The clash between Shiraishi and Kaido did not last long. Following his arrival, Red-Haired Shanks stepped in as usual, asking everyone to "give him some face" and stand down.
Although Kaido still wanted to brawl, seeing that the other three Emperors had zero intention of fighting, he was no fool—unwilling to get jumped by three Emperors at once, he called a truce with Shiraishi.
From their brief exchange of blows, Kaido lacked the bizarre bag of tricks BIG MOM possessed, but he made up for it with overwhelming physical dominance, pushing raw brute force to its absolute zenith. It was no wonder he was hailed as the "Strongest Creature across Land, Sea, and Air."
Shanks picked up a jar of sake and poured a bowl for Shiraishi, Kaido, and Whitebeard respectively: "The Marines might already be on their way to Fish-Man Island."
Kaido scoffed at the mention of the Navy: "Do they dare show up? Confronting all four of us at the same time?"
Shanks shook his head: "The combat strength of Marine Headquarters is never to be underestimated. Kaido, you're being far too arrogant."
Kaido sneered at Shanks's excessively cautious tone, clinking bowls with Whitebeard and downing his liquor in long, heavy gulps, radiating raw, unbridled swagger.
"Not bad liquor."
Shiraishi drank from his bowl as well. However, his alcohol tolerance was mediocre at best; within moments, a light buzz set in, forcing him to subtly circulate his freezing powers to evaporate the alcohol from his system.
"Since everyone is here, let's lay out our bottom lines."
Kaido was characteristically blunt. Half-reclining his massive frame, he unrolled a large sea chart. Speaking without restraint, he planted the head of his spiked club Hassaikai directly over the territory of Wano Country: "This is my bottom line."
Wano Country?
The legendary homeland of the dragon-slaying samurai Ryuma was an isolated nation that never entertained outsiders, refused to affiliate with the World Government, and barred Marine battleships from its waters.
Its citizens wore traditional kimono, spoke in classical dialects, and revered powerful swordsmen as samurai. The supreme ruler of the land was titled the Shogun.
As a powerhouse of swordsmanship in the New World, Wano was renowned for extreme isolationism. Because its samurai were exceptionally formidable, even the Navy dared not approach its borders.
At the mention of Wano Country, both Shanks and Whitebeard turned their gaze toward Shiraishi.
The true origin of the Sunagakure Pirates remained an enigma across the seas, but figures like Uchiha Madara, Aoki Shiraishi, the shrine maiden Kikyo, and Yachiru Unohana all carried distinct cultural motifs reminiscent of Wano.
Naturally, many across the world suspected the Sunagakure Pirates hailed from the samurai nation.
Kaido explicitly claiming Wano as his territory brought a sudden, heavy silence over the clearing. Even Kaido fixed his gaze on Shiraishi, watching for his reaction.
"The thirty-four islands of Totto Land and the Sky Corridor are my baseline."
Shiraishi showed zero reaction to Wano Country, defying everyone's expectations—even Kaido looked surprised.
Could it be that Aoki Shiraishi truly isn't from Wano?
Outside Marine Headquarters, Marineford
"Sakazuki, all four Emperors are present at Fish-Man Island. Rushing in recklessly gives us zero chance of victory."
Outside the naval fortress, Akainu Sakazuki and Aokiji Kuzan walked side by side. Kuzan couldn't comprehend the orders issued by Sakazuki and Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Even if Marine Headquarters committed its entire naval force, they couldn't guarantee victory against all four Emperors—let alone dispatching just the two of them.
Noticing Kuzan's confusion, Sakazuki stopped in his tracks, lightly adjusting his cap: "Of course I know we have no chance of winning down there!"
"So... your target isn't the Four Emperors at all?"
Kuzan caught on instantly: "Are there informants for the Four Emperors or other pirate crews inside Marine Headquarters?"
"Yes. That is precisely why Fleet Admiral Sengoku assigned me an alternate mission." Sakazuki handed a classified dossier to Kuzan: "Rather than Fish-Man Island, CP0 has confirmed that above Tan Island in the New World, there exists a low-altitude entry into the White Sea."
A low-altitude White Sea?
