At the very same time that the promotion ceremony for the Navy's Fleet Admiral was beginning at Marineford, the Beasts Pirates in Wano Country began to gather.
Although Kaido of the Beasts had been the most active of the Four Emperors over the past decade or so, when it came to the Beasts Pirates themselves, they had made surprisingly few big moves.
It was as if, after occupying Wano, these pirates had been content to hole up there like shut-ins.
By comparison, whether it was the Whitebeard Pirates—who controlled the largest territory in the New World—the Big Mom Pirates—who spent their days sending out invitations for "tea parties"—or even the Red-Haired Pirates—who relished adventure—each had a far greater presence than the Beasts Pirates.
For that reason, when the Beasts Pirates began to mobilize, even the CP agents embedded in Wano and within the crew didn't react immediately.
By the time the pirates boarded Boros's spaceship, the Dominator, and prepared to set sail, it was already too late to send any messages out.
"A machine that can block Den Den Mushi signals, huh? Now that's a fine piece of work!"
Quinn—half a scientist himself—was like a kid in a candy shop aboard Boros's ship, running around and pestering the strangely-shaped alien crewmembers (whose bizarre appearances still somehow fit the Beasts Pirates' aesthetic) with question after question.
"It's simple technology, Lord Quinn. Just find the corresponding electromagnetic waves and jam them."
The speaker was a four-armed alien pirate with low combat power, but its race was highly skilled in invention and engineering, which was why it was allowed to serve aboard a ship of the Dark Matter Pirates.
Unfortunately for Boros, the only thing he valued in a subordinate was combat strength—weakness itself was a crime.
That was why he could tolerate a subordinate like Kaido—whose head was full of thoughts of betrayal—but had no regard for the life of a loyal technician.
So when this four-armed alien realized that the newly-arrived senior combatant Quinn was interested in technology, it clung to him like a lifeline.
Even at the Dark Matter Pirates' peak, there had never been more than thirty senior combatants on the ship—and back then, not one of them would have even looked twice at a "combat trash" like this alien.
"Outstanding! Truly worthy of being called space pirates! Come on, show me all the other good stuff you've got!"
Quinn excitedly slapped his new underling's shoulder. Sure, the little guy was weak, but the endless stream of new technologies from space was just too tempting.
If he could absorb all of it and rebuild himself with these upgrades, maybe—just maybe—he'd finally be able to give that annoying King a serious beating!
"Achoo!"
Standing at Kaido's side, King suddenly sneezed. Jack, who was in the middle of stuffing his face, glanced over in curiosity—only to be silenced by a single glare from King.
Aside from Quinn—who was fascinated by the Dark Matter Pirates' technology—the Beasts Pirates' other officers were all gathered in a massive temple.
Boros, the alien overlord, had no interest in a lively atmosphere, but he didn't mind if his subordinates enjoyed throwing a feast.
"Oi! We've been sailing for ages now—are you ever going to tell me where the hell we're headed?!"
Kaido, already tipsy from downing a huge barrel of sake, suddenly barked at Boros, who sat at the head of the table.
Once the captain of the Beasts Pirates, Kaido now had to suffer the indignity of sitting beside Boros's throne even at banquets.
It was still a position countless people would kill for—but for the proud and untamed Emperor, it was nothing but a bitter humiliation.
The officers, who had been enjoying themselves a moment earlier, all froze mid-motion, terrified that the slightest noise might set off either Boss Boros or Kaido.
"Ah-ha-ha… Kaido's just joking…"
Normally aloof, King didn't dare maintain his cold image now. He forced a laugh and tried to smooth things over.
Because if these two started fighting, it was never just for show.
The former Beasts Pirates' stronghold—Onigashima—had been reduced to nothing but bare bedrock barely sticking above the waves after one of their "scuffles." At high tide, only a tiny tip of the island could even be seen.
If this were in Wano, everyone could just run and give them space.
But on a spaceship? If a fight broke out here, King could fly and probably get away fine.
The problem was, almost all the Beasts Pirates' officers had Zoan-type Devil Fruits—and not one of them could swim.
But when Boss Boros makes a move, he doesn't seem like the type to care about the people on this ship. For all they know, Kaido's thick skin will keep him fine, but the Beasts Pirates could get wiped out first.
"…I didn't tell you all?"
On the throne, Boros slowly opened his massive single eye. Even without unleashing Conqueror's Haki, for some reason, everyone present felt an oppressive weight.
Even the short-tempered Kaido couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his eye, secretly startled — this cyclops… why does he seem even stronger than before?
"No… I don't think you did…"
The officers looked at each other. After confirming that no one had secretly been told anything, one of the braver ones cautiously spoke up.
