The year is 1520 of the Sea Calendar, the beginning of April.
This should have been a season of revival and blooming flowers, but following the earth-shattering explosion of Mary Geoise, the entire world plunged into a frozen winter.
Endless volcanic ash enveloped the planet's surface.
Natural disasters such as hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes, originating from the ruins of the former Mary Geoise, swept across the globe in waves, causing the world to lose its communication capabilities due to the disruption of the catastrophe.
People were isolated on their islands, enduring the disasters and awaiting the dawn of a new era.
They did not know what catastrophe had befallen this new world, nor what their future fate held. They could only rely on the knowledge from the three books distributed by the Marines to withstand the disasters, waiting for the day the world regained communication, waiting for the appearance of that figure who carried justice.
----
That man named Sakazuki, from the North Blue to the Grand Line, from the Grand Line to the New World, bore endless bloodshed and advanced step by step.
With the hottest magma, he shattered the dark barrier that shrouded the world.
When the volcanic ash that obscured the sky dissipated, what awaited this world was an unprecedented radiance.
----
Later.
The world gradually returned to order.
When the World Federal Government, established by the Marines, announced the list of casualties from the war, the world fell silent. People then realized the brutal intensity of that war.
Three years of war, seven days of decisive battle, cleansed this world.
On the Pirate side:
The Beast Pirates were annihilated.
Emperor 'Kaido' died, along with his three commanders, King, Queen, and Jack, the Flying Six, and tens of thousands of pirates under their command, all exterminated by the Marines.
The Big Mom Pirates were annihilated.
Emperor 'Charlotte Linlin' died, along with her Sweet Commanders, Charlotte Katakuri, Charlotte Smoothie, Charlotte Cracker, and Charlotte Snack, all thirty-four ministers perished without exception, and nearly half of their thirty-five subordinate islands were destroyed.
The Steam Pirates were annihilated.
Emperor 'Haru Nock' died, with all five of his top commanders captured, the Steam Pirates, possessing the world's strongest forces, crumbled. The Marine cleanup operation alone later involved over 300,000 individuals.
The Red-Haired Pirates were annihilated.
Emperor 'Shanks' died, along with his famous pirate subordinates like Benn Beckman, Yasopp, and Lucky Roo, all perished. Their subordinate islands were scoured clean, with no survivors.
All other pirate crews, large and small, in the New World, were wiped out during the three-year encirclement in the Great Catastrophe.
--
On the Revolutionary Army side:
Due to their surprise attack on Mary Geoise, the former World Government headquarters.
According to incomplete statistics from the new World Federal Government established by the Marines.
Revolutionary Army leader Monkey D. Dragon.
Revolutionary Army East Blue Commander Belo Betty.
Revolutionary Army North Blue Commander Karasu.
Revolutionary Army West Blue Commander Morley.
Led nearly a thousand mid-to-high-ranking cadres of the Revolutionary Army, and tens of thousands of Revolutionary Army soldiers, all died in Mary Geoise, vanishing in that catastrophe.
After the world regained communication, the newly established World Federal Government appointed Revolutionary Army leader Monkey D. Dragon as 'Honorary Vice Speaker'.
And announced the identity of Revolutionary Army leader Monkey D. Dragon as a former Marine Rear Admiral.
All his records during his time in the Marines, the predecessor to the World Federal Government, were revealed, and he was posthumously awarded the rank of Fleet Admiral.
Furthermore, the new World Federal Government also released the policy outlines preserved in the former Revolutionary Army headquarters, as well as the 'Grand Plan' that had been meticulously detailed for a century and preserved in the former Marine Headquarters.
Thus.
The subordinate islands of the former Revolutionary Army forces were all absorbed and accepted by the new World Federal Government, and the refined policies began to be implemented across the world.
--
On the World Government side:
The Five Elders, the supreme rulers of the former world, died.
The Divine Knights who guarded the Celestial Dragons were annihilated.
The former World Government's Fleet Admiral Kong, died.
The Mary Geoise garrison and the 'God' race, the Celestial Dragons, who had resided above Mary Geoise for eight hundred years, all perished in the Great Catastrophe.
Additionally, the Marines announced the existence of a being named 'Imu', marked with special red bold font, as deceased.
--
And on the Marine side, the predecessor to the new World Federal Government:
The former Marine Headquarters' previous Fleet Admiral, 'Stone Fist' Sengoku, fell.
The former Marine Headquarters' previous Admiral, 'Black Arm' Zephyr, fell.
The former Marine Headquarters' Admiral, 'Kizaru' Borsalino, fell.
The former Marine Headquarters' Admiral, 'Aokiji' Kuzan, fell.
The former Marine Headquarters' Admiral, 'Ryokugyu' Aramaki, fell.
The former Marine Headquarters' Admiral, 'Fujitora' Issho, fell.
The former Marine Headquarters' Vice Admiral, Garp, fell.
The former Marine Headquarters' Vice Admiral, Doberman, fell.
The former Marine Headquarters' Vice Admiral, Strawberry, fell.
The former Marine Headquarters' Vice Admiral, Hilbar, fell.
The former Marine Headquarters' Vice Admiral, Hubert, fell.
The former Marine Headquarters' Vice Admiral, Bruner, fell.
The former Marine Headquarters' Vice Admiral, Meredith, fell.
The former Marine Headquarters' Vice Admiral, Momonga, fell.
The former Marine Headquarters' Vice Admiral, Gion, fell.
The former Marine Headquarters' Vice Admiral, Maynard, fell.
The former Marine Headquarters' Vice Admiral, Lacroix, fell.
The former Marine Headquarters' Vice Admiral...
The densely packed list of fallen personnel was astonishing, appearing endless, from Vice Admirals, Rear Admirals, Commodores, down to Sergeants and soldiers.
The three years of war against pirates, and the three years of cleansing during the Great Catastrophe.
The Marines deployed a total of 573,427 personnel, with 486,571 sacrificing their lives.
These were not cold numbers in a history book, but the lives of individuals.
That year, when Sakazuki was promoted to Fleet Admiral and brought hope to the world, most of these young men, who joined the army with the hopes of their families, did not live to see the birth of the new world.
But their names, their deeds, were all inscribed on the Memorial of Heroes, forever remembered by the people.
Thus.
The visible powerhouses and factions of the world were swept clean.
Following this came the announcement by the new World Federal Government of its three World Federal Government Admirals.
'Blue Demon' Byrnndi World.
'White Dragon' Enel.
'Purple Lion' Shiki.
With their unparalleled power, these three led the great army in a year-long cleanup operation.
The main targets were some 'Pirate Nations'.
And 'Tyrannical Nations' that had engaged in conquest and slaughter during the chaos of the three-year Great Catastrophe.
Of course, this is all in hindsight.
--------
After the Battle of Mary Geoise,
On the seventh day of the Great Catastrophe.
Deep within the summit of Reverse Mountain.
This was the area least impacted by the Great Catastrophe, being in the exact opposite direction from Mary Geoise, the epicenter of the disaster.
In a simple house, a video transponder snail with no signal played garbled data. Robin sat blankly by the window, holding a cup of tea, gazing in the direction of the New World, lost in thought.
Burubururu~ Burubururu~
The dazed Robin turned, a slight frown on her brow, thinking it was an auditory hallucination, but.
Burubururu~ Burubururu~
It wasn't!
Robin sharply turned her head to look.
The transponder snail on the table surprisingly had a signal, blinking continuously.
She rose and walked slowly, suppressing her emotions, and answered the transponder snail. Robin's voice trembled slightly:
"Hello?"
From the other end, Carol's voice, hoarse and utterly exhausted, sounded:
"It's me."