"Mr. Kaido, are we taking a ship to sea?"
Gusion looked at the massive vessel before him, asking in surprise.
At Byakuya Port, a giant ship was docked at the pier.
The ship's bow was shaped like a terrifying monster with six horns—just like the ones on Kaido's head. The hull was covered in hundreds of cannon ports, likely making its firepower even stronger than most warships.
"If we're not taking a ship, what else would we take?"
Kaido gave Gusion a suspicious look, as if doubting his strategist's intelligence.
Gusion's expression was odd. "I thought we didn't have a main ship. After all, Mr. Kaido always just takes people flying whenever he goes out."
Kaido was taken aback at that, recalling that it was indeed the case. Even though he had this formidable warship, he rarely used it.
After all, he could fly himself and even become gigantic. Usually, when heading out, he'd just have his officers stand on his back and take off directly—fast and convenient, and there was no need to worry about protecting a ship during a fight.
At this moment, King explained to Gusion, "It's different this time. Onigashima's destination, the Sky Island, is far from Wano. Flying all the way would waste a lot of stamina, especially since we have a large group going this time."
This time, the Beasts Pirates had a luxurious lineup. King, the leader of the All-Stars, was naturally going as the guide, and Kaido himself was also personally leading the expedition, since it involved the Poneglyphs. No one could guarantee the Big Mom Pirates wouldn't make a move.
Besides, they also wanted to recruit Issho, so Kaido's personal presence was a sign of sincerity. And if the negotiations failed, he could suppress Issho himself.
Jack the Drought and Queen the Plague, the other two All-Stars, stayed behind to guard Wano, preventing anyone from sneaking in.
In addition, three of the Tobiroppo were coming along, enough to handle most enemies below the level of an Emperor's right-hand man.
There were even more Headliners—over a dozen.
"Mr. King, we're heading out to fight, so why are there kids with us?"
Gusion curiously asked King, while Kaido had already gone to the bow to drink—this old drunkard was rarely fully sober.
Among the group, Gusion noticed two little ones. The taller one was a girl around ten years old, wearing a white dress, her long dark blue hair cascading down her back with two small white horns poking out from the sides—very cute.
The shorter one was a boy around eight, timidly hiding behind his sister and clutching her skirt. He wore green pants with coiled buttons and a white-and-green hat, two horns extending from under it. His bright eyes darted around, watching the crowd.
"Sis, they all look so fierce... I'm scared."
The boy, seeing the tall officers moving about the ship, clung closer to his sister, his little hand sweaty from fear.
"Don't be so spineless! We're Devil Fruit users now—what's there to be afraid of?"
The girl tried to sound brave, scolding her brother. But if you looked closely, you'd see fine sweat on her own forehead—she was clearly nervous too.
King followed Gusion's gaze and saw the pair. He explained, "That's Ulti and Page One, siblings Kaido-san brought back from a recent trip. Apparently, they're the same race as Kaido. I asked him about it, but he didn't explain in detail."
Gusion now understood their identities, marveling at how time changes things—it could turn Yamato, who should be nearing thirty, into a girl, and once-girls into little kids.
In the original story, by the time Luffy arrived in Wano, Ulti and Page One were already among the Tobiroppo. Now, though the Tobiroppo still existed, three of them were faces Gusion hadn't seen in the original.
He figured that in seven or eight years, Ulti and Page One would take their places, either after the others were squeezed out or killed in battle.
The story never said whether these two were Oni, but judging by their appearance, they were most likely the same race as Kaido.
The siblings were the children of a pirate who knew Kaido, Hanafuda. After their father died, Kaido adopted them.
Eavesdropping on the siblings, Gusion learned they'd only been in Wano for ten days, but yesterday, they ate Devil Fruits—both powerful Ancient Zoan types.
Ulti thought she was lucky to have stolen two Devil Fruits and shared one with her brother, making them both fruit users.
But Devil Fruits are never so easy to steal—let alone two rare Ancient Zoans at once. It was clearly arranged by Kaido.
Ulti was clever. As a pirate's daughter, she'd learned early about survival of the fittest.
She knew that if she and her brother didn't get stronger, they'd be eliminated in the cruel Beasts Pirates, so she'd risked stealing the fruit.
But after they ate them, they were quickly discovered, which led to this scene—Kaido threatening to take them to sea and feed them to the fish.
This terrified the young Page One, who now couldn't swim after eating a Devil Fruit and thought they were doomed.
