Four days passed quietly.
On the World Government ship, Rosse smiled and put down the Den Den Mushi in his hand.
"Just like Dragon's personality...", Moa, who was kneeling beside him feeding him fruit, looked up with a mocking expression.
From the moment she heard Rosse's game begin, she knew Kuma and the others were certain to lose.
Because back then, she too had waited foolishly, and in the end nothing came.
Dragon was a man without backbone.
Just now Rosse had received a call from Spanda saying that traces of Dragon had been found in Windmill Village.
Today was already the fourth day. Given Windmill Village's distance from the Grand Line, unless Dragon also had a teleport-type fruit, he couldn't possibly have crossed ten thousand miles to rush here.
That meant Dragon, as she expected, had abandoned Kuma and the others.
And now Kuma and the rest were still holding onto hope for Dragon, waiting on their ship.
'How ironic...'
"Do you think he discovered it was a trap, or he simply never planned to come? Or maybe Shamrock as bait wasn't enough?", Rosse chuckled softly, plucked a grape, pinched it between two fingers.
Seeing this, Moa rolled her eyes at Rosse, obediently put the fingers into her mouth and gently sucked them.
"Mmm... I think he's just plain afraid of dying. He's afraid he won't see the day the world is liberated. He does want revolution, but compared to the process, he cares more about the result."
Moa spoke unclearly, her gaze a little dreamy, "Dragon is that kind of disgusting guy. He wants to change the world, but he'd rather hide behind the scenes, do a few petty things, then fantasize the world has changed."
"Heh! He's a leader who won't even stand up, what a coward!"
Moa's loathing and hatred for Dragon even exceeded that for Rosse.
Physical abus*e, once adapted to, actually slowly becomes a habit and a form of enjoyment.
But emotional scars, as time passes, only deepen.
Especially since Dragon was still roaming the seas while she could only kneel before Rosse, treated like a pet to be toyed with. This intensified Moa's hatred even more.
"It's fine. Kaido will go to Windmill Village this time; then we'll see what Dragon chooses," Rosse said with a smile.
"Huh? Kaido? You lured Dragon over there?", Moa widened her eyes.
She didn't know about Kaido's matter, she thought Rosse had deliberately sent Kaido to Windmill Village to force Dragon to choose between two sides.
"I wouldn't stoop to something like that."
Rosse glanced at Moa and gently flicked her tongue.
"To ensure secrecy, Kaido departed alone, not stopping at any island along the way. If even that could be discovered, then it truly would be fate."
"Ah? Why so secretive?", Moa looked puzzled.
She didn't understand why Rosse cared so much about Windmill Village.
Of course she knew where Dragon's wife and hometown were. But there was no need to send Kaido.
Even if Kaido killed people as a token, there was no reason to mess with Dragon's family.
'Could it be Rosse sent him because of me?'
The absurd thought was immediately tossed aside by Moa.
'Please, this Rosse isn't that perverted toward me; I would be thankful, let alone expect revenge on my behalf.'
"I just wanted to verify one thing, but now it seems, unless I act personally, resistance will still be significant."
Rosse didn't care much whether Dragon returned to Windmill Village. With his rising strength and the continuous strengthening and insight of his Conqueror's Haki, he'd developed some understanding of so-called destiny.
Whether Luffy lived or died wouldn't overly affect the outcome.
So-called destiny seemed unrelated to the world itself; it appeared to be a fate-system evolved from Devil Fruits.
Every fruit hailed as a legend had the potential to reach an SS-level realm, though the requirements and paths differed.
Luffy was indeed a child of destiny, chosen first by Nika.
If he were forcefully killed, the Nika fruit would choose another child of destiny, though the fit would certainly not match Luffy's.
In short: if Luffy matched Nika and was bound to reach Laugh Tale and let Nika's will echo the seas, switching the destined child might lead to defeat at Imu's hands.
And if the second child of destiny died, subsequent candidates would be weaker, repeating cycles until a best-fit appeared.
To Rosse now, Luffy wasn't much of a problem.
SS-level was already this world's ceiling.
Nika in full form at most would be SS+. If a monster like that suddenly appeared, it still might not be able to kill Rosse; Rosse had at least stepped into that tier.
If he couldn't beat him, running away was always an option.
And if he ran to the New World and sacrificed a few countries recklessly, he could return having broken through SS+.
So for Rosse there was no real pressure, he'd always treated it like a game.
Especially after discovering his Conqueror's Haki could reach some mysterious place that resisted the destiny Nika represented arriving in the world, it became more interesting.
Although he hadn't communicated with Imu, after briefly fusing his Conqueror's Haki with Imu's, it was enough to reach that place.
When the Twenty Kings usurped power years ago, they likely pooled their Conqueror's Haki to forcibly interrupt Nika's destiny.
In that regard Rosse wasn't as adept as Imu, but Imu had lived over 800 years and her Haki strength wasn't stronger than Rosse's, together they were roughly matched.
They couldn't completely crush Nika, but temporarily masking certain things was enough.
Playing slowly made it more fun.
———
[East Blue, Goa Kingdom]
Buzz!
Under the clear sky, a black shadow plummeted straight down from ten thousand meters high.
"Thunder Roar!"
Kaido held the Hassaikai, thousands of thunderbolts converging in his weapon, the energy growing as his body fell.
He had no interest in flashy tricks.
Destiny? Hah!
With his full-force strike, the whole Windmill Village would be reduced to ashes.
Even if someone tried to stop him, they couldn't halt such wide-range attack.
"Kaido!"
Unexpectedly, as Kaido dropped to only a thousand meters above, a roar came from below.
Then a gale rose, the figure of Dragon shot upward from below, charging toward Kaido.
"Heh! Just you?"
Kaido was momentarily surprised by Dragon's appearance, but he reacted in an instant.
"AHHHH!"
He violently flung the Hassaikai from his hand, letting them carry the thunder down to smash Windmill Village.
At the same time he spread his arms, preparing to clash with Dragon with his body.
He wasn't here to spar.
If he could destroy Windmill Village, that was his victory.