New World, Mostyn Island.
The harbor blazed beneath towering flames, while mutilated corpses lay scattered everywhere in sight. The port's defense force had already been completely wiped out, and groups of pirate underlings were now brazenly hauling stolen supplies and treasure back onto their ships without the slightest restraint.
Amidst the ruins, Charlotte Linlin sat atop a chunk of broken stone, a newspaper in one hand and a dessert in the other, eating while she read.
"I was starting to think prison had turned my brain rotten," Linlin remarked with emotion. "But damn, Roger really pulled off something enormous this time."
"Pirate King…" Kaido stood behind her, craning his neck to stare at the newspaper as he spoke in confusion. "Why are the Marine and the World Government reacting so strangely to this? Rocks once mentioned the Final Island before, didn't he? That place should be tied to the darkness and hidden past the World Government desperately wants buried. Under those circumstances, shouldn't they be suppressing the news and burying the Roger Pirates beneath the dust of history? Haven't they always handled things that way before?"
"How should I know?" Linlin muttered carelessly before grinning. "Maybe they all lost their minds."
Then she chuckled again and continued, "Good thing Katakuri ran fast enough back then and managed to take my Road Poneglyph with him too. Once we get back to Totto Land, we can take our time searching for the other Poneglyphs and that Final Island ourselves."
"You can't even read them, so what exactly are you planning to search with?" Kaido mocked.
After a brief pause, he continued, "Besides, Whole Cake Island's already been reduced to ruins, so what's the point of going back there? I already told you before I got captured by that bastard Garp that I'd found the perfect location for a headquarters. Have you heard of Wano Country? The terrain there is practically impregnable. Unless you understand the trick behind its geography, ordinary people can't even figure out how to land there. On top of that, the country possesses incredibly rich mineral resources, with Seastone reserves among the highest in the world, and it already has an established military manufacturing industry along with countless skilled craftsmen…"
"Your information is already outdated, idiot." Linlin snapped the newspaper shut as she spoke.
Truthfully, neither Linlin nor Kaido reacted all that strongly to Roger being crowned Pirate King or to the absurd explosion in the Roger Pirates' bounty figures. Their reactions were nowhere near as intense as Shiki's.
The reason was simple.
They simply weren't operating on the same level as Shiki yet.
Shiki was genuinely fighting for supremacy over the pirate world. Now that a Pirate King had suddenly descended out of nowhere, how could he possibly not lose his mind over it?
As for Linlin and Kaido, they didn't even possess a proper headquarters yet. What was the point of worrying about such lofty matters? Better to take things one step at a time.
"Outdated information?" Kaido frowned deeply. "What do you mean by that?"
"After you told me about Wano Country, I immediately sent people to investigate," Linlin explained. "Not long ago, my intelligence network reported back that Wano had already been conquered by the Roger Pirates around the same time you were captured. Afterward, the Jaygarcia family — one of the Five Elder families in Mary Geoise — dispatched a massive number of personnel to rebuild the country's social structure. Obviously, that bastard Valthior took a liking to Wano just like you did and intends to turn it into his own base of operations. The only thing unclear right now is whether this was the Roger Pirates' decision or the Celestial Dragons' decision. But regardless of whose plan it was, if we head to Wano now, we'll inevitably become enemies with Valthior."
"What!?" Kaido erupted in shock and fury. "Damn it, they beat us to it! See!? I told you Wano was incredible — otherwise why would they have chosen it too!?"
After a pause, Kaido added, "As for being enemies, I don't really hold a grudge against them, but you, on the other hand, can't stand Roger, right? And then there's that Whole Cake Island mess — you two are already at each other's throats. So why hold back? Let's just go to Wano Country and make a scene!"
"See? That's why I said you're a complete idiot," Charlotte Linlin glared at him. "Tell me, with the cards we've got right now, do you really think we can provoke the Five Elder families of Mary Geoise, or take on Roger's crew of hardcore fighters?"
