New World.
The Red-Haired Pirates had just finished a major battle, and now they were holding a banquet, celebrating the fact that they'd snatched yet another piece of territory.
"Cheers—!"
Benn Beckman had bought today's newspaper. There was no helping it—within the Red-Haired Pirates, he was positioned as the "brains." Keeping up with what was happening out on the sea every day was basically mandatory.
He'd only just opened the paper when the huge headlines slammed into his eyes one after another:
SHOCKING! This man left the Navy and quietly gathered an enormous crew without anyone noticing!
SHOCKING! There are Mythical Zoans at this man's side!
SHOCKING! Does this man have some kind of special kink? There are underage girls on his ship!
SHOCKING! This man has developed a Life-Restoration Potion!
And right after that, there were even comparison photos of Garp—before drinking it, and after.
The more Beckman read, the more shocked he became. "No way… how the hell did he collect all this?"
"What is it, Beckman?" Shanks asked, face flushed bright red. One look and you could tell he was already pretty far gone.
"See for yourself." Beckman didn't want to talk. He just handed over the paper.
"Let's see what could make you look that surprised," Shanks muttered as he took it and started reading.
A moment later, his brows were knotted tight.
Mythical Zoan: Angel Fruit — Swordswoman Kuina!
Mythical Zoan: Demon Form — Bai Hezi!
This guy… where the hell did he get so many good things?
Mythical Zoans. Just seeing those words made Shanks' scalp prickle. And then there was that potion… was this some kind of joke?
"I told you—this guy was never going to sit still!" Shanks exploded, cursing openly.
Beckman exhaled smoke, tone steady. "So what do we do? Assassinate him? Can we even kill that guy? We probably wouldn't get close before he cuts us in half with one sword strike."
He tapped ash away and continued, eyes narrowed.
"And it's not just the Mythical Zoans. The other Devil Fruits on that ship are the nasty kind of Paramecia. There are Ancient Zoans too. I don't even want to imagine what happens once he enters the New World."
Beckman stared out at the sea, cigarette between his fingers. "Can we stop him?"
"Stop my ass!" Shanks barked. "You know his ability. He can fly. And his ship can fly too."
He tossed the paper aside, irritated. "All we can do is keep a close eye on him when he comes in—make sure he doesn't run wild and mess up the New World's balance."
"Stop him with what?" Beckman shot back, glancing at Shanks. "You know his strength. And you really think he's coming in right now?"
Shanks went quiet for a beat, then sighed, forced to admit it. "No wonder he keeps running all over the sea. Traveling is one thing… but the bigger thing is buying time for his crew to grow."
"So we just let him grow?" Beckman frowned, looking at their crew. "If we end up fighting him later… hard to say who wins."
"Mythical Zoans aside," Shanks said, grabbing the paper again and stabbing a finger at the bolded line, "this is the real problem."
A Life-Restoration Potion. Extends lifespan. Treats hidden injuries.
"If this is true," Shanks muttered, "Whitebeard's going to be thrilled."
The potion's effects were something White Ghost had told Morgans himself—free publicity was free publicity.
"And if the news is real," Beckman said slowly, "this sea is going to get chaotic. Nobody knows whether that guy still has more Devil Fruits in his hands."
Shanks rubbed his face, then let out a tired breath. "Fine. We stabilize in the New World first. When he comes in, we keep an eye on him. Stall it out until Luffy sets sail."
The sea really did boil.
Mythical Zoans—things you normally never saw—there were two of them sitting on a "former Marine's" ship.
But even more terrifying was that potion.
Some people's eyes turned bloodshot. They didn't see medicine—they saw wealth. Bottomless wealth.
And among the ones who wanted the formula… were Underworld kings.
The Loan Shark King, Feld, whose main business was loan-sharking and who controlled the circulation of money in the dark world, stared greedily at the newspaper.
He'd already confirmed it with Morgans: the potion's effects were real.
He didn't lack money, but who in this world ever complained about having too much?
"Someone!" Feld barked.
"Yes, sir!" A subordinate rushed in, waiting for orders.
"Contact that man. Tell him—however much potion he has, we'll buy it all."
"Yes, sir!"
The first thought Feld had was to kill him and seize the formula.
But after thinking it over, he dropped it. That man wasn't weak—he'd beaten Kaido.
Feld was a businessman. He wasn't some butcher who only knew how to kill with no brain, like Pieklo.
At the same time—
Pieklo, from the "Assassin Domain," nicknamed the "Big Hand Mortician," issued a cold order:
"Assassinate his crew at full force. Get the formula."
Then—
The Pleasure District.
The largest entertainment city in the world, and paradise for men. As long as you had money, you could get any kind of woman you wanted.
Princesses of kingdoms. Daughters of nobles. Female pirate captains. Anything.
The ruler of the Pleasure District, Stussy, known in the dark world as the "Queen of the Pleasure District," looked young—but her true age was extremely high.
Not only was she one of the Underworld emperors, her real identity was a CP0 intelligence agent.
In this place, all kinds of information could be pried out of men's mouths.
Stussy read the message sent by the Five Elders, lips curling upward.
"'At any cost, arrange beautiful young women to infiltrate as spies'…?"
She smiled wider. "That happens to be what I'm best at."
Her tongue slid over her enticing red lips.
"How many men in this world can resist a young beauty begging you for help?"
"And besides…" Her eyes glittered. "That guy is a shameless lecher. Heh. A handsome lecher, too."
Four sharp fangs flashed between her lips.
"I really want to taste you…"
Wano, Onigashima.
"Worororororo… that bastard ran all the way to the East Blue!"
Kaido drank and sobbed at the same time, bawling like thunder.
"That bastard! Come on—get into the New World! Bring your crew in!"
He slammed his drink down and roared, "Then we'll see who the real King of the Beasts is!"
"ROAR—!"
Kaido, drunk off his ass, transformed and shot into the sky.
King watched Kaido fly off, silent as always. He burned the newspaper in his hand, thinking coldly—
Kaido-sama is the strongest.
Queen, on the other hand, was thinking about something completely different.
Those two Mythical Zoan girls were so cute. So pretty.
Could they arrange a marriage alliance?
For Kaido-sama, sacrificing a little wasn't impossible… especially that Bai Hezi. She was really his type.
Queen patted his round belly and wondered seriously if Bai Hezi liked men with a "fuller" figure.
In Onigashima's prison, a masked girl kept swinging her club over and over. A newspaper lay beside her.
"I'll definitely defeat you, Kaido! I'll drive you out of Wano!
"I'm Kozuki Oden! I'll open Wano's borders!"
Cake Island.
Charlotte Linlin—Big Mom—was also eating cake while reading the paper.
"Ma-ma-ma-ma… isn't this the brat who beat Kaido back then?"
"Yes, Mama," Katakuri answered in a low voice.
"Ma-ma-ma-ma! Tell him—marry those two Mythical Zoans into the Charlotte Family, and hand over that potion formula."
Her grin grew wider. "Then he can join the Big Mom Pirates. Giving him a commander seat wouldn't be impossible."
"That will be difficult, Mama," Perospero said, licking his long tongue as he spoke.
Charlotte Linlin's eyes slid to him—slow and heavy.
Perospero's scalp went numb.
"That guy beat Kaido," Perospero forced out, licking the candy cane in his hand. "He probably won't agree."
"You mean I can't beat Kaido?" Big Mom leaned forward, looming over him.
"N-no, Mama! Of course not!"
Perospero panicked and hurriedly said, "I'll contact him right away, Mama!"
He turned and ran, fleeing like his life depended on it.
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