Back to Kaido.
He and King rushed ahead at full speed, getting closer and closer to the Marines' New World headquarters, but they still hadn't spotted the warship escorting the Big Mom Pirates.
Feeling frustrated, Kaido saw that their search was getting nowhere. A surge of anger welled up in him, and he even started thinking about directly attacking Marine Headquarters.
At that critical moment, King reacted quickly and stopped the impulsive Kaido.
King, looking anxious, shouted loudly to Kaido:
"Brother Kaido, the seas right now are full of sudden changes and tangled schemes. We can't act rashly and give the Marines any chance to take advantage! If we do, our Beasts Pirates might end up in the same miserable state as the Big Mom Pirates!"
They were in a stretch of open sky in the New World, the wind howling around them.
Before King even finished speaking, Kaido was already boiling with rage, letting out a deafening roar. Then he glared wide-eyed at King and shouted:
"Wororororo!"
"King! Are you saying I can't even deal with those hypocritical Marines?"
As Kaido roared, his overwhelming Conqueror's Haki burst out like a raging tidal wave.
In an instant, it was as if an invisible giant hand had stirred the skies around them. The clear sky darkened, storm clouds rolled in, lightning flashed, and thunder roared. Fierce winds swept the clouds together, forming terrifying white tornadoes that rampaged across the sky.
"Brother Kaido!"
"This isn't about whether you can win or not! Think about it—if they tie you down at Marine Headquarters and send someone to Wano Country, our fate won't be any better than the Big Mom Pirates!"
"If you really need to blow off some steam, go to the Whole Cake Seas. You can cause as much trouble as you want there!" King tried to calm Kaido down.
"The Whole Cake Seas?"
"Is something going on there?" Hearing King mention it, Kaido slowly began to cool down.
He realized King might be right—if he got stalled by the Marines at their headquarters and they sent forces to Wano, the Beasts Pirates would take heavy losses and end up just like the Big Mom Pirates.
Seeing Kaido calm down, King let out a small sigh of relief and continued:
"From what I just heard, some troublemaker has been spreading rumors that somewhere in the Whole Cake Seas, there's a hidden spot where Big Mom's massive treasure from over the years is buried."
"As soon as the news got out, it spread like wildfire across the sea, drawing countless greedy people to the Whole Cake Seas, all hoping to claim that fortune."
Kaido nodded thoughtfully.
He knew very well that if the Marines really managed to hold him up at headquarters, and then sent troops to Wano Country…
Based on the current strength of the Beasts Pirates, they probably won't be able to hold out. In the end, they're bound to follow the same path as the Big Mom Pirates—suffer a crushing defeat, maybe even be wiped out.
At this moment, King saw that Kaido had calmed down a lot, so he struck while the iron was hot and continued explaining:
"Big Brother Kaido, right now the Whole Cake territory must be in total chaos."
"And considering your special relationship with Charlotte Linlin, I think her territory should naturally belong to us, the Beasts Pirates!"
"Even if we don't take all of it, we should at least claim those resource-rich islands under the Big Mom Pirates and raise our flag there. That way, we won't need to rely on Seastone all the time to keep our entire crew fed."
After hearing King's words, Kaido's massive, mountain-like body trembled slightly. His huge, fearsome dragon head slowly lifted, showing a look of deep thought.
King didn't say anything else. He flapped his wings and hovered in the sky alongside Kaido.
Time ticked by, and the air around them felt frozen. King knew that Kaido had already made up his mind. All he had to do was wait patiently for Kaido to change course and head toward Whole Cake Island.
Sure enough, not long after, Kaido's deep and booming voice broke the silence:
"Hmph! You're not wrong. The territory Linlin left behind should have been mine from the start!"
"In that case, I'm heading to the Whole Cake waters right now! As for you… go back to Wano and get the crew ready to take over everything Linlin left behind!"
Before King could respond, Kaido gave him no chance. With a sudden whip of his massive, scale-covered tail, Kaido shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, accelerating at an incredible speed straight toward Whole Cake Island.
In the blink of an eye, Kaido's imposing, Haki-filled figure vanished beyond the horizon.
Only then did King, who had been on edge the whole time, finally breathe a long sigh of relief.
He knew very well that if Kaido had recklessly charged Marine Headquarters, the outcome would've been as tragic as Shiki's back in the day.
Thinking of this, King couldn't help but feel a wave of fear.
Luckily, Kaido had listened to his advice in the end and didn't act rashly.
After making sure Kaido's figure was completely gone, King didn't dare waste a second. He spread his wings and turned into a streak of black light, speeding toward Wano like a thunderbolt.
~~~~~~
The next morning.
The newspaper headlines were all about Kaido causing chaos in Whole Cake waters. He wiped out everyone who was "treasure hunting" there! And his Beasts Pirates directly took over several of the richest, most resource-packed islands that once belonged to the Big Mom Pirates.
This news once again shook the entire sea.
First, the Big Mom Pirates lost to the Red Hair Pirates, then they were wiped out by a Marine ambush.
Naturally, the territory they left behind became the center of attention.
Just when other forces were wondering if the Red Hair Pirates or the Whitebeard Pirates would also try to take Big Mom's old territory, they realized neither crew had any such plans.
The Whitebeard Pirates made no moves.
Because they simply don't have the strength right now to take over those lands. What matters most to them now is preparing for the major upheaval that might be coming.
The news of the Big Mom Pirates being crushed by the Marines only made their sense of danger grow stronger.
```
On the other side—
Someone discovered that the Red-Haired Pirates have returned to the first half of the Grand Line, at the Sabaody Archipelago!
And the former vice-captain of the Roger Pirates, the "Dark King" Rayleigh, has shown up too!
The two sides met at Grove 13 of the Sabaody Archipelago!
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