Marinford's meeting room.
A group of the Seven Warlords of the Sea sat here.
Doflamingo idly played with his fingers, manipulating two navy soldiers to fight with swords, while chuckling and turning to ask, "How about a bet, to see which one of them will survive?"
"I advise you not to do that."
Hoshigaki Kisame grinned, revealing a mouth full of menacing sharp teeth, and chuckled as he spoke, "Mr. Doflamingo, with less than a month left, a world-altering war is about to begin, it's best to kick your gambling habit before that…"
"Is that advice or a warning?"
Doflamingo glanced at Hoshigaki Kisame with a smile, playfully continued saying, "Fufufu, I thought Mr. Kisame wanted them to survive…"
"It's best to let them survive."
A voice reached everyone's ears present, Yakushi Kabuto slowly approached, adjusted his glasses, and smiled as he spoke, "I specifically stationed them here to welcome you all, these two Navy Captains are my reliable assistants…"
"I see…"
Doflamingo nodded, retracted his puppet strings, and with interest crossed his arms, looking at Yakushi Kabuto, "By the way, on our way here we saw the Orange Battleship, the Vice Admiral on board didn't seem very happy…"
Growing oranges on a battleship…
Only Uehara Naraku would be so eccentric.
On their way, this group of Seven Warlords of the Sea encountered Uehara Naraku; it was clear their boss wasn't in a great mood, and it's uncertain who'd be his outlet…
"Hmm."
Yakushi Kabuto sat on the opposite side of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, softly said, "Perhaps it's because Vice Admiral Naraku has been transferred to Shampodi Archipelago! Hopefully, he will have a good time once he arrives..."
"Fufufu…"
Doflamingo, supporting his cheek, tilted his head and chuckled, "I happen to have some business in Shampodi, I'll certainly make sure that Vice Admiral has a good time…"
"Let's hope so."
Yakushi Kabuto discreetly glanced at Doflamingo.
Just as they finished exchanging remarks, Sengoku the Buddha walked in with a file, his face still showing a hint of residual anger.
Sengoku scanned the meeting room, slowly sat down, and coldly said, "It's quite surprising that four of the Seven Warlords of the Sea have arrived at Marinford early..."
Hawk Eye Mihawk slowly closed his eyes, and said in a deep voice, "I just wanted to visit Shanks at Enies Lobby and stop by Marinford."
"Anytime."
Yakushi Kabuto chuckled and agreed.
"Fufufu… I'm just traveling to Marinford."
Doflamingo chuckled as he spoke, "Red-haired Shanks has been captured, the other two Four Emperors are still battling in the New World, there's no trouble for me to worry about now, so I've recently taken up traveling…"
"…Marinford isn't exactly a tourist destination."
Sengoku coldly sized up Doflamingo: "If you want to travel, I could recommend Impel Down."
Sengoku looked at the smile on Doflamingo's face, his expression grew even grimmer. He slowly picked up his file and said solemnly, "Forget it, let's talk about business rather than discussing with you sea scoundrels!
The purpose of today's meeting is to announce the abolition of Bartholomew Kuma, who refused to cooperate with the World Government, and to recruit Deidara of the Art Pirates as the new Warlord…"
"I have no objections."
Hawk Eye Mihawk casually continued his nap.
"That's a pretty good choice!"
Hoshigaki Kisame grinned and nodded as he spoke: "Wasn't he my colleague back at Baroque Works? Seems we've got quite a connection!"
"I have no objections to this either…"
Kakuzu nodded and suddenly said, "But I've kept an eye on Deidara's bounty; with the Navy doing this, it cost me a lot of money…"
"Fufufu…"
Doflamingo didn't look at them, just chuckled and continued, "Well, since everyone seems fine with it, it seems inappropriate for me to raise an objection..."
With no objections from the four Seven Warlords of the Sea regarding Deidara's appointment, it was the most satisfactory result for the World Government and the Navy.
Sengoku the Buddha felt somewhat appeased, as at least before the great battle, the Navy wouldn't need to worry about troubles from the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
With the World Government citing Bartholomew Kuma's unwillingness to cooperate as the reason, they abolished Kuma's position among the Seven Warlords of the Sea and imprisoned him, this incident indeed intimidated another Warlord, the King Boa Hancock of Amazon Lily.
It even scared Amazon Lily's former Emperor Gloriosa, forcing her to plead with Boa Hancock to accept the Navy's summons.
Perhaps with no choice left…
This world's most beautiful woman chose to accept the summons.
Oddly enough, the Whitebeard Pirates remained unmoved, seemingly indifferent to the happenings on the sea, even rejecting other guests.
