Chapter 20 The World's Strongest Man On Move.
Hayori didn't have time to relax as Enma in her hand started draining her Haki and vitality at a visible rate.
Her slender arm began to shrink as if all the moisture in it was being sucked away. Her hand looked like that of a mummy.
Hayori fell to one knee as she bit her lip and glared at Enma.
"Give it back!"
she shouted as Armament Haki coated her arm, trying to stop Enma.
Enma hummed as if it were angry but did not return the Haki and vitality it had stolen.
Hayori glared as her grip tightened around Enma.
"I. SAID. GIVE. IT. BACK!"
Enma hummed again and finally returned the Haki and vitality it had stolen.
Hayori's hand returned to normal.
She sheathed Enma and Ame-no-Habakiri back at her waist.
Yamato and Ragnar were already standing near her, keeping guard against any pirates who might attack while Hayori was down.
"Well, you done?"
Ragnar looked back and asked.
Hayori nodded.
Yamato turned toward her.
"Tsk... still can't control that hot-tempered sword?"
Hayori smiled.
"Not yet, but I will in the future."
Yamato grinned.
"Of course you will. Otherwise, you'll be left behind because me and Ragnar are gonna become the strongest."
"I won't be left behind."
Hayori said with determination.
Ragnar smiled and turned toward his ship.
"Hey, Toto, come and take Hayori back to the ship and treat her injuries."
"Yes, Young Master."
A man with a fox-like face rushed toward Ragnar and the others from the ship.
"Leave Lady Hayori to me."
Toto quickly picked Hayori up and dashed toward the ship, shouting,
"Oi, Coco! Come and treat Lady Hayori!"
"Hey! Stop treating me like I'm about to die. They're just superficial wounds."
Hayori bonked Toto on the head.
"Owww!"
Toto released Hayori and clutched his head in pain.
"I was just trying to help,"
he complained.
Hayori scolded him as Coco, the ship's doctor, came over and started treating Hayori's injuries.
"Phew... they're just superficial injuries, just like Lady Hayori said."
Coco breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Yamato and Ragnar turned toward the man who was approaching them.
"Yo, Uncle Hanafuda! Long time no see."
Yamato raised her hand in greeting.
Hanafuda walked toward them with a helpless sigh.
"You two really are something. To cause such a commotion the moment you arrive."
"Well, those bastards didn't know what was good for them. Too bad we had to finish them quickly."
Ragnar looked around with a helpless expression.
"And it looks like we can't stay here for long. Some rats are finding it hard to control themselves."
he muttered.
"Hm? Is Young Master worried about those rats? Should I take care of them?"
Hanafuda asked.
Ragnar shook his head.
"It's not those rats who are troublesome. It's the masters of those rats. And we know our limits."
"If two or more Vice Admirals are dispatched, Yamato and I won't be able to handle them."
Yamato huffed and crossed her arms.
"Well, no need to worry. As long as we two are together, no one can stop us."
Ragnar looked at her.
Yamato met his gaze.
Both grinned and bumped fists.
Neither of them spoke it aloud, but both silently agreed.
Hanafuda looked at the two of them.
"Dadadada... as expected of Young Master and Young Lady."
"But don't worry. As long as we're on Hachinosu, no one will dare attack us."
As they kept chatting, the three of them walked toward a hotel.
After talking for a while, Ragnar took the Devil Fruits from Hanafuda.
Then Yamato and Ragnar walked back toward their ship alongside Hanafuda.
---
Far away from Hachinosu, atop the Red Line, stood the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, where the Celestial Dragons lived.
Inside the mythical city, within the Room of Authority in Pangaea Castle...
The Gorosei sat around their table as the Den Den Mushi finished its report and fell silent.
The Gorosei remained silent before looking at one another.
"That bastard Kaido really hid his daughter well."
St. Peter said as he stroked his beard.
"That is not the important point."
