Chapter 133: Entering Beast's Nest (4)

Deep in the night, the street of Flower Capital is surprisingly noisy and bustling. However, unlike the usual oppressiveness, there existed a sense of freedom.

For years, they starved. For years, they were ruled by a monster who joined hands with a Catastrophe of all things. Even the smallest miracle wasn't seen, and they continued living throughout the days because they couldn't afford to die.

Then, the food rained down in the sky. Everyone instinctively felt that something—perhaps a miracle—was happening.

"How big are the Beast Pirates?"

"Roughly a 20 thousand."

"Their noteworthy members?"

"King the 'Conflagration', Queen the 'Plague', and Jack the 'Famine'. In addition, 5 members who hold the title of Tobiroppo."

And on this night, a white-haired man, Smoker, and pink-haired woman, Hina, were talking on the terrace of 'Orochi Castle'.

"What about the whereabouts of Gum Gum fruit?"

"Orochi never mentioned it, so I'd assume that Kaidou kept it secret. I did hear elsewhere that Kaidou recently placed a chest next to his 'throne' in Onigashima."

"HEY!!"

Waking himself up from trance, Kyoshiro drew his sword and shouted at Smoker and Hina. However, Smoker and Hina simply ignored Kyoshiro as if he posed no threat to them.

"...I see."

Instead, Smoker momentarily entered a deep thought to digest the information that Hina shared. He seemed not to care for the fact that Hiyori was staring at them from the back, left speechless.

Smoker then spoke.

"Have you heard anything about Dr.Vegapunk?"

"HEY!!!"

"What? Why would he come out all of a sudden?"

HIna raised an eyebrow.

"There is a high chance that he's here in Wano, caught by Beast Pirates."

"...Hah?"

"That's what Doll said. She's also here, right now, with her marines."

"...What's the chance of her backstabbing us?"

Smoker blinked upon hearing Hina's question.

"Cautious, aren't you."

"We haven't seen her for years. Of course I would."

Hina humphed while crossing her arms.

Smoker shrugged.

"Essentially zero, says my Observation Haki."

"That should be enough then."

"Anything else you got to share?"

"HEY!!!"

"...Right. There's a rumour about Kaidou's son, who's turning 14 this year. It's hard to estimate his accurate strength, and we should be cautious."

Smoker and Hina casually conversed as if they were alone by themselves. From the back, Kyoshiro's arms which held his sword dropped, dumbfounded.

"Who the hell are they even..."

Hina then perked up and looked at Kyoshiro.

"Additionally, that guy is Kyoshiro, the head of the yakuza organization named Kyoshiro Family. They are hired bodyguards of Kurozumi Orochi, the big-headed corpse over there."

During the night, he disguises himself, robs the wealthy people, and distributes the stolen goods to the poor residents of Ebisu Town of Flower Capital. For that, he earned the moniker 'Ushimitsu Kozo.'"

"WAIT, WHAT—"

Kyoshiro's eyes widened, before he reached his hand out, trying to stop Hina from speaking. However, his attempt was ignored as Hina continued,

"He's also the one who secretly took care of Kozuki Hiyori over there. I'd assume that he's some kind of spy whose true allegiance falls to the Kozuki Family."

Kyoshiro fell silent. Then, his eyes sharpened as his grip on his sword tightened.

"...You know far too much."

He dashed at Smoker and Hina with a grim thought,

"You must die here—"

only for his sword to be stopped by Smoker's finger.

"...Eh?"

"Oh, you're pretty strong."

Smoker commented as Kyoshiro stared at him with a snot dropping out of his nose. Then, he flicked his finger, which caused Kyoshiro's blade to be knocked back.

"You see,"

Smoker, looking at Kyoshiro and equally dumbfounded Hiyori, spoke to them.

"We're here for one simple goal: to destroy Beast Pirates."

Looking around, Smoker saw that the messenger whom Hina previously tied up with a metal ring was silently wriggling his way out of the room.

