Queen was very angry. He had put in a lot of effort for these bananas, and just as they were about to be harvested, a thief appeared to steal them. No, this wasn't theft; it was blatant robbery.
He was the esteemed Queen, the fourth-in-command of the Hundred Beasts Pirates, on the same level as Arceus and Kaidou. Ahead of him were Shaina and King, but being fourth-in-command still made him a high-level official, and he had his temper too.
Moreover, Queen had accumulated a lot of resentment. Fights among the officers of the Hundred Beasts Pirates were normal. Shaina and King sparred frequently, but because he came from a research background, he never knew when trouble would come his way.
Though most of the time things were peaceful, unexpected incidents happened frequently, like the unfortunate bounty notice incident he encountered.
He couldn't defeat officers around his age, and those he could beat were too young. If he dragged Olga to practice with him, Shaina and Kaidou would have him training with them in a few days. The "group pet" aspect of the intern wasn't a joke.
On the other hand, the Hundred Beasts Pirates had now established internal regulations, limiting him to only scolding subordinates when they made mistakes.
As for some experiments, they could only be tried on stubborn pirates who refused to surrender.
Kaidou was very astute. If someone could manage the pirate group's affairs in an orderly manner, it would free him up to do what he really wanted to do.
As long as one didn't approach a drunken Kaidou, the Hundred Beasts Pirates didn't have any significant danger.
Queen had undergone a change; the ability of Tropius afforded him more modification schemes for himself, and combining some abilities, he developed more fighting techniques.
Some research had become a personal hobby rather than a necessity.
"So it was you guys who stole the bananas I cultivated, huh?" A group of pirates from the Hundred Beasts gathered behind Queen and continued to confront BIG MOM's crew. The person who had his face covered with candy earlier was also dragged over.
Their physical strength was far superior to ordinary people, so they hadn't suffocated in this short amount of time.
Officers were the backbone of the pirates. Queen's presence gave them confidence.
"Lick, lick~ This is something Mama needs, and you should be grateful to offer it up willingly."
Perospero licked his candy wand, unimpressed by the attack of seeds Queen had previously launched.
"Offer it up? Who do you think I am? You should all disappear from this island! Use your bodies as fertilizer to compensate for my lost bananas!"
Queen's body began to swell, and a massive upright human-shaped Tropius appeared before them. A burst of green energy began to coalesce in his mouth, and then an Energy Ball was launched.
Seeing the incoming Energy Ball, a large amount of syrup appeared in Perospero's hand, forming a tall candy wall.
Perospero had eaten the Lick-Lick Fruit, becoming a candy man capable of producing candies and syrup of various shapes. The syrup he produced could erode and infect other objects, turning them into candies as well.
The solidified candy was exceptionally hard. The candy wall he made was enough to withstand bombardment. Although the Energy Ball created some cracks on the wall, it was not directly destroyed.
However, the fragmented candy that exploded out injured the nearby bananas. Seeing the bananas split in half and falling to the ground, both Queen and Perospero wore grim expressions.
Queen felt terrible because his bananas were destroyed, and Perospero felt the same because before he left, he confidently assured Big Mom that he would bring these bananas back.
Furthermore, to showcase his ability, he refused to bring his other siblings along, coming only with some pirates under him.
There was no pirate flag flying here. Queen originally thought that some people aspiring to gain fame would specifically challenge territories marked by others.
This was initially an uninhabited desert island, and without a pirate flag, no one should come knocking.
Only, BIG MOM's crew initially sought some wild bananas for emergencies and accidentally stumbled upon Queen's plantation instead.
The young Charlotte Linlin was captivated by the taste of these bananas. If they couldn't bring the bananas back or destroy them...
Perospero broke out in a cold sweat, unwilling to imagine the consequences.
Big Mom's patience for failure was far less than Kaidou's. Even her own children were no exception.
Resolving the enemy through the quickest and least collateral method was the thought simultaneously running through both Queen and Perospero's minds.
Initially, they started fighting directly over the bananas, not paying attention to the symbols on each other's bodies. Now, coaxed into calmness by the bananas once again, they noticed the marks.
The tattoo on Queen's right shoulder and the emblem on the chest of BIG MOM's pirates.
However, this didn't resolve anything. Queen knew from the earlier phone call that Kaidou and Big Mom had some personal connections. When Kaidou was on Rocks' ship, Perospero was already born and knew about the relationship between Kaidou and his mother.
But this connection wasn't strong enough to make the two pirate groups stop fighting. When interests clashed, even Kaidou and Big Mom wouldn't hold onto old ties.
None of them initiated a continued fight, realizing that the fight's aftermath would certainly destroy the bananas. Queen couldn't let go of the bananas, while Perospero couldn't let go of himself.
If the bananas were gone, Queen could most likely wait another half a year to cultivate new banana seedlings, but Perospero couldn't be so sure.
Neither moved momentarily, each calculating their own schemes. For instance, syrup was quietly seeping from beneath Perospero's feet.
"These are what Mama wants. Since this is Hundred Beasts territory, how about I buy these bananas at a high price?"
He wasn't afraid of Queen; he feared Big Mom's anger. However, Queen showed no inclination to give him face.
"Dream on. All the bananas are mine, and no one is taking a single one from me!"
"That's a pity then.... Candy Waves!"
The ground suddenly surged with a large amount of syrup, thick syrup rolling like waves towards Queen.
What he said earlier was true; if money could solve it, it wasn't a problem. But with Queen's refusal, he could only resort to this method to get what he wanted.
Queen sneered; Perospero hadn't noticed that the leaves on Queen's back had started to glow, with solar power gradually gathering on them.
While he intended to catch Queen off guard, Queen had a similar plan.