There was a solemn atmosphere in the office.
Several Navy clerks and officers present all wore serious expressions.
Kaido?
Whitebeard?
These two names together are terrifying, even earth-shattering.
The Four Emperors.
Each of the Four Emperors possesses the power to destroy the world.
They are extremely powerful. Fortunately, the Four Emperors don't get along well and seldom contact one another.
Their activities are mainly confined to the New World.
As a result, the rest of the world is relatively peaceful.
But now…
According to intelligence reports, two of the Four Emperors have been in contact!
Regardless of the reason for their communication, this is terrifying news.
"Why did Kaido contact Whitebeard? Is there no follow-up information?" Buddha Sengoku's face was gloomy, and his brows were deeply furrowed.
Damn it!
An entire surveillance fleet.
Dozens of ships.
Not a single piece of complete information made it back?!
Were they all destroyed simultaneously?
"I have confirmed it repeatedly, and there is no further information," a naval officer nearby replied, adding, "But CP0 seems to have learned something."
"CP0?" Sengoku sighed with frustration as he heard the name. "They're directly under the Celestial Dragons. They won't share their intelligence with us."
The room fell silent again.
This was the Navy's plight.
No matter how powerful, how diligent, or how much they contributed, in the eyes of the Celestial Dragons, the Navy was nothing more than a pack of dogs.
Even CP0, a group whose only strength lies in gathering intelligence, could boast and refuse to share information with the Navy.
"Mr. Sengoku, the analysis report is ready," another naval officer said as he entered the room.
Upon hearing this, Sengoku promptly responded, "Read it!"
"After analyzing the data, it appears the surveillance fleet was destroyed simultaneously. A thorough analysis of the last recorded sound from the Den Den Mushi transmission suggests the fleet was annihilated by one of Kaido's signature moves, Heat Breath."
"The Four Emperors Kaido destroyed the surveillance fleet."
"According to our intelligence, Kaido and Whitebeard have a strained relationship and have been in conflict for a long time."
"So for Kaido to come to Whitebeard's aid this time…"
"This could be a sign of reconciliation between Kaido and Whitebeard."
"There is reason to believe Kaido may have already begun collaborating with Whitebeard."
The officer who had delivered the analysis placed the report on Sengoku's desk before stepping back.
Sengoku's face grew even darker.
The office erupted with murmurs of disbelief.
"Kaido and Whitebeard, cooperating?!!!"
"What are two of the Four Emperors planning? Do they intend to destroy the world?!"
"This is a historic event…"
"Kaido and Whitebeard have deep animosity toward each other! Why would they cooperate now? Has Kaido changed, or has Whitebeard?"
"Damn it! How did such a critical situation come to pass?!"
The room was filled with restless discussion as the officers grappled with the implications.
Sengoku stared down at the report on his desk.
As Fleet Admiral, he was privy to more information than most of the others in the room.
For instance, he had already decided to publicly execute Ace.
He knew Whitebeard planned to rescue Ace.
All this information had been gathered and confirmed through Sengoku's intelligence network.
Therefore, Sengoku had prepared for the inevitable confrontation at Marineford, ready to capture Whitebeard once and for all.
But now, Kaido had reached out to Whitebeard.
Could it be that Kaido also intended to attack Marineford? Could he be planning to help rescue Ace too?
But why?
What reason would Kaido have to help Whitebeard? What motive could he have for saving Ace?
"Four Emperors Kaido, what are you up to?" Sengoku, known for his sharp strategic mind, was baffled.
If Kaido had attacked Whitebeard, it would have aligned with everything they knew about him.
Helping Whitebeard?
Sengoku felt his head beginning to throb.
Kaido acting out of character like this was beyond comprehension!
Especially…
Ever since the meeting had started…
There had been a constant crunching noise.
The more Sengoku's headache worsened, the louder and faster the crunching became.
"Garp!!! Enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sengoku roared in fury.
Garp, who had just entered the office and was comfortably seated on the sofa munching on senbei, looked startled, "What did I do?"
"Kaido has already joined forces with Whitebeard, and you're still sitting here eating senbei!!"
Sengoku angrily snatched the senbei from Garp's hand.
"Hey, that's my senbei!" Garp gasped.
"Start thinking about how to deal with the meeting of the Four Emperors!!" Sengoku snapped, stuffing the senbei into a drawer. But as he closed it, the sound of more senbei being eaten echoed behind him.
Veins popped on Sengoku's forehead as he whipped around, only to see Garp munching away again.
"How many senbei have you stashed? Hand them over!!!!" Sengoku shouted, grabbing Garp by the collar.
In an instant, the tense atmosphere caused by Kaido and Whitebeard's meeting evaporated.
Sengoku was furious.
The war was imminent.
And this old man was ruining the mood!!
Sengoku could barely restrain himself from punching Garp right then and there.
…
Meanwhile, at the Holy Land Mary Geoise, headquarters of the World Government and home to its highest authorities—the Five Elders—the atmosphere was equally grim.
"Kaido, Red-Haired, and Whitebeard… Three of the Four Emperors have met?"
"First Red-Haired and Whitebeard, now Kaido is joining them. What are they plotting?"
"According to character analysis, it may be that Kaido attacked Whitebeard, and Red-Haired Shanks came to help Whitebeard fend off Kaido."
"The actual situation is entirely the opposite of your character analysis. Kaido destroyed the Navy's surveillance fleet and has formed an alliance with Whitebeard. Red-Haired Shanks only passed on some information to Whitebeard and then left."
"So, Kaido and Whitebeard have formed an alliance?"
"They've really allied?!"
"How is this even possible?"
The Five Elders were stunned.
They had been monitoring the Four Emperors for a long time.
Ever since the days of the Rocks Pirates, Whitebeard and Kaido had drawn the attention of the Celestial Dragons.
After the events at the Valley of the Gods, Kaido and Whitebeard had become regular figures in the intelligence reports of the Celestial Dragons.
For decades, the Five Elders had been receiving reports on these two men.
They knew Kaido and Whitebeard better than anyone.
So, when news came that Kaido, Red-Haired Shanks, and Whitebeard had met, the only possible alliance, they thought, would be between Shanks and Whitebeard.
But the outcome shattered their expectations.
It completely upended decades of intelligence.
Kaido and Whitebeard had allied!
This impossible event had just taken place.
"Kaido and Whitebeard are working together… The world will descend into chaos."
"Should we intervene?"
At the suggestion, the Five Elders fell silent for a moment.
Then one of them spoke, "Let the Navy handle it. While it's certainly a headache that two of the Four Emperors are cooperating, it doesn't pose a direct threat to the Holy Land or the collection of Heavenly Gold. The Navy is more than capable of managing this situation."
"Yes, we will observe for now."
"Kaido... Let's hope this guy doesn't cause too much trouble…"
The Five Elders remained in a state of shock.
Decades of careful analysis on Kaido had just been rendered worthless in an instant.
Damn it. How infuriating.