The Navy's reorganization of Totto Land was still ongoing, and the resulting chaos would likely drag on for quite some time.
Kuzan had taken up position on Whole Cake Island to oversee all affairs related to Totto Land, while Issho held the line at G-11. The two Admirals coordinated across vast distances, commanding the elite forces of the Navy.
With Big Mom's rapid downfall, the surrounding powers were slow to react—almost too slow. The events unfolded so quickly that they only began to process the situation after the news had already hit the papers.
Marco's camp was the first to reinforce their defenses and closely monitor both Totto Land and the Navy's movements.
Shanks, for his part, didn't see any major disturbances. On the contrary, Elbaf had become a festive hub in recent days, brimming with a jubilation that rivaled the Winter Solstice Festival. The royal court led the celebration, and all of Elbaf was swept up in the revelry.
But Kaido, ever the brute, didn't sit idle. He immediately deployed his "Calamities" to begin stirring trouble near the border between his territory and Totto Land.
The timing coincided with the Reverie, and Kaido made his stance clear: "You Navy dogs don't have the manpower to stop me." He launched a fierce assault on Totto Land—only to be met head-on by a swift counterstrike, as Kuzan and Issho used the Lightforged Beacon to redeploy their troops with overwhelming precision.
That blow brought Kaido back to his senses.
He wasn't a fool. The Navy's maneuver had revealed exactly how they managed to seize Whole Cake Island so quickly.
"Kaido-san, the matter has been more or less clarified,"
The Calamity of Arms, X Drake, naturally oversaw troop movements. He stepped forward to report:
"The elite troops the Navy used against us had, until recently, been stationed at Whole Cake Island and G-11. They appeared at the front in an incredibly short amount of time."
"Even if Admiral 'Fujitora' Issho supported the operation by flying, relocating such a large force would have required evacuating nearly half the Marine bases."
Drake spoke with grim certainty:
"Yet there have been no reports of large-scale aerial deployment. Moreover, the Navy's Skyblade, Kuina, and her airborne fortress are still stationed at Whole Cake Island and haven't moved."
"There's no doubt—the Navy has access to a method or device that allows them to rapidly reposition troops!"
The Calamity of Plague, Queen, looked worn out lately. Even his tiny triangular shades couldn't conceal the dark circles under his eyes.
With a cigar clenched between his teeth, he looked noticeably thinner, his suspenders now hanging loose on his frame.
"From a professional standpoint, I'd say they've got someone with powers similar to Charlotte Brûlée—a user of a special ability that allows for spatial teleportation!"
"Idiot. Anyone can see that. That's your 'professional analysis'?"
The Calamity of Conflagration, King, didn't hold back. Ever since Queen came back from Zou with his tail between his legs and started obsessing over how to suppress his growing tumors, King's barbs had grown ever sharper.
"What we need now is a countermeasure!"
"You freakin' flame freak! If you've got nothing useful to say, shut up!"
Queen exploded.
"I am trying to think, damn it!"
"Still just a worthless blob."
"Why you—!"
"Enough, both of you."
Kaido put down the enormous jug of booze he'd been chugging, letting out a massive belch.
"That old hag is dead, which means one less debt I've got to repay…"
"But what matters now is that her Road Poneglyph has fallen into Navy hands!"
That silenced the three Calamities. It was indeed a critical problem.
"Big Mom's Road Poneglyph is indispensable if you want to become Pirate King…" King nodded solemnly.
"But we're not completely in the dark."
"Oh?" Kaido grabbed a new jug and started guzzling again. "What've you heard?"
Clearly, the fact that Big Mom had been taken down by the combined might of three of the Navy's top forces had shaken even Kaido.
And to make matters worse, that ungrateful brat Katakuri had gone and joined the World Government as a Warlord of the Sea…
Kaido nearly dropped his jaw when he heard the news.
Then again, it did sound like something Katakuri would do—becoming a Warlord was the fastest and safest way to rescue his siblings from Impel Down.
Kaido couldn't help but wonder: "If the Navy took me out, would you three bastards run off to be Warlords too?"
He gave King a strange look.
Not without reason, King held a position in the Beasts Pirates that closely mirrored Katakuri's role in the Big Mom Pirates.
Kaido shook his head, dismissing the thought. He knew King's temperament was far nastier than Katakuri's, and with his origins, there was no way he'd ever submit to the World Government.
King sensed something odd in Kaido's stare but assumed it was just the old beast feeling uncomfortable over Big Mom's death. After all, they'd once been crewmates—and she had done Kaido a major favor.
"Kaido-san," Drake spoke again. "The Revolutionary Army also appeared at Whole Cake Island. Their Chief of Staff even infiltrated the Tea Party to help Straw Hat Luffy escape."
"The Revolutionary Army… and Straw Hat…"
Kaido muttered. He didn't care much about Straw Hat—but the Revolutionary Army was another matter.
"Those sneaky bastards, crawling out of the woodwork again. Totto Land had surveillance tighter than a steel trap, and they still got in?"
"It seems so."
King continued:
"According to our intel, they may have been targeting Big Mom's famed intelligence network—said to be the best in the underground."
"Hmph. That old hag is dead. How much of that system is even still functional?"
Kaido snorted in disdain.
"Without the Soul-Soul Fruit, how're they gonna make new Homies?"
"Hmm… My guess is they were after the information already gathered. There's a treasure trove of confidential intel there—much of it never made public."
King managed the Beasts Pirates' own intelligence network, and he'd long coveted Big Mom's.
"If that's the case, there's a decent chance they got away with at least a copy of the Road Poneglyph."
"Hmph?"
Kaido's eyes gleamed. That did sound plausible.
The Revolutionary Army had no interest in becoming Pirate King. But for them to sneak into Whole Cake Island at that moment, right under the Navy's nose, and steal Big Mom's intelligence?
There's no way they missed the Road Poneglyph.
And then…
"Did you say Straw Hat?"
Kaido suddenly realized something. He dropped the jug and looked at King.
"That brat who tried to assassinate the old hag at the Tea Party? The Revolutionary Army's Chief of Staff is his sworn brother?"
"That's right."
Drake twitched at the corner of his mouth, offering a moment of silent pity for Straw Hat. Back in the East Blue, when Wright rescued Nami, it had been Drake who took down Captain Nezumi.
He knew exactly what kind of bond Straw Hat's crew had with Wright.
"Muhahaha!"
Queen rubbed his eyes, chuckling as if he remembered something hilarious.
"That brat's always spouting off about becoming the Pirate King!"
"The newspapers even praised him for trying to assassinate the old hag. What a joke!"
"A greenhorn like him, dreaming of becoming Pirate King?"
"Pirate King…"
Kaido's voice grew low and gravelly.
"Then tell me, do you think that sworn brother of his, the Revolutionary Army's Chief of Staff, would give him a copy of the Road Poneglyph?"
"And besides… with the old hag dead, there's no telling whether that three-eyed daughter of hers will ever awaken her ability."
"Which means, as far as we know, the only person left who can read the Poneglyphs… is the woman traveling with Straw Hat—Nico Robin."
King and Queen fell silent. Drake opened his mouth, only to close it again.
This guy Kaido… his instincts are terrifyingly accurate!
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