Kuzan grasped Sakazuki's intent immediately.
His Ice-Ice Fruit (Hie Hie no Mi) was perfectly suited to constructing a frozen ramp reaching up into the low-altitude White Sea. The Navy had already established a covert outpost on Tan Island; if this frozen ascent succeeded, the Marines could plant their own strategic foothold on Sky Island.
While Marine Headquarters had no immediate plans to assault Sky Island directly, establishing a covert base in the skies was a strategic necessity.
To accomplish this, they required Kuzan's freezing abilities to forge and reinforce this frozen pathway to the heavens...
"This operation must remain top secret to prevent information from leaking to these pirates."
Cracking the secret of the Sky Corridor was a matter of paramount importance. Even the Navy had to proceed with extreme discretion; if other pirate crews caught wind of it, a massive tempest would erupt across the seas.
After all, pirates worldwide envied the Sunagakure Pirates for monopolizing the most dazzling airborne route across the Grand Line.
Compared to coating a ship at the Sabaody Archipelago, the Sky Corridor was entirely pirate-controlled territory—by paying a standard transit fee, crews could bypass Marine patrols and enter the New World safely.
However, only a small fraction of the Sky Corridor was open to the public. Beyond servicing pirate transit, Sky Island had developed into a premier luxury resort destination. Partnering with Donquixote Doflamingo, Shiraishi had established a grand resort on the island of Birka, catering to high-profile guests.
Among those guests were prominent aristocrats and officials from the World Government itself...
In the criminal underworld, Doflamingo was indeed a figure with influence that reached the highest heavens.
Fish-Man Island
"Aoki, there's another matter I want to collaborate with you on."
While Shanks and Whitebeard continued their drinking contest, Kaido spoke up casually.
"Oh?"
"I need Artificial Devil Fruits."
Kaido didn't care in the slightest that Shanks and Whitebeard were listening; he laid out his proposal openly. Hearing Kaido mention Artificial Devil Fruits, Whitebeard showed zero interest, while Shanks cast a quiet, contemplative glance at Shiraishi.
"Did Doflamingo tell you about this?"
With a single remark, Kaido had deliberately planted seeds of suspicion in Shanks and Whitebeard regarding the true depth of the relationship between Shiraishi and himself. It seemed the brute was not as reckless as he appeared on the surface; he possessed a surprisingly calculating side.
"I'll pay you handsomely," Kaido added. "Besides, that technology is mainly geared toward producing semi-finished Zoan fruits anyway."
Three years ago, Caesar Clown had defected to Doflamingo. Doflamingo originally intended to house him on the Blue Sea for secret research, but Shiraishi advised moving the facility up to Sky Island instead.
Caesar Clown—a former scientist with the Navy's Science Unit—had been expelled and branded a wanted criminal for conducting inhumane experiments. Currently, his primary responsibility was producing SAD, the core ingredient required to synthesize the artificial Zoan Devil Fruits known as SMILE.
Beyond that, Caesar peddled his newly developed toxic gas weapon, Land of Death (Shinokuni), to various underworld factions across the New World.
To facilitate Caesar's research and testing, Shiraishi had placed him in charge of a secret facility in the White Sea. The two had exchanged ideas on several occasions; Shiraishi's insights had provided Caesar with sudden breakthroughs, even prompting the scientist to bypass human gigantification trials on children entirely and pivot in an alternate direction.
Because the research facility was situated on Sky Island, Shiraishi held total command over this critical technology. While Shiraishi possessed little personal interest in Lineage Factor research, he had no intention of letting Kaido monopolize such a weapon.
As for Doflamingo, the man was true to his two-faced nature—hedging his bets with Shiraishi while secretly opening backchannels with Kaido.
During their recent collaborations, including the matter with Caesar, Doflamingo had harbored subtle grievances over Shiraishi's dominance. Seeking a partnership with Kaido was a calculated attempt to avoid over-relying on the Sunagakure Pirates.
Yet walking a tightrope between two Emperors of the Sea was a gamble only someone as brazen as Doflamingo would dare attempt.
Now that Kaido had laid the proposal bare, Shiraishi sank into quiet contemplation.