"Moshi moshi, this is Kizaru… hmm?! Oh, Umit? It's rare for you to call me first. What's the matter?"
The special Den Den Mushi had transformed to resemble Kizaru's face, though for some reason, its expression looked utterly lifeless.
"Yes, Lord Kizaru. I'm currently at Big Mom's tea party, and I want to report a special situation I've discovered within the Big Mom Pirates…"
If Umit's words were ever leaked, they would definitely cause an uproar in the underworld.
As one of the Seven Giants of the Underworld, "Deep Current" Umit was, in truth, a Navy agent—an elite spy who could directly contact the admiral himself.
What made it even more terrifying to think about was that, during the Underworld Giants' War, Umit had openly taken the side of the Four Giants.
"Big Mom, huh… I see. Keep monitoring things. I'll find time later to hear a full report from you."
On the other end, Kizaru scratched his head and hung up before Umit could even finish his sentence.
The rise of Deep Current's transport empire to the point of monopolizing the underworld was, of course, inseparable from the Navy's secret assistance.
Everyone had speculated about who Umit's partner in the Navy was, but none had imagined that from the very start, Umit himself was a planted asset.
Marineford, Fleet Admiral's Office.
"Ahem, where were we just now?"
After hanging up, Kizaru gave a dry cough, glanced at the papers in front of him, and spoke in an unusually serious tone.
"What happened with the Big Mom Pirates?"
From the sofa opposite him, Chief Inspector Sengoku frowned. Any intelligence involving a Yonko was something that had to be handled immediately.
All the more so since this intel came from the special spy Umit. To Sengoku, Kizaru's attitude seemed somewhat unusual.
"What else could it be? Most likely something like a partnership with Kaido. Otherwise, why would the Beasts Pirates go to Totto Land? … Stussy is also at the tea party. I'll confirm the details with her afterward."
Kizaru gave a half-truth. As long as he muddled through for now, the rest would fall under his control later.
Sengoku gave a half-believing nod. After all, things couldn't be much worse than what Kizaru described.
In a sense, the alliance of the Beasts and Big Mom Pirates wasn't necessarily the worst outcome for the Navy.
Sure, the enemy's combined strength grew stronger, but such pirate alliances were rarely a simple "one plus one equals two." Sometimes, merging forces actually weakened the overall effectiveness of two Yonko crews.
After all, neither Kaido nor Charlotte Linlin had the power to truly subdue the other.
Any faction without a single, unquestioned leader would waste the majority of its energy on internal power struggles. From Sengoku's experience, there was little need to worry about their alliance drastically increasing their strength.
Instead, something else concerned him: Kizaru's personal life.
Among the Navy's high command, the single rate was quite high. Aside from Zephyr and Garp, who had married and had children, only Kizaru had a fiancée.
No one could understand why the stern and conservative Vice Admiral Gion had fallen for a playboy like Kizaru, who had been a womanizer for decades.
Nor did anyone know the limits of Gion's patience. If, after marriage, Kizaru continued his womanizing ways, a marital quarrel might end with Marineford itself split apart.
"When are you and Gion planning to set the wedding date?"
Just imagining the Navy becoming the laughingstock of the world because of this, Sengoku shivered. He even put aside matters concerning the Big Mom Pirates to ask Kizaru directly.
"Mm… hasn't been decided yet. Gion's busy chasing down the escaped prisoners from Impel Down, running all over the world. Last time I spoke with her was through a Den Den Mushi…"
Kizaru stroked his chin, hesitating whether to wait until after overthrowing the World Government, when perhaps a law would be passed allowing multiple wives. But then again, that seemed a bit unfair to Gion.
Even though Kizaru had confidence in Gion, at most she'd slash him a couple of times — she would never bring herself to kill him outright. After all, she still had to consider the feelings of Vice Admiral Tsuru, who treated Gion like her own little sister.
There were also Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Vice Admiral Garp, and old man Zephyr — all of them elders who had practically watched Gion grow up. If they ever found out that he had wronged her, they'd probably band together and beat him half to death.
"Even if your wedding date hasn't been set yet, you're already a man about to be married. You'd better start acting more responsibly…"
Sengoku, the Chief Inspector, spoke with a stern expression. Marineford might have survived the assault of the world's strongest man, Whitebeard, but it could very well be reduced to rubble by a quarrel between husband and wife — and that kind of joke wasn't funny at all.
"…Just say what you want to say."
Kizaru looked helpless. Sometimes he really did think he should hold back, but whenever he saw a girl who suited his tastes, he just couldn't resist making a move.
