Meanwhile, as Luo Yu's special combatant recruitment continued, the New World was stirring.
—
On Onigashima, Wano Country—
Tens of thousands of pirates had already gathered.
Among them were high-ranking officers, including the remaining members of the Tobi Roppo.
Looking down at the sea of heads, Kaido let out a savage laugh.
"Hahaha! As expected of my Beasts Pirates' elite force. Just thirty more, and we'll have over 500 Zoan-type Devil Fruit users!"
"Marine HQ? Whitebeard Pirates? I wonder what their faces will look like when they realize I've got this trump card."
He turned sharply to Queen and growled:
"That damn Clown—didn't he promise to deliver 300 SMILE fruits soon?"
"Contact him now. I'll pay double at most. If he dares ask for triple, I'll kill him myself."
To Kaido, the Navy's simultaneous declaration of war on two Yonko was the ultimate insult.
Especially with Jack—one of his top three calamities—captured by Marine HQ.
This was the perfect time to show his might.
"Don't worry, Boss Kaido," Queen said, puffing on a cigar.
"King's already gone to contact him. But I heard that Clown refused the Navy's summons—said he'd only talk if the new Admiral came in person."
"Knowing how much he loves to haggle, I bet that new Admiral's going to be disgusted. He'll regret ever going."
"And get this—Sengoku only offered 30 million Berries for the mission."
"What kind of idiot Admiral would take that deal?"
Hahaha!
The pirates burst into laughter.
Kaido's eyes glinted with cold amusement.
But before he could speak, King's voice came through:
"Just got word. Our deal with the Clown is off. The Navy's already taken Doflamingo."
"Doflamingo agreed to the summons?"
Queen blinked, clearly caught off guard.
Kaido's smirk vanished, replaced by fury.
"That bastard Clown! Not only did he accept the summons, he broke our deal?"
"He really thinks he can ignore me?"
"Fine. I'll go ask him myself."
Kaido grabbed his massive kanabo and turned to transform into his dragon form.
But King stepped in, blocking him.
His face was grim.
"Boss, don't be rash. Doflamingo didn't just leave…"
"He was carried away."
Kaido and Queen's pupils shrank.
King wasn't joking.
And that raised an even more troubling question—
Was the Navy really recruiting Warlords?
Or were they using this as a pretext to declare war on them too?
—
Meanwhile, on Hachinosu (Pirate Island)—
The sea was choked with pirate ships.
On the massive Moby Dick, the deck was packed with figures.
Whitebeard sat in his chair, staring at the intel in his hand, stunned.
After a long pause, he finally spoke:
"Marco… is this true? Doflamingo, who refused the Navy's summons, was carried onto their ship?"
"That new Admiral… really is something else."
Marco nodded with a bitter smile.
"Yeah, Pops. I was shocked too."
"I tried to find eyewitnesses, but they were either silenced or vanished."
"All I could confirm was that Doflamingo was carried aboard by Admiral Luo Yu's crew."
"What I don't get is—if the Navy is fighting two Yonko, they should value the Warlords more than ever. Why let this new Admiral act so recklessly?"
The crew murmured in confusion.
After a pause, Flower Sword Vista said:
"Marco, whatever the reason, isn't this good for us?"
"One less Warlord means less pressure on us."
"He's right!"
"I agree!"
Jozu and others chimed in.
But Marco shook his head, face grim.
"Sure, it's good… but did you forget?"
"That guy's also tasked with recruiting special combatants."
"If he's acting this boldly, maybe his ship's already full of monsters."
The deck fell silent.
Even Whitebeard's expression darkened.
No one could argue.
—
Meanwhile, 300 nautical miles from Dressrosa—
A massive warship cut through the waves.
Doll glanced at the unconscious Doflamingo, tossed in a corner of the deck, still shackled in Seastone.
Her face twitched as she approached Luo Yu.
"Admiral Luo Yu, are we heading straight back to HQ?"
"Is this really okay? Shouldn't we check with Fleet Admiral Sengoku?"
To her, Doflamingo was still a Warlord.
They might need him to fight the Yonko.
And yet here he was—chained and dumped like a stray dog.
She couldn't imagine what would happen if Doflamingo woke up and saw this.
"Dump this problem on HQ?"
Luo Yu took a swig from his earthy liquor, eyes fixed on the horizon.
Then he smirked.
"I was wondering where to look for clues… but it seems luck's on our side. They're coming to us."
"Ain, full rudder. Head where I point."
"Whether we can gather eight or nine special combatants—depends on what happens next."