Katakuri followed silently in her wake. He knew, with a cold certainty, that Mama was truly enraged this time.
The three Poneglyphs weren't just about her ambition to conquer the Grand Line; they were a fundamental pillar of a Yonko's prestige. The Marines' actions weren't just theft—they were a direct, brazen slap to the face of the entire Big Mom Pirates!
This insult demanded a response in blood.
...
Wano Country, Onigashima,
Kaido was slumped against his colossal sake gourd, lost in a drunken stupor, when King descended before him like a bolt of black lightning, clutching the latest World Economic Journal.
"Kaido-sama. You need to see this," King's voice was a low, urgent rumble as he thrust the paper forward.
Kaido cracked open a bleary eye, his gaze lazily sweeping over the front-page photo: ten Poneglyphs, two of them glowing with the distinct hue of the legendary Road Poneglyphs!
His drunken haze evaporated in an instant. Both eyes snapped wide open, a fervent, greedy fire igniting within them.
"UORORORORORO!" His earth-shaking laughter boomed through the halls of Onigashima, scattering the perpetual dark clouds overhead.
He surged to his feet, his immense frame casting a long shadow, and casually hurled his sake gourd aside, where it shattered a large section of the stone floor.
"Road Poneglyphs! And more! The heavens themselves deliver my destiny!" Kaido's voice thundered, brimming with manic excitement.
He already possessed one Road Poneglyph. He needed three to reach Laugh Tale. And now, the Marines had practically delivered two more to his doorstep!
Once he secured the final one, the path to Laugh Tale would be open, and the throne of the Pirate King would be his!
King remained the voice of calm reason. "Kaido-sama, for the Marines to announce this so publicly, they must be prepared for the consequences."
"Prepared?" Kaido grinned, baring his fangs. "I am the 'Strongest Creature in the World.' What preparations can stop me?"
He snatched his spiked kanabō, Hassaikai, from the ground, his eyes gleaming with avarice.
"King! Mobilize the Tobiroppo! Ready the ships!" Kaido strode to the edge of Onigashima, looking down upon the churning waters below. "If the Marines are foolish enough to put the Poneglyphs on display, I will simply go and collect them myself!"
King spread his dark wings. "Shall I inform Yamato?"
Kaido snorted in disdain. "That ungrateful brat? Leave her to her delusions! Speed is essential. I will not let that gluttonous hag, Linlin, get there first!"
Under Kaido's command, the Beast Pirates erupted into a frenzy of activity. Massive warships set sail from Onigashima, their prows aimed for the waters of the Grand Line. Kaido stood at the bow, the bitter wind whipping around him, his heart consumed by a towering ambition.
"One Piece is finally within my grasp! UORORORORORO!"
...
World Economic News Headquarters,
Morgans had his feet propped up on his desk, leisurely sipping coffee as he reviewed the latest article drafts.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed, and his chief assistant burst into the office, clutching a sheaf of freshly delivered intelligence reports.
"President! Urgent news! The Yonko are on the move!"
*"Pfft—!"*
Morgans spat a mouthful of coffee all over his desk, his pristine white feathers instantly stained. He didn't bother to clean up, snatching the documents and scanning them with his sharp, hawklike eyes.
"This... this is...!" His pupils dilated, and then his entire body of feathers puffed up with sheer exhilaration.
"Red-Hair seeking an audience with Whitebeard... Big Mom and Kaido mobilizing their forces simultaneously..." His voice trembled with excitement, his sharp beak stretching into a manic grin. "This... this is the headline of the century!!"
He slammed a fist on the table, sending papers flying.
"The Marines, the Yonko, the Poneglyphs—every major power in the world is being drawn into this vortex!"
Morgans paced his office, so thrilled he felt he could take flight. "War! Conflict! A struggle for supremacy! This is the very soul of news!!"
The assistant wrung his hands nervously. "President, what are your orders?"
"Wait! We wait!" Morgans cackled. "We wait for the moment the Yonko fleets and the Marine Armada converge! *That* will be the story!"
The more he spoke, the more excited he became, his inner euphoria impossible to contain.
"Magnificent! Truly magnificent! This is the grand spectacle every journalist dreams of witnessing!" His eyes shone with naked greed. "Once the war begins, the circulation of the World Economic Journal will soar through the roof! UGHAGHAHA!"
"I am the true King of News!"
He turned his piercing gaze back to his assistant. "Now, release a follow-up story. The headline: 'He Who Controls the Poneglyphs, Controls the Fate of One Piece!'"
The assistant paled. "But, President... won't that pour oil on the fire? If this knowledge becomes too widespread..."
Morgans suddenly spun around, his sharp eyes boring into the assistant like daggers, his voice dropping to a chilling timbre. "Pour oil on the fire? No. This is called 'chronicling history'! A journalist's duty is to hold a magnifying glass to the world until it ignites!"
He turned to look out the window, where the sky was indeed beginning to darken.
"Two Admirals, two Yonko... Who will emerge victorious? Who will fall? The world's very order will be rewritten!" Morgans burst into another fit of laughter. "I can hardly wait for that day's edition! Let the entire world boil over!!"
....
On the calm, blue seas, the Thousand Sunny cut gracefully through the waves.
The outline of Jaya Island grew clear on the horizon, its lush forests and the distinctive shape of the town of Mock Town visible in the sunlight.
"Ron! Look, it's Jaya Island!" Nami stood at the bow, the sea breeze tousling her orange hair, the Log Pose on her wrist pointing unerringly toward the landmass.
Ron leaned against the railing, a faint smile on his lips. "Finally here. I've heard the local legends of gold are quite intriguing..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a News Coo flew overhead. With a soft *thump*, a bundle of newspapers landed neatly on the deck.
"Hmm? The day's news?" Ron bent down to pick one up, casually unfolding it.
Robin and Usopp also gathered, each picking up a copy.
The next second, a collective gasp went through them.
**[SHOCKING! MARINES AND YONKO ON THE BRINK OF WAR! PONEGLYPHS IGNITE TURMOIL IN THE NEW WORLD!]**
The massive headline dominated the front page, accompanied by a prominent photo of the ten Poneglyphs.
Even more astonishingly, the photo clearly showed two Marine Admirals standing guard beside the stones, and the article inside detailed the simultaneous mobilization of the Big Mom Pirates and the Beast Pirates.
"My, my..." Robin said with a wry smile, "It seems we've kicked a hornet's nest."
Usopp scratched his head, bewildered. "But... aren't these the Poneglyphs *we* dug up? How did they become the Marines' property all of a sudden?"
....
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