Afterward, he would often repent sincerely… only to relapse again once enough time had passed.
At his worst, Kizaru repented three times in a single day. As Nami once put it, this playboy was beyond saving!
"You'd better keep your distance from Stussy. Otherwise, you won't need to wait for Gion to cut you down — I might not be able to resist punching you first!"
Sengoku folded his arms with a scowl. He had watched Gion stumble her way from a little girl of seven or eight into the woman who now stood as an admiral candidate.
He might not see her as his own daughter, but watching this shameless playboy Kizaru flirt left and right — and even picking up a pink-haired girl as his new adjutant just days ago — was simply outrageous.
"Ahem. My relationship with Stussy is clean— well, relatively pure, purely professional. Once I'm married, I won't… I'll try not to have any contact with her."
Even Kizaru found it hard to bluff in front of a serious Sengoku; the man knew him far too well.
"That's good. Just don't forget your promise later!"
Sengoku stared at him for quite a while, and only when he confirmed Kizaru's tone carried some sincerity did he finally let the matter drop.
As for whether Kizaru's promises needed a heavy discount — Sengoku was already used to it. Expecting a playboy to cut ties completely with a beauty like Stussy was nothing short of wishful thinking.
"Don't worry. Since when have my words ever not counted?"
Kizaru declared with confidence. After all, he had promised to try to keep away from Stussy. If that wicked woman came to him of her own accord, well, that was beyond his control.
A rotten womanizer maybe, but he was famous for being "loyal in his own way." Abandoning old flames for new ones — that was something Kizaru would never do.
Meanwhile, in Totto Land, Umit — who wanted to report the strange situation he had noticed back to Marineford — scratched his head, overcome with unease.
But Kizaru hung up on him before he could finish. Even if the secure den-den mushi couldn't be tapped, Umit didn't dare take any chances in Big Mom's territory.
If it were ever exposed that one of the great Underworld Brokers was actually a Marine spy, it would be impossible for him to keep his current position.
That was why, even after becoming a kingpin of the Underworld, Umit still faithfully carried out his role as a Marine agent, never daring to even think of betraying them.
Otherwise, if the Marines decided to choke his transport routes, his so-called "Deep Sea Current" network would instantly become a joke.
On this sea, no one could truly stand against the Marines — not even pirates.
Soon, Umit returned to his seat. By then, all the guests had arrived, yet the tea party still hadn't begun. Many were left wondering what was going on.
Fortunately, it wasn't long before the gates of the Cake Castle swung open. To everyone's shock, at the same moment Charlotte Linlin stepped out, another figure radiating an equally oppressive presence entered their view.
Beasts Kaido!
The two Emperors of the Sea sat down at their respective seats with blank expressions. Behind them, the officers of the BIG MOM Pirates and the Beasts Pirates followed their captains into the venue.
For a moment, the tea party fell completely silent. No one knew what it meant for the two Emperors of the Sea to appear at the same time. Could it be that the BIG MOM Pirates and the Beasts Pirates were finally announcing an alliance?
"Big news, big news! Gya gya gya gya gya, this really is big news!"
Morgans trembled all over with excitement. The appearance of both Emperors together—whatever they intended to do—was definitely worthy of the front page!
If it weren't for the fact that both Kaido and Charlotte Linlin were known for their terrible tempers, Morgans would probably have rushed up to interview them already.
For someone obsessed with big news like Morgans, the more chaotic the seas became, the better. His greatest hope was that the two Emperors would form a pirate alliance and declare war on the Navy, recreating another Marineford War!
"Hmm?! Linlin and Kaido's seats…"
Stussy lightly pressed her lips together, her brows furrowing in mild surprise.
Don't be fooled by the fact that it was merely a seating arrangement. For pirate crews, where hierarchy could be even stricter than in nobility, a single misstep could be fatal.
The guests quickly noticed that neither of the two Emperors had taken the main seat. Instead, they sat reluctantly at the positions to the left and right.
The empty main seat immediately sparked speculation. Just as many sharp-minded attendees began to assume that the two Emperors were unwilling to yield to each other, and thus had settled on a relatively equal alliance…
A figure—who wasn't particularly muscular, yet whose overwhelming presence made it impossible for anyone to ignore—boldly took the seat above the two Emperors of the Sea.
Seeing Boros appear, Kaido let out a low grunt. But the lingering pain all over his body left him with no strength to vent his temper.
Even Kaido, infamous for his hard-headedness, had gained some sense after being beaten into the ground countless times by Boros.
°°°
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