Chapter 205: Volume 2 – Chapter 107: Kaidou's Plan

Upon hearing that, Sengoku's expression turned complicated.

He opened his mouth but couldn't find the words. A wry smile crept onto his face, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

So what was all this for?

The Marine Headquarters had gone through all that trouble, dispatching three top-tier Admiral-level forces to carry out a rescue mission—yet before they even arrived, that brat Daren had already escaped from Kaidou on his own!?

You're making us look like fools, damn it!

"Bwahahaha! That's my adjutant!"

Garp laughed loudly, picking his nose as he walked over, chest puffed out with pride.

Sengoku and Zephyr rolled their eyes in unison.

They couldn't be bothered to argue with that lunatic anymore.

"But still, even though we didn't manage to rescue him, this operation wasn't without its rewards..."

Sengoku shook his head, his gaze falling on the scorched, scarred ground, the pirate corpses littering the field, and, in the distance, the once-mighty military production facilities now collapsed into ruins and engulfed in towering flames...

A slow smile surfaced on his face.

"We completely destroyed the Beasts Pirates' main base and dismantled ten massive arms production lines. With this, Kaidou won't be recovering anytime soon."

Even though they failed to capture Kaidou during the battle, Sengoku didn't feel too disappointed.

As a Marine Admiral, he knew better than anyone how hard it was to take down someone like Kaidou.

The three of them had joined forces to beat Kaidou until he coughed up blood and was seriously wounded, but with that monstrous body of his and the recovery powers of a Zoan-type user, he'd probably be up and roaring again in no time.

Zephyr nodded.

"Still, where the hell did that kid Daren run off to?"

"And according to the intel from Sakazuki, Kaidou had captured both him and Douglas Bullet. But now there's no sign of either of them."

"More importantly, how the hell did they escape?"

Zephyr's words drew flickers of surprise from the others.

"Keep the search going. Focus on this island and expand the search to the nearby ones. Even if that brat Daren escaped, he's probably in terrible shape—he couldn't have gotten far."

Sengoku let out a slow breath.

Behind the black-rimmed glasses, his sharp eyes gleamed as he said in a deep voice,

"And keep a lookout for Douglas Bullet too. If he shows up, arrest him on sight."

...

On a desolate island, the mountains stretched endlessly, like the backs of massive, grey-black dragons.

Towering trees surrounded the land, and countless creatures rested peacefully within the dense jungle.

Suddenly, as if sensing the presence of a terrifying apex predator, every beast and insect in the forest froze, then collapsed to the ground, trembling in fear.

Rumble...

A low thunder rolled through the sea of clouds above.

A vast shadow, dark enough to blot out the sky, slowly emerged.

A legendary dragon pierced the clouds and dove down from the heavens, crashing into the heart of the jungle. The impact kicked up a massive storm that bent the towering trees all around.

The mountains quaked.

Smoke and dust surged, then slowly settled.

"Damn Marines!!"

Kaidou, blood trailing from the corner of his mouth, slammed his kanabo into the ground with a thunderous crash, panting heavily as he cursed.

His bloodshot eyes were filled with uncontrollable rage and ferocity.

"Unforgivable! How dare they interfere in my fight with Garp!"

He had been evenly matched against Garp in a fair duel—but those so-called "righteous" Marines had ganged up on him without shame!

Even pirates ought to have some sense of honor!

Kaidou despised it when others interfered in his battles.

When facing a powerful opponent, he wanted nothing more than a one-on-one fight to the bitter end.

"Shameless!!"

Kaidou spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground, panting heavily.

Feeling the overwhelming bloodlust and fury pouring off their boss, the few remaining members of the Beasts Pirates stood frozen, necks hunched, not daring to breathe too loudly.

"There's no way the other two were just standing there watching..."

A muttered voice broke the silence, sounding jarringly loud in the tense atmosphere.

"Hm?"

Kaidou turned his head, his blood-red, slit-pupiled eyes locking onto Queen, who was hunched over tinkering with mechanical parts on his tail.

With a growl, he barked,

"What did you say!?"

Queen shivered and quickly forced a nervous laugh.

"No no, Kaidou-sama! I meant the Marines were way too shameless!"

He jumped up with an exaggerated look of righteous indignation and threw a punch into the air.

"Unlike you, Boss—"

Bang!

The massive kanabō came crashing down onto Queen's chubby face, sending him flying. He smashed into the trunk of a giant tree that would take several men to encircle, scattering a flock of birds into the sky.

King clutched his face in pain.

That idiot Queen!

He cursed inwardly, then looked up at Kaidou with a heavy sigh.

"Kaidou-san, the coordinates of that island have been exposed. I don't think we can go back."

He glanced at the remaining members of the Beasts Pirates—each face pale, eyes hollow, morale utterly crushed.

King's expression darkened, and his heart sank.

Years of effort to build a grand pirate crew thousands strong... and now only they were left.

Their base camp, completely uprooted by the Marines.

The arms factories, which had taken massive resources to build, all destroyed.

This was the Beasts Pirates' most devastating defeat in history.

"What should we do next?"

Hearing King's words, Kaidou took a deep breath, forcing down his fury and trying to stay calm.

The New World was vast—so vast that even the Marines and the World Government couldn't map every island or gather intel on them all.

But at the same time, it was small.

Islands rich in resources were extremely rare. Most territories were impoverished, unable even to pay the Heavenly Tribute.

These barren islands had no resources, low populations, no trade networks, and zero development value.

The few prosperous islands and nations with resources were either allied with the World Government, or divided up among major powers.

Whitebeard and Shiki held large swaths of territory, backed by formidable subordinate forces.

Then there was Linlin, who expanded her domain through marriage alliances.

There were only so many useful territories to go around. If someone had more, it meant someone else had less.

And to claim more land, there was only one path—war.

But in their current state, the Beasts Pirates couldn't afford a war's massive toll.

And Kaidou didn't believe he could gain any edge over those two monsters, Whitebeard and Shiki.

As a former member of the Rocks Pirates—just an apprentice back then—he knew exactly how terrifying those two were.

So… was there nowhere left to go?

"No."

A crazed grin twisted Kaidou's blood-smeared lips.

"We'll go there."

He raised his kanabō.

The spiked Hassaikai radiated power as it pointed into the distance, toward a dark silhouette shrouded in sea mist.

It was an island towering several hundred meters above sea level, naturally fortified and difficult to approach.

"Didn't that idiot Orochi say the samurai already left the country?"

Kaidou sneered.

King nodded.

"Yes, Kaidou-san."

He turned and looked toward the distant, enclosed island.

It really was an ideal location.

Rich in mineral resources—easily dozens of times greater than their old base.

The only place in the sea that produced Seastone.

Defensible terrain, hard to invade.

Most importantly...

According to the latest intel, the one samurai they truly feared—the strongest warrior of that nation—had left the land of his birth in pursuit of his "dream."

The name of that country was...

Wano Country.

...

(70 Chapters Ahead)

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