June 1493 of the Sea Circle Calendar, the New World.
"Still no news about Kaido?"
Bazel, sitting on the deck, looked solemn.
It had been a month and a half since the tea party in late April, but not even a whisper about the great battle that had taken place had leaked out… not even the slightest rumor.
Bazel had contacted the World Economic News Paper.
But Morgans hemmed and hawed, eventually apologizing with a bitter smile.
'I'm sorry, Bazel. This incident is the second most severe event that absolutely cannot be mentioned after the God Valley incident.'
'If they found out the news came from me, you'd probably be attending my funeral soon.'
'Although a journalist's first duty is to report the truth, I'm truly powerless this time.'
'If I were the president, I might have been able to withstand the pressure and tell you…'
After ending the call with Morgans, Bazel had a rough idea of what had happened.
But since they were still on the ship, it wasn't convenient for him to contact Sengoku or Garp to ask for details.
"Bazel, I've received some not-so-good news."
Hanafuda ran over with a Den Den Mushi.
"I contacted some friends I've made in the underworld. Their intelligence agents said that half a month ago, they saw a giant dragon, covered in blood, fall into the waters near Sabaody Archipelago."
"But since there was no follow-up, they thought they had imagined it and didn't report it."
'Dragon?'
Bazel stared at the vivre card for Kaido that he held.
"It hasn't burned away. Kaido-san must still be alive."
Buru buru buru…
Just then, the Den Den Mushi in Bazel's pocket suddenly rang.
Olga grabbed Toki's skirt, nervously swallowing.
"Oh no, could it be a call reporting the news of Kaido-sama's death?!"
"Don't talk nonsense."
King glanced at Olga and waved the vivre card in his hand, "If Kaido-san had died, this vivre card would have turned to ash."
Kacha…
"Bazel, who is this?"
"It's me, Bazel… the fishman adventurer, Fisher Tiger. We met outside Neptune's house before."
Hearing Tiger's voice, Bazel felt a wave of relief.
"I remember you. Neptune said you're a very kind fishman adventurer."
"Hahaha, kind? That's just Neptune exaggerating. Let's get to the point."
The Den Den Mushi quickly straightened its expression, "I found Kaido-san near Sabaody a couple of days ago while adventuring. He's badly injured and still unconscious."
"I was delayed for two days treating his wounds, and I just now had a moment to remember I had your contact information."
"What happened? I thought you were heading to the New World. Why would Kaido-san show up in Paradise?"
Hearing that Tiger had found Kaido, everyone listening breathed a sigh of relief.
Bazel immediately explained their earlier suspicions and asked about Kaido's current condition.
"…I see, so it was a Buster Call. Now that you mention it, I did see a large fleet of Marine ships setting sail not long ago."
"As for Kaido-san, his injuries are improving. As for when he'll wake up…"
"I really can't say. After all, I'm not a doctor, and since he has a bounty, I can't bring a human doctor here to treat him."
Raising a hand to signal the excited group around him to stay quiet, Bazel thanked Tiger.
"Thank you so much for your help, Tiger. The Beasts Pirates will remember this kindness."
"We're about to reach the Land of Giants now, and we can't come ourselves because of the distance. Please take care of Kaido for the time being."
"If you ever need anything in the future, even if it involves the Celestial Dragons, don't hesitate to contact us."
The Den Den Mushi laughed, "You're too kind. I've already heard about the alliance between the fishmen and the Beasts Pirates. Thanks to the Beasts Pirates' flag, humans don't dare to openly kidnap mermaids anymore."
"You've already done a great favor for the fishmen. What I'm doing now is just a small thing."
"Once Kaido-san wakes up, I'll have him contact you immediately."
After thanking Tiger several more times and repeatedly inviting him to visit Wano Country in the future, Bazel finally ended the call.
"Bazel, I never thought your actions back then would indirectly save Kaido-san's life."
With no one else around, King wasn't wearing the mask that usually covered his face.
His gaze toward Bazel was full of admiration.
"This is what you always say… 'the more friends, the more paths'. Did you already foresee this accident happening today?"
"As expected of you, Big Bro Bazel!"
It was rare to hear King sincerely refer to him as 'Big Bro', but Bazel wasn't particularly happy.
Because he hadn't thought that far ahead.
