Big Mom listened with visible disdain and let out a cold snort.
"The World Government has stood for eight hundred years. No one knows how deep their foundation truly runs. Without the One Piece, even our Three Emperors Alliance would struggle to bring them down."
Her sharp eyes fixed on Marco.
"Your strength is indeed remarkable. But you felt it yourself in battle, did you not? The Five Elders are troublesome because of their immortality. And beyond them, there are the God's Knights among the Celestial Dragons."
Her tone grew heavier.
"Those Celestial Dragons are not the useless nobles who hide beneath bubble helmets. The God's Knights are the elite among them. Each one possesses terrifying strength, and they also have immortality. During the God Valley incident more than thirty years ago, this old lady personally fought one of them."
Kaido's expression turned solemn.
He had briefly clashed with the Five Elders earlier, and their immortality had indeed been difficult to handle. Still, if Marco's analysis about Conqueror's Haki was accurate, defeating them was not impossible.
The real uncertainty lay with the God's Knights.
At God Valley, Kaido had also encountered members of the God's Knights. Back then, he had been far weaker and stood no chance against them.
Now, however, things were different.
Even so, one question remained. How many God's Knights were there?
The Five Elders were confirmed to be five in number. The God's Knights, on the other hand, were a mystery. If their ranks numbered in the dozens, it would be manageable. If they numbered in the hundreds or more, the situation would become far more complicated.
On one point, Big Mom was absolutely correct. No one truly understood the depth of the World Government's eight centuries of power.
Marco looked at her with a faintly exasperated expression.
"Since when did you become so cautious? The Marines just reduced your base to rubble, and you are not even considering striking back?"
Big Mom's face flushed with fury, as if smoke might rise from her very skin.
Marco gave a cold snort.
"I still advocate taking the initiative and attacking Mary Geoise. Why should they be the only ones allowed to strike? Why should we always respond? In the end, we are pirates. You are free to chase the One Piece. I am free to choose my own path."
"Hey, Marco, do not act recklessly," Big Mom snapped, her voice suddenly tense. "We formed this alliance together. It was because you attacked Mary Geoise that we faced retaliation from the Marines and the World Government in the first place."
Marco rolled his eyes, unimpressed.
"If they were seeking revenge, they would have come directly for me. Instead, they targeted you. There is only one explanation. The existence of the Three Emperors Alliance forced the Marines to act. Whether I attack Mary Geoise or not, the Big Mom Pirates would still have been in their sights."
Big Mom slammed her palm onto the table, cracking it under her strength.
"Marco, what are you implying? Do you think this old lady is the weakest among us?"
"I never said that," Marco replied calmly, spreading his hands. Then he added with a slight edge, "But your territory is the closest to Marine Headquarters. If I were Sakazuki, I would have chosen you first as well."
Her expression darkened.
"Are you trying to provoke me?"
Before the tension could explode, Kaido intervened.
"Enough, Linlin. Marco is simply stating facts. There is no need to take it personally."
That only made her angrier.
"Kaido, are you looking to die as well?"
Kaido merely drank from his gourd, unfazed.
Since awakening his Devil Fruit, he had felt a profound surge of power. After battling Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr, his confidence had only grown. Even if Garp and Sengoku fought him together, he believed he could defeat them.
As for the Five Elders, their regeneration was formidable, but the pressure they exerted in direct combat did not surpass that of Garp and Sengoku. Their immortality was their greatest weapon, not their raw combat strength.
Seeing Kaido completely disregard her threat, Big Mom's fury intensified. Yet beneath that anger, there was a trace of bitter awareness.
The recent war had exposed harsh truths.
The Big Mom Pirates had suffered enormous losses. Her one hundred thousand Homies were destroyed. Her once overwhelming numerical advantage had vanished. Within the alliance, she had undeniably become the weakest pillar. Worse still, her territory was geographically closest to the Marines and the World Government.
Big Mom glared at both men, then grabbed a large cake and bit into it savagely, as if venting her rage through the act of eating.
Kaido finally turned to Marco with a serious look.
"I am not opposed to attacking Mary Geoise. But the timing is not right. As allies, we advance and retreat together. If you launch an assault alone, the World Government will retaliate. We will be forced into direct conflict with the Marines again. That will only drain our strength."
He paused.
"You have seen their power. A single Emperor crew cannot withstand a full Marine offensive."
Marco did not dismiss the point.
"That is precisely why I advocate striking first. If we sit idle searching for the One Piece, the Marines will conduct another World Military Draft. They will gather forces from the Grand Line and the Four Seas. The longer we delay, the stronger they become."
Kaido and Big Mom both fell silent.
When they formed the alliance, they had declared loudly that they would overthrow the World Government and dominate the seas. Yet deep down, neither of them truly believed the World Government could be easily defeated.
Kaido, in particular, had once dreamed of igniting a world-spanning war, dragging those high and mighty Celestial Dragons down into chaos to force true equality upon the world.
But as he matured and learned more of the world's history, doubt had crept in.
The World Government had endured for eight centuries. Even Joy Boy had failed to overthrow it. Could he truly succeed where Joy Boy had not?
Why did he still cling to the idea of launching a world-scale war?
Perhaps it had become an excuse, a justification for pursuing the One Piece.
Yet that contradiction lingered in his mind.
If his true goal was war against the World Government, why was he still so fixated on the One Piece?
Was it simply because he was a pirate?