East Blue, Cleansing Campaign.
Crack——
A bolt of lightning struck Sakazuki's battleship.
Enel's figure materialized:
"So boring, old man, there really aren't any pirates in this East Blue."
"Only that day when we first arrived, we ran into a few."
Sakazuki chuckled:
"Then go study weapons."
"Didn't Bullet like those missiles you built?"
Enel sighed helplessly:
"The parts aren't complete."
"The strongest I can make right now are just those."
"Anything more powerful needs proper facilities."
"When we return to Headquarters, I'll make some upgrades."
"By the way... compared to the other three seas, this place is ridiculously underdeveloped."
Sakazuki smiled faintly:
"Which is why it's more peaceful."
"That old man Garp comes back here to patrol every now and then. Of course there'll be fewer pirates than in other seas."
"More importantly, the government insists on keeping the entire East Blue locked in an agrarian era."
"Only then will people not be driven to explore the sea."
"If it were like the North or West Blue, where force and gangs dominate…"
"Then people seeking to explore the seas would never stop coming."
"The massive bridge they've hidden here in East Blue would be exposed too easily."
"Though I don't know the purpose of that enormous bridge built against the Red Line…"
"The fact that this project has continued for seven hundred years already speaks volumes about its importance."
Sakazuki's eyes narrowed slightly. Sometimes, the government's foundations were unfathomable.
Seven hundred years of manpower and resources poured in—simply unimaginable.
As for the idea that this bridge was meant to link together the islands of the world? Nonsense.
Not even in seven thousand years could that be finished.
Either it's meant to connect something—or transport something...
Enel's expression darkened as well:
"Seven hundred years…"
"That much manpower, that many resources…"
"If only they were given to me."
"In just a few years, my super 'Admonition' would be complete."
He clicked his tongue, unable to hold back.
Sakazuki's interest was piqued:
"Super Admonition?"
"Vegapunk helped you optimize it, didn't he?"
Enel grinned proudly:
"That's right. After studying with Vegapunk-sensei…"
"We both agreed—"
"Admonition… was only a prototype."
Sakazuki stroked his chin:
"A prototype?"
"Sounds about right…"
"I remember in that diary on Skypiea…"
"The diary's owner wrote how he had designed it in his youth, and later spent most of his time in the Blue Sea."
"After Joy Boy's defeat, he fled back to Skypiea, hastily wrote one last entry, and died at his desk."
"So the model and blueprints we found back then must have been left from his youth."
Enel froze:
"Huh?"
"There's actually such a thing?!"
Sakazuki chuckled:
"You couldn't read at the time."
"Even if I gave you the diary, you wouldn't have understood it."
Enel's face sank:
"True enough."
"Forget it. After all, once I worked with Vegapunk-sensei to optimize it—"
"It can't possibly be inferior to his."
His face grew serious:
"After our research, we found that the man who designed Admonition left a massive margin of expansion."
"Besides the mechanical conduits and thundercloud generators lining the hull, the remaining space—if filled with batteries—"
"Would let the operator fire at least two Lightning cannons through the ship's console."
"And as for techniques like 10,000 Volt Thunder… it could unleash several of those."
"And that's just with ordinary people who don't have the Goro Goro no Mi."
"That guy's ambition and skill were no joke."
"Even as a prototype, if mass-produced for the Navy, the world would have no way to stop us."
"If one Lightning cannon doesn't work, then a hundred."
"Not even ashes would remain."
"The only problem is, it consumes way too much gold."
"Hardly a few could ever be built. Vegapunk-sensei and I have been optimizing the blueprints for Admonition, striving to make it feasible for mass armament."
"As for the Super Admonition… it's just too hard. The resource consumption…"
"Even throwing in the Navy's entire yearly budget would only complete a third of it…"
"If, in the 'future'—"
Sakazuki arched a brow, turned, and strode toward the cabin without hesitation:
"Impossible. Forget it."
"Even in the future, it can't be done. Toss the blueprints."
A year's budget to build just one-third.
What a money sink...
Bang——
The sound of the cabin door slamming shut echoed.
Enel stood there flustered, shouting at the cabin:
"Then at least build it in installments!"
"A tenth per year!"
"How about that!!!"
...
New World.
The dark clouds above split apart, cleaving the island in half.
The seas and land trembled uneasily.
At the island's center, two towering figures—seven or eight meters tall—stood face-to-face, glaring at one another.
Charlotte Linlin's face was dark:
"Kaido, you've gone too far."
Her grip on Napoleon tightened unconsciously. Never had she imagined Kaido would betray her.
Before she could react, several of her island territories had already been annihilated.
Kaido sneered:
"This is the pirates' game, Linlin. You're too naive."
"I need territory and power."
"This sea is about to welcome its third emperor."
Charlotte Linlin stared at him coldly, but those who knew her understood—she was on the verge of exploding with rage...
"So that's your plan, huh."
"But the one thing you should never have done—"
"Was betray me, Kaido!"
A massive shockwave of sword energy roared toward Kaido.
With a grin, Kaido swung his spiked club, Hassaikai, behind him, coating it in Haki:
"I'm impartial, after all."
"That old man Knock won't escape either."
Lightning crackled across Hassaikai as he smashed down on the oncoming shockwave.
(T/N: Hassaikai is a massive kanabo wielded by Kaido)
The ferocious sword aura instantly turned back, slashing toward Charlotte Linlin.
She sneered, whipping out her left arm to shatter it, then charged forward with Napoleon in both hands.
Kaido roared as well, gripping Hassaikai in both fists as he rushed in.
Clang!
BOOM————!!!!!!!!!!
Violent lightning surged into the sky, detonating from the island's heart.
The island began splitting apart, the sea quivering in unrest...
...
Next morning.
The battlefield island had vanished. Two ships now sailed away in opposite directions.
The two had finally come to terms.
Charlotte Linlin acknowledged Kaido as an emperor. In return, Kaido would cooperate extensively with the Charlotte family to compensate for the seized islands. On the surface, Kaido had won.
But… as she departed, Charlotte Linlin's face bore a wicked grin:
"All done?"
Her children around her laughed cruelly:
"All done, Mama."
"Not a single one left."
Even before Linlin could praise them, Kaido's Den Den Mushi rang.
She picked it up, and Kaido's grim voice came through:
"Well done…"
"Our cooperation continues. But never show your face before me again… Linlin."
"Otherwise, I'll kill you…"
Charlotte Linlin sneered into the Den Den Mushi:
"Being a pirate isn't as simple as you think."
"Take it as a lesson."
"Don't forget, back on Rocks' ship, it was Mama who taught you how to play the pirate game."
"mamamama~"
Kach—
The line went dead.
Before her battle with Kaido, Charlotte Linlin had already dispatched countless children, who wiped out all of Kaido's territories except those guarded by King and Queen.
Massacred to the last...
(T/N: Tequila Wolf is a massive stone bridge in the East Blue, which has been under construction for centuries.[1] It first appeared when Nico Robin was sent there by Bartholomew Kuma during the events of Sabaody Archipelago. Both Robin and the residents of Tequila Wolf were later rescued from their enslavement by the Revolutionary Army.)
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