"Blu blu blu..."
"Blu blu blu..."
Just as the two of them were drenched in cold sweat, wondering how they should even begin to explain, the Transponder Snail in their arms suddenly rang.
"Bad news!!!"
"It has to be Mama calling. I just reported that we'd arrived at Fish-Man Island!"
The two nervously took out the Transponder Snail.
Four eyes stared at it.
Neither of them dared to answer.
After all, Fish-Man Island was already a sensitive place, and now it involved a member of the giant race, a race Mama had always valued greatly.
Big Mom had always wanted Elbaf, the Land of Giants, to join Totto Land. She had even once considered marrying off one of her daughters for that very purpose.
If she found out a giant wanted to occupy the other half of Fish-Man Island...
No matter how things ended, the two of them would be seen as incompetent.
"Pekoms!!!"
Baron Tamago wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and urged Pekoms on.
"You answer it. I'm not getting dragged into this mess!!!"
In the end, Sadgeo walked over.
Under the terrified gazes of the surrounding fish-men and merfolk, he pulled the Transponder Snail into his hand. The receiver fell loose at the same time.
"Hey!!!"
"You're one of the Four Emperors, Big Mom, right?!"
At that moment, in Totto Land.
Big Mom looked at the face on the Transponder Snail and heard the unfamiliar voice. A trace of doubt appeared on her face.
"Who are you?!"
"I'm Sadgeo. The man who will become King of the World!!!"
Hearing that name, Big Mom froze for a moment.
Then a strange light burst from her eyes.
"So it's you!!!"
"The giant who suddenly appeared recently, and as a rookie with his first bounty, already reached eleven hundred million berries."
"Dark Sun, Sadgeo!!!"
Big Mom's original displeasure at being interrupted and offended vanished at once.
What remained was only surprise and delight.
Not only because of Sadgeo's giant bloodline.
But also because of his mysterious origin.
Any major power with decent intelligence channels had basically realized, albeit after the fact, that after Ozz released Sadgeo from the laboratory, his fallout with the World Government had been because of an artificial biological weapon.
And Sadgeo had even caused trouble on Sabaody Archipelago before walking away unharmed.
Anyone with eyes could tell what was going on.
How fascinating~
A being the World Government wanted to erase at any cost.
A result that monster Ozz had quietly produced after so many years.
Just how much impact would he bring to this world?
"Hey!!! Big Mom!!!"
Sadgeo did not care about any of that. He stared at the face on the Transponder Snail.
"The remaining half of Fish-Man Island is mine now, including the factory on the island."
"I won't allow your flag to exist there!!!"
"Ehhhhh!!!!"
Baron Tamago and Pekoms nearly had their souls scared out of their bodies, their mouths stretching wide open.
The fish-men beside them also backed away again and again in fear.
Sadgeo actually dared to speak to one of the Four Emperors like that...
But strangely enough, Big Mom on the other end did not erupt in rage because of it.
Whether it was the existence of Ozz standing behind him, or Sadgeo's giant bloodline, both were enough for her to temporarily set all of this aside.
Especially Sadgeo's declaration.
King of the World!!!
Even for an old-era powerhouse like her, someone who had weathered countless storms, those words still stirred her heart.
That was the ambition and dream once held by her former captain, Rocks.
Long ago, with her own eyes, she had been able to fully determine that Ozz would become another monster after Rocks, a monster whose strength would suppress the seas.
The live footage from the Summit War had proven that her judgment back then had not been wrong.
And now, Sadgeo's words made her heart move in the same way.
Could it be...
Was this the next era's Captain Rocks?
"Listen, brat. I'm quite interested in you~"
Big Mom looked down at the Transponder Snail, her gaze slowly pressing closer. A terrifying smile stretched across her lips.
"I once owed Ozz a favor, so in a way, you and I do have a connection."
"Come to Totto Land. I'll be waiting for you!!!"
"Mamama mamama"
"Oh! I'll come."
Sadgeo agreed without the slightest hesitation.
After all, his goal was to become King of the World.
A mere Emperor was nothing...
If possible, he could absorb her into his camp and make her part of the force that would attack the World Government.
Just like the Rocks Pirates.
Ozz, who had been secretly listening from the shadows, frowned.
She owed him a favor?
When did that happen?
After thinking back carefully, Ozz's brows relaxed.
It seemed to have been decades ago.
He had gone to Totto Land with Little Hawk and Little Crocodile, and Kaido had interrupted midway. Then Ozz had turned the situation back on Big Mom.
He had not expected her to still remember that.
Ozz felt a little sentimental.
After all, she had once been his white moonlight.
When he had time, he might as well visit Totto Land again.
It had been a long time since he last went to that island cluster made of sweets.
...
The Fish-Man Island incident came to an end.
The result was Sadgeo's victory through overwhelming strength.
The other half of Fish-Man Island now had an official master.
The Straw Hats' first reappearance ended in defeat once again, and under the protection of Ozz's flag on Fish-Man Island, they managed to survive.
The flag raised above the other half of Fish-Man Island was a circular ring wreathed in black flames.
It looked like a sun.
It also looked like a straw hat.
Countless reporters rushed to take photographs and publish reports, officially announcing Sadgeo's arrival to the New World.
That straw-hatted face with its broad, toothy grin once again appeared before countless great figures.
At the World Government.
Inside the Room of Authority.
The Five Elders looked at the smiling face in the newspaper, as well as the headlines.
The Strongest Giant Crushes the Straw Hat Pirates!!!
Whitebeard's Territory Officially Changes Hands. A Man Even the Four Emperors Must Yield To!!!
Shocking!!! The Man Who Declared He Will Become King of the World!!!
"What King of the World?!!!"
As terrifying Haki surged, the newspaper in their hand instantly turned to ash.
An unbearably heavy atmosphere rolled through the Room of Authority. Black-red flashes of Conqueror's Haki faintly crossed the air, making even the guards tremble.
"Notify Sakazuki of the Marines... and CP0!!!"
The shadows of the Five Elders stretched long beneath the dim yellow light. The silhouettes cast on the wall faintly resembled monstrous mythical beasts.
"Fish-Man Island's terrain makes things inconvenient."
"Then the moment Dark Sun leaves Fish-Man Island, launch the Buster Call at once!!!"
"Send a Marine Admiral."
"Erase him completely at the entrance to the New World!!!"
"Yes!!!"
The order was quickly issued.
The Marines held an emergency meeting overnight and laid an inescapable net at the beginning of the New World.
Sakazuki made the decision.
"Issho, you will lead this Buster Call."
"Coordinate with Rob Lucci of CP0!!!"
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