Kaido's gaze settled on Queen. If there was one person responsible for the sloppy, undisciplined atmosphere that had seeped into the Beasts Pirates, it was the lead performer standing before him. All Queen seemed to care about were his ridiculous, never-ending banquets, slowly turning a fearsome Yonko crew into a lazy social club. Kaido had no doubt that if left unchecked, Queen's incompetence would eventually lead to a disaster—perhaps one of his own chemical weapons backfiring on their forces. In his own way, he was as much of a liability as Yamato.
"Tell me, Queen," Kaido's voice was dangerously low, cutting through the silence of the hall. "Did you enjoy your party?"
The question, dripping with accusation, made the massive Calamity flinch. Cold sweat poured down his face as he began to tremble. "I-I'm sorry, Governor Kaido! I know I was wrong! It won't happen again, I swear!"
"Hmph." Kaido snorted, not bothering to acknowledge the pathetic apology. He knew Queen would never truly change. It was better to channel his specific talents elsewhere. "I have a new task for you," he said, gesturing toward what everyone believed was the corpse of Kozuki Oden. "Take it."
"Eh?!" Queen looked utterly confused, his mind not yet processing the command. Why would the Governor want him to take a dead body?
"That fool isn't as easy to kill as you think," Kaido added with a dark chuckle.
"What!?" Queen's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the corpse.
Under the incredulous gaze of everyone in the hall, something impossible happened. The severed head on the floor began to flicker and distort before vanishing completely. At the same time, the headless body lying nearby began to change, its form shifting and shrinking until it was no longer the imposing figure of Oden, but an unknown woman with dark hair. The revived woman looked up at Kaido, her face a mask of disbelief and fear.
"H-How is this possible?" she stammered. "Kaido, how did you know?"
Kaido didn't bother to explain. He just looked expectantly at Queen.
A slow, fawning smile spread across Queen's face as understanding dawned. His eyes lit up with scientific curiosity. "Leave it to me, Governor! Someone who can come back from the dead… that's a truly interesting ability to study!"
"Go arrange it," Kaido ordered. "And when King gets back, I have an announcement to make."
"Y-Yes, sir!" Queen eagerly grabbed the prisoner and dragged her out of the hall.
"And what about you?" Kaido's gaze turned to the last outsider remaining.
Fukurokuju watched the prisoner being taken away, his expression grim. Without a moment's hesitation, he dropped to his knees and bowed his head to the floor, pledging his loyalty. "Lord Kaido, from this day forward, the Oniwabanshu will follow your lead!"
"Hmph. A smart choice," Kaido grunted. "Jack, from now on, you will command the Oniwabanshu. Go explain the new arrangement to him, and then come back."
Fukurokuju's expression stiffened as he looked at Jack, whose face was already twisted into a murderous grin. He knew his days would not be easy, but he had no other choice.
"I'll handle them, Governor Kaido," Jack said, his voice a low growl. He then led the nervous Fukurokuju from the room.
Only then did Kaido look at the remaining members of the Flying Six, his tone softening slightly. "Wait here. Once they return, I will announce our next move."
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
About ten minutes later, the Three Calamities had all returned to the great hall. The atmosphere was heavy with anticipation as everyone's eyes were fixed on the imposing figure seated on the throne.
Kaido sat up straight, his powerful gaze sweeping over his top commanders.
"Worororo… Very good. Now that there are no outsiders, it's time I told you my true plan. I imagine you're all curious why your Governor has changed so much recently."
At his words, everyone's eyes lit up—everyone except for Eneru. Indeed, the Calamities and the Flying Six had served Kaido for years; they couldn't possibly miss the drastic shift in his behavior.
King, however, seemed to have already reached his own conclusion. His voice was firm as he said, "No matter how you change, Governor, you will always be our leader!"
Queen let out a wheezing laugh. "Maaamamama! Listen to you, King, trying to be the favorite. But he's right!"
"I agree," Jack grunted from the side.
"Alright!" King said, his expression unchanged. "Let's listen to the Governor."
Everyone refocused their attention on Kaido.
Without wasting any more words, Kaido produced a stack of wanted posters he had prepared earlier. "Look at these carefully," he instructed, his eyes landing on one person in particular. "Especially you, Who's-Who. Then tell me what you find."
After speaking, he leaned back on his throne, quietly waiting.
King took the stack and immediately recognized the face on the first poster—a foolish-looking young man wearing a straw hat. "Monkey D. Luffy. Bounty: 300,000,000. Dead or alive." He was familiar with the rookie, as he had been keeping track of the news from Paradise ever since the Governor's trip there.
The others, however, were less impressed. As high-ranking officers of a Yonko crew in the New World, they had little interest in brats from the first half of the Grand Line.
"Isn't that the Supernova who's been making a name for himself?" Sasaki chimed in. "I heard he defeated Crocodile and caused a commotion at Enies Lobby. Made the Marines and the World Government lose a lot of face."
This detail finally piqued the others' interest, and they gathered around to look.
"Hey, 300,000,000?!" Ulti snatched the poster, her eyes wide with shock. "Are you kidding me? That bounty is actually higher than Pay-Pay's!"
Page One, whose bounty was 290,000,000, flushed with embarrassment. "Hey, sis, you don't have to say it so loudly!" he muttered, though he didn't dare defy his sister.
"This doesn't matter," King said dismissively. "Keep looking."
They looked through the wanted posters one by one. However, aside from the surprisingly high bounties of the pirates named Luffy and Zoro, they couldn't see anything else worth noting.
After they had finished, they all looked at each other in confusion, their gazes finally settling back on Kaido.
King thought for a moment before speaking. "Governor Kaido, besides the Straw Hat's bounty, there doesn't seem to be anything special here."
Kaido grinned, ignoring his right hand. He looked directly at Who's-Who. "What do you think?"
Who's-Who was stunned to be singled out. He had looked extra carefully as ordered, but he honestly hadn't noticed anything unusual. "G-Governor Kaido, I'm sorry. I don't see anything special about these rookies from Paradise."
"What!?" Kaido's grin widened into a sadistic smile. "And what if I told you," he said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, "that this Straw Hat brat ate a Devil Fruit? The Paramecia… Gum-Gum Fruit."
The name hit Who's-Who like a physical blow. It was as if a switch had been flipped deep within his mind. His pupils constricted, his gaze locking onto Luffy's smiling face on the poster. A low growl escaped his lips as his entire body began to tremble violently. Veins bulged on his forehead and his canines elongated into sharp fangs, the first signs of his Ancient Zoan transformation taking hold.
"So that's it," he snarled through gritted teeth, his voice filled with a deep, murderous rage. "So that's where it went!"
This sudden, violent transformation left everyone else in the room completely stunned. They had no idea why Who's-Who was suddenly so agitated. Their expressions turned from confusion to curiosity.
Queen was the first to ask the question on everyone's mind. "What's wrong, Who's-Who? Does this Gum-Gum Fruit have something to do with you?"
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