The scorching Bolo Breath swept across the ground, leaving behind a trail of red-hot molten rock.
A violent heat wave spread outward together with the shockwave.
As for the ninja who had been protecting Kurozumi Orochi nearby, they stood there in stunned silence, staring at the mark left behind by the blast.
Not even a hair remained.
Kurozumi Orochi was dead.
Of course, they did not have much time to be shocked, because several more blasts of breath soon tore across the area, turning the entire Flower Capital into a sea of flames.
Those who were still alive were desperately fleeing the city.
No one knew what madness had seized Kaido.
On the shattered remains of Onigashima, King and Queen, both wrapped in bandages, stared blankly at the burning Flower Capital before slowly turning to look at each other.
"What the hell is going on with Kaido-sama? And what about those guys?"
Queen's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
The situation before him had already gone far beyond his understanding.
Several days ago, something had started going wrong with Kaido.
His temper had become more and more violent, and then he had begun attacking his own subordinates on Onigashima.
After that, things had turned into this.
"I don't know."
King shook his head.
If his own strength had been even a little worse, he would have died under Kaido's club.
He could tell that something was wrong with Kaido, but he could not identify exactly what it was.
Just as the two of them were completely confused and unable to understand what had happened to Kaido, a tall figure approached them.
Behind that figure followed a dense crowd of black silhouettes.
"Here they come again."
A helpless look appeared in King's eyes as he turned toward the approaching figures.
The pirates who had survived Kaido's attacks had also fallen into that same frenzied state.
"What now?"
Queen turned and looked, instantly feeling his scalp go numb.
"We leave this place first."
After thinking for a moment, King directly spread his wings and flew away, leaving Queen frozen for a second before he immediately felt speechless.
That bastard wasn't even going to take him along?
Although he was irritated, Queen still jumped down without hesitation.
It wasn't as if he would die from the fall.
To hell with it.
Seeing their two targets disappear, Jack and the group of Beasts Pirates did not pursue them.
Instead, they also turned their gazes toward the Flower Capital.
Inside the ruined Onigashima, a group of young figures were hiding within the gaps of a collapsed building.
At that moment, they did not know what they should do either.
The group of youngsters turned to look at the figure sitting in the corner.
"Yamato-sama!"
Hearing someone call her, the seated figure raised her head.
"That bastard has gone insane."
After Kaido went mad and rampaged through Onigashima, Yamato had been released by Ulti and the others.
But freeing her did not solve anything.
Right now, everyone still capable of moving on Onigashima had become like Kaido.
"What do we do now?"
Page One turned to look at the others beside him and asked in a low voice.
"Let's leave this place first."
As Ulti spoke, she looked toward Yamato.
Yamato lifted her head and was about to speak when the gap they had been hiding in was suddenly torn open.
A pirate with eyes glowing red appeared soundlessly before them.
"Hehe… found you."
Seeing the people hiding inside, the red-eyed pirate let out a strange laugh.
Then, from the distance, the sound of many feet rushing toward them began to ring out.
"Thunder Bagua!"
Yamato sprang up, swinging the club in her hand and sending the pirate blocking the way flying before charging out first.
The others followed right behind her.
Onigashima, which had only just quieted slightly, fell into chaos once more.
However, none of this had anything to do with Kaido anymore.
After turning the Flower Capital completely into a sea of fire, Kaido leapt into the air, transformed into a black dragon, plunged into the clouds, and vanished.
…
Totto Land, Candy Island.
"If you want to follow, then follow. But if a battle breaks out this time, you don't need to make a move."
Cyrus looked at Robin and Baby 5 standing in front of him as he spoke.
"We agreed on this before. I don't want to become dead weight."
Robin stared straight into Cyrus's eyes and spoke seriously.
Although she had been working hard to grow stronger, the opponents Cyrus fought were all terrifyingly powerful, and even the subordinates of those opponents were no weaklings.
No matter how hard she trained, Robin kept realizing that she still could not help much.
"You've already done very well."
Cyrus froze for a moment, then smiled and raised a hand to pat Robin on the shoulder.
"Then get aboard."