"But it seems that Beast Pirates aren't the only ones. Although that Orochi guy is dead, there still are his gangs who act in their self-interest. Therefore, we need someone to take care of the situation here."

Walking up to Kyoshiro, Smoker tapped the man on the shoulder.

"We'll leave that to you."

Kyoshiro didn't respond but stood petrified, unable to understand what Smoker, the stranger whom he met just a few minutes, ago, was saying to him.

Hiyori, wondering if she was dreaming, slapped herself on the cheek, but her view didn't change.

Then, in the next blink of an eye, Smoker and Hina were gone from the scene.

__________

"Food!! How... how is this possible?!"

In the middle of Amigasa Village, people surrounded a pile of food that they dreamed of having.

They, in a state of famine, seemed tired just trying to stay awake during the night. However, on their faces were smiles.

Marines neglected their duties for years. Because they were nothing but pets of the World Government who valued 'balance' of the world, the pirates of the New World were left free to do whatever they wished to do.

'And look what that led to.'

Smoker, watching as people got their hands on food and fed their children, chuckled dryly.

'Someone has to do it. If no one's willing to do so, I will.'

Smoker recalled his last clash against Kaidou just a day ago. It was only a brief fight, but he felt it, and Kaidou probably did as well.

'...We're on par with one another.'

Thus, the dictating factor of the battle between the two of them will be creativity, of how well one uses his fruit ability.

Silently, Smoker turned away from civilians and faced those who were waiting at his back: his friends.

"'Iron Armour' Whist. 'Weightless' Gong Zhu. Euchre of the 'Duality'. 'Thousand Blades' Canasta. Pinochle the 'Predator'. Jack the 'Famine'. Queen the 'Plague'. King the 'Conflagration'. From what we confirmed, all of them are users of Zoan-type devil fruits."

Among them, Robin who held a flashlight and a book, calmly stated.

"Among them, King the 'Conflagration' is the most dangerous. It was said that he, as the no.2 of the crew, was with Kaidou since the establishment of Beast Pirates. Then, Queen the 'Plague'. He was a part of MADS which was led by Dr.Vegapunk until its closure. Apart from his strength, the versatility of his ability is something to be cautious of."

Flipping to the next page, Robin continued to detail the information she wrote down in the book.

"Then comes Jack the 'Famine'. Though human, he seems to lack an adequate level of intellectual ability. In return, however, he has a devastating physique that would put most people under shame. King, Queen, and Jack altogether are known as Kaidou's All-Stars, the tri-force of Beast Pirates."

By the side, Aramaki was found grinning with a hand below his chin, as if excited by the idea of fighting.

"In correspondence, members of matching strength should be dispatched to fight those three. After an astute judgment, we concluded,"

Robin looked at the book,

"Bastille for Jack."

before turning to look at Hina, who cracked her knuckles covered by black gloves.

"Hina for Queen."

then Aramaki, who stood up and rolled his shoulders.

"Aramaki for King."

Closing the book, Robin looked at the others around.

"The rest of us will handle Tobiroppos as well as the rest of Beast Pirates. Shinuchis, who fall under the rank below Tobiroppo, may serve as anomalies.

Furthermore, the number of Beast Pirates amounts to approximately 10 thousand-strong. On the other hand, we, after including the marines under Doll's command and the prisoners whom Bastille reported to have freed in Udon, amount to around 100 in total.

This means that if one person falls, everyone will go down like a domino. Failure isn't an option."

Finally, Robin turned to Smoker.

"Nevertheless, leave everything else to us. After all, you have one important task, one that only you can achieve."

Smoker smiled knowingly.

"Destroy Kaidou."

"Rahahaha!"

"Heh."

"Hina waiting."

The marines who stood behind shivered, unable to believe how Smoker and his friends seemed to be certain of their victory.

'If it's them, the ones whom I knew for years...'

Doll smiled with a cold sweat on her. In her, the memories from the past were being replayed.

'This won't be impossible.'

"Let's go."

Smoker, with his smile dead and nothing but seriousness on him, stated.

"Onto Udon it is."

