El said plainly.
"The Donquixote Family?" King frowned.
He knew only that his crew sought full control of the Artificial Zoan Devil Fruit supply chain, and that the Donquixote Family—once its sole master—seemed to be loosening their grip.
As for why… word had it that Donquixote Doflamingo had "chosen a better roost."
Even now, King found it hard to believe a former Warlord, strong enough to serve as a top officer in an Emperor's crew, would quietly defect to another.
But facts were facts: the Donquixote Family's hold over the industry had indeed weakened, and the Beasts Pirates—their long‑standing trading partners—had noticed immediately.
They had begun shifting their own forces into place, resolved that if the Donquixotes were stepping back, they would hand everything over to the Beasts Pirates entirely.
That realization had set every plan in motion.
"Could you be…" El had made his meaning clear enough; how could King not guess?
"…Captain of the El Pirates?" King stammered.
El nodded faintly. "That's right. I am El."
Sweat beaded on King's brow. He knew exactly who El was: once a division commander in the Whitebeard Pirates, and one of the most distinguished of their number—before striking out on his own, making headlines across the seas.
But the Beasts Pirates and El's crew had never crossed paths.
Why would they suddenly turn on them?
"You're wondering why I've set my sights on you, aren't you?"
El read his thoughts as if they were spoken aloud.
After a brief pause, King nodded.
"We have never clashed before. Why do you provoke the Beasts Pirates?!"
He had felt El's power firsthand; the rumors that had filled the papers were no exaggeration.
This man truly had the strength to back them up.
King fought for every second, desperate to buy time or find an opening to flee—for the last time he had felt so outmatched, so certain even escape was impossible, was standing before Kaido himself.
"Hahaha…" El shook his head.
"You are far too naive. Who said I came looking for trouble? It is you who have trampled all over my crew! If I had not stumbled upon this, I would never have known you planned to move against the Donquixote Family! Does the Beasts Pirates not know who Doflamingo serves now?"
El's voice rang sharp and unyielding.
King swallowed hard, unable to find a retort.
In truth, El was right: they had struck first.
As Doflamingo's new captain, El had every right to defend his crew.
Pirates cared little for rightful cause, but moral standing still counted for something—and against such overwhelming might, King knew he would never win this war of words.
"Then let us make a deal," King said, his mind racing.
"We will abandon all claim to Caesar. Let me leave, and the Beasts Pirates will make amends."
El stared, then laughed. "You overestimate your standing. Do you truly think I fear the Beasts Pirates? You have no idea—two of your three All‑Stars are already my prisoners!"
"What?!" King reeled.
He had wondered how El had found this place; now it all made sense. Queen and Jack were already in El's hands.
"What have you done with them?!" King's tone darkened, his face shadowed behind his black mask.
"Done with them? Why, captured them, of course." El shrugged casually.
"And you will be next. I wonder what becomes of the Beasts Pirates when all three of their strongest commanders are gone?"
"Capture me? Come and try!"
King feinted a lunge, then twisted sharply backward, unfurling his great wings as he surged upward, shifting toward his true form as a giant pteranodon to take flight.
King remained cool and calculating.
He held a unique position in the crew—and he was the last living member of his entire race.
His command over fire stemmed directly from his Lunarian blood; he was the final survivor of a people born to wield flame.
In every sense, he was one of the most precious beings alive.
El knew little of the Lunarians or their vanished legacy, but that hardly mattered.
To capture one of the Beasts Pirates' three greatest officers was reason enough to act.
For his part, King could only curse his luck: he had come only to seize Caesar, and instead walked straight into El's trap.
The Beasts Pirates stood among the absolute strongest crews on the Grand Line, and King—one of their elite—had few rivals anywhere in the New World, even without the Emperor's name to back him.
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