Seeing Kaido and Big Mom acting like a pair of close siblings, King and the other Lead Performers couldn't help but feel their hearts skip a beat.
"No way. Could things really happen exactly as the Young Master predicted? Are two of the Yonko crews actually forming an alliance?" King and Queen looked at each other, a strong premonition suddenly rising in their chests.
"King, I've decided. From today onwards, our Beasts Pirates will form an alliance with the Big Mom Pirates."
Just then, Kaido and Big Mom walked over and spoke directly to the gathered executives. As soon as those words were spoken, King and the others widened their eyes in disbelief.
"An alliance?!"
Yamato had called it once again. The Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates were truly joining forces. Just how deep was the relationship between Kaido and Big Mom? They had decided on an alliance as if they were just playing around. It felt as though the entire world was a game to these two monsters. Though shocked and confused, no one—not even King—objected. They all knew that once Kaido gave an order, it was absolute.
"It's a bit of a pity that my idiot sons and daughters didn't make it up the waterfall, but it doesn't matter. The alliance is formed; we can just integrate the strength of our two crews later," Big Mom said. Her tone was incredibly casual, showing she wasn't worried about her children at all.
"Linlin, some very interesting things are about to happen in Wano Country. Just you wait," Kaido said, a dark grin spreading across his face.
Big Mom understood immediately and laughed. "Then I'm looking forward to it. Besides the Straw Hat, who else is there?"
"Trafalgar Law and Kid—just two brats who don't know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth," Kaido said with a look of pure disdain.
At least Straw Hat Luffy had mastered Conqueror's Haki. In Kaido's view, Kid and Law were even less of a threat. One had the potential for Conqueror's Haki but didn't know how to infuse it, making it useless, while the other lacked it entirely. He was certain they wouldn't be able to withstand a few hits from his kanabo.
"Speaking of which, besides the Straw Hat, I have a bit of a grudge against Kid too. That brat sank one of my fleets before; this is a good time to settle that debt," Big Mom remembered. Strictly speaking, Kid had provoked her first, long before the Straw Hat's arrival.
"We'll settle it all at once. Let's go get ready. When they deliver themselves to our doorstep, we'll see what tricks they can pull. I hope they don't disappoint me," Kaido said, narrowing his eyes.
Big Mom laughed in agreement. "Then let's let them live for a few more days."
Soon, the news of the alliance spread throughout Onigashima. The rank-and-file members of the Beasts Pirates were shocked, but since it was an order from Governor-General Kaido, they obeyed instantly.
"An alliance between two of the Four Emperors! Who else on the sea can stand against us!" "Long live Lord Kaido!"
The pirates became increasingly rowdy and excited.
"Young Master, this is huge. Now that we've allied with the Big Mom Pirates, how are the Straw Hats and the others supposed to fight?" Haruko asked. From her perspective, the difficulty for the invaders had jumped straight to Hell mode. Even if it was just Big Mom alone, she was a Yonko with combat strength more ferocious than the rest of her crew combined. There were now effectively three Yonko-level fighters on Onigashima. Facing such odds was enough to cause total despair.
"How else can they fight? They'll just have to bite the bullet. However, we can go a bit easy on them; just don't be too serious. The outcome rests on my idiot father and Great Aunt. If they get knocked down, we lose. If they knock out the other side, then we win," Yamato said, shrugging.
No matter how high the difficulty was, this was how things had developed. It wasn't much different from the original trajectory, with only minor changes in the details. The final battle would still be the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom against the Straw Hat alliance. The only true variable was Yamato herself. She knew she couldn't go all out. If she did, the balance would break completely. She couldn't become the weight that crushed the rebellion before it could even begin.
"Young Master, you got the winners and losers mixed up, didn't you?" Haruko looked at her skeptically.
"We can just keep that to ourselves. Don't worry, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I have a feeling that some unexpected things will happen in this war," Yamato mused. After all, Orochi was already dead, and the plot had already veered onto a different path.
In Wano Country, the news of the alliance quickly reached the ears of the rebellion.
"What?! Big Mom is here?!" "The Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates have actually allied? This is unbelievable!" "What do we do? Those are two of the Four Emperors! How could we possibly deal with both at once? We're dead!"
The news sent a wave of terror through the group. Especially those who had witnessed Big Mom's rampage on Cake Island; they were screaming in fear. In their eyes, she was a lunatic who could kill them all in a blind fit of hunger. Adding Kaido to the mix made the battle seem impossible.