Up in the sky, the moon was hidden by the cloud, as if aware of the war that was about to break anytime.

__________

<<Shogun Orochi was found dead! Kyoshiro Family has betrayed and started the revolt in Flower Capital!!>>

<<Foods in Paradise Farm was raided!! They were distributed to civilians and correspondingly, joined the revolt led by Kyoshiro under name of 'Kozuki Hiyori!'>>

<<The prisoners in Udon were freed! Members who guarding the prisoner mine all found dead without exception!!>>

Everything happened in one day. Ones that the people of Wano weren't able to achieve for the past 6 years, Smoker achieved right after his arrival.

"Worororo..."

Kaidou grinned as he sat on his throne, with his cheek leaning into his hand.

"And so, you've arrived, White Hunter."

Then, his grin abruptly died down. His eyes flashed in crimson, conveying nothing but bloodthirst.

Kaidou stood up from his seat and began walking.

Boom. Boom.

Every one of his steps caused a slight shake. He was the very definition of Catastrophe—the disaster that brings civilizations into destruction.

"You and I... we have a lot on our shoulders, don't we?"

Kaidou whispered to himself.

"Though the fight before was enjoyable... it no longer is the time for me to enjoy. After all, beyond this war, there exists... the secrets of Joy Boy and One Piece itself."

Grimly, Kaidou ordered,

"Gather all the available troops! Set ships afloat! Tonight, we will show those pseudo-marines, of what it means to defy the future Pirate King!!"

Heeding to Kaidou's order, numerous ships that amount to more than fifty sailed out from Onigashima onto the body of water that separated the island from Wano.

Kaidou himself, now present on the flagship that was thrice the size of other ships, glared ahead. Behind him stood the three All-Stars,

"Fooooooooooooooood..."

Jack the Famine,

"Damn those people! Why did they have to come while I was in the middle of my research?!"

Queen the Plague,

"Don't fool around. White Hunter isn't a man whom you can treat lightly. In some sense, this battle... may be the hardest one we've had yet."

And King the Conflagration.

The sea churned, and waves rose. The cloud above swirled and gusts blew wildly.

Then, finally came in sight, three moderate-sized wooden ships that were sailing toward the numerous ships of Beast Pirates.

PAZZZZ!!

The lightning crashed down on the water. The sways of ships intensified, but Kaidou didn't care. Instead, his eyes were locked on ahead.

"..."

On the other side was Smoker, who met Kaidou's intense gaze with his own. Unlike last time, there was no excitement of battle, and both of them knew that there wouldn't be one.

The cheering noises on Beast Pirates' ships died down as their enemies entered the sight.

Smoker's group too readied themselves as they felt their hearts thumping.

Bizarrely, the wild waves began to die down. The continuous strikes of lightning from the sky ceased. Everything, be it the living beings or the nature, fell silent.

Then, Smoker and Kaidou's Hakis spiked simultaneously, before everyone felt the overwhelming Conqueror's Haki springing forth from them.

They clashed. The water erupted, storms appeared, and lightning rained down at a more frequent pace.

All people, be it the pirates, marines, pseudo-marines, or Wano-inhabitants, shielded their faces, unable to withstand the intensity of the clash between two supreme kings.

After what seemed to be an everlasting amount of time had passed, the Conqueror's Hakis died down in a stalemate. Many sighed in relief as they released the breath that they were unconsciously holding in.

In this state, Smoker and Kaidou simultaneously jumped from their respective ships.

As he clenched his hand into a fist, Smoker's fist revealed a dangerous-looking black lightning—the infusion of Conqueror's Haki.

Similarly, the kanabo under Kaidou's tight grip crackled in the black lightning.

Without any warning, the fist and kanabo crashed into each other, although there was a gap between them as if they were being repelled. A huge booming noise resounded across the sky before the black spark spread everywhere in the sky.

The very air itself screeched and shook from the clash. The swirling cloud above was split into two, revealing the bright moon beyond.

And this was the sign,

"""Charge!!"""

of a war of 100 vs 10,000, one that will dictate the fate of Wano Country.