Chapter 775: Imminent Clash
About two or three days after Ian killed Fleet Admiral Akainu at Marine Headquarters and took away a large number of slaves from Mary Geoise, Kaido and the others, far away in Wano Country in the New World, also received the newspaper.
Yes, Kaido and his group had returned. After successfully stealing the Soul Fruit, they hadn't gone back to the Beast Pirates' main base but instead returned to hole up in Wano Country.
However, the timing of their return happened to miss Ian...
Kaido's good mood from successfully acquiring the Soul Fruit vanished completely the moment he returned to Kuri in Wano Country.
What did he see? The ground was littered with the corpses of members of the Beast Pirates' Fire Fox Fleet!
Because the relationships among Kaido's Three Calamities weren't particularly good, Kaido had them each command a fleet within his crew, splitting them into three groups. Jack the Drought led the Mammoth Fleet and was captain of the Mammoth; Queen the Plague led the Fire Fox Fleet and was captain of the Fire Fox; and King the Wildfire led the Lion Fleet and was captain of the Lion.
Before Kaido and the others set out, he had left Queen and her fleet stationed in Kuri, Wano Country. Queen's proposal to investigate the capital of Wano had also received Kaido's permission. However, what Kaido didn't expect was that when they returned, Queen was gone, and almost all the members of the Fire Fox Fleet had been killed!
Who did this!? Kaido flew into a rage on the spot.
However, when they finally found a survivor, they were stunned to discover that the Beast Pirates holed up in Kuri had likely been taken out by the Pirate King's "Left Hand," Scopper Gaban!
Scopper Gaban was actually in Wano Country, and his revenge had come this quickly?
If it had been anyone else, Kaido would have already stormed their doorstep. But Scopper Gaban was an exception—he was the only person who had left a massive scar on Kaido's body, and Kaido was somewhat wary of him.
Of course, to be honest, in a one-on-one fight, Scopper Gaban might not necessarily beat Kaido. The reason he could injure Kaido was purely because of that "relic" brought back from Laugh Tale.
Kaido didn't really care much about his underlings dying, but Queen's disappearance infuriated him.
He had also received intelligence about the commotion Queen caused at the Tenshukaku in the Wano capital and assumed she had been captured by the shogun of Wano. But just as he was about to lead his men to storm Tokugawa Yoshitaka's doorstep, news arrived that the Marines had announced Edward Weevil had captured Queen.
Queen was still very useful to Kaido, so when he saw the news, he didn't think twice and immediately wanted to lead the Beast Pirates charging toward Marine Headquarters.
If it had been Kaido making the decision alone, that might have been it. But the problem was that not only Doflamingo but also Blackbeard Teach and Golden Lion Shiki were there. These guys were all cunning old foxes; how could they not see that this news might be a trap? They immediately stopped Kaido.
In their words, why would the Marines travel all the way to Wano Country just to capture Queen? Edward Weevil, that blockhead, didn't seem like the type to have such a plan, so there had to be a hidden hand behind it.
Doflamingo and the others guessed right away who that hidden hand was—it had to be Ian.
Just as Ian had speculated, this villain alliance, when faced with a situation, first considered gains and losses rather than loyalty. When they realized this might be Ian's scheme to lure them into attacking Marine Headquarters or Impel Down, Doflamingo and Teach were the most opposed, becoming the main force persuading Kaido.
Golden Lion Shiki was a bit better; after all, he was from the era of the Pirate King and had to maintain some seniority, so he didn't say much.
But he also opposed a full-scale war with Marine Headquarters when they knew it was a trap.
Kaido wasn't someone easily persuaded, but since his allies weren't willing to act, he knew the chances of rescuing Queen were slim and could only plan for the long term.
From this, you could see the difference between Kaido and Whitebeard. In the original history, when Ace was captured by the Marines, Whitebeard knew it was a trap but still went all out to rescue him, never considering the cost.
These guys had planned to wait a while and figure out a way to get Queen out, but plans changed faster than they could adapt. Then they got the news of Akainu's death!
Ian appearing at Sabaody Archipelago and Marineford confirmed Doflamingo and the others' guess: Queen had been captured by Ian and handed over to the Marines! But the news that Ian had killed Akainu left them confused: This script didn't seem right!
If Ian wanted to lure the Beast Pirates into war with the Marines, why would he kill Akainu? That would cause a huge loss in Marine combat power—how could the Beast Pirates then fight the Marines to a mutual destruction?
Even Doflamingo and Teach, who were sure this was a trap, couldn't figure it out...