The alliance with the fishmen was a coincidence.
Meeting and getting to know Tiger was also…
Bazel admitted he had only added a tiny bit of appreciation and pity for Tiger's future fate.
Otherwise, no matter how capable he was, he couldn't have foreseen something so far in the future.
A prophet doesn't necessarily have eight heads.
But Bazel, with his eight heads, is definitely not a prophet!
"Cough, Arber, you still have a lot to learn."
That's what Bazel thought, but he still righteously patted King's shoulder.
"As a mature man, you must learn to always look toward the future and face everything with a calm heart. That is the mark of a man stepping into maturity."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Den Den Mushi rang again.
Kacha…
"Bazel, it's over! We're surrounded!!"
Bazel: "?"
'Did you just have to show up and ruin my moment right after I finished boasting?'
"So many World Government agents have surrounded us! Kaido-san is still unconscious… what should we do?!"
Covering his face with one hand, Bazel looked pained, "Tiger, didn't you just say it was relatively safe there? Where exactly are you now?"
"Us? We're still on Sabaody Archipelago, of course! I just stole a bunch of medicine from a human hospital!" The Den Den Mushi said with utmost seriousness.
King: 'This idiot…'
Hanafuda: -.- 'This fishman is so dumb yet kinda cute…'
Olga (bluntly): "Are you an idiot? How could you go stealing? Wait, no… doesn't stealing mean you'll get caught?!"
"An idiot? No, I'm a fishman."
The Den Den Mushi refuted inopportunely before growing even more anxious.
"It doesn't matter if I get caught, but Kaido-san still needs the medicine!"
His tone suddenly turned aggressive: "As long as we kill them, no one will know we're here…?"
"They don't seem to be attacking me…?"
Just then, the Den Den Mushi suddenly put on a transparent helmet.
"Ohohoho~~ It's a strange fishman species. Hey, catch him! I want to keep him in my fish tank!"
"Ohohoho~~ I've caught another rare slave! I'll definitely show off to them when I get back!"
"Yes, Saint Pumingge!"
'A Celestial Dragon!?'
Bazel's expression changed, "Hey, Tiger, run! That guy is a Celestial Dragon!!"
"The reason he didn't have the agents attack immediately is because he wants to turn you into a slave!!"
But suddenly, sounds of fighting came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
"Dammit, I won't go down without a fight! I absolutely won't lead the enemy to Ka… my friend's location!"
"You all contact someone to come pick him up as soon as possible. I'll draw the enemy away!"
Kacha…
"Damn it!"
The Den Den Mushi call ended. Bazel stood up, his eyes burning with uncontrollable rage.
'Another Celestial Dragon!'
After a brief moment of fury, Bazel forced himself to calm down.
'Being angry now was useless… I couldn't just flash from the waters near Elbaf in the New World all the way to Sabaody Archipelago.'
'Fisher Tiger being captured was almost certainly inevitable now. There were only two things I could do.'
'I didn't have any trusted pirate allies in Paradise. If I asked Neptune to go recklessly and they ran into a Celestial Dragon again, that would be a real mess.'
As for the Marines… that was even more impossible. He couldn't just call his uncle in front of everyone and ask a Marine Admiral to go rescue a pirate, could he?
Now, Bazel could only pray that Kaido would be jolted awake by the fighting,
And…
"Hanafuda, tell your people to speed up. We're going to Elbaf!"
The cold glint in Bazel's eyes sent a chill down Hanafuda's spine.
"Hey, Bazel, calm down. At a time like this…"
"I am calm."
His tone was cool, but the seemingly placid voice made everyone around him shiver.
"We're going to Elbaf to invite the Giants to join us. After that, we'll split into two groups."
"You take the Giants to Wano Country. I'll hurry back to Paradise to find Kaido."
'Go to Paradise!?'
King's expression changed drastically. He grabbed Bazel's arm, "You're not planning to break into Mary Geoise to snatch someone back, are you?!"
"Arber, Tiger is my friend, and he saved Kaido."
Bazel looked at King, his expression unreadable, "Whether he's a fishman or a human, if the Celestial Dragons dare to capture my friend, then I'll take people and snatch him back."
"No one can take anything from a pirate without paying a price!"
"Even pirates, who are called the scum of the sea…"
"must uphold benevolence and righteousness!"