Judging from the footage, however, he seems to have some entanglement with the Empress of Kuja Island. Perhaps we can start there.
"The Calm Belt is a little troublesome, but it won't stop us."
"Then go do it. The new era is about to arrive, and I need to build an even stronger army!"
Big Mom let out a strange laugh and stretched out her hand.
"Bring me the Den Den Mushi. I want to talk with that bastard Kaido.
"Whitebeard didn't die. He must be finding things very troublesome right now, right?"
In truth, that was indeed the case.
But not because Whitebeard was still alive.
It was because of a certain roadblock.
On a certain island in the New World, amid the ruins of a mountain, Kaido was locked in a heated battle with Issho.
"Wororororo! You're an opponent worthy of respect too!"
Kaido held Hassaikai in one hand, his bull-like eyes glaring at the blind swordsman blocking his path.
"But you can only stop me. There's nothing you can do about my men, is there?"
"This old man is simply doing all he can in accordance with his heart."
Issho's tone was calm.
"There are countless sufferings in this world, and this old man cannot block them all.
"Though these eyes cannot see, this heart cannot let them go. With anger burning within, the only thing this old man can do is draw his blade and fight."
"Wororororo. That's exactly what makes you boring."
Kaido was rather displeased.
This man had already held him back for a very long time.
And for such a boring reason, no less.
He truly had no idea how someone like this had obtained such strength.
Still, being strong was enough.
At most, the other party could keep him pinned here. He could not stop the Beasts Pirates from advancing.
For Kaido, getting a satisfying fight while also taking territory did not seem like a bad deal.
After all, he was the one raiding someone else's home. It was not as though someone else was raiding his.
But at that moment, the sound of Buru Buru suddenly rang out.
Kaido froze for a moment. The blind swordsman across from him silently stepped back.
"Why not answer the call? This old man could use a moment to catch his breath as well."
"…"
This sudden turn of events annoyed Kaido, but that Den Den Mushi was connected to his main base.
In the end, he still paused his attack, connected the call, and then—
"This is bad! Kaido-sama! Wano has been attacked!"
"What!?"
Kaido roared in fury.
"What happened? What's going on!?"
"Kurozumi Orochi was killed by an outsider swordsman, Udon was attacked and looted clean, and all the prisoners are gone.
"And—and Wano has been opened!"
"Opened? What do you mean? Are you sure it was opened and not that the port was seized by the enemy?"
Kaido could no longer make sense of the situation.
He had been gone for less than a day. How the hell had Wano been opened?
Wano's terrain was like a land encircled by mountains, a highland raised above the sea.
The only way in and out was through special ports. Without his permission, there was no way it could truly be opened.
A seized port and an opened country were two entirely different things.
His subordinates ought to know that much.
"…I don't know how to explain it to you. Wano's inland sea is now connected to the outer sea. Not by climbing the waterfall, but because the mountain wall blocking them was punched through…"
The underling on the other side of the receiver stammered, completely unable to explain the situation clearly.
This made Kaido, who already could not grasp what was happening, even more impatient.
"Where's Queen? Is he fighting the enemy?"
"Queen-sama's ship sank because of the giant whirlpool formed by the merging of the inner and outer seas. We only just fished him out.
"As for the enemy, they already withdrew an hour ago.
"We haven't found a single enemy. They flew here.
"They seem to be… Demon Ren's subordinates!"
Crack—!
Kaido crushed the Den Den Mushi in his hand, his bull-like eyes filled with killing intent.
Although he did not know what had happened, if that Ren was involved, then it definitely would not be anything minor.
He never expected that today, while he was raiding Whitebeard's home, his own home would be raided by Ren!
And just then, a piercing screech suddenly rang out from the distance.
Issho frowned, drew his blade, and swung it. A tremendous force of gravity pulled him backward and opened up the distance.
In the next instant, King, transformed into a pteranodon, plowed through the spot where Issho had been standing.
A sharp sonic boom tore a long, abyssal gash across the earth.
When he realized he had failed to injure Issho, King clicked his tongue, then shifted into his human-beast form and landed in front of Kaido.
And in his hand… he was holding a Den Den Mushi.
A bad premonition rose in Kaido's heart. Then King reported the situation.
"Mr. Kaido, things have become troublesome. Of the two Celestial Dragons who disappeared from the Sabaody Archipelago, one of them appeared in Whitebeard's hands.
"He used that hostage to trade for Ace, Roger's son.
"Right now, the Whitebeard Pirates have fully retreated and did not suffer any major losses.
"The Marines did not pursue them. Also…"
King hesitated.
Kaido took a deep breath and said bluntly, "Spit it all out at once. There's nothing worse that could happen now."
"…Whitebeard seems to have received help from some unknown Devil Fruit user.
"His body has been restored to its prime condition. On top of that, his mastery over his Devil Fruit ability appears to be even stronger than before."
Kaido: "…"
All right. Apparently, there was indeed something worse.
"Retreat!"
Kaido made his decision without hesitation and withdrew under Issho's wary and puzzled gaze.