The Five Elder families — especially the Jaygarcia family — wield the authority of scientific defense and military power, controlling both the Marines and CP. If you dared mess with them, they could unleash the full might of the Marines and CP against you, making life hell every day. Linlin wasn't arrogant enough to assume she could handle that.
As for the Roger Pirates, she had already learned her lesson back at Whole Cake Island.
So Linlin was willing to exercise patience. In her eyes, now was not the time to seek conflict; it was the time to lay low and strengthen her forces.
Both she and Kaido still needed time to grow.
Before Kaido could say anything, Linlin continued, "Even though Whole Cake Island has been reduced to ruins, its geographic advantages remain. There are countless surrounding islets, abundant marine and human resources, and no allied nations nearby, making it perfect for our operations. I already have a full plan ready — as soon as we return, we can implement it immediately. Since we've agreed to work together, I'll be the one calling the shots, Kaido! You'll follow my lead on this."
At present, Linlin's power surpassed Kaido's. Though her forces had suffered setbacks, she still held the upper hand, not to mention her far richer experience and their shared history.
So even though Kaido had proposed the alliance, Linlin would take the lead — he would have to call her the "Big Boss."
Grumbling inwardly, Kaido reluctantly admitted she was right, and considering that Wano had already been taken by others, he eventually gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, then we'll go to Whole Cake Island."
With that settled, the two quickly began bickering again — this time over the name of the pirate crew they were forming together.
Linlin naturally wanted to continue using the Big Mom Pirates name, while Kaido stubbornly insisted on the "Beasts" moniker. Neither was willing to yield.
It seemed unlikely they would reach an agreement any time soon.
...
Aboard the White Whale, the Moby Dick. Newgate glanced at the newspaper proclaiming Roger as Pirate King, his expression tinged with complexity.
He wasn't jealous, nor did he feel threatened — just a strange mix of emotions. As both a friend and rival of Roger, Newgate's heart was broad, and he felt genuinely pleased for Roger in this moment.
Not because Roger had become Pirate King, but because he had achieved his dream — a feeling that stirred a bit of envy in Newgate.
In the original story, Roger, terminally ill, had known his time was short. After fulfilling his dream, he bid farewell to his friends, including a special invitation to Newgate for drinks, during which they discussed Roger's lineage and the mysteries of Laugh Tale.
But in this world, things were different. Roger, though he had lost over sixty billion Berries at Laugh Tale, was in perfect health. In a way, losing the treasure had spared him from misfortune. The timeline had been drastically altered: Roger had found Laugh Tale nearly ten years earlier than he would have otherwise, so he had no reason to fall ill now.
Without a terminal illness looming over him, Roger had no intention of seeking Newgate out for drinks. He hadn't contacted him, and thus Newgate didn't know that the Roger Pirates were planning to disband.
"Now that the seas call you the Pirate King, what's your next move? I must admit, I'm curious, Roger…" Newgate clicked his tongue, folded the newspaper, and gazed into the distance.
Nearby, beneath a mast, Polo Gram ooked at Bullet's bounty poster, rubbing Marco's head as his teeth practically ached from annoyance. "Damn it, the Devil Fruit your old man tracked down for you was actually eaten by this guy. The Phoenix… sounds incredibly incredible..."
Marco, still a kid, shrugged casually. "Forget it. Looks like I wasn't meant for that fruit. I'll find the right one myself when the time comes."
"That's a Mythical Zoan. You think it's a cabbage or something?" Gram shot Marco a sideways glare.
It was more teasing than resentment — he bore no real grudge, especially since Roger had spared his life.
"The Pirate King… tsk tsk. Lost to them, and yet it's no longer humiliating," Gram murmured, shaking his head.
"I'd never even heard of any title like 'Pirate King' before, but now that it exists, I won't stand on ceremony. I will absolutely find a way to make Pops Whitebeard become the Pirate King too!" Marco stated with a face full of absolute seriousness.
"You're still a long way off, brat!" Gram burst into a hearty laugh.
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