Gusion, finding the nervous children amusing, walked over to Ulti. "Why didn't you just ask Mr. Kaido for a Devil Fruit?"
Ulti looked up at the tall, black-clad man before her, a bit intimidated, but still shielding her brother. She raised her head and met Gusion's gaze, feigning bravado. "Do you think I don't know what kind of place this is? Lord Kaido would never give a fruit to a kid. In life's big decisions, you can never let others choose for you!"
Gusion was a bit surprised. "Who taught you that?"
"My father—a great pirate."
Ulti lifted her slightly chubby chin with pride.
"I haven't heard of your father, but that's a good point. So, do you think you'll be fed to the fish?"
Gusion grinned, amused by teasing the kids.
"I... I won't let Page One be fed to the fish. I stole the fruit, so punish me—throw me in!"
Ulti said, trying to suppress her fear.
"Sis... no, I don't want you to be fed to the fish—"
Page One started to cry. "I-It was me who stole the fruit, feed me to the fish!"
Slap—
Ulti turned and gave Page One a slap, knocking him to the ground. "Don't talk nonsense! I'm the one who stole it. You're too soft and timid—you'd never dare steal a fruit from Lord Kaido!"
She turned back, meeting Gusion's gaze. "You must be important here. If you're going to punish someone, punish me. Page One is a good kid—he won't hold a grudge."
Gusion raised his hand toward Ulti, making her sweat even more and tremble.
But the expected blow never came. Instead, his hand landed gently on her head, ruffling her hair.
"Alright, I'm just kidding. Mr. Kaido isn't so petty, and I'm not going to feed you to the fish."
Gusion smiled. "Those two Devil Fruits were put there for you anyway. But you're right—in a survival-of-the-fittest world, only by getting stronger can you protect those you care about."
He looked at Page One, who had just stood up, wiping away his tears. "Train hard and get strong. Don't waste those rare fruits."
Up at the bow, Kaido, feeling the sea breeze, put down his sake jug and muttered, "Such a nosy kid."
Those two fruits really were for Ulti and Page One—the last of his race and the children of an old friend. He'd raised them as his own.
As for Ulti eating the fruits without his permission, Kaido didn't mind. He liked people with guts and a desire to get stronger.
Saying he'd throw them to the fish was just to teach them a lesson—not to be so reckless in the crew.
Taking them to sea was Kaido's own plan. He believed Oni should grow strong on the battlefield, not in a greenhouse.
With him there, nothing serious could happen. It was better to let the kids see the world and toughen up—maybe in ten years, they'd become his powerful new helpers.
"Really... you're not going to throw us to the fish?"
Page One asked timidly. He remembered seeing Gusion at the recent meeting on Onigashima and figured he must be a big name in the crew.
"If you keep crying, maybe you will be."
Gusion joked, making Page One quickly stop his tears.
"Mr. Gusion."
At this point, a tall, slender man in red clothes with a cherry-colored long sword came over, speaking respectfully, "We're about to set sail. If you're not busy, could you come to the cabin? There's something I'd like to ask you."
Gusion was surprised. They hadn't had much interaction before, so he wondered what this was about.
This man was Who's-Who, who had joined the Beasts Pirates four months ago. With his strength and the fact he'd brought his own crew, Kaido had promoted him to the Tobiroppo.
Before him, there were only five Tobiroppo—his arrival expanded the group.
He was formerly a CP9 agent. A year ago, while transporting the Gum-Gum Fruit, he was robbed by Red-Haired Shanks. With the mission a failure, he was thrown in jail, then escaped and formed his own pirate crew, seeking revenge.
After failing against Red-Haired, he joined the Beasts Pirates, ate the Saber Tiger Ancient Zoan Kaido gave him, and got even stronger—claiming to be even more talented than Rob Lucci.
At least at this point, he was Lucci's senior and much stronger.
"Of course. Lead the way."
Gusion agreed. With Kaido on board, he had nothing to fear—he was curious what this former CP agent wanted to talk about.
Inside the cabin, Who's-Who grew serious. "Mr. Gusion, I suspect there are CP agents among the Beasts Pirates."
Gusion yawned. "Is that even a suspicion? Isn't it obvious?"
He'd thought Who's-Who had some big secret to reveal, but this was old news to him.
If there weren't spies, his actions in Wano wouldn't have gotten out, and his bounty wouldn't have risen so much.
So in a way, he should thank those spies for the publicity.