The dark and storm-filled skies over the isolated Wano Country rumbled with ominous thunder. Deep inside the massive skull dome of Onigashima, Kaido sat on his giant throne and drank heavily from a massive gourd of premium sake. The immense Emperor of the Sea lazily picked up the latest newspaper delivered by a passing news coo. His drunken haze vanished instantly the moment his eyes focused on the bold letters printed across the front page. The headline claimed that Douglas Bullet possessed the exact same level of strength as the legendary Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. A sudden surge of absolute fury washed over Kaido. He violently threw his drink aside, grabbed his giant spiked mace, and smashed it directly into the hard stone floor. The devastating impact shook the entire fortress and sent jagged cracks spreading across the grand hall.
"How can that bastard Bullet be as strong as Roger?! Morgans writes nothing but complete nonsense when he does not understand true power! And that little bastard Luffy in the straw hat, how did he suddenly become the leader of the new generation? I never agreed to this!"
Kaido roared like a complete madman. His overwhelming Conqueror's Haki leaked out into the air and caused all the lower-ranking subordinates to hide away in sheer terror. The Gifters and Pleasures scrambled out of the room to avoid his destructive wrath.
The Three Disasters stood quietly near the back of the room and watched their captain with extremely helpless expressions. King, Queen, and Jack originally wanted to travel to the North Blue to help out with the massive conflict. They never expected that the Red Hair Pirates would directly block their path across the ocean. Because of that sudden interference, the Beast Pirates completely failed to participate in the North Blue battle. The commanders had to admit that although the Red Hair Pirates usually kept a very low profile, they became incredibly ruthless whenever they actually wanted to fight. Kaido suffered a humiliating loss at the hands of that red-haired bastard. Even the stoic Flame Calamity, King, felt a lingering sense of dread after facing the intimidating aura of Benn Beckman.
It made perfect sense that Kaido felt so deeply depressed and angry right now. He failed to participate in the massive war, which allowed the Straw Hat Pirates to remain incredibly arrogant on the open sea. What made Kaido even more furious was the completely useless performance of Big Mom and Blackbeard. Two powerful Emperors of the Sea failed to beat a single alliance in a two-versus-one situation. Kaido viewed their embarrassing defeat as a massive disgrace to their absolute authority.
However, because of that very failure, the huge and undeniable threat of the Straw Hat crew finally revealed itself to the entire world. Kaido truly wanted to destroy the Straw Hats right then and there. He wanted to avenge his previous tactical failures and eliminate any future hidden dangers before they grew completely out of control. The Straw Hats possessed an abnormal level of strength that allowed them to quickly take down early enemies.
When Kaido saw the detailed report of Straw Hat Luffy strongly defeating Bullet, his intense anger flared up once again. Despite his burning rage, he managed to keep his sanity intact. This time, he did not transform into his massive dragon form and fly away in a blind rage like he usually did. Kaido realized that he did not dare to look for trouble with the Straw Hats all by himself anymore.
Kaido naturally felt very familiar with a monster like Bullet. After all, Kaido himself constantly challenged the Roger Pirates many times during his younger days. The only people from that legendary crew that Kaido deeply remembered were Roger, Bullet, Silvers Rayleigh, and the annoying red-haired kid. Bullet possessed an overwhelming level of strength that rivaled the Dark King. Kaido knew that Bullet must have grown even stronger over the long years spent in hiding. Even though Kaido felt incredibly conceited about his own durability, he did not possess absolute confidence that he could win a fight against Bullet. The simple fact that Straw Hat Luffy actually accomplished that impossible feat forced Kaido to raise the danger level of the young pirate to the absolute highest position in his mind.
Straw Hat Luffy was currently far more dangerous than Blackbeard.
Of course, Kaido also remembered that incredibly nasty swordsman, Carl. That terrifying man sat firmly within the highest ranks of Kaido's personal fear and hatred. Carl possessed a near-complete mastery of Haki with a unique ability that made him an extreme threat.
Kaido took a deep breath and calmed his raging emotions. The most important issue right now was not figuring out how to deal with the Straw Hats. He needed to recover the military strength of his crew quickly. The recent clash with the Red Hair Pirates caused a lot of unfortunate losses for his forces. Furthermore, Kaido knew he had to properly prepare for Bullet, who might launch a devastating strike against Onigashima at any given moment. Marine forces failed to capture the Demon Heir this time. When Bullet finally finished resting, he would definitely find other strong people to fight. The other Emperors of the New World must sit at the very top of his hit list. Kaido just did not know who Bullet would choose to fight first. No matter who the madman looked for, Kaido had to keep his guard up.
A very similar situation played out far away within the borders of Totto Land.
Because of the incredibly heavy losses they suffered during the recent conflict, the Big Mom Pirates had absolutely no other choice but to shrink their overall combat power. They focused entirely on defending the core territory of the chaotic archipelago. At the same time, they desperately waited for all the defeated children to recover from their severe injuries.
Big Mom sat upon her soft throne and felt a lingering sense of pure fear as she thought about the recent events. If her strongest son, Katakuri, had not desperately rescued all the living members of the crew at the very end of the battle, the total strength of the Big Mom Pirates would have definitely diminished beyond repair. That devastating loss would have given other rival pirates or the Marines a perfect opportunity to invade their lands.
Naturally, Big Mom placed all the blame for her miserable situation directly onto the Straw Hat Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates. She never expected that the combat growth of the Straw Hat Pirates would become so utterly terrifying. She heard Katakuri mention that during the first half of the Grand Line, the young crew only relied on their rubber captain and the lightning swordsman to carry them through difficult battles. Big Mom never expected that the rest of the ordinary crew members would experience such an explosive blowout in pure strength after entering the New World. It just did not make any logical sense to her at all. The entire situation felt completely unfair, but she knew she could not do anything to stop their rapid growth.
"At such a terrible time, that bastard Bullet is running around causing massive trouble everywhere! Damn it all!"
Big Mom angrily threw the crumpled newspaper aside. She felt so incredibly stressed that she did not even have the appetite for a sweet dessert, let alone her usual violent food cravings. She naturally felt very afraid of a legendary figure like Bullet. That hulking giant was not only overwhelmingly powerful, but he was also a complete and total lunatic. As long as that crazy guy determined a specific target, he would definitely fight until he killed them.
Straw Hat Luffy won the chaotic fight this time, which meant the young pirate crew remained safe and sound for now. However, Big Mom knew that if Bullet suddenly attacked the borders of Totto Land next, the Big Mom Pirates might genuinely face total annihilation if they did not perform perfectly.
Katakuri stood near the throne with thick medical bandages wrapped around his tall torso.
"Mom, should we try to contact Kaido? After all, Bullet is far too difficult for us to deal with alone, and our current military situation is not very good. It is completely necessary for us to unite against that madman."
"Well, that makes a lot of sense. Katakuri, you should contact Kaido yourself. Maybe the two of us should form a pirate alliance right now!"
Big Mom still trusted Kaido much more than she trusted Blackbeard. After all, Kaido and Big Mom both sailed together under the flag of the Rocks Pirates in the distant past. She also gave Kaido a massive life-long debt of gratitude by gifting him his mythical Devil Fruit. Because they shared that kind of deep historical relationship, Kaido naturally felt much more reliable to her. In addition to their history, Kaido's personal strength remained incredibly strong. He did not look as pathetically stretched thin as Blackbeard did right now. Big Mom sneered as she thought about Blackbeard's highly coveted Devil Fruits. She found it hilarious that a man who consumed multiple powerful fruits still managed to get beaten down by a simple rubber boy.
"Okay mom. I will handle this immediately and make the call."
Katakuri agreed in a loud and respectful tone. He turned around and walked away to begin his important task.
Meanwhile, a bright and cheerful atmosphere surrounded the massive deck of the Moby Dick as it sailed across the open waters of the New World.
Whitebeard and his loyal division commanders could not help but laugh loudly when they read the shocking news in the morning paper.
"Gurararara! I never expected that a stubborn monster like Bullet would actually lose a fight like this. This makes me feel so happy!"
Whitebeard nodded his giant head in deep satisfaction. He felt genuinely pleased to see the new generation thriving.
Marco the Phoenix leaned against the wooden railing and smiled.
"Pops, Ace's younger brother is a really tough kid. He actually managed to defeat that absolute lunatic Bullet in a direct fight. It seems that the Straw Hats can indeed conquer the harsh seas of the New World."
Many of the veteran crew members of the Whitebeard Pirates also voiced their deep amazement. They remembered Bullet very well. They fought against the Roger Pirates quite a few times in the old days, and some of the veterans actually suffered painful beatings directly from Bullet's massive fists. Naturally, they understood exactly how powerful and terrifying Bullet truly was. No one on the ship expected that Bullet would actually suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of a young rookie like Luffy. In a single instant, many of the seasoned pirates began to admire Luffy even more than before.
Fire Fist Ace sat on a wooden crate and stared down at the newspaper with a highly complex look on his freckled face. The bold headline clearly stated that Bullet possessed the exact same strength as Roger. Ace no longer harbored a deep hatred for his biological father, mostly because he finally found a loving family and a true home here with Whitebeard. However, Ace also knew that if Roger managed to become the legendary Pirate King, his personal combat strength must have been extremely terrifying.
Ace occasionally heard his new father casually commenting on Roger's abilities during their late-night drinking sessions. Because Ace knew that Roger fought evenly with Whitebeard back in the day, he possessed a very clear idea of just how strong Roger truly was. Now, the official newspaper boldly claimed that Bullet had Roger's level of strength. Because Whitebeard and Marco did not bother refuting that massive claim, Ace realized that Morgans was not just writing exaggerated nonsense to sell papers.
Therefore, if Luffy managed to defeat Bullet, it essentially proved that the current Luffy had already reached the pinnacle of strength that Roger once held.
"Well, look at you, Luffy. You actually managed to walk right past your older brother!"
Ace showed a look of deep helplessness on his face as he let out a heavy sigh.
"Right now, Sabo already possesses the overwhelming strength of a Marine Admiral. I am supposed to be the big brother to both of them, but I am currently the weakest one out of the three! This makes me lose all of my face as an older brother! No, I cannot accept this at all. I will travel to Wano Country later this month. I absolutely must face Kaido's Thunder Bagua head-on, and I will not leave that island until I finally learn how to use advanced Haki!"