Whether to maintain an order that has already rotted to the core, or to try to save it and inject it with new blood, or be resolute and cut off the diseased limb, completely overthrowing the current rule and trying a new order. These are the differing ideas held by those who care about the situation of the seas.
Fujitora, Kuzan, Dragon, Akainu—they all have their own thoughts, but they are destined to walk different paths.
Kuzan was still pondering the impact of war, speculating about what the future might look like, while Kaido had already sat back down. He had said what he wanted to say. Next was Arceus's turn.
And what Arceus had to say was actually quite simple. It concerned the Lunarian race.
"800 years ago, the people known as the tribe of gods, the Lunarians, lived atop the Red Line. They could survive in almost any environment and possessed exceptional talent.
As long as information about a Lunarian is provided, a bounty of one hundred million Berries can be obtained. This is something you're all familiar with.
Since we've already come this far, there's no need to keep covering things up. Don't you agree, Shayna, Alber?"
This time, Arceus did not use the alias 'King,' but instead used King's real name.
The fact that they were Lunarians was indeed unknown at first, but as the Beasts Pirates grew larger and stronger, this name was only concealed from the lower ranks.
Those high-ranking figures in the World Government and the Marines had long since guessed the truth more or less. They simply chose not to say it out loud.
They had already conducted extensive research on the Lunarians. The birth of the Seraphim was one such example.
Through studying their lineage, Vegapunk had even created weapons like these.
That being the case, further research likely wouldn't yield much. But even then, if they encountered a lone Lunarian, they would still certainly make a move.
But facing two individuals who were already formidable, with the massive Beasts Pirates standing behind them, forcibly capturing them would be a losing proposition. Doing so wouldn't even be as profitable as capturing Queen instead.
Their concealment was meant to reduce trouble.
However, the Lunarians were ultimately a race meant to live under the sun. They could not remain in the shadows forever. In the past, it was to reduce unnecessary conflict. Now, with preparations so thorough, there was naturally no longer any need.
Moreover, the final battle was not far off. If, at the last stage, someone chose to betray them for money, it could trigger a chain reaction.
If there really were such people, it would be better to clean them out in advance. Those currently stationed in Wano Country were the very core of the core. If even these people couldn't be trusted, then the entire pirate crew would be unusable.
"From now on, you don't need to hide anything. Lunarians are a race you can be proud of, a glorious bloodline. From this point forward, no one will harbor any designs towards this race.
Sun rises again after it sets. Though the glory of the past has faded, a new dawn has already appeared."
"Worororo! That's right, exactly like this. I said it back then, I wouldn't let anyone take you away, and I also wouldn't hand you over to anyone.
Now that things have come to this, go and take back what you lost yourselves!"
Arceus had already given Shayna and King a heads-up beforehand, so they were mentally prepared. Even though they belonged to the same pirate crew, it was rare for the others to see their true faces.
Even Jack, the newly appointed Calamity, was seeing the true appearances of Shayna and King for the first time, but it didn't cause any commotion.
Jack was the type who didn't know much about such matters to begin with. Asking him to read history books would be far less practical than having him help Page One with baiting for fishing.
Among the remaining people, some had already seen their faces, while others had long anticipated it. For example, Doflamingo wore an expression that said "just as I thought."
"So that's how it is. The former tribe of gods and the current tribe of gods. This is a blood feud that can never be set aside.
Fuffuffuffu… then can those bunch of b*stards withstand the tide of revenge? I'm really looking forward to the ending."
Others might forget the Lunarians, but the Celestial Dragons would not. Although Doflamingo had left the Holy Land at a very young age, through later efforts he had still managed to obtain certain information and materials.
"And then there's that so-called natural enemy of the gods—the D clan. The world seems even more interesting than I imagined."
Kuzan made no particular statement. This was an issue that had already been discussed among the Marines' higher-ups .It was just that no one had taken the initiative to tear away that veil. He hadn't expected the Beasts Pirates to lift it themselves.
Kuzan had already grasped the deeper implication: this was the Beasts Pirates signaling their stance to the World Government—come at us if you dare, and see whether we dare to fight you.
If anyone was truly shocked, it was Yamato alone.
She had only seen Shayna and King's true faces during the two years when she was too young to remember anything clearly. From that point on, in her memories, they had never once removed their concealment.
"Eh?! You're actually that mysterious race?"
From the pure look in her eyes, it was clear that Yamato wasn't pretending. She genuinely hadn't known. Even though the meeting was already nearing its end, Yamato's remark still added a bit of liveliness to the atmosphere.
"Muhahaha, miss, didn't expect it, did you? They weren't covering their faces because they have some shameful scars or because they're too ugly. It's just to reduce unnecessary trouble."
