"All hands! Set sail for Hive Island! Let's teach Wang Zhi a lesson!"
Whitebeard's sharp gaze hardened as he issued the command. He had previously avoided conflict with the Beasts Pirates and Souta Kiryuu's crew to prevent unnecessary bloodshed—but that didn't mean he'd tolerate the troublemakers from Hive Island.
Did those fools under Wang Zhi really believe they could compare to the Beasts Pirates or Kiryuu's crew?
"Got it, Pops!"
"Let's show Wang Zhi who he's messing with!"
…
Under Whitebeard's orders, the Moby Dick charged straight toward Hive Island.
Wang Zhi had merely wanted to test Whitebeard's limits—to see if the old man's health had declined or if his strength had waned.
But instead, he triggered the full wrath of the Whitebeard Pirates.
When the Moby Dick appeared on the horizon, Wang Zhi's expression changed instantly. He rushed to meet Whitebeard himself, bowing low in apology, offering ten times the usual protection tribute as compensation.
His ability to swallow his pride and bend when necessary saved him. The Whitebeard Pirates ended up only "sparring" with the Hive Island crew—injuring several infamous pirates before bringing the confrontation to an end.
That single show of dominance reminded every ambitious pirate across Whitebeard's territories who truly ruled these seas.
However, because Whitebeard hadn't utterly destroyed Wang Zhi's forces, spies from the World Government and Marine Headquarters couldn't help but sigh in disappointment.
If, right after Golden Lion Shiki had been defeated by Souta Kiryuu, Wang Zhi had also fallen at Whitebeard's hands, then the Government and Marines would have lost two major threats—both just below the Four Emperors in power.
This half-hearted battle only strengthened the world's belief that the once-legendary Whitebeard, the strongest of the Four Emperors, was now far surpassed by the Godslayer—Souta Kiryuu, the rising star of a new era.
…
After Shiki's downfall, Big Mom's pirates became even more eager to ally with the Beasts Pirates, indirectly joining the alliance between Kaido and Kiryuu.
It wasn't only to avoid Kiryuu's growing ambitions—it was also to prepare for the inevitable war against the World Government.
Even the Red-Haired Pirates wanted to improve relations with Whitebeard's crew, hoping to form a defensive alliance.
After all, Fire Fist Ace was the son of Gol D. Roger, and naturally shared deep ties with Red-Haired Shanks.
Meanwhile, Doflamingo—the Warlord of the Sea—was constantly searching for rare Devil Fruits and beautiful women, hoping to establish a full-fledged partnership with Kiryuu's forces.
At this point, everyone feared they might become Souta Kiryuu's next target.
All across the world, especially among factions that had once opposed or crossed Kiryuu, panic spread.
Each group scrambled to mend ties with his crew, desperate to avoid destruction.
At that same time, Kiryuu's crew was stationed among a cluster of floating islands, taking control of the Flying Pirates' research and inheritance.
After capturing the Golden Lion, Souta Kiryuu had acted swiftly to prevent him from destroying the sky islands and sending them crashing into the sea.
He used a special weakening serum on Shiki, allowing Trafalgar Law to perform a "soul exchange" between Shiki and one of the Heart Pirates—Pekin—so Pekin could temporarily control Shiki's body and maintain the power of the Float-Float Fruit.
"Pekin, can you control Shiki's body well enough to bring these islands down to sea level?" Kiryuu asked calmly.
After plundering the research data on SIQ serums and IQ plants from the floating main island and Melville Island, Souta finally considered how to deal with the sky islands themselves.
If Shiki were to die or lose consciousness, the Float-Float Fruit's power would vanish instantly—and all the islands would plummet into the sea.
That would mean death for every living creature upon them.
Kiryuu also wanted to recover several of the unique beasts that lived on these islands.
At the moment, the Seraphim designated "Path of Humanity" was already using a green-blood replication of the Float-Float ability to seize control of Melville Island, known for producing IQ plants.
"Lord Kiryuu, you give me too much credit," Pekin's voice came from Shiki's mouth, full of uncertainty. "I'll try my best, but I have no idea how to actually use his powers. I don't even have his memories!"
He could only experiment little by little.
"Start with the unimportant islands," Kiryuu replied casually.
It was understandable. In another timeline, when Franky and Chopper swapped minds, Franky could barely control Chopper's transformations—he even entered a berserk reindeer form and collapsed from exhaustion afterward.
Likewise, when Tashigi and Smoker exchanged bodies, she could only use a weak version of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit's abilities.
"Ha-ha! Kiryuu-nii, this giant yellow duck understands human speech and can even generate electricity! Isn't it awesome?"
Jewelry Bonney laughed as she rode atop a massive flying yellow duck, soaring over Kiryuu's head and proudly showing off her new companion.
On these floating islands, there were very few beasts that retained intelligence after evolving through multiple mutations.
This electrified flying duck, now tamed by Bonney, had become her favorite. She even abandoned her previous mount—the cloud sheep—like a child discarding an old toy for a new one.
"What a pity," said Nico Robin as she observed a massive, flame-spouting beetle nearby. "It seems to have lost most of its intelligence. Too violent to tame. Otherwise, I'd have loved to make it my mount."
In Robin's eyes, the uglier a creature was, the more fascinating it became.
"Those red, triangle-headed bulls that explode on impact are so cool!" Baby 5 exclaimed, watching one of the beasts charge like a flea toward its prey and explode in a massive blast. "They're just like me when I turn into a bomb! If we could control them, we'd have our own self-destruct army. That's so badass!"
"What are these IQ plants anyway?" someone muttered. "They can make wild beasts evolve supernatural powers—almost like Devil Fruits."
"These SIQ serums," another added, "can already rival Dr. Vegapunk's artificial Devil Fruit technology. They allow beasts to evolve incredible powers—but the success rate is low, and many lose their sanity."
…
The women around Souta Kiryuu were clearly fascinated by the discovery.
Their discussion suddenly sparked an idea in Kiryuu's mind.
Evolution with supernatural results… high failure rate… yes—it was practically the artificial Paramecia-type Devil Fruit.
Just like Caesar's artificial Zoan Fruits, but in a different form.
Beasts that failed the SIQ evolution lost their sanity, while humans who failed with Caesar's artificial fruits turned into mindless "Smilers" who laughed uncontrollably.
"If the SIQ serum can be made to work on humans," Kiryuu murmured, stroking his chin, "it would become the first artificial Paramecia-type Devil Fruit. I'll need Dr. Vegapunk to refine it further."
If an advanced version of the SIQ formula could grant ordinary people powers like lightning, fire, explosions, wind blades, brute strength, or shapeshifting—even if some became insane beasts—then both Kaido and Big Mom would likely use sheer numbers to overcome the failure rate.
And since there was already a successful example—the electric yellow duck—even Dr. Indigo had managed it. Vegapunk could certainly go further.
Once the limitation that restricted SIQ's effects to beasts was overcome, humanity would have its first artificial Paramecia-type SIQ serum.
And thus, a new era of power would begin.