The Golden Lion was once a famous Great Pirate on the sea, co-existing alongside Whitebeard and Roger in the same era, even leading an era as a monster.
If not for some bad luck, the result of the Battle of Edvaul could have altered the entire world's balance.
His ambition wasn't just to become the Pirate King, but to take over the entire world. Like his former Captain Rocks, they both harbored the ambition of becoming the King of the World.
However, after the Battle of Edvaul, the Golden Lion first lost a significant amount of his forces, and then, after Roger surrendered himself, he stormed into the Navy Headquarters alone and got captured and imprisoned. Though he managed to escape by cutting off his own legs, his ideas seemed to change afterward.
Crocodile, defeated by Whitebeard, searched for the Netherworld King, hoping to harness the power of Ancient Weapons, while Moriah, defeated by Kaidou, sought an immortal zombie army after all his comrades died.
After facing setbacks, some people forgot that their own strength was fundamental and began to seek external aids.
The Golden Lion was somewhat similar but not entirely the same; he needed more forces to prove his power of revenge to the World Government. Instead of humans, he turned his attention to beasts.
In fact, he had a simpler way, using his ability to float each island above important locations.
In this way, once he was dead or unconscious, the islands would fall, causing irreversible damage to the country below.
But fortunately, he did not do this; such an act would severely provoke the balance maintained by the World Government, and if his intention was exposed, the World Government would spare no effort to eradicate him.
Even if it would cost them huge casualties after his death, the World Government wouldn't hold back. They wouldn't care about the life and death of some countries' people.
Even if he floated an island above Mary Geoise, the World Government would still have a way to deal with it.
They have stood for eight hundred years relying on force, and during the process, countless islands have been evaporated using special means.
This is why the Hundred Beasts are just expanding; when facing unknown powers, finding all the Plates is the safest method. They are not short on time, spending a few more years retrieving the lost Plates ensures that there won't be any chance of overturning and no large-scale casualties.
.....
Ker-thunk, ker-thunk.
Two strange footsteps sounded successively, the two fake legs made from swords of the Golden Lion and the bizarre farting shoes of Indigo making strange noises. There aren't many people on this island, only those diehards Indigo took away with him that year, who are also the last of the Golden Lion's crew.
"Admiral, the IQ works well on this kind of creature, its power after becoming frenzied is terrifying and it retains a certain level of intelligence, but the situation is special. You should come and take a look."
Indigo escorted the Golden Lion toward the island's laboratory. As the door opened, a huge noise came from inside the room.
"What's going on? Isn't this guy afraid of the IQ plant?"
There are many gigantic beasts on this island transformed using IQ, even the Golden Lion and his men can't control them, they can only use the scent of the feared IQ plant to limit their living range.
These beasts were originally just ordinary animals on the island.
Fourteen years ago, the people, animals, and plants on this island were all living harmoniously until the Golden Lion discovered it and used his Float-Float Fruit ability to directly move the island, changing everything.
The plants were researched by his subordinate Indigo, the animals were transformed, and the original inhabitants turned into people providing living resources for his remaining crew.
However, this time Indigo used cages to restrain the opponent and not the plants.
Faced with the Golden Lion's inquiries, Indigo didn't answer but rather waved his hands and feet to perform strange movements, akin to yoga, contorting his body into various odd shapes.
"Oh, so that's it, I understand."
"How did you understand that!!!"
Watching the Golden Lion grasp his meaning, Indigo couldn't quite fathom.
"It was just that obvious, isn't this guy afraid of IQ?"
This is the routine between the Golden Lion and Indigo, where Indigo is the Golden Lion's most trusted subordinate, capable of comprehension even though his behavior is odd.
Indigo reached out and removed the black cloth covering the cage to reveal the slightly frenzied Corviknight underneath.
"This type of raven is all steel, and it is only when almost drained that this iron cage barely confines it.
Besides, it can fly, so just using IQ is useless."
"Isn't this akin to those beasts? Even more frenzied."
"No, Admiral, please look at this."
As Indigo spoke, he brought a piece of paper marked with golden patterns. As soon as this paper was shown to the Corviknight, it suddenly calmed down.
"Hmm?"
"It's precisely this pattern, which I accidentally discovered, causes it to refrain from attacking anyone bearing it, even when in a berserker state."
Then Indigo demonstrated, pasting the pattern over his chest, and boldly reaching in to touch the berserk Corviknight's body.
Although the Corviknight growled lowly, it restrained itself from attacking Indigo.
Before this, Indigo had already tested it on many people to ensure safety, and with the Golden Lion standing behind him, he dared such boldness.
"So, does that mean you can control it through this pattern?"
"No, in its frenzied state, it doesn't seem to understand commands, and only this singular being exists, leaving us unable to continue experimenting. For now, we've concluded that this pattern can stop its attacks, but the limit of its endurance remains unknown."
As Indigo spoke, he handed the paper to the Golden Lion. As soon as he lost the paper, Corviknight's beak stuck out from the cage's gaps, its target being Indigo.
"Interesting, this pattern... Is this something new that kid Kaidou came up with?"
However, it wasn't the pirate flag of Kaidou but the emblem of Arceus Thousand Cosmos Bracelet. IQ made Corviknight rabid, making any living thing its target, but its instilled instincts still followed the rules set by its creator.
In the turmoil, its mind only remembered the Thousand Cosmos Bracelet, losing the capability to discern anything else.
"So, Indigo, these birds are currently the most suitable organisms, right?"
"For the time being, yes, but Admiral, these ravens seem to be creatures controlled by the Hundred Beasts Pirates."
"Hundred Beasts? That guy is just a mere intern, back when I was a pirate, who knew where that brat even was."
The Golden Lion harbored no fear toward Kaidou; he had not severed contact with the world over the years, but the information he could receive was extremely limited....