At the same time that Lucas’s recruitment of special combat forces was getting underway, the New World was also being thrown into a state of full mobilization.
Wano Country, Onigashima.
Thousands upon thousands of pirates had already gathered there.
Among them were no shortage of powerful figures comparable to officers.
Even the remaining Tobi Roppo had all assembled.
Looking down at the densely packed sea of people below, Kaido threw his head back and laughed ferociously.
"Hahaha! As expected of the top combat forces of my Beasts Pirates. We’re only thirty people short of assembling an army of more than five hundred Zoan Devil Fruit users."
"If Marine Headquarters and the Whitebeard Pirates knew that I possessed such a trump card, I wonder what their expressions would be."
At this point, Kaido changed the subject and quickly turned toward Queen, snorting.
"By the way, that clown promised to provide us with three hundred Artificial Devil Fruits in a short period of time, didn’t he?"
"Contact him immediately. At most, I can offer him twice the original price. If he dares demand three times the price again, don’t blame me for personally going over there and killing him."
This time, Marine Headquarters had simultaneously declared war on two Yonko.
In Kaido’s eyes, it was nothing short of the greatest humiliation imaginable.
Now even Jack, one of his three top combat forces, had fallen into the hands of Marine Headquarters.
Kaido naturally wasn’t going to let this excellent opportunity to demonstrate his power slip away.
"Big Bro Kaido, don’t worry. King has already gone to contact him. However, I heard that the clown actually refused Marine Headquarters’ summons and won’t agree unless the new Marine Admiral personally goes to see him."
Queen sat nearby with a cigar in his mouth, forcing out an awkward laugh.
"Given that clown’s fondness for haggling, I think the new Marine Admiral is definitely going to be thoroughly disgusted by him. He’ll absolutely regret going there."
"I heard Fleet Admiral Sengoku only offered thirty million Berries for this mission."
"What do you guys think? Is this Marine Admiral an idiot?"
"Hahaha!"
The pirates gathered around immediately burst into laughter.
A cold smile also flashed deep within Kaido’s eyes.
But before he could speak, King’s voice suddenly came from nearby.
"I’ve just received word. I’m afraid our deal with the clown is going to be canceled."
"Marine Headquarters has already recruited Doflamingo."
"Doflamingo agreed to the summons?"
Queen’s expression froze.
He clearly hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly.
The cold smile that had just appeared in Kaido’s eyes was instantly replaced by fury.
The next moment, he roared angrily.
"That damn clown! Not only did he agree to the summons, he even dared to cancel the deal he made with me!"
"Does he really think he can disregard Kaido?"
"If that’s how it is, then don’t blame me for being ruthless. I’ll personally go over there and demand an explanation!"
Kaido grabbed the enormous kanabō beside him and turned around, intending to transform into his Azure Dragon form and soar into the sky.
However, the moment he moved, King reached out and stopped him first.
His expression was grim.
"Boss Kaido, don’t be too impulsive. Doflamingo really was recruited by Marine Headquarters."
"But..."
"He was carried aboard."
Kaido and Queen’s pupils contracted slightly.
Neither of them had expected King to give them such an answer.
Looking at King’s completely serious expression, it was obvious that he wasn’t joking.
But what concerned them even more was this method of recruitment.
Was Marine Headquarters really recruiting a Warlord of the Sea to help them?
Or were they taking this opportunity to declare war on the Warlords as well?
Meanwhile, on Fullalead Island.
The pirate ships gathered there had already filled the harbor entrance.
The enormous Moby Dick was likewise packed with figures.
Whitebeard sat in his chair, reading the intelligence report in his hands.
His expression was filled with shock.
It took him more than half a minute to recover before he finally spoke in a deep voice.
"Marco, is this intelligence really accurate?"
"Doflamingo, the Warlord of the Sea who previously rejected Marine Headquarters, was actually carried aboard their ship?"
"This way of doing things... As expected of the most unpredictable Admiral Marine Headquarters has ever had."
Marco smiled bitterly and nodded.
"Pops, I was shocked too when I received the news."
"Afterward, I did everything I could to find witnesses who had seen what happened. Unfortunately, those who witnessed the incident were either eliminated or simply disappeared without a trace."
"In the end, all we know is that Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, was carried aboard the ship by people acting under the new Marine Admiral, Lucas."
"What I can’t understand is that Marine Headquarters has clearly declared war on two Yonko at the same time. They should place tremendous importance on the combat power of the Warlords."
"So why would they allow their new Admiral to act so recklessly?"
After he said this, quite a few people on the deck were left scratching their heads.
After hesitating for a moment, Vista the Flower Sword spoke.
"Marco, regardless of why Marine Headquarters is allowing that Admiral to act however he wants, this is still a good thing for us, isn’t it?"
"With one fewer Warlord, the pressure on us will actually be reduced."
"That’s right! Vista’s correct!"
"I agree!"
Diamond Jozu and the others voiced their agreement one after another.
But as soon as they finished speaking, Marco smiled bitterly.
"Of course it’s a good thing."
"But haven’t you forgotten that this guy also has the mission of recruiting special combat forces?"
"I’m worried that the reason he’s able to act so recklessly is because a group of monsters has already gathered aboard his ship."
The moment those words fell, the enormous deck fell completely silent.
Even Whitebeard’s expression changed slightly.
For a moment, he couldn’t find anything with which to refute Marco’s concern.
Meanwhile, three hundred nautical miles from the waters surrounding Dressrosa, a massive warship was cutting rapidly through the waves.
Doll glanced at Doflamingo, who was still unconscious and had been dumped in a corner of the deck.
The muscles in her cheek twitched involuntarily.
She then hurried over to Lucas.
"Admiral Lucas, are we heading straight back to Marine Headquarters?"
"Isn’t there going to be a problem with treating a Warlord like this? Should we report to Fleet Admiral Sengoku first?"
In Doll’s eyes, Doflamingo was, after all, one of the Warlords of the Sea recruited for this operation.
There was even a possibility that he would be needed to fight against a Yonko.
Yet right now, he had been thrown onto the deck like a dead dog, with Seastone shackles still locked around his wrists.
The treatment was almost painful to look at.
Doll genuinely worried about what the notoriously arrogant Doflamingo would look like when he woke up and saw his current situation.
"Dump this trouble on Marine Headquarters?"
Lucas took a gulp of Strong liquor while gazing out at the distant sea.
Then his eyebrows rose slightly, and he smiled.
"I was just wondering where I should look for a lead."
"I didn’t expect my luck to be this good. The other side delivered themselves right to my doorstep."
"Ain, hard to starboard."
"Head in the direction I’m pointing."
"Whether we can gather eight or nine special combat forces this time..."
"It’s all going to depend on this."
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