Without a doubt, this was another extremely direct invitation.
Joining the Beasts Pirates did not necessarily mean one would risk their life for Lord Kaido. That was Jack's judgment of Kyoshiro. As someone whose muscles outweighed his brains, he chose to "show off" as his method of persuasion.
However, Kyoshiro was only slightly moved, and then showed no further reaction.
Or rather, if not for the sake of maintaining his disguise, he would not even have wanted to show that slight stirring!
Yes.
The current Kyoshiro, the former Denjiro, was still an undercover agent lying in wait!
During that battle which had begun abruptly and ended just as abruptly, Denjiro had obtained a modified Den Den Mushi.
Although he did not understand exactly why, he knew not to judge by appearances, but by essence.
Kozuki Hiyori had been taken away.
He had not been killed. Instead, the person who defeated him had even left behind a Den Den Mushi.
Kurozumi Orochi was dead!
Because of the possibilities represented behind these events, and because he was worried about Lady Kozuki Hiyori's safety, Denjiro eventually dialed that Den Den Mushi. Then... he made contact with Kozuki Hiyori.
Although the process was somewhat complicated, through repeated communication with Lady Hiyori, Denjiro gradually came to understand.
Lady Hiyori had found a possibility for saving Wano.
It might not be the best path, but at the very least, it was far better than the current situation.
Although he himself deeply hated the rule of the Kurozumi family, in the current situation, Kurozumi Orochi represented Wano's native political power.
As long as that force existed, Wano and the Beasts Pirates were still in a cooperative alliance.
But if that force collapsed... the Beasts Pirates would do exactly as they were doing now, tearing away their former mask of comradeship and directly moving to swallow all of Wano whole.
Although that future had not yet happened, Denjiro, who had joined them, roughly understood it.
That would be a pirate-ruled, lawless nation.
The environment it represented was definitely not something most people of Wano could endure.
Oppression, exploitation, persecution... These things, which Kurozumi Orochi had already carried out to an extreme, might become even worse.
Because what pirates believed in was the law of the jungle!
Therefore, Denjiro believed that Lady Kozuki Hiyori's choice was understandable and worthy of support.
At that moment, Jack was still rambling on endlessly, giving off the impression of someone aggressively pushing a sale.
Denjiro could only go along with it and show a bit of interest. Afterward, however, he ended the topic ahead of time.
Yet for a reckless man, that sort of signal only intensified Jack's actions.
He began running into Denjiro many times, and even had his subordinates speak to him, wanting him to understand Lord Kaido's greatness.
Only this time, the timing was not quite so convenient.
"Big Mom's weight is still tremendous. Although this time she's the one visiting our side to meet Mr. Kaido, she herself is the founder of Totto Land.
"Do you know that place? It is a region yearned for by countless rare races. At the same time, it has residents from almost every race in the world.
"There are thirty-four islands. If you count its ruled territories, it's at least twice the size of your Wano..."
Jack said this, using Big Mom's significance to highlight Lord Kaido's significance.
Yet at that moment, a member of the Beasts Pirates holding a newspaper rushed in in a panic.
"Lord Jack, look at this! Totto Land—Totto Land is gone!"
"What?!"
Jack took the latest extra with a baffled expression. Then his eyes widened, his expression turning incredulous.
"Demon Ren... How could this be?!"
Ren?!
Denjiro's heart jumped. Without making a sound, he moved closer and glanced over.
What entered his eyes was a large stretch of reporting, densely packed with text and photographs.
The first thing that caught his attention was a gray photograph.
In a lava river blazing with great flames, an angel bearing six wings hovered in midair. Its indifferent, scarlet gaze looked down at half a blade stuck in the magma.
The second photograph had a closer angle, giving a focused shot of that broken blade.
It was not an ordinary sword, but a gigantic broken blade with a strange face.
Denjiro frowned slightly. He did not quite understand why there would be a close-up of this broken sword.
He instinctively turned to look, and saw Jack's grave expression.
Clearly, he did not know what that broken sword represented, but Jack understood very well.
When he looked at the headline again, the bold black font subconsciously made one turn solemn.
"Totto Land Destroyed! Demon Ren Occupies Totto Land's Waters! Announces Establishment of the Cross Guild! A Variable Beyond the Pirate Emperors!"
Denjiro unconsciously read out the important contents he saw, then immediately raised his brows.
"Isn't that the Totto Land you were just talking about?"
Jack's boasting from moments ago was still fresh in their ears, yet in the blink of an eye, that very Totto Land was gone?
Hiss—!
A sudden sound of sharp inhalation rang through the room. The members of the Beasts Pirates all cast incredulous gazes toward Denjiro because of his words.
What did you just say?
What's gone?!
"It's true. This is a report from the World Economic News. That sword..."
Jack's expression was incomparably grave.
"It's Big Mom's personal sword, Napoleon. I heard it's a famed sword with a life of its own."
At that moment, others also brought in today's newspapers, allowing everyone to see the contents.
"Hey, hey, is this for real?!"
