On one of the islands under Whitebeard's protection a fat, gigantic man stepped onto the island.
His gaze swept across the surroundings as a sinister smile appeared on his face.
The island possessed excellent vegetation coverage.
Looking inland from the shore, vast stretches of farmland could be seen everywhere.
There were also abundant high-quality mineral veins.
Beautiful scenery, plentiful resources, and fertile land made this island one of the rare paradises within the New World.
And because it had always been protected by Whitebeard, nobody had dared lay a hand on it.
Safe.
Prosperous.
That was the island nation of the New World Harvest Island.
"Harvest Island, huh?"
"It really lives up to its name."
Several hundred pirates followed behind him.
Every single one wore an excited expression.
One of them stepped up beside Queen and asked:
"Queen, when do we start?"
That's right.
This man was one of the Three Calamities of the Beasts Pirates, an absolute powerhouse possessing strength at the level of a Yonko commander.
The Plague, Queen!
"Do you even need to ask?"
Queen's gaze swept across the surroundings.
A satisfied expression appeared on his face.
"An island this beautiful and prosperous…"
"Isn't it perfect for us?"
"Hehehe!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Hearing Queen's words, the others immediately burst into laughter.
Everyone understood exactly what he meant.
"Brothers, move out!"
Very quickly, someone called out to the others as they leisurely advanced toward the interior of the island.
"Who are you people?!"
Several hundred people landing on the island at once, combined with the uniquely savage clothing style of the Beasts Pirates, had already alerted the island guards.
More than ten guards carrying rifles cautiously approached the beach.
Having been protected by Whitebeard for decades, this island had not experienced foreign invaders in a very long time.
"Oh my, look at how delicate and tender they are."
Looking at the nervous guards, Queen's subordinates showed no fear whatsoever.
Weapons in hand, they slowly advanced toward the guards.
"Stop right there!"
Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Immediately, the guards opened fire while simultaneously calling for reinforcements and sending out requests for aid to the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Come on, babies!"
However not to mention that the Whitebeard Pirates had just finished fighting a world-shaking war and still had not fully returned to the New World even if the Whitebeard Pirates were completely unharmed, any reinforcements they sent now would still be far too late.
Queen's subordinates were elites among elites.
At this moment, they charged toward Harvest Island like madmen.
The guards' rifles failed to hit even a single target before they were disarmed.
The several hundred pirates stormed straight into the interior of Harvest Island like bandits.
Then they began burning, killing, looting, and pillaging without the slightest shred of humanity.
"Hahahaha! Kill them all!"
"Brothers, there's a fine woman over here! Come join in!"
In an instant chaos descended.
The entirety of Harvest Island became engulfed in blood and flames.
This atrocity continued for three full days before Queen finally departed with his men.
Naturally, Queen had not come merely to plunder a single island.
The moment he left, others immediately moved in and took control of the territory.
As for Queen himself, he headed toward the next target.
The same tragedy began occurring on a massive scale throughout Whitebeard's territory.
In just half a month Queen, leading Kaido's forces, had already seized one-third of Whitebeard's territories!
"You bastards deserve to die!"
Another island.
The island was covered in blazing fire.
The wealth the residents had accumulated over their entire lives even fortunes built over generations by entire families had all been stolen by Queen.
And that wasn't all.
Every evil imaginable, and even things beyond imagination, were carried out by Queen.
The word mercy did not exist in his dictionary.
"Demons! Monsters!"
The island's residents screamed themselves hoarse as they condemned Queen's atrocities.
Queen, however, did not react in the slightest.
Simple insults like these meant nothing to him.
After all these years, his twisted growth had already driven him completely insane.
"Scream! Rage all you want!"
"The more you struggle like this, the more excited I become! Hahaha! Hahahahaha!!!"
At this moment the Beasts Pirates had already mobilized enormous amounts of manpower and resources.
Their forces had pushed the border line with the Whitebeard Pirates forward by dozens of islands.
"Lord Kaido…"
Wano Country.
Kaido's territory.
Jack arrived there with a worried expression, respectfully standing before Kaido.
In his mind, he still vividly remembered Renji's overwhelming performance during the Summit War.
If they continued burning, killing, and looting Whitebeard's territories like this it could very well escalate into another all-out war.
"Our scouts have reported back."
"The Whitebeard Pirates have already returned to the New World. My suggestion is that we call Queen back."
"Hm?"
Kaido looked down at Jack with curiosity.
Ever since Jack had been captured and later released, he had changed quite a bit.
The reckless impulsiveness he once possessed had completely disappeared.
Instead, he had begun learning how to think.
The Three Calamities were Kaido's right-hand men whenever he himself did not wish to act.
Because of that, Kaido was usually more tolerant and supportive toward them.
Although he personally did not care much about the Whitebeard Pirates, who had technically won yet were actually left heavily crippled he was still willing to give Jack the chance to voice his thoughts.
"Go on. Let me hear your reasoning."
"It's like this."
Jack looked toward Kaido.
Scenes from the past surfaced in his mind the moment Renji had captured him alive, and Renji's terrifying display during the Summit War.
Renji had clearly been hiding his true strength.
He was an existence capable of giving even Sengoku a headache.
Continuing to provoke someone like that was obviously asking for trouble.
If they withdrew now, the wealth they had already plundered from Whitebeard's territories would be more than enough.
"Governor, my suggestion is to retreat."
"We've already gained sufficient benefits from Whitebeard's territories."
"If we continue provoking Whitebeard, it won't benefit the Beasts Pirates."
"Even though the Whitebeard Pirates suffered heavy losses, their high-level combat strength didn't take much damage."
"If we really push things to the point where a full-scale war between us becomes unavoidable, the situation will actually be unfavorable for us."
"Unfavorable for us?"
Hearing Jack's words, Kaido not only showed no displeasure his eyes instead lit up with excitement.
He had been trying to "kill himself" for decades.
Renji's strength, combined with Jack's current attitude, had already made Kaido realize a possibility.
If it was Renji then he would absolutely bring Kaido enough surprises.
Thinking of this, excitement appeared in Kaido's eyes.
"You think I'm afraid of them?"
"Tell them to keep looting!"
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