St. Saturn said as he continued,
"First Ragnar, a boy who awakened his Conqueror's Haki at the age of eight with an unrecorded Mythical Zoan Dragon Fruit. A child with the potential of a Yonko."
"Now Yamato, Kaido's daughter, also possesses Conqueror's Haki and another Mythical Dragon Zoan with ice abilities, which is also an unrecorded Devil Fruit."
St. Topman Warcury rested his chin on his hands.
"The Beast Pirates now have two people with Yonko-level potential."
"It's concerning."
St. Nusjuro frowned and looked at everyone.
"Should we send CP?"
Everyone understood what he meant.
St. Saturn shook his head.
"Not yet."
"If we move now, Kaido will go berserk."
"And with only those low-level CP agents, they won't be able to deal with Ragnar and Yamato."
"Plus, Hanafuda is there."
St. Mars nodded.
"Indeed."
"If we want to take them down, we'll need a strong team. At least a few Vice Admiral-level fighters."
"And with Hanafuda added to the mix, the CP spies on Hachinosu won't be able to deal with them."
"And if we make a move against them now, Kaido might go berserk."
"If the Beast Pirates go berserk, it will become quite troublesome."
"And the loss of our supply of Seastone and weapons will cause us massive damage."
St. Topman said.
St. Mars nodded.
"But we can't just act as if we've seen nothing."
The others fell into deep thought.
Finally, St. Peter spoke.
"Send some CP agents to launch an attack once they leave Hachinosu."
"Make it look like a pirate attack."
"If they manage to take down Yamato or Ragnar, it would be good."
"But even if they fail, it won't matter much."
St. Nusjuro said.
"I second that."
---
On a massive whale-shaped ship, a man with a crescent-shaped white beard sat drinking from a gourd.
Even in his human form, he looked like a mini giant.
A massive bisento rested beside him.
Around the ship, the Whitebeard Pirates were drinking, laughing, and shouting.
As Newgate looked at everyone, a gentle fatherly smile appeared on his face.
This was his family.
The very thing he had set sail to find.
His greatest treasure.
His sons.
Just then, a man ran toward him.
"Pops! We got some news from Hachinosu—"
The moment he said that, all eyes turned toward him.
The man gulped nervously just as a majestic voice echoed.
"Gurararara! Speak, boy. No need to be so nervous."
Newgate said as his laughter echoed throughout the ship.
The man gulped.
"P-Pops... it's Kaido—"
Before he could finish, another man interrupted.
"Hmm? What's this about? Did that madman attack Hachinosu?"
"Well, if it's Kaido, it's not impossible."
Marco muttered.
The others nodded.
The man shook his head violently.
"N-No! It's his kids..."
The man explained everything.
Everyone listened in silence as the entire deck fell quiet.
Newgate was the one who finally broke the silence.
"Gurararara... Looks like Kaido got himself some monstrous kids."
"Only fourteen or fifteen, yet they already possess all three types of Haki."
Marco walked toward Newgate.
"It's not just impressive, Pops."
"They're monsters."
"And those brats have two unknown Dragon-type Mythical Zoans."
"You know how strong those types are, right?"
"Quite the siblings."
"To possess both the aptitude of kings and Mythical Zoans at such a young age."
Vista muttered.
The Whitebeard Pirates started discussing among themselves.
The man who had brought the news swallowed nervously, his back drenched in sweat.
"P-Pops... there's something more..."
Everyone turned toward him.
Newgate narrowed his eyes as the man continued.
"I-It's Ochiku..."
"H-He sent some pictures of their crew..."
The man handed over the photographs with shaking hands.
Newgate took them.
The pictures were of Yamato and Ragnar standing in front of Hayori after she had been affected by Enma.
The moment Newgate's eyes landed on the two familiar swords at the girl's waist...
His Conqueror's Haki exploded.
BOOOOOOM!!
Blood-red lightning crackled around the Moby Dick.
