Aboard the Queen Mama Chanter, a somewhat battered Charlotte Linlin furiously slammed whatever was in her hands onto the deck, flying into an absolute rage!
Not far away, Kaido's expression as he leaned against the ship's railing was equally grim.
A day earlier, they had been played by Captain John. The underground tunnels of Skull Island had collapsed due to the detonation of numerous Ancient Guardian cores!
Big Mom's steel skin could withstand the explosions, but the massive influx of seawater left her somewhat helpless. The reason they managed to escape at all was thanks to Kaido.
Having eaten the Mythical Zoan Fish-Fish Fruit, Kaido wouldn't drown even though he couldn't exert much strength in the sea. He spent some time bringing both himself and Big Mom to the surface. They also had Big Mom's Homies to thank—without them, even Kaido would have been buried by the collapsing cavern.
As for Shiki, that guy reacted quickly. Before the seawater poured in, he formed an airtight barrier out of rock, wrapped himself inside it, and burst through to the ocean surface.
Looking at it this way, Big Mom and Kaido hadn't suffered too many losses. But in reality, that wasn't the case at all.
The Big Mom Pirates had deployed a large number of Ancient Guardians on Skull Island, and every single one of them was now destroyed. Meanwhile, Kaido had lost his future top commander.
This left both future Yonko in foul moods, but Big Mom could only be described as absolutely furious right now.
"Damn you, Roger!" The fierce woman nearly punched the ship's mast to pieces.
She had received news from Totto Land—while she was caught in Captain John's trap, that detestable pirate had invaded her kingdom. And he had even stolen the Road Poneglyphs she had collected.
Charlotte Linlin was so angry she could barely see straight. Kaido, on the other hand, was somewhat calmer. After all, while King had great talent, he hadn't fully grown yet—so it wasn't too heartbreaking for Kaido.
He just felt annoyed and regretful.
He hadn't expected to be played by Sesshomaru in the end, even losing his only subordinate. He had underestimated not just Sesshomaru himself, but his subordinates as well.
And he was certain that person wouldn't die so easily—after all, he seemed to possess ice-type abilities.
However, Kaido clearly overlooked the fact that he himself had been betrayed.
"So, does that mean you already know the secret of those red stones?" Seeing Big Mom so angry, Kaido couldn't help but ask.
He knew of the Road Poneglyphs' existence, but the current Kaido didn't know much about those stones.
In this era, even the first Pirate King hadn't appeared yet. The final island of the Grand Line that everyone knew of was still Lodestar Island.
"No, but I suspect that Roger may have figured something out," Charlotte Linlin said darkly. Roger's crew had clearly been very purposeful in their attack.
The damage to Totto Land wasn't severe—only a few Devil Fruits were missing. Those weren't very important to her.
It was that red block she had never been able to decipher that truly bothered Charlotte Linlin.
But at this point, there was nothing she could do. If she actually fought Roger, she wasn't confident of winning.
The Roger Pirates' combat strength was extremely formidable.
Setting Roger aside, even his first mate—the man known as the Dark King, Rayleigh—was a very troublesome enemy for her.
Rayleigh in his prime possessed tremendous combat power, standing on par with even the Yonko. This bitter humiliation, Charlotte Linlin could only swallow with gritted teeth.
After throwing her tantrum for a while, Big Mom finally calmed down under the fearful gazes of her children.
"What are your plans from here, Kaido?"
"I can only keep building my strength." Kaido knew Big Mom obviously wanted him to join her side, but he had no such intention.
"This incident—John played us all, then walked away scot-free. As long as he doesn't want us coming after him together, he probably won't show his face again."
"Shiki is definitely fine, but Wang Zhi and Silver Axe..." Big Mom thought for a moment, then simply pushed the matter of the Poneglyphs out of her mind.
"Those two poor fools are most likely dead. In that case, John and Silver Axe's territories and treasures now have no owners."
"No matter what, we need to recoup our losses this time."
The two exchanged a glance, each already making calculations in their minds.
What came next was a new round of territorial disputes. They both needed to regroup. Only then could they secure more benefits in the coming wars.
Meanwhile, Captain John—whom they assumed had escaped unscathed—had already been beaten to the point of broken limbs. The Red Count had brought him before Ren.
"It took a little time on the way." The Red Count seemed completely unsurprised by Ren's true identity, now sitting elegantly in the guest area of the island, sipping red tea.
At the time, he had rushed forward just before Captain John left, and ended up being teleported out of the ocean depths along with him by that agent.
The agent's ability was clearly some kind of teleportation. So Redfield, to prevent him from teleporting again, eliminated the agent first. Then, under Captain John's horrified gaze, he rendered him completely unable to move.
Captain John, now lying on the ground, glared at Ren and the Red Count with intense hatred. But neither of them paid him the slightest attention.
"I'll leave this guy to you. Just give me a tenth of his treasure when you find it," the Red Count said. He didn't seem very interested in Ren's various abilities, and was quite at ease with him.
He simply left a Den Den Mushi, telling Ren to notify him when the treasure was found.
Captain John, on the other hand, was quite taken aback. Ren, who had been absent throughout the entire affair, had unexpectedly become the ultimate winner. It wasn't until he saw Matsuri beside Ren that he reached an incorrect conclusion.
"I didn't expect Inazuma to have so many hidden powerhouses besides you as their leader. That white-haired man from before—he's one of your Inazuma people too, right?"
"Who knows." Ren had no obligation to answer him, and simply handed him over to Yukiko.
Actually, for interrogation, Yayoi or Ayame would have been more suitable. But they were both in Kuri at the moment. And Yukiko happened to have a grudge against Captain John as well.
Aside from Captain John, the other prize was King.
As for this survivor of the Lunarian Tribe, Ren had no tender feelings. He sent him directly to Enkanomiya.
"More than that, I'm actually curious—do you have some grudge against John?" Ren couldn't help but ask.
The Red Count clearly wasn't just after John's treasure. Otherwise, he could have taken John and left after capturing him, keeping all the wealth for himself.
"Nothing much."
Redfield shook his head. He couldn't exactly tell Ren that this unlucky fool had witnessed the comical sight of him rowing a boat with his umbrella, could he?
Mihawk: ???
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