In a certain sea area in the New World, countless ships were gathered, with the Moby Dick at the center.
That's right, these were all the subordinate pirate ships of the Whitebeard Pirates' Grand Fleet.
All of the Whitebeard Pirates' strength was now concentrated here.
As for their purpose, it naturally went without saying.
Aboard the Moby Dick.
"Pops, everyone from our crew has assembled. We just need your order, and we can charge straight into Impel Down to rescue Thatch!" a division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates said excitedly.
"That's right, charge into Impel Down and save Thatch!"
"Have the Marines forgotten about us Whitebeard Pirates because we've kept a low profile for too long, daring to capture our crewmate?"
"That Marine Canglan Squad's Sabo, right?"
"The Marines' strongest squad? What a joke!! Just watch me go over and beat them down!"
"Pops, make the decision! Charge into Impel Down!!"
"Charge into Impel Down! Charge into Impel Down!!"
...
The roaring shouts echoed continuously from the Moby Dick and the surrounding ships.
Whitebeard, seated at the head, slowly stood up and roared.
"Quiet!!"
His immense voice resounded through the sky, rolling sound waves spreading outwards.
Instantly, everyone's shouting ceased, and all eyes turned to Whitebeard, awaiting his decision.
Whitebeard swept his gaze over his sons, his eyes narrowing slowly, a sharp glint emerging from within, growing increasingly fierce with the passage of time.
After a long while, he suddenly spoke:
"Anyone who boards my ship is my son, your brother or sister! We are family!!"
"And we, the Whitebeard Pirates, never abandon any family member!!"
"Since the Marines have decided to lay hands on our family, they must be prepared to face our wrath!"
Having said this, Whitebeard paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and then let out a mighty roar.
"My sons, follow me and let's raise some hell!!!"
"Wooo!!!!"
...
---
On the other side, a similar situation was unfolding in Totto Land, the New World.
Inside the Whole Cake Chateau, Big Mom, seated at the head, wore a grim expression.
The atmosphere within the castle was incredibly oppressive and silent. After a long while, a man stepped forward, looked at Big Mom, and spoke:
"Mama, Cracker has been captured. We have to rescue him!"
"Moreover, Whitebeard Pirates' Thatch has also been captured. Knowing Whitebeard's style, he will definitely go to rescue him."
"We just need to time our attack on Impel Down with theirs. Then, the pressure on our crew will be much less, and the difficulty of rescuing Cracker will be greatly reduced!"
The man speaking was tall, with combed-back red hair, a muscular build, long legs, and a scarf wrapped around his mouth.
He was Charlotte Katakuri, the eldest of the Big Mom Pirates' Sweet Commanders, the strongest existence in the crew besides Big Mom!!
Katakuri was doing his best to explain to Big Mom that this rescue mission wasn't too difficult.
Because he knew his mother's situation well—she didn't have much affection for her children.
To put it nicely, she considered them her children; to put it bluntly, she considered them tools.
For tools, Big Mom would appropriately assess their value. If the value was insufficient, she would abandon them without hesitation.
Katakuri was very aware of this; in fact, everyone in the Big Mom Pirates knew it well.
So Katakuri had to do his utmost to persuade Big Mom to rescue Cracker, analyzing the pros and cons.
Just like before, when King and Queen from the Beasts Pirates had come to Totto Land to ask Big Mom to rescue Kaido and the others, Big Mom hadn't given them any face at all and had them thrown out.
She was unmoved no matter what generous terms they offered.
Because in Big Mom's view, given the scale of her crew, they weren't qualified to rescue someone from Impel Down. What if they failed and ended up trapped there themselves?
The risks didn't justify the rewards, so Big Mom naturally wasn't willing to do something so foolish.
Thinking this, Katakuri couldn't help but feel relieved that Thatch, Kaido, and the others had also been captured.
Because that way, they could combine the strength of three Yonko crews for the rescue. If it were just Cracker captured and only the Big Mom Pirates involved,
Katakuri was sure, without a doubt, that Big Mom absolutely would not go to save Cracker.
Then Katakuri subtly swept his gaze over his other brothers and sisters present.
Feeling Katakuri's gaze, they nodded almost imperceptibly, then one by one stepped forward to persuade Big Mom.
After a long while, Big Mom suddenly spoke in a deep voice:
"Enough!!"
Instantly, all voices ceased, and everyone's eyes focused on Big Mom.
She still wore a grim expression, a strange light flickering in her eyes. After a long moment, she suddenly spoke:
"Contact the Beasts Pirates. At the same time, send people to monitor the Whitebeard Pirates' movements. Let them make the first move, then we'll follow!"
"Yes, Mama!!"
Hearing this, delight appeared on everyone's faces.
Compared to the lack of mother-child affection between Big Mom and them,
There was sibling bond among themselves, so naturally, they all wanted to rescue Cracker.
Immediately, some people walked out to begin making arrangements.
Big Mom waved her hand and said to the remaining people, "You all leave too."
With that, the rest of them also filed out. Soon, only Big Mom was left in the entire castle.
Sitting on her massive seat, Big Mom's grim face suddenly broke into a smile.
"Ma~ma~ma ma!!"
"Looks like there's going to be a good show this time~"
"The Marines... Kyle!!"
...
---
As the three Yonko crews began their movements, Thatch and Cracker were also imprisoned within Impel Down.
Simultaneously, this news was spread throughout the world by Morgans.
Once again, this caused immense upheaval across the globe.
Although the combined significance of capturing Thatch and Cracker this time wasn't even half of capturing Kaido,
The issue was that anyone with basic common sense knew what the capture of these two implied and the potential consequences it might bring.
The world... might be on the verge of a great war!!
...
---