"No, I thought they just wore masks because they thought they looked cool."
"…"
"Oh right, Sister Shayna, Brother King, Queen says you two are ugly!"
Queen often reminded himself to watch what he said, but sometimes courting death was already carved into his bones, and he would inevitably blurt out something fatal.
Originally, he had been muttering softly beside Yamato. If Shayna and King hadn't been bored enough to have their Observation Haki active, they wouldn't have heard him, but Queen underestimated just how deeply Yamato holds grudges.
She'd been busy fighting Kaido during this time, temporarily putting aside her usual habit of dragging Queen down with her, but that didn't mean she'd let it go.
[I hold grudges.]
From Yamato's lip movements, Queen read something extremely unfriendly. Immediately afterward, he felt two murderous glares lock onto him. In the end, this high-level meeting came to an abrupt close through violence.
Judging from Kaido's final grin, he was quite satisfied with this outcome.
When King and Shayna left Onigashima, the two of them had already changed their appearances. The guards outside rubbed their eyes, staring at them in disbelief.
"What? Is there something strange?"
"N-no, nothing. Lord King, your tattoos look pretty cool."
"Boss, you too…"
Only after the two had left did the pirate guards finally breathe a sigh of relief. For that brief moment just now, they had genuinely felt like they might be cut down.
That wasn't an illusion. Before this, King really would have killed them outright. But now things are different. After all, they had voluntarily removed their disguises.
As long as they didn't show any intention of betraying them later on, that blade would never fall on their heads.
That oppressive feeling lingered only because King was used to it. He just hadn't adjusted yet.
Not long after, in the Flower Capital, King returned once again.
Having removed his mask, he had no intention of changing his name anytime soon. He'd used the codename for so long that he'd already subconsciously accepted that King was Alber. Habits formed over decades weren't so easy to break.
Although King was no longer in charge of matters in the Flower Capital, that didn't stop him from coming by to check on his old subordinates.
Not long after entering the palace, he spotted Delia, suffering from a severe hangover.
Seeing her hungover on a rest day was nothing unusual. This was the norm for most pirates. Delia was still groggy at the moment, but instinctively stood up once she heard a sound.
"Hey, handsome… who are you? Stealing Boss King's clothes will get you killed, you know."
King didn't own just this one outfit, but his previous clothes were entirely meant to conceal his identity.
To avoid standing out too much, his clothing style was designed to match his mask, so he had dozens of identical outfits. This style had effectively become King's signature.
Having just removed his mask, he didn't yet have new clothes to change into. Both his physique and the placement of his wings meant his clothes needed to be specially tailored.
Because of the special material of the mask, even Delia, who could see through things, had no idea what King actually looked like. Seeing King without his mask sent her alcohol-numbed nerves into confusion.
"Look carefully. Who do you think I am?"
"That voice… sounds so familiar. I get it, you're Boss' relative, right? Hic~"
Letting out a drunken hiccup, Delia wore a look of sudden realization.
"Even if you are his relative, you still can't steal his clothes. Take them off now, if Boss sees this, he'll get mad."
As she spoke, she reached out to strip King's clothes off him, the behavior of a drunk on full display.
"That's enough! Has it ever occurred to you that I am King?"
"How's that possible? Boss has never taken off his mask, he even eats in fancy ways. If you're going to impersonate someone, at least do it properly. Wait, you're not some undercover agent, are you? Hehe, Boss Queen is going to be in trouble again…"
Seeing Delia's thoughts growing increasingly chaotic, King clenched his fist, then pressed it hard against the top of her head and twisted it a couple of times, the pressure from his knuckles making her cry out in pain.
"Are you awake now? How much did you drink this time?"
The pain brought Delia back to a bit of clarity. For people like them, sobering up wasn't difficult. Once pain made the body recognize danger, their cells would instinctively accelerate the breakdown of alcohol.
Kaido could sober up in a second; Delia was about the same. Even so, after recovering, she still found it hard to believe what she was seeing.
"Damn it, what proof do you have that you're Boss King?"
"You still haven't paid back the money you owe me. In 23 days it's your due date. In theory, you owe me 5,280,700 Berries, and the money you'll use to repay me is something you borrowed from Amalee."
"…Alright, you really are Boss."
Her loan ledger followed a unique pattern, far from a straightforward record. Aside from herself, the only one who could truly decipher it was King. Without using items like a Vivre Card, this was the best form of identification.
"So then, Boss, you suddenly took off your mask like you've had a change of heart. Did you come to talk to me about something? I've got to say, you're actually pretty handsome."
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