Sabaody Archipelago.
Lawless zone.
One of Big Mom's Sweet Commanders, Smoothie, entered a bar holding a young female pirate by the collar—a captain's hat still perched on her head.
She strung the woman up from the ceiling.
Then, Smoothie pressed her left hand against the pirate's body while holding two wine glasses under her curvy figure with her right.
"Ahhh!"
The young pirate screamed in pain as her body twisted unnaturally like a rope, translucent liquid draining from her and dripping into the glasses.
"Mmm… Suzy the Witch, bounty fifty million Berries. Not bad."
Smoothie sipped the extracted juice and nodded in satisfaction.
She waved her hand, signaling someone to take the now rapidly aging Suzy away.
"Big Brother, still no sign of the Godslayer, Sora?"
Smoothie sat beside Katakuri, casually sipping her drink as she crossed her legs.
"Nothing yet. He hasn't arrived at the archipelago."
Katakuri unwrapped the bandages on his left arm and asked in return, "What about Queen? Has he left yet?"
Both Big Mom and Kaido were after Sora, eager to obtain his flying ship technology.
So when both crews ran into each other in the lawless area of the archipelago, chaos erupted.
In the end, with two Sweet Commanders and several elite officers, Big Mom's crew triumphed—driving Queen and the Flying Six away.
Katakuri and Smoothie even managed to capture two of the more reckless Flying Six members.
But Queen managed to escape by detonating a massive poison gas bomb, rescuing his captured crewmates in the process—robbing the Big Mom crew of their complete victory.
Smoothie downed the rest of her juice and set the glass down.
"According to Brother Daifuku's patrols, Queen is still lingering in the waters just outside the archipelago. Looks like he hasn't given up."
"Should I take a squad and sink his ship?"
Katakuri pushed the juice toward her and shook his head.
"There are many top-tier CP0 agents from the World Government on the island. Their target is also the Godslayer, Sora."
"Add in the fact that Marine Headquarters nearby is mobilizing elite forces for the war against Whitebeard, Queen's presence might actually draw some of that heat away from us."
"So long as he doesn't set foot on the island, we leave him alone."
Though pirates were enemies of each other, when facing the Marines and the World Government, they were natural allies.
"Understood, Big Brother."
Smoothie took the glass from Katakuri and sipped once more.
Katakuri continued, "Also, tell Oven and Daifuku to keep a close watch on both the Marines and the Government's movements."
"If any of the Admirals show up, we leave immediately. Safety comes first."
Sora's ship technology was important—crucial even, to Mama or Katakuri's hopes of becoming Pirate King.
But Katakuri valued his siblings' safety above all else.
Facing a Marine Admiral was not something even they could afford just yet.
"Got it, Big Brother."
Smoothie finished her drink, grabbed her longsword, and left the bar.
When it came to Katakuri's orders, she always followed them to the letter.
…
Offshore waters near the Sabaody Archipelago.
A massive ship of the Beasts Pirates drifted aimlessly over the sea.
"That damn Katakuri, I won't forget this!"
"Two against one? Cowards!"
Queen, the All-Star known as Plague, coiled atop the deck in his brachiosaurus form, cursing as he worked on repairs to his mechanical body.
He had thought that leading the Flying Six to the archipelago would be enough to secure Sora or at least his airship technology.
But Katakuri had come prepared—bringing another Sweet Commander, Smoothie, and catching him completely off guard.
With the Flying Six being bogged down by Daifuku, Oven, and the others, Queen had to take on both Katakuri and Smoothie at once.
If he hadn't gone all out and released a massive, indiscriminate poison gas bomb, not only would Ulti and Page One have been captured, but he might've been finished too.
Even so, the bomb wiped out nearly all of the low-ranking Beasts Pirates he'd brought along—only the Flying Six had survived.
His mechanical body had been blasted apart in several places and was still under repair.
"Argh, my head's killing me!"
Ulti stumbled out of the cabin, clutching her head.
"Queen, thanks for saving me and Page One."
"Just a minor detail," Queen muttered as he continued his repairs.
But Ulti wasn't letting him off easy.
She punched him in the shoulder and snapped, "You could've at least given us the antidote beforehand!"
"That poison of yours was way too overpowered! Page One's still down for the count!"
Queen's poison gas bomb had taken out not just enemies—but nearly all of his own allies.
Meanwhile, the Big Mom Pirates had suffered minimal losses, thanks to Smoothie's unique juice-based healing powers.
It was a classic case of killing a hundred enemies while losing a thousand of your own.
Queen gave her a sidelong glance and chuckled.
"That was my latest research. If it couldn't take down even you, I might as well give up on making poisons altogether."
"As for the antidote? No way I'd hand it out beforehand."
He went back to tightening bolts on his massive cybernetic limbs.
Ulti looked ready to hit him again, but held herself back. Instead, she crouched beside him and handed him tools.
"So what now?"
"The Big Mom Pirates aren't letting us back on the island."
Queen lit a cigar and grinned.
"We're not the only ones after Sora."
"The World Government, the Marines, the Revolutionary Army, the other Yonko crews, even the rookie pirates—everyone's in the game."
"All we need is a bit of chaos. Then we can fish in troubled waters."
Ulti blinked.
"And how exactly are we supposed to start that chaos?"
Queen chuckled, exhaling a puff of smoke.
"Easy."
"We'll use Sora to stir the pot."
Ulti: "???"
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