Totland. Cake Island.
The war room was lavish in that peculiar way unique to Charlotte Linlin's territory. Candy-themed architecture, pastry walls, and furnishings that looked edible but weren't. The opulence couldn't disguise the tension crackling through the air.
Charlotte Linlin and Kaido sat together, reviewing intelligence reports spread across a table made from compressed caramel.
Kaido had been spending most of his time with Linlin lately, ostensibly focused on their alliance. In reality, he was pursuing his own agenda, plotting to somehow deal with Charlotte Linlin, absorb the Big Mom Pirates, and become a father figure to Katakuri and the others.
It was an ambitious plan. Also a completely transparent one.
Charlotte Linlin ignored Kaido's schemes entirely. She seemed to see through every move he made. Every time Kaido showed signs of maneuvering, she'd deflect effortlessly.
Her message was clear: she wanted this alliance to win a decisive victory, then dissolve immediately afterward.
"The old man Whitebeard and that Smoker's fleet are gathering toward Endres Island," Kaido rumbled, his massive frame making even Linlin's oversized furniture look normal-sized. "Seems like they want to attack from there. They're giving us an accurate signal of their intentions."
As the Whitebeard Pirates and Smoker's forces consolidated their strength, the option of ambushing them with a smaller force near Endres Island had become impractical.
Whitebeard and Smoker were using straightforward tactics now.
They were massing their forces openly. Either you come fight us, or we'll march straight to you and fight you on your home ground.
How do you counter that kind of direct approach?
There was one option: raiding Whitebeard's territory while his main force was deployed elsewhere.
But that meant leaving Cake Island vulnerable to the same tactic. Trading homelands. And Cake Island was far more valuable than Whitebeard's scattered territories. A losing proposition.
"I just don't understand," Kaido said, touching his chin thoughtfully. "We should be the ones who are anxious. Why are they forcing this decisive battle?"
Logically, with Smoker's financial backing, Whitebeard's best strategy would be steady advancement. Suppress the alliance step by step, grind them down over time.
But strangely, both Whitebeard and Smoker seemed eager to initiate a major confrontation.
They held the advantage. If anyone should be forcing a decisive battle, it should be the side that was losing.
"Ambition and unequal interests," Katakuri said suddenly.
Charlotte Linlin's gaze shifted to her son. "Explain."
"It's obvious that Smoker is riding Whitebeard's coattails," Katakuri began, his voice measured and analytical. "We're an alliance, and they're an alliance. If they win, Smoker elevates himself to the same status as Whitebeard by stepping on our corpses. My guess is he has urgent needs, reasons to quickly improve his position. So he wants the decisive battle to happen sooner rather than later."
He paused, organizing his thoughts. "Second, dragging this out benefits the Whitebeard Pirates on the surface. But that's only surface level. Whitebeard is aging. His strength should be declining, even if slowly. Mom has partnered with Mr. Kaido. He's afraid that if this drags on too long, he won't be able to suppress us anymore. That's one factor. Then there's Smoker's perspective. Whitebeard can afford to drag things out, but Smoker can't. This war is already affecting the Amway Group's business operations. At the same time, he's providing financial support to the Whitebeard Pirates throughout this conflict. As a businessman, the longer this continues, the more disadvantageous it becomes for him. Therefore, both sides' interests align. They want to deal with us quickly, then divide the New World between themselves."
Kaido looked at Katakuri with undisguised envy. "How wonderful it would be if this were my son. Look at my Yamato, such a disappointment. Constantly letting her father down..."
Charlotte Linlin ignored the comment. "Do you have any other suggestions?"
Katakuri shook his head, then sighed. "We don't have a choice. We're in a passive position, but we have to accept this decisive battle and fight it out directly. Otherwise, we'll be the ones who suffer in the end."
"Yes..." Charlotte Linlin murmured.
In truth, even if Whitebeard and Smoker hadn't initiated a decisive battle, she and Kaido would have forced one eventually. It was just unexpected that their opponents had acted first.
Now that things had reached this point, even if the timing was disadvantageous, they had no choice but to fight.
Besides, it wasn't as if they couldn't win.
The alliance between the Whitebeard Pirates and Smoker looked massive and powerful.
But they had a fatal weakness. Once exploited, the situation could reverse instantly.
That weakness was Whitebeard himself.
Neither Kaido nor Charlotte Linlin truly considered Smoker an opponent on their level.
The core connection holding the "Double White Alliance" together was Newgate personally.
As long as they could defeat Newgate, the overall situation would shift in their favor. The advantage would be theirs.
If they could take this opportunity to kill Newgate...
The New World would truly belong to their two crews.
Recently, while Charlotte Linlin and Kaido arranged war preparations, they'd also been busy training together, coordinating their battle tactics and developing combination attacks.
Progress had been excellent so far. Both sides understood each other's capabilities well. Their power levels were comparable. The primary and secondary relationship had been established long ago, with Charlotte Linlin as the leader and Kaido as her partner. This targeted training and coordination would dramatically improve their joint attack effectiveness.
Maybe the old man with the white beard could really suffer catastrophic losses.
After several more minutes of discussion, Charlotte Linlin, leader of the pirate alliance, spoke with finality. "If that's the case, then we'll fight them. We'll gather our fleet as well."
The decisive battle between the "Double White Alliance" and the "Pirate Alliance" was now officially confirmed.
At the same time, a huge incident occurred in the East Blue.
