Chapter 89: Whitebeard: Even I Didn’t Get This Kind of Treatment

Hearing the shock in Kaido's voice, Doflamingo felt a rush of satisfaction.

Finally, even Kaido, one of the Four Emperors, was stunned by something. That was a rare occasion.

"Four Admirals joined forces just to take down the Sun and Moon Pirates?" Kaido's voice echoed throughout the Skull Dome on Onigashima.

Even his commanders, King and Queen, perked up at the mention of such a massive force mobilization by the Navy.

"Are those four monsters coming to hunt us down?" Queen's large, round face was full of panic. "Governor Kaido, we should run! There's no way the Navy would send that many monsters just to deal with us. What have we done to deserve this?"

King, the more stoic of Kaido's top commanders, was also unsettled, though he didn't show it as much. Under his mask, his expression grew grim.

If the Navy truly intended to wipe out the Beasts Pirates, sending that much firepower would have been overkill. But what could they do? They were all too familiar with the power of an Admiral.

One or two of them, the Beasts Pirates could handle.

But four?

That was unimaginable.

"Idiot." Kaido scowled and kicked Queen. "The four Admirals were sent to take down the Sun and Moon Pirates, not us!"

"Oh, thank goodness! I thought we were doomed. I mean, why would the Navy waste so many resources on us?" Queen sighed in relief.

Kaido's face darkened even further. He shot Queen a murderous glare but decided not to waste any more breath on him. Turning his attention back to the conversation with Doflamingo, Kaido asked with a serious tone, "So, with four Admirals working together, I assume the Sun and Moon Pirates were wiped out instantly? It's a pity I never got my hands on that Mythical Zoan, Phoenix Fruit."

Kaido's voice carried a tinge of regret.

"Kuke is dead," Doflamingo explained, his tone mixed with respect and awe. "But the rest of the crew escaped. Kuke held off the entire Navy by himself. He didn't go down right away either; the battle lasted a long time. He almost killed Zephyr and left Akainu gravely wounded."

Doflamingo couldn't help but feel admiration, not for Kuke's title, but for his sheer strength.

"What?!" Kaido shot up from his seat.

One versus four?

And Kuke still managed to push them to the brink?

Kaido's eyes widened in disbelief.

Since when were the Navy Admirals this weak?

"The newspapers should be out soon, and plenty of people took pictures of the battle," Doflamingo added.

Kaido slowly sat back down, processing the information. He knew Doflamingo wasn't the type to lie to him.

Even Kaido's commanders were shocked. They let out gasps of disbelief upon hearing the news.

Kaido sat in stunned silence for a long time, but a twisted grin soon spread across his face. He was suddenly grateful that Kuke was dead. Had he survived and reached the New World, it would've been a real problem.

Kaido now understood why Doflamingo had contacted him.

"Kaido-sama, we need to act quickly," Doflamingo pressed. "The World Government won't spare any remnants of the Sun and Moon Pirates. If you want the Phoenix Fruit user as your subordinate, this is your only chance."

Doflamingo was cleverly trying to manipulate Kaido into taking action.

He couldn't handle the situation alone, but Kaido could. And while Kaido chased after the Phoenix Fruit, Doflamingo could swoop in and claim the Ope Ope no Mi.

"Yes, we need to move fast. The Sun and Moon Pirates still have plenty of valuable treasures. I've also heard the Ope Ope no Mi is with them—the fruit that grants eternal life. I want it," Kaido growled, his greed for Kuke's "inheritance" growing.

Doflamingo froze for a moment, stunned.

How did Kaido know about the Ope Ope no Mi? Damn it, this complicates things.

Doflamingo had hoped to sneak the fruit away unnoticed, but now Kaido was also after it.

"Kaido-sama, the Phoenix Fruit can be yours, but I'd like to claim the Ope Ope no Mi," Doflamingo proposed, momentarily forgetting Kaido's terrifying nature in the face of the temptation of eternal life.

As soon as those words left his mouth, Kaido's aura turned murderous. "You think you're worthy of taking anything from me, you clown? You're nothing! If you know what's good for you, stay out of this. Cross me, and I'll crush you."

Kaido's voice carried a deadly threat, leaving no room for negotiation.

Then, without waiting for a response, Kaido hung up.