"That's Big Mom we're talking about!"
The members of the Beasts Pirates instantly fell into chaos. After all, it had only just been announced that Big Mom would be coming to Onigashima.
Then, in the next moment, Totto Land was gone. And...
"What the hell is this Cross Guild? Damn it, the report says this thing is going to hunt all pirates?"
"Demon Ren... It does seem like that guy's style, but saying something like this in the New World is way too arrogant!"
"But... Big Mom lost."
For a moment, their attention scattered in every direction.
Some members of the Beasts Pirates questioned whether Big Mom had truly been defeated. After all, the only thing revealed was a photograph of a broken sword.
"It could also be fake, right?"
"Idiot, that's the World Economic News."
Others believed in the credibility of the World Economic Journal and were now furious over the Cross Guild's declaration.
"Beneath the crosshair, all living beings are equal. All pirates shall be hunted to death in terror."
A Headliner laughed in anger.
"Even if he defeated Big Mom, saying something like that is far too arrogant.
"Where does he put our Lord Kaido? And what about that monster Whitebeard?"
If Ren had stepped on Big Mom to rise to power, they would not have had many objections. At most, they would be shocked by the birth of a new Pirate Emperor.
But this was different. The other party had stepped on Big Mom and directly declared war on all pirates in the New World!
"Although I don't really understand it, it seems that the Totto Land and Big Mom you were so pleased about are both gone."
Out of nowhere, Denjiro, who was using the alias Kyoshiro, slipped in a verbal knife. His gaze fell on Jack, his faint smile carrying a somewhat nasty edge.
"I'm going to ask Lord Kaido."
Jack's face darkened as he crumpled the newspaper into a ball in his hand. Then he went straight to ask Kaido.
As expected.
He saw Lord Kaido drinking.
"It's true. That Linlin woman took a fall at Ren's hands."
Kaido said drunkenly, "How strange. Back in Dressrosa, he wasn't this strong yet.
"Was he pretending to be weak at the time to fool me? But it doesn't feel like that either... Forget it. I'll know when we fight next time.
"Jack, explain it clearly to them. Linlin is my guest and also my future partner. I don't want to see any problems arise."
Contact and cooperation between two forces would inevitably bring friction in small details.
At its root, it was a struggle over speaking rights. Even in an alliance, there always had to be a "head" making the decisions.
However, after the Totto Land incident, Charlotte Linlin, who had lost her entire foundation, had essentially lost any chance of competing with him for sovereignty.
At most, he could yield a little verbally. But in practical terms... even if they conquered the entire New World, Big Mom no longer had enough people under her command to hold it.
This was also the reason he chose to cooperate. It was not solely because of all those old debts Big Mom kept bringing up.
"I understand."
Jack left in a somewhat dazed state. It seemed Mr. Kaido had known about this long ago.
Yet he had not told everyone.
No, maybe it was only him?
After Jack brought back the news, another uproar swept through the Beasts Pirates.
After all, this was the fall of one of the Yonko, as well as the rise of a major power targeting all pirates.
Even the proudest and most arrogant pirates had no choice but to admit that a force capable of destroying Totto Land was also a massive threat to the Beasts Pirates.
And within the chaotic discussion, Denjiro, who was gathering information, gained a deeper understanding of just what sort of powerful backer his lady had found.
Kaido was a Yonko. Big Mom was also a Yonko. Onigashima was equivalent to Totto Land.
And the Ren who supported Lady Hiyori had destroyed Totto Land and forced Big Mom to flee from her own headquarters.
In other words, he was a powerful figure who could certainly fight Kaido!
"Is this our final chance? Must we rely on that powerful man named Ren to have any opportunity to free Wano from the Beasts Pirates' claws and gain a reborn future...?"
Denjiro seemed to gradually make up his mind.
No matter what.
This heavyweight bombshell stirred up raging waves across the world.
And immediately after that came the bounty from Marine Headquarters!
{Dead or Alive}
{Demon Ren}
{Bounty: 5.2 Billion}
This was an extremely terrifying number. Among pirate bounties, only Whitebeard could surpass it by one head.
However, Whitebeard's bounty amount was because, after the Marineford War, there had been a massive leap, reaching the level of 10 billion.
Waging war against Marine Headquarters, kidnapping Celestial Dragons, exchanging them for and protecting Roger's son Ace.
Any one of these incidents alone would be enough to shock the world.
Gathered together on Whitebeard, they had only raised his bounty from 5.046 billion Beli to the level of 10 billion.
As for Ren... his betrayal during the Marineford War was absolutely not enough to qualify.
"It's true. He really defeated Big Mom!"
Those people across the world who had been unwilling to believe it finally realized that the news disclosed by the World Economic Journal was an unshakable fact.
If the first thing Ren had done after stepping on Big Mom to rise to power had not been establishing the Cross Guild and placing bounties on all pirates, perhaps he would have been a firmly established fifth Pirate Emperor.
Only now... the world did not know how to define this newly risen force.
(End of Chapter)