A Celestial Dragon's ship was bombed and sunk. Saint Jalmack, a Celestial Dragon who had been touring the nations of the East Blue from Mary Geoise, was seriously injured and drowned.
He drowned directly in the East Blue's waters.
The incident happened in the territorial waters of the Goa Kingdom. At this moment, the people of Goa Kingdom were already going insane with anxiety.
The incident was quickly classified as a "terrorist attack."
Mary Geoise was experiencing severe headaches. In recent years, the World Government's authority seemed to face increasing challenges.
First, Mary Geoise itself had been set on fire. Now someone had sunk a Celestial Dragon's ship.
What the hell was happening to the world?
Shimotsuki Village, East Blue.
Isshin Dojo.
Dragon stood looking at a young boy with a serious expression. He was genuinely curious how this child had found him here.
How had his whereabouts leaked?
Was there danger involved?
While considering these questions, Dragon asked, "What did you say just now?"
"I said my name is Sabo. Outlook Sabo. I want to join your organization!" The boy's gaze was sharp, determined.
Dragon remained silent for a moment. "How did you find me?"
"Huh? I just looked around and found you." Sabo seemed confused by the question.
After a brief pause, he continued, "After I ran away from home, I wanted to come to Shimotsuki Village to learn swordsmanship, then wait for an opportunity to join you. I was lucky enough to meet you here."
Dragon's mind worked quickly. "Outlook... That's the Duke of Goa Kingdom..."
Sabo didn't deny it. He nodded. "Yes. I'm the Duke's son."
The current royal family of Goa Kingdom would soon die without heirs. The Outlook family was positioned to inherit the throne naturally.
So theoretically, if Sabo had stayed home, he would eventually become king.
Dragon was genuinely surprised. You're the son of a duke, true nobility, with everything you could want. Why are you inexplicably trying to join a revolutionary organization?
Is something wrong with you?
But then Dragon remembered intelligence he'd received recently. The Goa Kingdom's royal line was indeed dying out. The king was seriously ill with no children to inherit.
Dragon's sharp mind connected the dots immediately. If things progressed naturally, Sabo, with his family background, had an excellent chance of inheriting the throne.
If this kid really joined them and then became king of Goa Kingdom, the country could slowly transform into their East Blue base of operations.
Dragon could even accumulate experience governing a country here. Try implementing his ideals gradually, change Goa Kingdom from within...
That was extremely interesting.
However, despite thinking this internally, Dragon still harbored doubts about Sabo.
In truth, since Luffy and Ace had been taken under Finn's protection, Sabo naturally couldn't become sworn brothers with them.
Without the guidance of those two troublemakers, Sabo was still somewhat dissolute, but at least he hadn't thought about becoming a pirate. On the contrary, after learning about Dragon's ideals, Sabo had developed great expectations for changing the world and yearned to join the revolutionary cause.
He was truly remarkable. A member of the noble class wanting to join Dragon... It was like wanting to rebel against himself.
After thinking for a while, Dragon spoke carefully. "Although I'm pleased that you, as the duke's son, are ambitious enough to want to join us, to be honest, you're still very young. Your heart may not truly be with our cause. At the same time, I can't simply trust you without proof."
"If it's trust you need, I've already done something earth-shattering as my pledge of allegiance," Sabo said excitedly. "Actually, I originally wanted to use that event to attract your attention, make you investigate and look for me actively. But I didn't expect to be lucky enough to meet you directly, Mr. Dragon!"
He was just a teenager, talking about earth-shattering events and pledges of allegiance.
Dragon didn't take it seriously at all.
As people grow in cognition and age, as they experience more of the world, so-called "earth-shattering" events change in scale.
Like when you're a child and you fail a test and the teacher asks your parents to come to school. It feels like the sky is falling.
But once you enter society, you realize it means nothing.
Dragon understood this principle, so he didn't take the claim seriously. He asked casually, "What earth-shattering event?"
"I blew up a Celestial Dragon," Sabo said after a moment of surprise. "Didn't you know? Didn't you read the newspaper?"
Dragon froze.
He knew a Celestial Dragon had died in the East Blue. But... this had been done by this boy?
Dragon was extremely skeptical. This was such a monumental matter!
"Really?" Dragon asked softly. "Why did you want to kill a Celestial Dragon?"
Hatred flashed in Sabo's eyes. He gritted his teeth. "That creature was in Goa Kingdom for seven days. He caused the deaths of more than a hundred innocent people. He even assaulted the princess in public..."
"And then?"
"The port where he docked his ship is my family's property. I heard he was leaving, so I snuck out in the middle of the night. Got some explosives from the Gray Terminal and hid them in the bedroom on his ship." Sabo smiled, the expression cold for someone so young.
Dragon's mind raced. If something happened to a Celestial Dragon in Goa Kingdom, the country would face catastrophic consequences. Even the royal family would fall under suspicion, especially since this boy mentioned the Celestial Dragon assaulting the princess.
This matter would demand accountability. Considering the current situation of Goa Kingdom's king, Dragon had already sentenced the man to death in his mind.
Mary Geoise would definitely seek to settle accounts. Goa Kingdom would desperately need a shield strong enough to deflect this disaster.
Who could be more suitable as a scapegoat than a king already dying of illness, with no authority but high status?
Based on this conclusion, the Outlook family had the highest probability of succeeding to the throne.
And the heir of the Outlook family was standing in front of him right now.
Dragon felt his pulse quicken despite himself. This... it would be strange if he wasn't moved