He had attacked Whitebeard's territory for profit, not to fight Whitebeard to the death.
Leaving now was fine. If he did not leave, then next he would have to face Whitebeard.
Although he had fought that old man many times before, he had never gained much of an advantage.
It would be a pointless battle.
Barring the unexpected, the World Government would also put pressure on Whitebeard next.
Rather than fight Whitebeard to the death now, it was better to retreat and watch both sides clash.
Most importantly, his home had been raided!
At the thought of that, Kaido's originally soaring mood turned violently irritable.
Today should have been a wonderful day.
Whitebeard would die violently at Marine Headquarters, while he seized the initiative and bit off a huge chunk of the spoils.
It should have been double the happiness. Why had it become like this!?
He could not understand it.
The azure dragon's roar echoed through the sky before gradually fading into the distance.
"He left? So there really would be variables…"
Issho could not help but let out a breath of relief.
Although he did not know what had happened, it seemed the battle was over, just as that man had said.
No. Perhaps this had all been planned by that man.
Otherwise, there was no way he would have so coincidentally encountered Kaido while he was attacking Whitebeard's territory!
As one of the Four Emperors, Kaido was terrifyingly powerful. In order to stop him, even Issho had suffered considerable injuries.
Although the result was one he wished to see, the feeling of being used in someone else's calculation truly was not pleasant.
"Ren…"
Issho murmured the name and slowly walked out of the ruined mountain.
At that moment, a man dressed almost no differently from an ordinary civilian blocked his path.
"May we talk? About this world."
The Revolutionary Army's Chief of Staff, Sabo, spoke.
"I am Sabo, Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army.
"Ren suggested that we make contact with you. For the sake of… overthrowing the World Government's rule."
"…"
Issho stopped there, his expression somewhat complicated.
He had not even walked out of the last pit before the second one came looking for him?
Even for a prophet, was this not going a little too far?
But no matter what, Issho did not use his Devil Fruit ability to leave.
Instead, he followed Sabo's footsteps and departed.
Perhaps after realizing that this man, Ren, possessed prophetic ability, expectation had begun to arise within Issho's heart as well.
This world that he could not change—
perhaps there was now a possibility that it could change.
World Economic Journal Headquarters.
"What an exaggerated payment."
President Morgans sat there calmly, looking at the check in his hand, completely ignoring the flintlock pistol pointed at his nose.
"As long as you agree to suppress this news, there will be an even larger sum of funding afterward."
The Cipher Pol agent said coldly, "Of course, if you do the opposite, then I can only deal with you according to my orders."
"A straightforward threat."
Morgans seemed to think it over.
"When did you infiltrate this place?"
"Several years ago. How could the World Government possibly allow a loudspeaker like you to speak freely?"
"Indeed. If what happened today gets published, it really will shake the world."
Morgans put down the check, a smile appearing on his bird-like face.
"Whitebeard won. A Celestial Dragon was kidnapped and used as a hostage to exchange for Roger's son, Ace.
"The war the Marines planned ended in complete failure, with heavy losses on top of that.
"No matter which piece of news gets released, all of it will be extremely disadvantageous."
"It's good that you understand. Hurry up and do as you're told."
The Cipher Pol agent had just been about to add a few more threats when a gust of wind suddenly surged up before him.
A bird wing sliced through the barrel of the gun. Morgans flipped the desk over in the same motion, then unleashed a barrage of blows onto the Cipher Pol agent.
The latter did not even have the ability to resist before he was knocked unconscious.
"Don't underestimate me."
Morgans stopped, panting, a rare ferocious expression appearing on his face.
"I am the King of News! What news gets printed is my business! Don't think a little money is enough to control me!"
The commotion in the office also alarmed the people outside.
A number of reporters and chief editors rushed in.
"President…"
"Throw this agent out. Say that we don't have such a person here, and that we've never seen him."
"Yes!"
"And then… prepare tomorrow's big news!"
Morgans swung both hands, his face full of fanatic excitement.
"News this big must be published by me, Morgans, at the very first moment!
"That is also the meaning behind the existence of our World Economic Journal!"
"Yes! President!"
Amid the fervent cries of agreement, the employees of the World Economic Journal began to move.
Morgans watched everyone leave, then picked up the documents scattered on the floor.
Among those documents were many pieces of information sent in by reporters.
He pulled out one of them, his gaze falling on a line written within.
Demon Ren.
'…The pace of change has intensified far too much. Behind every shift, your shadow seems to be visible.'
As the King of News, Morgans possessed an extremely sharp sense of smell.
He could feel that the world's situation was changing wildly, charging toward a direction no one could predict.
The mere fact that a Celestial Dragon had been taken hostage was something that had not happened in who knew how many years.
And among all of this, the one who drew his attention the most was not Whitebeard, not Red-Haired, and not the Marines.
It was Demon Ren, whose timing of appearance had been far too special.
He appeared before the kidnapped Celestial Dragon, and then immediately afterward, that Celestial Dragon fell from the sky.
Considering the other party's multiple Devil Fruit abilities, it was very difficult not to connect the two.
(End of Chapter)