How could they know that Ian killing Akainu was purely a spur-of-the-moment decision?
But when Doflamingo and Teach put their heads together, they saw an opportunity!
With Akainu dead, the power transition in the Marines would leave a period of vacuum. Whether Kizaru became the new Fleet Admiral or not, the aftermath of the battle at Marineford would keep the Marines in chaos for a while. Moreover, since a Fleet Admiral had been killed directly, it was a huge blow to Marine morale. Distrust of the Marines among the world's nations would peak, and their bickering with the World Government would drag on for a long time.
If they attacked Mary Geoise at this time, they might reap huge rewards...
Yes, out of caution, Doflamingo and Teach believed they shouldn't attack Marine Headquarters but should go straight for Mary Geoise!
Because... the Celestial Dragons' national treasure was definitely in Mary Geoise!
They could save Queen if possible, or leave her for now if not. But the key was to get the Celestial Dragons' national treasure. Wasn't that what this whole alliance had been planning for so long? This was a perfect opportunity!
As for the instigator of the whole affair, the Dragon Hunter Pirates, Doflamingo and the others thought it wasn't time to clash head-on with Ian yet.
They had received news that the Whitebeard Pirates were heading to Whole Cake Island. And after the Soul Fruit heist, the Red Hair Pirates were also furious, so they were on their way to Whole Cake Island as well. When Ian returned, it would be a gathering of three Emperors. Even Doflamingo and Teach felt a shiver at that lineup.
To defeat the Dragon Hunter, Whitebeard, and Red Hair Pirates, Kaido's side didn't have much of a chance. So instead of fighting them now, it was better to get the Celestial Dragons' national treasure first and then crush them all in one go!
With no rivals left, they could easily rule the entire New World...
And so, the Beast Pirates, the Blackbeard Pirates, and the Golden Lion Pirates began to move, their target set on Mary Geoise...
…………………………
Ian probably never imagined that his accidental killing of Akainu would actually push Kaido and the other villains into action.
But as the villain alliance began to mobilize, in Mary Geoise, the Five Elders were also presiding over a secret meeting.
The attendees were the heads of the eighteen remaining Celestial Dragon families!
"Descendants of the Creators," the Celestial Dragons called themselves. Eight hundred years ago, of the twenty families that founded the World Government, the Nefertari family refused to become World Nobles and returned to Alabasta, while the Donquixote family was expelled from Mary Geoise because Doflamingo's father voluntarily gave up their status as World Nobles. So now, only eighteen families remained.
"Disgrace! Is this the Marine Fleet Admiral you chose!?"
The speaker was the head of the Roswald family, an old man wearing a glass bubble. He was the current head of the Roswald family and the grandfather of Sharulia, who had been killed by Koala. Furious over his granddaughter's death, he blamed Akainu and was now pounding the table and shouting.
The Five Elders looked grim and remained silent.
They knew the Celestial Dragons were truly panicked this time. The death of one clansman might not have mattered much, but the murderer had brazenly re-entered Mary Geoise, forcing all Celestial Dragons to take refuge in the underground shelter. The Marines and the World Government had no way to respond!
If not for Garp stepping in, that kid Ian might have already carried out a scorched-earth policy on Mary Geoise!
For the first time in history, all Celestial Dragons felt their lives were threatened. No wonder all the family leaders had gathered here to denounce the Five Elders...
If Ian's existence made the Celestial Dragons deeply uneasy, then Doflamingo and Kaido, who coveted the Celestial Dragons' national treasure, were even more of a thorn in their side.
"Say no more!" The head of the Charlcos family waved his hand. "The plan to activate the national treasure is irreversible. This time, we must make these lawless scoundrels recognize their mistakes! These filthy commoners will pay with their lives for the sin of offending the descendants of the Creators!"
"The ancestor has awakened!" The head of the Mjosgard family said grimly. "He will ride the national treasure and deliver divine punishment to the sinners!"
One after another, the heads of the Celestial Dragon families shouted indignantly at the meeting. Seeing this momentum, the Five Elders knew the Celestial Dragons' anger wouldn't be easily quelled. They could only sigh and say, "Very well, since that's the case, we won't stop you. But we hope you remember your promise not to escalate things further. Surely you don't want to see the world destroyed, leaving you with no one to pay tribute?"
"Rest assured on that point!" The heads of the Celestial Dragon families exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.
And so, after the meeting ended, the identity chips kept by each Celestial Dragon family were retrieved from their secret chambers, activated by their respective bloodlines, and taken out...