The call ended with a dial tone, leaving Doflamingo standing there, veins bulging in his forehead.

"Kaido!" Doflamingo hissed through gritted teeth.

Fury boiled inside him, but it was accompanied by overwhelming fear. The idea of fighting Kaido made his skin crawl. He knew he would die if he tried to challenge the Beasts Pirates.

And yet, he couldn't bring himself to let go of the Ope Ope no Mi.

He regretted ever calling Kaido, realizing he had just made things worse for himself.

"If I can't have it, no one will," Doflamingo decided, his mind racing.

If he couldn't beat Kaido, then the only option was to muddy the waters. Maybe, just maybe, that would give him a slim chance.

"Spread the word about the Sun and Moon Pirates possessing the Ope Ope no Mi and its eternal life-granting abilities. Let's see if any of the other monsters in this world are interested."

...

Only a few hours had passed since the battle, but already the major news outlets were reporting every detail. The largest World Government-backed newspaper began distributing the news globally with all its resources.

The death of Kuke was spreading rapidly, reaching every corner of the Grand Line and beyond.

On the deck of the Moby Dick, Whitebeard's flagship, Marco rushed forward with a newspaper in hand, a rare look of shock on his face.

"Pops! We've just gotten word. The Navy sent multiple Admirals to Sabaody to take down Kuke!"

"How many?" Whitebeard's pirates immediately gathered around on the deck, eager to hear the details.

They stared at the front page of the newspaper.

It was a photo of Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu, all mobilized against Kuke.

"Those three brats…" Whitebeard muttered, his eyes narrowing. He was familiar with the strength of Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu—three of the Navy's strongest forces.

"Three Admirals, teaming up just to take on Kuke? The Navy must have been desperate," Whitebeard mused aloud.

He had sailed the seas for decades, living a life of unrivaled strength.

And yet, never in all his years had the Navy sent this kind of force after him.

He certainly didn't envy Kuke for being the target of such a massive mobilization.

"Kuke's definitely dead now. Three Admirals together would've wiped him out in minutes," one of Whitebeard's commanders remarked.

"Yeah, there's no way he could've survived that."

"The fight probably only lasted a few minutes."

"Sigh…" Marco shook his head as he scanned the paper. The crew assumed Kuke must have been killed already; they just hadn't received the final confirmation yet.

...

"I said he wouldn't make it past the first half of the Grand Line. Looks like he's met his end there, just as I predicted," Whitebeard rumbled, shaking his head.

It was just as he had expected.

Kuke was dead.

A few moments later, a news bird flew over the Moby Dick, dropping off the latest edition of the newspaper.

"Pops! Kuke is dead, but it wasn't just three Admirals—Zephyr was there too. That means four Admirals!" Marco's voice trembled as he read the headline.

"The Navy has gone mad. They sent four Admirals just to kill Kuke. That's unprecedented!" Marco exclaimed.

Whitebeard grabbed the paper, his disbelief growing as he read the details. The report described how Kuke had nearly killed Zephyr and seriously injured Akainu before the fight dragged on for hours.

"What?" Whitebeard stared at the photos of the battle. There were images of Zephyr, bloodied and broken, and another of Akainu, covered in blood.

The reporters hadn't been kind to the Navy, giving the full, unfiltered truth.

Some papers even went as far as to claim that Kuke, at the time of his death, had been the strongest man on the seas.

"A terrifying guy… Even with four Admirals, he still put up such a fight." Whitebeard couldn't help but feel a deep respect for Kuke. Never before had anyone endured such an overwhelming assault and survived for so long.

Suddenly, Marco pointed to something at the bottom of the page. "Pops, look at this! The Navy announced they're going to establish the Warlord system right where Kuke died. They're holding the ceremony a hundred days from now!"

Whitebeard frowned deeply.

Could this be real?

"The Navy is really going too far. It's like they want to stomp on Kuke's grave." The thought of it disgusted the entire crew.

Building their new system atop his final resting place?

Nothing could be more humiliating.

...

On the Radiant Eclipse, now approaching Fish-Man Island, Kuke hadn't received the newspapers yet. However, Shakky had her own sources of information, and soon Kuke learned of the announcement.

"In a hundred days, huh?"

His eyes grew cold, filled with deadly intent.

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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 144+ at patreon.com/Emik01.

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