"It doesn't matter," Kaido said quickly. "Anyone can go to Navy Headquarters. When the war at the top begins, I'll be there to cause a huge commotion. Does anyone have a reason to stop me?"
After saying this, Kaido first looked at Whitebeard. Whitebeard had no reason to stop him. He wanted to attack the Navy, and so did Kaido. In the end, would Whitebeard really stop him? Of course not. There was no reason for Whitebeard to oppose him. Indeed, Whitebeard did not object.
Since Kaido was willing to head to Navy Headquarters to stir up trouble, why stop him? Who could oppose the will of one of the Four Emperors?
Kaido then turned his attention to Red-Haired Shanks. There was something strange about this guy. If anyone were to try and stop Kaido, it might be Red-Haired Shanks. Red Hair had a mysterious identity. From Kaido's perspective, Red Hair might very well be a Celestial Dragon.
But it didn't matter. The Celestial Dragons don't recognize blood, only power. Those who renounce their Celestial Dragon status are excluded, attacked, and treated as outcasts. So, whether Red Hair is a Celestial Dragon by blood doesn't matter. What matters is that Red Hair has the ability to meet and speak directly with the Five Elders. The Five Elders give him face. A pirate, and the Five Elders give him respect? Could this be just any ordinary pirate?
This power, privilege, and respect, combined with his potential Celestial Dragon heritage, made Kaido suspicious. Was there some secret agreement between Red Hair and the Celestial Dragons? Some kind of cooperation? Of course, in the grand scheme, Red Hair likely wasn't a villain. He was probably destined to remain on the side of good. But sometimes, even good people are forced to cooperate with villains, especially when facing a common enemy.
Kaido was unsure. Where did Red Hair stand? Would he help the Navy? Nothing was certain. So, Kaido kept his gaze fixed on Red Hair Shanks, waiting for his reaction. If Red Hair tried to stop him, Kaido would fight him. Whether the Red Hair Pirates had two Yonkou, or even four, Kaido didn't care. He could fly. He could breathe fire in the sky. And what of Red Hair? Did he have Luffy's protagonist aura? Ha!
Whitebeard's eyes also turned toward Red Hair Shanks. With both Yonkou staring him down, Red Hair Shanks quickly voiced his opinion. "Kaido, I don't know what's changed in your character and stance, but since your decision doesn't conflict with my position or interests, do whatever you want. I have no reason to stop you."
Kaido slowly nodded. It seemed he had overthought things. Even though Red Hair could meet with the Five Elders, it didn't mean he was a lapdog of the Celestial Dragons or the Navy. His desire to attack the Navy didn't clash with Red Hair's interests, so Red Hair had no reason to intervene. Red Hair's values seemed normal after all.
"Whitebeard," Kaido continued, "since we're taking separate actions, I'll leave first. See you at the top war. But before I go, I can help you clear out some of the Navy nearby."
"Today, the three of us, the Four Emperors, have gathered, and I believe it has caused quite a stir. If we don't deal with some of the Navy's intelligence operatives, there may be problems later." There were dozens of Navy warships around Whitebeard's territory. Normally, Whitebeard wouldn't bother dealing with them, as they sometimes helped keep smaller pirates in check. But now, as Whitebeard prepared to head to Navy Headquarters, he couldn't allow the Navy to gather intelligence so freely.
"Gurarara..."
Whitebeard looked at Kaido with a strange expression. "Kaido, you've become a stranger to me. But since you're offering, I'll leave these Navy to you."
Kaido nodded.
At this moment, Red-Haired Shanks turned to Whitebeard. "Whitebeard, there's something I need to tell you. It's about Blackbeard."
"What do you want to say?" Whitebeard asked.
Red Hair continued, "It's a bit late to bring this up, but I need to mention it. According to my information, Blackbeard has an eye for stealing others' Devil Fruits. His current Dark-Dark Fruit has such a capability. I thought his target might be Ace's Flame-Flame Fruit, but that's not the case."
"If my information is correct…"
"Blackbeard's real target is actually you, Whitebeard."
"Your Tremor-Tremor Fruit."
Upon hearing this, Whitebeard smiled. His supreme sword, Murakumogiri, slammed heavily onto the deck. Whitebeard laughed, "Then let him come. I will settle everything with him personally."
His kingly aura spread across the deck. There was no fear in him. Blackbeard? If he had the ability to take Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, let him try. They would see whether the fruit would be taken, or if Whitebeard would smash Blackbeard's head in. But Whitebeard doubted Blackbeard would even dare to come.
Seeing this, Red Hair said no more. He had delivered all the information and warnings he could. The rest was up to Whitebeard.
Among all the information Red Hair had gathered, Kaido remained the one enigma. Red Hair couldn't understand what had happened to Kaido. Spending time with him now, Red Hair found that all his knowledge and assumptions about Kaido had been turned upside down.
Kaido seemed to have suddenly become a different person. If not for the terrifying power that couldn't be hidden, Red-Haired Shanks might have suspected someone else was impersonating Kaido.
"The world is changing, and so are people," Shanks thought, his gaze intense. "Even Kaido has changed... What will become of the world?"
Red Hair turned and sailed away, leaving Whitebeard behind, who now looked up at the sky. He saw Kaido already flying above the fleet of warships that were monitoring the area.
On the navy warships, voices of panic erupted.
"The Four Emperors Kaido is coming!!!"
"His target is us! Not Whitebeard!!"
"Lieutenant General, what should we do? Lieutenant General!!"
"Is this Kaido? After staring down Whitebeard for so long, I thought nothing could be more overwhelming... but Kaido is even more terrifying! This is the monster who can destroy the world!!!"
"Monster! Monster!!!"
"Why didn't he attack Whitebeard? Why is he attacking us instead?!"
The navy onboard the ships were frozen in fear for a moment. Kaido transformed into a massive blue dragon, soaring toward them.
Is he trying to scare them to death?!
The officer in charge of the fleet—a vice admiral—was no less panicked. "Contact headquarters! Contact headquarters!! Kaido has joined forces with Whitebeard!!!"
Earlier, they had noticed Kaido approaching Whitebeard's territory. Based on the navy's intelligence, the two Yonkou were not on good terms. Surely, they would fight each other to the death, right?
The navy had been waiting to witness an epic clash. Instead, after waiting so long, the two Yonkou didn't cut each other down at all. And now, the only "battle" was turning toward them!
What kind of spectacle is this? The excitement was meant to be their downfall!
"Hot Breath."
Flames gathered in Kaido's mouth, ready to unleash devastation.