After saying that, Cyrus directly boarded the ship, though he turned his head and looked toward Issho.
Although Issho could not see, his Observation Haki was extremely strong.
He understood what Cyrus meant just from that look and nodded lightly.
Fine.
Wasn't this just babysitting?
It wasn't as if he had never done it before.
Of course, Issho also knew his real target this time.
Blackbeard, Teach, from Whitebeard's ship.
The Rose Hunter slowly left the harbor, and behind it, one dessert pirate ship after another followed.
"Protecting yourselves is the top priority this time."
Katakuri looked at the Rose Hunter sailing in the distance ahead and spoke.
"What if we're discovered not putting in any effort?"
Hearing Katakuri's words, the people beside him wore different expressions.
The one who spoke was Charlotte Oven, one of Katakuri's triplet brothers.
"That was that man's order."
Katakuri looked toward Oven, then swept his gaze over Smoothie, Cracker, and the others.
"That man won't stay in Totto Land for too long. The Hunter Guild here will be managed by me afterward. At the very least, that means your lives will be preserved."
Hearing Katakuri say that, the expressions of the others all changed.
"I know what you're thinking. 'But Mama has recovered now, and she still remains on Candy Island. No one is guarding her either.'"
Katakuri knew Big Mom's current situation very clearly.
"Mama, she…"
Smoothie frowned.
"Because Mama understands that she is not that man's opponent."
When Katakuri said that, he actually felt helpless too.
Of course he knew how he looked in the eyes of his brothers and sisters right now.
They probably saw him as a traitor, or something close to it. Even if they did not say it aloud, that was likely what they thought.
But this was the only method he could think of.
"What will happen to Mama after this?"
Cracker stared straight at Katakuri.
"She will be sent to Impel Down."
Katakuri answered, and the others froze for a second before their expressions changed drastically.
"Isn't that guy hostile to the Marines?"
Smoothie's eyes widened.
"Yeah. After what he did to the Celestial Dragons, there's no way the World Government would just ignore him, right?"
Could an attack on Mary Geoise really be brushed aside?
And according to the information circulating now, many Celestial Dragons had died during Cyrus's attack on Mary Geoise.
In the past, even the death of a single Celestial Dragon would have caused a huge uproar.
"I don't know the details, but you're right. Cyrus is indeed hostile to the Marines and the World Government."
Katakuri naturally did not know that Cyrus was planning to use the Marines as prison keepers.
"That man…"
The group exchanged looks.
"If, and I mean if, Mama really is handed over to the Marines, should we…"
Daifuku hesitated before speaking.
"We'll discuss that later. For now, we deal with what's in front of us first."
Katakuri raised a hand to stop him.
"This time, only the Moby Dick has come. It may only be Whitebeard and his division commanders. We don't need to concern ourselves with Whitebeard. What we need to stop are his commanders."
"We have fought them before.
"And before we set out, that man also said that we may not need to act this time. It depends on what choice Whitebeard makes."
"Brother Katakuri, do you think that man can defeat Whitebeard?"
Smoothie looked seriously at Katakuri and asked.
The moment the others heard that, they all paid close attention.
"Don't you already have the answer in your hearts? The result probably won't change."
"But if that's the case, don't tell me that man intends to send Whitebeard to the Marines too?"
Cracker said with a strange expression.
Hearing that, the others all stared wide-eyed at Katakuri.
"Perhaps. But that is also something we can only discuss after this matter is over. For now, return to your own ships and prepare. Remember, preserving your own lives comes first. Also, if that man and Whitebeard truly end up fighting, do not get close."
Katakuri gave the warning.
The others nodded, then left one after another.
"From now on, we won't be pirates anymore, right?"
After everyone had returned to their own ships, Charlotte Brûlée's voice sounded.
"Didn't I tell you to stay on Candy Island?"
Hearing Brûlée's voice, Katakuri frowned.
"I was just worried. But I've already connected the mirrors on everyone's ships. If necessary, I can move everyone into the Mirro-World in a very short time."
Hearing her say that, Katakuri shook his head slightly and said nothing more.
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator