Sherwin and Dragon had no intention of hiding the intelligence regarding Imu and Uranus. They told Kaido and Charlotte Linlin everything they knew, and they didn't even hold back their speculations regarding the Devil Fruits, revealing it all.
The only thing they kept hidden was the reason behind how Imu had managed to live for so long.
After all, Sherwin had a pretty good relationship with Law, and the guy wasn't some irredeemable villain. It would be far too unfortunate if he were to be targeted by Kaido and BIG MOM over something like this.
"Ancient Weapons! So such things really do exist?!"
Clearly, Kaido and BIG MOM interest in Imu was far less than their interest in the Ancient Weapons that could allow them to conquer the world.
Given their status and positions, they had more or less heard rumors about the existence of the Ancient Weapons before.
However, those had been ambiguous rumors in the past, and combined with their absolute confidence in their own strength, they hadn't paid much attention to them.
Now that Kaido and BIG MOM had personally experienced the might of Uranus, the situation was naturally entirely different.
To put it in Kaido words—
That was an attack far more terrifying than the "cat bombs".
It could be said that after Sherwin revealed the intelligence about the Ancient Weapon, seizing Uranus became more important in the hearts of Kaido and Charlotte Linlin than killing Imu and overthrowing the World Government.
Fortunately, these matters were inherently and closely linked and would not conflict with each other.
This was also one of the primary reasons why Sherwin and Dragon had decided not to hide too much from them after discussing it.
Otherwise, if those two were mistaken into thinking that it was a new weapon manufactured by Vegapunk and continued to focus more of their energy on kidnapping scientists, it would instead be more likely to drag them down.
Furthermore, if the matter regarding Edison were to leak, these two might even bite them back...
After all, Kaido and Charlotte Linlin were typical pirates, and it was also uncertain whether there were CP agents lurking around Elegia.
Of course, the most critical reason was still that Sherwin and his group had the means to deal with Uranus, and he also didn't think Kaido and BIG MOM could find any alternative energy source.
But obviously, Kaido and Charlotte Linlin were no fools either.
Their Hundred-Grand Alliance had just suffered a heavy blow, and if they really wanted to vie for the right to speak in this alliance, they would definitely be at a disadvantage on their end.
Not to mention that Whitebeard had also helped Dragon raid the execution ground, and Sherwin had saved Red-Hair daughter in Elegia not too long ago...
Under such circumstances, even if their Hundred-Grand Alliance were completely intact, they still wouldn't be able to match the strength of Sherwin side.
If they couldn't secure the right to speak, then "Uranus," which might become future war spoils, was even further out of the question.
Although thinking about the distribution of subsequent war spoils before their alliance was even officially established seemed a bit too optimistic, truth be told, the Hundred-Grand Alliance previously formed by the two of them as "Five Emperors" had already caused the World Government a massive headache.
Even after those five old fogies, the Five Elders, joined in later, the World Government still didn't gain much of an advantage.
If it hadn't been for the sudden arrival of the Ancient Weapon "Uranus" catching them off guard, Kaido and BIG MOM would never have even thought about allying with anyone else again.
Now, not only were the "Five Emperors" gathered together, but a Revolutionary Army with strength not inferior to theirs—and potentially even stronger—was joining in as well. Kaido and BIG MOM simply didn't see how they could lose.
In their eyes, the only variable was actually just that Ancient Weapon named "Uranus."
Therefore, after exchanging a glance with Kaido, BIG MOM immediately began to haggle with Dragon...
At first, what they vied for was still the right to speak, but their attitude wasn't firm. After just a few back-and-forths, they immediately took a step back and stated that they could give up the right to speak, but they wanted the lion share of the obtained war spoils.
Later on, they even expressed that they didn't need the lion share, but they had to get first pick...
Even Sherwin, who was highly insensitive to these matters, could already see through their intentions at this point, let alone Dragon.
"...Regarding 'Uranus, we plan to completely destroy it."
Dragon pondered for a moment, but still chose to hide nothing.
Similar to his previous considerations, Dragon was worried that at a critical moment, Kaido and BIG MOM would deliberately hold back, drag their feet, or even directly backstab them in order to obtain "Uranus".
If it were any other battle, Dragon would have the confidence to deal with it even if backstabbed. However, in the face of a weapon of mass destruction like "Uranus", a single mistake could lead to eternal damnation, so he had no intention of taking any risks.
"Therefore, not only do we plan to destroy it directly, but we also do not need your manpower at all when dealing with 'Uranus."
Dragon directly expressed his distrust.
Although given Kaido and BIG MOM years of fighting on the sea, it was unlikely that they would do something stupid at a critical moment, Dragon also knew what kind of virtue these pirates had when they became greedy.
He naturally could not pin his hopes on the personal moral levels of Kaido and BIG MOM.
Dragon words were very clear, and Kaido and BIG MOM could actually understand them, because they also understood that when the time truly came, even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance of obtaining "Uranus", they would absolutely take the risk to try.
At the very least, if "Uranus" was not completely destroyed, bringing back a piece of wreckage to find a way to repair it would also be good...
"So that means there nothing to talk about?"
Charlotte Linlin face instantly darkened.
She naturally knew that destroying "Uranus" so that no one could have it was the safest and fairest solution.
However, as a pirate, risk and greed were engraved in her bones. How could she so easily agree to have "her" "Uranus" destroyed by someone else?
Dragon shook his head and said, "Just as you cannot accept 'Uranus falling into our hands, or even into Kaido, we also cannot accept it being taken by you. Destroying it is the method I can think of that would be the most acceptable to everyone."
While stating his position once again, Dragon also casually sowed discord between BIG MOM and Kaido.
This act of instigation was glaringly obvious, yet extremely effective.
Because they were pirates, even without Dragon words, it would not change their selfish and greedy nature.
"Wororororo! Old hag, didn't I say your tea party was completely pointless?"
Kaido, who had been silent all this time, stood up with a loud laugh. "Stop talking so much nonsense! Let have a fight!"
Kaido proposed a solution that perfectly matched his style—
"Including Red Hair and Whitebeard, each of our factions will send one representative to compete against each other. The ultimate winner will have leadership of the alliance and the right to dispose of 'Uranu... Winner takes all! This is the simplest and clearest way!"
Indeed, limiting the contest to a one-on-one duel, thereby maximizing the reduction of Sherwin side advantage, was also a very Kaido thing to do.
"No problem, let do it this way."
Dragon did not haggle and agreed immediately, because this situation had also been expected by them long ago.
Although he could have chosen not to agree and then forcibly suppressed Kaido and BIG MOM, doing so might make them harbor other intentions.
While Kaido proposal seemed like they were at a disadvantage, looking at it the other way around, if Sherwin side won, Kaido and BIG MOM might not necessarily be completely convinced, but at least the chances of them causing trouble would be much smaller.
As for Kaido advantage of being the "strongest in a one-on-one fight," not to mention whether he truly was the strongest in a one-on-one fight, even if it were true, it wouldn't be much of a problem for Sherwin and his group...
At worst, they could just send Kuma up to trade pieces with him.
Furthermore, even if it was a one-on-one round tournament, their side still held a numerical advantage.
If they didn't even dare to accept a four-on-two match, then they shouldn't bother trying to overthrow any World Government wouldn't it be better to just find a small island and farm in peace?