The New World's Second Half, Onboard the Moby Dick.
"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle..."
After downing several liters of sake in one go, Whitebeard sighed softly amidst the worried gazes of his sons below. "Hmph... Still got it, Sengoku."
Four Poneglyphs detailing the route to Laugh Tale were supposedly held by the Four Emperors. Upon learning this news, Whitebeard's first reaction, despite lacking a Poneglyph, was neither fury nor shock, but a sense of appreciation.
Only Sengoku could have devised such a plan to incite pirates to fight amongst themselves; Tsuru certainly couldn't have.
"Pops, Galma, who was adventuring in the Grand Line, just sent word. His pirate crew was attacked by pirates from the Grand Line. The objective was the one Poneglyph they supposedly possessed." Marco stepped up to Whitebeard.
"Gurararara. I don't have anything like that. This is a trick by Sengoku. I'm sure the current situation is exactly what he anticipated. Gurarara..." Whitebeard laughed, his eyes narrowed.
However, his subordinates were not so composed. Vista the Flower Sword, Commander of the Fifth Division, stepped forward, expressing his dissatisfaction. "This is nothing but a lie concocted by the Government to make pirates turn on each other, Pops. We should announce the truth to the world, that way..."
"It's no use, Vista. No one will believe it. Between the Government and pirates, which one do you think they'll trust?" Marco shook his head, his hands in his pockets, his expression frigid and angry. "But it's a truly venomous scheme. The new Fleet Admiral Sengoku is just as troublesome as Kong."
"Galma and his crew are under heavy attack and have already lost nearly half their men. If this continues, our Whitebeard Pirates fleet will gradually take hits as well." Namur the Fish-Man, now the Commander of the Eighth Division, stepped out and asked for guidance. "What should we do, Pops?"
Whitebeard set down his gigantic sake gourd, thought for a moment, and said, "Summon all my children traveling throughout the world back here. Everyone will settle down for a while."
Whitebeard's strategy was to huddle together, concentrating all thirty-plus subordinate fleets.
This would form an immense, unified force, turning them back into the true Whitebeard Pirates. Even if anyone still dared to attack, they would be insignificant clowns, hardly worth worrying about.
"Understood, Pops." Marco responded and immediately went to carry out the order.
…
Big Mom Pirates Headquarters, Whole Cake Island.
After years of fighting and claiming territory, Big Mom finally selected her crew's headquarters and spent years developing the island into her dream vision.
She gave the entire area a single name: Totto Land.
"Mama, the news has revealed that you possess a Poneglyph. What should we do now? Many of our subordinate pirate crews are also being attacked." The person speaking before Big Mom was Charlotte Cracker, the tenth son of the Charlotte Family and one of the Three Sweet Commanders as the Minister of Biscuits.
Similar to the Whitebeard Pirates, Big Mom's fleet also had ships attacked by reckless pirates following the news release.
Big Mom, lying on a massive sofa, let out saliva comparable to sulfuric acid, which ate away at the rug covering the floor. After smacking her lips, she ordered, "Then just replace the personnel in time. Simple, right?"
She was completely indifferent to the deaths of her subordinates, finding it simple: people died, so just replace them.
"Understood." Cracker nodded. This whole family is hopeless.
"Speaking of which, shouldn't the tea party be held in about two weeks?" Big Mom immediately dismissed Cracker's report and focused on her favorite topic: sweets.
"Full preparations are underway."
"Mmm" Big Mom nodded in satisfaction. "I can't wait~"
…
Beasts Pirates Territory Island.
"Since when did I have a Poneglyph?!"
Kaido also received today's newspaper and saw the Government's list of the four Yonko who supposedly possessed the four Red Road Poneglyphs. The problem was, he didn't have one.
He didn't know if Alucard or Whitebeard had one, but he was certain that Big Mom absolutely had one, because she had won the initial struggle and taken one of the Red Poneglyphs from him.
"Boss, this is the Government's trick to get pirates to fight among themselves and the Yonko. You don't need to worry about it." A subordinate immediately spoke up to remind Kaido.
But Kaido ignored this, twirled his mustache with one hand, and squinted. "Tell me... do that Immortal bastard and old man Whitebeard really have a Poneglyph?"
When Kaido said this, his subordinates instantly broke out in a cold sweat, vaguely guessing what he was planning.
"That... they should, maybe? But... but we can't be sure. Our current intelligence only confirms that Big Mom has one..." one subordinate guessed cautiously.
"..."
Kaido pondered for a moment, then squeezed his fists twice, making a crack-crack sound. He rose from his stone chair and declared, "The Immortal bastard is the closest to me, right? I'm going to pay him a visit!"
Battles between Yonko were supposed to be deeply considered before being launched, but Kaido was the bizarre exception who fought whenever the mood struck him.
In a few strides, Kaido was gone. He had already fought Alucard hundreds of times to date, and he could find his way to Arderay even without an Eternal Pose.
"Boss! Did you forget that you lost to Alucard last year?!" Sheepshead of the Shinuchi unit screamed internally, but he couldn't stop Kaido's advance in the slightest.