Such as the Revolutionary Army leader Monkey D. Dragon.
It was hard not to feel that the Whitebeard Pirates seemed like they wanted to abandon the captain of the Whitebeard's 2nd Squad, to abandon the imminent war.
The eerier thing is...
The Hundred Beast Pirates and BIG·MOM Pirates seem to be in a sitting war.
So far, there hasn't been any contact between the two parties. In fact, members of the Hundred Beast Pirates haven't appeared on this sea for a long time, even members of the BIG·MOM Pirates find it a bit strange, considering Kaido's personality, it shouldn't be...
Totto Land.
Tottland Island.
Weather, clear, cloudless.
"Mama..."
Smootie, one of the Four Sweet Commanders of the BIG·MOM Pirates, had a somewhat unusual expression: "It's been a week since the Kaido Pirates and Akatsuki declared war on us, yet the sea slugs haven't detected any sign of invasion..."
This war has yet to officially break out.
This is not in line with Kaido's usual reckless style.
To be honest, the BIG·MOM Pirates all thought that Hundred Beast Kaido and Akatsuki had perhaps abandoned this war, deliberately creating a pretense of launching an attack...
"Hehehe... Just keep remaining vigilant..."
BIG·MOM slowly nibbled on a piece of cake, laughingly said, "Kaido, that guy, is very clever. He hasn't rashly come to us, which precisely indicates his danger!"
Since BIG·MOM and Kaido were once shipmates, this only female of the Four Emperors knows her former companion very well.
BIG·MOM never thought of Kaido as a brainless guy...for once, that guy is so cautious, he must actually want a big battle with her!
If Kaido just wanted to vent his anger, charging into Totto Land with his Wolf Fang Staff would have sufficed, but there's been no movement, instead, it rather seems like a conspiracy...
That guy...
He probably really plans to initiate a life-and-death battle!
"Unexpected, huh..."
BIG·MOM took a few more bites of her cake and swallowed it down, picking up the hot chocolate on the table, stuffing the cup into her mouth along with the drink, the crunching sound of the cup being chewed to pieces made anyone feel a bit teeth-chattered.
This scene...
Is actually quite terrifying.
Yet more frightening is BIG·MOM's expression, shadows casting over this Four Emperor, her teeth slowly chewing the cup, she grimly said, "Kaido huh, maybe he really is planning for us to fight to the death!"
"Mama..."
Smootie couldn't help but step back half a step, whispering, "I'll go see brother Katakuri... He's been waiting on news from the sea slugs..."
"Go!"
BIG·MOM nodded with a sinister smile, showing her massive teeth, laughingly said, "Katakuri has been enduring hardship during this time, make sure to console him on behalf of mama, understood?"
"Yes..."
A drop of cold sweat fell from Smootie's forehead.
This Commander slowly exited BIG·MOM's castle.
Although all of BIG·MOM's children survive on the sea relying on this Four Emperor, BIG·MOM herself is also a source of danger, it's not just one child who has had their lifespan arbitrarily taken away by her.
Moreover...
If BIG·MOM takes a dislike to some children, she'll cast them out of Totto Land directly. Saying they're mother and child relationships, it's better described that they're merely tools that BIG·MOM can discard at any moment...
Honestly.
The relationship within the BIG·MOM Pirates is not as harmonious as the Whitebeard Pirates, there's no so-called maternal love, only exploitation and awe...
Just as Smootie's heart trembled as she left Totto Land, hurriedly heading towards the outer island where Katakuri was, only brother Katakuri could help dispel the fear in their hearts...
Outer perimeter of Totto Land Sea Region.
This is the first line of defense for the BIG·MOM Pirates, and also their most important defensive line, where Katakuri has been stationed recently.
Apart from Katakuri, there's his good friend Uchiha Itachi.
Katakuri stood on a rock, gazing at the calm sea with some alertness: "Itachi, when will Akatsuki's people arrive here? Can you really assure that someone can defeat Mama?"
"No need to worry about this issue."
Uchiha Itachi shook his head, softly said, "What we need to do now is wait to defeat BIG·MOM, then select suitable people to become official members of Akatsuki according to the slots provided by the organization..."
When Uchiha Itachi spoke here, he glanced at Katakuri, calmly continued, "Being a member of Akatsuki means having the future power to dominate the world's discourse, so..."
"No such necessity."
Katakuri's eyes slightly flickered, whispered, "I just want to dispel the fear looming above us all this time, just so Brulee and the others don't always face the nightmare of having their lifespan taken away by Mama..."
"I've heard what you want."
Just at that moment, a woman sighed softly in Katakuri and Uchiha Itachi's ears: "Sounds like such a pitiful child..."