The entire world was in turmoil. In such a chaotic situation, the proposal put forward by the Gorosei simply could not be implemented, nor was it the right time to do so.
Helpless, Steelbone Kong could only have Staff Officer Tsuru pick, from among the many pirates, someone suitable, easy to control, and good enough to put on a show for now.
Beehive Island.
A gigantic skull, wrapped in banded cloth, loomed in the middle of the island. Around that skull, houses were packed tightly together, radiating outward like scales and teeth.
Trade on the island never stopped. All kinds of deals and shops sprang up everywhere. As long as you had strength, this place was practically heaven.
Because of that, Beehive Island was the paradise of anti-establishment pirates.
Here, as long as you had strength and cunning, treasure, women, and power were all yours for the taking.
Here, you didn't have to worry about whether your crewmates were trustworthy. Every day was betrayal and being betrayed, slaughter and being slaughtered. Everything bowed to利益.
If you had no strength and no backing, you didn't even qualify as background decoration on Beehive Island.
Of course, Beehive Island still followed the rules laid down in the Rocks era. Wang Zhi had copied Rocks' full set of rules over wholesale.
The problem was that Wang Zhi was not Rocks. He didn't have Rocks' strength, nor his ambition. The truly strong didn't look up to him.
But relying on his ties with the World Government, Wang Zhi's position was very stable. For protection and also for surveillance, the World Government had planted many spies on the island.
Although the pirates on Beehive Island were like a heap of loose sand, as if they were just men and women stitched together temporarily to muddle through life, Wang Zhi was still a former cadre of the Rocks Pirates. His strength was real. Naturally, many pirates who came to the New World seeking shelter also made their way here.
So, in theory, Beehive Island was one of the few powerful pirate forces besides the Whitebeard Pirates, the Flying Pirates, and the Roger Pirates.
With his ties to the World Government, Wang Zhi had always behaved himself on Beehive Island. Sometimes he even helped the World Government with relaying intel and other tasks.
That was the only reason Beehive Island had not drawn the direct attention of the Marines or become a target for the World Government.
Today, though, things were different.
At Beehive Island's harbor, five pirate ships were moored. The largest among them was a massive vessel shaped like a flamingo. The five ships were lined up in a straight row, gun ports all aimed into the island.
At first, the pirates on Beehive Island thought it was just some pirate crew coming to join up. They didn't pay it much mind. Some had even gotten ready to fleece the newcomers and, shivering with excitement, ran down to the harbor to wait for them to disembark.
However, to their surprise, the five pirate ships showed no intention of landing.
Instead, they deployed into battle formation. At Doflamingo's command, countless cannons loaded with Impact Dials and Reject Dials unleashed at ultra-high speed and unimaginable destructive power, bombarding Beehive Island with indiscriminate fire.
"We're done for! It's the enemy! Quick, go tell Boss Wang Zhi!"
One of the pirate lackeys reacted quickly and shouted at the top of his lungs.
Unfortunately, the merciless shells weren't about to give him a chance to escape. Before his voice had even fallen, buildings were collapsing one after another. Whether some pirate crew was ready or not no longer mattered at all.
Inside Beehive Island, at Wang Zhi's residence.
Was was happily enjoying the rewards Wang Zhi had bestowed on him: beauties in his lap, two full days of indulgence. Was didn't even know how to describe it.
"Amazing."
He had had his eye on the women serving at Wang Zhi's side for a long time. This time, he had finally gotten his wish.
Just as Was was getting ready to go at it for another day, the racket outside interrupted his "casting of spells." The excited Wang Zhi, who had been happily watching from the side, also lost all interest.
He let the underling shouting outside come in. Smiling with narrowed eyes, Wang Zhi asked:
"Boss Wang Zhi is still as gentle as ever."
Lolo Goya was thrilled inside, but when he thought of what had happened at the harbor, anxiety returned and he blurted out:
"Boss, bad news! The harbor's been attacked! Those guys have wrecked the whole port, it's a complete mess! At this rate, they'll be pushing toward the main square any moment now!"
"Damn it, they dare rampage on my turf? I want to see who they think they are."
Was, who was listening at the side, knew that all kinds of challengers came onto the island, but this was the first time he'd seen someone bold enough to directly attack the harbor.
"Was, you take some men and go first. I'll be right behind you."
Cunning as ever, Wang Zhi knew exactly how strong he was. Anyone who dared charge in this brazenly couldn't be weak.
It was the perfect chance to have Was test the waters while he watched from behind. If something looked wrong, he could retreat immediately.
Of course, Wang Zhi had another layer in mind: he needed to contact his CP0 liaison in advance and prepare for the worst, asking the liaison to come help.
The reason Was had Wang Zhi's trust was simple: obedience. Without another word of complaint, he yanked up his pants, didn't even bother to wipe down, and sprinted toward the central square.
The pirates of Beehive Island were much stronger than regular pirates, many of them at least comparable to Navy warrant officer level in raw strength.
Unfortunately, they lacked true high-end combat power. Doflamingo didn't even let his subordinates fight in close quarters. The Donquixote Pirates' officers rushed into the ranks of the Beehive Island pirates to slaughter them from within.
Diamante led the "Treasure Army" – that is, the God Guard Squad – in lined formations, using sparse but precise ranged attacks.
Trebol led the Base Unit members, grouping up to gang up several at a time on a single Beehive Island pirate.
Under such tactics, the pirates of Beehive Island quickly fell into disadvantage.
Many Beehive Island pirates began choosing to surrender. When death and surrender were the two options laid out before them, there was no question which one they would pick. Concepts like loyalty and righteousness didn't exist on Beehive Island.
Seeing Was arrive at the square already looking breathless and weak, Doflamingo instantly lost interest in him.
Weak. Pathetically weak. So weak that Doflamingo couldn't even be bothered to make a move himself.
But as a whetstone for Vergo, he might still be useful.
In a tone that allowed no argument, Doflamingo said to Vergo:
"Take him down. If you can't, then for the next three days you don't get to eat, and you don't get to smoke cigars."
"Yes, young master!"
Battle spirit ignited in Vergo's eyes. He would never admit he was the kind of idiot who fought just for food or cigars. That would be an insult to his dignity.
Of course, judging from how fast Vergo moved when he attacked and how hard he hit, his inner monologue did not seem to hold much water.
"Hm?"
Doflamingo vanished from where he stood and reappeared at Vergo's side in an instant. With a casual blow, he finished off Was, then dragged Vergo over to where Was fell.
A so-called strong man who only knew how to scheme and climb via manipulation, even if he harbored ulterior motives, did not pose much of a threat in Doflamingo's eyes.
A streak of lightning tore across the sky. Just as Doflamingo had guessed, the one he'd just fought wasn't Wang Zhi.
He descended in front of Wang Zhi and took a close look at him, then came to a conclusion: stronger than the guy just now, but only to that extent. Taking him down might not be easy, that much was true.
But it was enough to let him stretch his muscles properly and enjoy a real fight.
Doflamingo didn't give Wang Zhi the slightest chance to speak. His figure blurred as he stepped in and smashed Wang Zhi flying with a single punch.
"Tch, this is unreliable."
Doflamingo cursed under his breath, but didn't grow complacent just because he'd sent Wang Zhi flying. His speed increased again, and countless fist shadows hammered ruthlessly toward Wang Zhi's body.
(End of Chapter)
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