"Wait! You're not… planning to go now, are you?"
Kaido suddenly remembered that thing the cyclops had mentioned before.
A single top-level fighter clearly wasn't enough to satisfy Boros. And according to Kizaru's instructions, Boros also had to bring BIG MOM under his banner.
Two Yonko joining forces, plus the mysterious Boros whose strength surpassed even theirs — that lineup would be enough to give the World Government and the Gorosei a real surprise.
"You know, so you can tell them."
Boros merely cast Kaido a faint glance. He was quite satisfied with this top-tier fighter that Kizaru had recommended. Hopefully, the other one he was planning to recruit wouldn't disappoint either.
Kaido ground his teeth, then turned and glared viciously at the curious officers, scaring the questions right out of them.
But Kaido still didn't explain anything. Instead, he just grabbed his sake jar and started gulping it down again.
He refused to believe that this cyclops could really take on both him and BIG MOM at once. As long as he could team up with Linlin to defeat—
No, even if they could just fight to a draw, he'd have a chance to shake off this monster!
The officers were burning with curiosity, but none dared to ask. King seemed to have a vague guess, and he cast a respectful yet wary glance at Boros before lowering his head, already planning how to persuade Kaido.
Only Kaido still thought he had a chance to turn things around. King and Jack had already accepted reality.
As for Queen — he was too busy enjoying the alien technology to care. If Kaido knew what his three All-Stars were thinking, he'd probably blow a gasket.
Meanwhile, the Fleet Admiral promotion ceremony at Marineford continued.
As a veteran Marine who had climbed step by step from the very bottom all the way to the Fleet Admiral's seat, Kizaru was not only a superior in the eyes of the sailors but also an object of admiration.
Under such circumstances, no matter what Kizaru said in his speech, it would be warmly received by the Marines — and even more so when what he had prepared was a full plan to improve Marine benefits across the board.
"…I want every Marine to be cared for in old age. I want the heroes who uphold justice to shed neither blood nor tears… Effective immediately, salaries for all Marine ranks will increase by 20%, pensions by 15%! Marines on the front lines will receive corresponding mission bonuses…"
Standing at the podium, Kizaru spoke with rare seriousness, but his words made countless Marines' faces light up with joy.
Still, not everyone was impressed.
Especially Akainu, standing not far from Kizaru, whose face remained expressionless from start to finish.
In his view, the Marine's duty was to uphold justice, and only the private armies of kings and nobles would need to rely on higher pay to keep morale.
But as someone who had been through it himself, Kizaru knew well — maintaining spiritual conviction requires a solid material foundation. In simpler terms: you need to pay people well.
Of course, just giving money wasn't enough — an army without belief would inevitably fall into decay.
Most Marines naturally didn't dare to speak out at this moment, silently calculating in their heads how many extra Berries they'd be getting. But some people… didn't bother with such restraint.
"Hmm… If salary goes up 20%, then I can get… Tsuru, can you help me calculate how many Berries that would be a month?"
Standing at the edge of the podium, Vice Admiral Garp frowned and tried to do the math for quite a while, before finally giving up on a field he was clearly not good at and choosing instead to ask Vice Admiral Tsuru for help.
Strictly speaking, a headquarters vice admiral—especially a high-ranking officer like Garp—shouldn't be short on money. Unfortunately, Garp was a chronic "spend-it-all-each-month" type who had never learned the meaning of saving. Add to that the occasional fines for disobeying World Government orders, and it wasn't hard to see why Vice Admiral Garp's finances were a little tight.
"Damn it, why is my pension increase smaller than that old mad dog's? Is that kid Borsalino targeting me? … But to raise it all at once like this—won't it cause problems?"
Admiral Zephyr stood with his arms crossed, looking a little displeased. But those who knew him well could tell he was actually in a very good mood.
Even compared to "troublemakers" like Vice Admiral Garp, who routinely had his pay docked, Zephyr's finances weren't exactly flush.
From long before he'd even made admiral, Zephyr had been raising and supporting the orphans of fallen Marines. After retiring, he had devoted all his energy to training the next generation.
In the original timeline, the reason Admiral Zephyr could rally an entire force from within the Marines was precisely because of his decades-long reputation for teaching and supporting Marine recruits.
Now, with an unexpected boost to his pension, he could sponsor even more young Marines—a fact Zephyr considered nothing but good news.
The only thing nagging at him was whether such a massive expenditure would get the World Government and the Five Elders' approval.
After all, salaries already took up a significant share of the Marines' military budget. With over a million Marines, even a 20% raise represented an enormous sum.
°°°
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