?"
The Navy had been driven out of the New World decades ago. Their core territories were too vast to fully control. Reinvading would destabilize the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line, which had only recently stabilized.
"No choice. The World Government won’t risk another Roger sparking chaos."
Kuzan glanced at Kuro. "The Wano incident pushed them to act."
Sakazuki clenched his fist, crimson flames flickering across his knuckles. "This is the perfect chance to thoroughly eliminate the pirate era!"
(Note: Adjusted phrasing for natural English flow while preserving the original's emphatic tone and intent.)
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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