Many pirates rolled their eyes back and collapsed unconscious, foaming at the mouth.
THUD!
THUD!
Veterans like Marco, Vista, and Jozu took several steps back as sweat covered their foreheads.
The calm sea became violent. The once-clear blue sky was covered in storm clouds. The world itself was reacting to the wrath of a Yonko.
This was the power of someone standing at the apex of the sea.
"P-Pops... wh-what happened?"
Marco muttered.
Even though the Conqueror's Haki wasn't directed at him, speaking had become difficult.
Jozu and Vista swallowed hard as a single question echoed in their minds.
What could make Pops so angry?
Newgate's Haki slowly calmed as he continued studying the photograph.
More specifically...
...the girl holding Enma and Ame-no-Habakiri.
The twin swords of Kozuki Oden.
His sworn brother.
After calming down, he finally noticed the girl's face.
"Toki...?"
The name escaped his mouth.
His eyes narrowed in shock and confusion.
The girl looked like an exact copy of Toki.
After thinking for a while, Newgate turned toward Marco.
"Marco."
"Go to Hachinosu."
"Keep those brats on the island."
"Jozu, Vista... move the Moby Dick toward Hachinosu at full speed."
The three exchanged confused glances before nodding.
"Leave it to me, Pops."
With that, Marco shot into the sky in his blue phoenix form.
The Moby Dick also began moving toward Hachinosu.
Newgate looked toward the sea with sadness, anger, and confusion on his face.
---
On Hachinosu's Skull Mountain, Ochiku drank while laughing.
"Sasasasasa! Those brats dared challenge my authority on Hachinosu."
"Let's see how they deal with Newgate without Kaido."
The pirates around him drank and laughed.
"As expected of Boss. You truly are smart."
"Those brats are done for now."
They cheered and laughed.
"Sasasasasa!"
"Even if Kaido finds out, it'll take him time to arrive at Hachinosu."
"He'll be too late."
Ochiku drank bottle after bottle, unaware that he had just turned Hachinosu into the battlefield of two Yonko.
---
At Navy Headquarters, Marineford...
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office, Sengoku looked at the intelligence report before him.
"Damn that Kaido."
"What kind of monsters did he give birth to?"
Nearby, Garp laughed while eating senbei.
"Bwahahaha! Those brats are quite the monsters."
"Fifteen and already possessing all three types of Haki."
Tsuru was about to say something when a soldier suddenly burst into the office.
Before anyone could reprimand him, he saluted.
"Fleet Admiral! It's urgent!"
"It's the Whitebeard Pirates!"
"They're on the move!"
"What?!"
Sengoku shot to his feet.
Even Garp and Tsuru fell silent.
A Yonko was a walking disaster.
Every move they made could change the entire New World.
And the man moving was Edward Newgate...
The Strongest Man in the World.
"S-Sir!"
"The Whitebeard Pirates are moving toward Hachinosu."
"Marco the Phoenix is flying alone straight toward Hachinosu."
"And we just received news from the New World Navy Branch."
The man swallowed as sweat covered his forehead.
Sengoku glared at him.
"Out with it."
"What could be worse than a Yonko?"
"S-Sir..."
"The reports say they've seen storm clouds moving toward Hachinosu..."
"...and some have seen a massive shadow within those storm clouds. An Azure Dragon is moving toward Hachinosu like a storm."
Sengoku's face went pale.
He had the answer to his own question.
Another Yonko was on the move.
"This is bad."
"Who is in the New World right now?"
"It's Kuzan."
Tsuru replied.
The New World was Yonko territory, so an Admiral was always stationed there.
"Send him to Hachinosu."
"Newgate and Kaido will clash if they meet each other."
Sengoku muttered, already feeling a headache coming on.
Even Garp fell silent.
"But why is Newgate on the move?"
he muttered as his eyes widened in realization.
"Well... this is going to be messy."
Tsuru and Sengoku had already realized what Garp meant.