In a kitchen on Onigashima.
Sanji hummed a little tune as he scooped up some thick soup from the bubbling pot in front of him with a ladle, tasting it with a small sip.
"Hm, it needs a bit more pepper."
This was his personal kitchen.
Though he was only nine years old, he was already a key pillar of the Beast Pirates, which was why he had a dedicated kitchen.
This was, of course, not only because of his relationship with Ian, but also due to his strength.
With his awakened bloodline, specialized battle gear, and his already proficient mastery of the Six Styles, his strength had far surpassed that of an ordinary pirate, making him fully deserving of the title of a Shinuchi.
Whoosh!
The kitchen door was suddenly flung open, and a boy wearing a mask shouted at Sanji from the doorway, "What are you doing still cooking at this hour?!"
"Huh?"
Sanji turned around, confused. "What's up, Pay-tan?"
Page One excitedly said, "Big Brother Ian is back!"
Sanji was taken aback, and then his eyes sparkled. "Where is he?"
"The Golden Dragon just docked at the port! Let's go find him!" Page One said eagerly. It had been so long since they had seen Big Brother Ian!
"Alright!"
Without hesitation, Sanji put down the ladle, covered the pot, turned off the stove, and followed Page One, running out of the main building in a flash.
At that moment, the whole of Onigashima was buzzing. A large number of pirates were walking through the streets of the town.
"What's going on?"
Sanji noticed something wasn't right. All the pirates were armed, looking fierce and ready for battle.
But what was going on here?
This was Onigashima! The headquarters of the world's strongest pirate crew, the Beast Pirates!
With Big Brother Ian back and two emperors stationed here, who would dare cause trouble? What exactly was happening?
"Let's find my sister!"
Page One said calmly, "She left first! She must know what's going on."
As he spoke, his body began to expand and transform into a terrifying dinosaur. "Sanji, let's go!"
"Coming!"
Sanji leapt into the air, directly landing behind Page One.
The nearly ten-meter-long dinosaur then charged forward, not caring about the pirates in front of it. "Get out of my way!!"
This was the Beast Pirates' style, straightforward and brutal.
Either get out of the way, or experience the feeling of being crushed under the dinosaur's feet.
As it turned out, this method of travel worked quite well. Page One rampaged through the streets of Onigashima like a locomotive.
"Pay-tan!"
Until a figure suddenly leapt from the side of the street and wrapped her arms around Page One's neck.
The girl, with large, round eyes and an excited expression, rubbed her face against the spiny-back dragon's neck.
"Sister!"
Page One shouted as he charged forward, "What's going on? Why is everyone carrying weapons?"
Ulti's expression immediately turned serious, her round eyes narrowing slightly. "Brother Ian is going to fight Kaido-sama!"
"Isn't that a common occurrence?"
Sanji said in surprise, "Last time Brother Ian came back, he fought Kaido-sama too."
"But this time, Ian-oniichan said..."
Ulti, who usually couldn't stand Sanji—or to be precise, she didn't like anyone other than Ian and Page One—ignored her usual disdain for him and spoke seriously, "He's going to lead the people from the Golden Dragon ship to fight the pirates led by Kaido-sama."
"What??"
Sanji was left speechless.
Although rumors had been circulating on Onigashima for some time that Brother Ian had ulterior motives, always plotting to usurp the throne, the island's pirates had almost split into two factions not long ago.
The last time Brother Ian fought Kaido-sama, it had been Kaido's warning to him.
But Sanji himself didn't take this matter to heart.
He knew very well that Brother Ian had great respect for Kaido, and he was also one of the few people Kaido genuinely cared about.
Although the most frequent interaction between the two was combat, their relationship was undeniably close.
How could they possibly become enemies?
But now, Sanji wasn't so sure.
In stark contrast to Sanji's shock, Page One was inexplicably excited. He shouted loudly, "Has Brother Ian finally started to make his move?"
"Has Brother Ian finally started to make his move?"
On top of Onigashima, the Golden Dragon ship was set aside. Jack gazed at Kaido, who was sitting in the distance, drinking, his expression and mood complicated as he spoke.
The battlefield chosen by Ian was here, so they simply brought the Golden Dragon ship over.
Everyone on the ship had already disembarked and gathered behind Ian.
The comrades, led by Babanuki and the Beasts Pirates, the giants led by Solem and Himir, the fishmen under Jack's command, and those wild beasts.
Except for the fishmen who couldn't fight on land, all the combat power from the Golden Dragon ship had gathered.
"It was about time!"
Yamato happily patted Ian's back and laughed, saying, "This time, let's give Dad a good lesson! He's beaten me for so many years, I've been wanting to repay him for a long time!"
Ian's mood was somewhat complicated.
He vaguely remembered that when Yamato was young, their relationship with Kaido was very close.
This must be what they called a rebellious phase.
"So that's the Hundred Beast Kaido?"
Ace cautiously observed Kaido from afar, who was drinking and casually eyeing the giants behind Ian with interest.
"So big!"
"Is he really not a giant?"
"The world's strongest creature!"
Kuina was also quite excited. "He has enough strength to rival Whitebeard!"
Even this country girl had heard of Kaido of the Beasts.
The strongest?
Standing on the side, Enel raised an eyebrow and casually looked up at Kaido.
"Who is stronger, him or Ian?"
Zoro asked the key question.
"Well, we'd need to fight to know that."
Law smiled lightly.
Right now, Ian was also a full-fledged Pirate Emperor, so it really was hard to say who was stronger.
"Wait! Ian! That's not right!"
Viola darted in front of Ian, flailing her arms in protest. "Do I also have to join the fight? I'm a support staff, you know!"
"Then just make sure to protect yourself."
Ian smiled lightly. "If the opponent is Kaido-sensei, I won't have much energy to care about anything else."
"Then don't fight…"
Viola was nearly on the verge of tears.
Ian, however, only smiled lightly.
This fight wasn't just for putting on a show for the government; there was also the intent to test something.
It had been too long since the crew, both at headquarters and on the Golden Dragon ship, had fought a real strong enemy.
So this opportunity was just too perfect.
**********
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