"At this point, there's no other way. Although none of us thought we'd face two Yonko at once, the arrow is on the string. We have to fire. Even if they've joined forces, we have no choice but to push forward," Law said seriously. "It's just Big Mom herself for now. It won't change our infiltration plans, it just means the final fight will be significantly harder. This battle is inevitable. We have no way back; we must win."
Everyone present nodded heavily.
"Lord Law is right. We have no way back. This final battle must be won," Kin'emon echoed. If they lost, they would all die, and Wano would remain a closed prison forever.
"It doesn't matter. No matter how many of the Yonko come, I'll knock them all down," Luffy said, clenching his fist.
"Luffy is right. It's just one more of the Four Emperors. We'll just cut them down," Zoro added, his gaze sharp. Like his captain, he didn't know the meaning of fear.
"Don't forget, our combat power isn't bad either. We have so many allies. Even with an extra Yonko, our top-tier strength might even surpass the enemy's in numbers," Sanji spoke up.
"Lord Sanji is right. Now that Orochi is dead, we've gathered many comrades. We can go toe-to-toe with the twenty thousand members of the Beasts Pirates. What's left are the elites—the Tobiroppo and the Lead Performers. As long as we defeat them and the two emperors, victory is ours!" Kin'emon shouted, encouraging the troops. Confidence began to return to the ranks.
"Time is short. Hurry up and distribute the weapons from the factory. The Beasts Pirates might attack at any moment," Law reminded them.
"Yes, our people have already secured the factory. They are equipping themselves now," Kin'emon nodded. Wano was slowly returning to their hands, but they had to prepare for the main force's retaliation.
"Good. I'll go talk to Kid and try to pull him in as well," Law said.
"I'll go see Spiky-head too," Luffy followed immediately.
The three captains had met at the Sabaody Archipelago years ago. Now that they were all in Wano at the same time, it felt like fate. However, Kid had been the unluckiest, having been captured and forced into labor at the Udon prison.
"If we can get Lord Kid's crew, our chances of success increase," Kin'emon said. "Within two days, all preparations must be made. Then, we invade Onigashima! we must keep the battlefield away from the mainland to prevent more damage to Wano. This battle, we must win!"
On Onigashima, Kaido stood on a high platform with Big Mom. They looked like two giants, radiating a combined majesty that felt like a physical weight.
"Boys, get ready for war!" Kaido shouted. The pirates below raised their weapons and cheered, a feverish atmosphere spreading through the fortress. Kaido laughed, his eyes shining. He had been waiting for a war like this for a long time.
"You've been in Wano for so many years, and you've grown your crew to a large scale, but it feels messy," Big Mom said, looking at the ranks. "Kaido, it seems you're not very good at management. Did you learn this from Captain Rocks?"
"Do I need to learn from anyone? This is a crew I built solely on violence," Kaido snorted. Rocks was a figure from the distant past; he had only been under him for a few years.
"A crew built on violence... that is indeed what you said when we went our separate ways. You've fulfilled your goal. However, relying only on violence has limitations. You just don't have the brain for anything else," Big Mom said bluntly.
Kaido didn't get angry. "This is my style. It's enough."
"True. As long as you're happy," Big Mom smiled.
"Boys, a group of brats will soon come knocking on our door. I have only one goal: wipe them out!" Kaido shouted to his subordinates.
"Wipe them out! Wipe them out!" the crowd roared.
"Good! Before the war begins, I've decided to move the Fire Festival banquet to tonight! Tonight, everyone stuff your bellies! Eat and drink your fill!"
The excitement reached a breaking point. The Fire Festival was the night the pirates looked forward to most. They had assumed it would be canceled this year; the surprise made them even more boisterous.
Back in her room, Yamato was speechless when she heard the announcement.
"That idiot father is overconfident. He's actually going to wait for them to come to him and throw a party in the meantime. Just how much does he love banquets?" Yamato sighed. She couldn't understand it. Shouldn't he take his twenty thousand men and re-suppress Wano immediately? Instead, he was giving the alliance time to organize.
"Lord Kaido probably doesn't take them seriously at all," Haruko suggested.
"Sigh, what a terrible teammate. We could have had a real strategic war, but instead, he's turning it into a mess. Forget it, I don't care anymore. Just wait to lose," Yamato grumbled. She had wanted to save some face for her father, but it seemed he was intent on doing things the hard way.
Seeing her frustration, Haruko simply smiled and shook her head.