On Onigashima—
"Worororo! That brat Souta Kiryuu dares to act so arrogant!"
Kaido of the Beasts roared with laughter, not even remotely angry. Souta was indeed a madman bold enough to challenge the World Government itself. That suited Kaido's taste perfectly.
As for Orochi, he was nothing but a pawn—Kaido could discard him at any time. If not for Yamato's constant refusal to take the position of Shogun, the title would have changed hands long ago.
Still, Souta's moves had given Kaido a useful reminder: he needed to gather the blood of every Devil Fruit user within Wano's borders. He couldn't allow Souta to keep taking advantage.
The Beast Pirates would have to continue capturing ability users overseas, selling them to Souta's crew in exchange for more artificial Zoan Devil Fruits.
With Kaido's command, collecting blood samples from ability users—and hunting them down—became the Beast Pirates' top priority. Of course, his top officers, the All-Stars and the Flying Six, were exempt from the order.
After Souta's crew left the Flower Capital, Queen the Plague dispatched several fliers to track the Ark Maxim's movements.
Before long, the Ark Maxim rendezvoused with Lafitte, who had captured Gyukimaru.
Guided to Ringo, they plundered the armory Gyukimaru had hoarded. With that, every objective of their Wano campaign had been completed—and overfulfilled.
Kuma also managed to leave behind several precise coordinate markers: Onigashima, the Udon seastone mines, the Flower Capital, and Ringo. Four points in total.
Next time the Wild Dragon Crew wanted to enter Wano, the path would be far easier.
By the time Queen's aerial scouts caught up with the Ark Maxim, Souta's crew was already sailing away openly, even taking the Kozuki family with them instead of leaving them behind.
When Queen heard the report that Souta had departed, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. That bastard hadn't pressed further, nor sought the location of the Pluton warship. Losing Orochi's mythical Zoan bloodline was tolerable.
Aboard the golden vessel, Sukiyaki, Hiyori, and Denjiro pleaded with Souta again and again to return them to Wano. They could not abandon their homeland.
What's more, Lady Toki had sent Momonosuke and the retainers—Kin'emon, Raizo, Kiku, and Kanjuro—into the future. They could return at any time, and someone needed to be there to meet them.
At Souta's command, all four of them—except for O-Tama—were turned to stone by Boa Hancock.
"Finally, some peace! If Hancock-neechan hadn't done it, I'd have turned them into a bunch of old men myself."
Bonney burst into laughter before feeding O-Tama, the pitiful little girl.
Accustomed to surviving only on millet husks and scraps, O-Tama nearly wept with gratitude as Bonney handed her roasted meat. She had only ever eaten white rice once a year—on her birthday.
Yes, just a bowl of rice was her greatest dream, her favorite delicacy.
Looking at the frail child barely a meter tall, Bonney, Baby 5, and Robin all felt their hearts ache with sympathy.
"Stick with me, kid! From now on, you'll eat meat every day!" Bonney declared proudly, claiming O-Tama as her little sister. As a glutton herself, Bonney could devour in one meal what would feed O-Tama for months.
O-Tama gasped as Bonney swallowed food by the mountain, thinking what a waste it was. If she brought that back to Amigasa Village, the entire village could feast for days.
"Eat up! Your old geezer of a master can't even earn enough to feed you!" Bonney teased, stuffing more meat into O-Tama's mouth as the girl cautiously ate her rice.
"Bonney-neechan, can't we save a little for my master? He hasn't had a proper meal in years." O-Tama looked worriedly at Sukiyaki's petrified form. She longed to ask these kind benefactors to release him, but didn't dare.
Except for the few weeks Ace had stayed in Amigasa Village, this was the first time she had ever eaten her fill. Bonney and Baby 5 felt as kind as Ace had been.
"Don't worry, kid. He can skip a meal or two." Bonney waved it off. Though she herself had never earned a coin in her life, Souta and Kuma's money always covered her feasts.
"Bonney-neechan… when will Hancock-neechan release my master and the others?" O-Tama asked, her belly full but her concern unshaken.
"When they learn to stay quiet." Bonney grinned. Souta, Hancock, Enel—they weren't nearly as forgiving as Kuma. To anger them meant death in an instant. Better to stay stone statues, silent and safe.
Inside the Ark Maxim's captain's office, Souta held his routine call with Morgans, the king of news, inquiring about the Whitebeard Pirates, the position of the Moby Dick, and any intelligence on the Yami Yami no Mi and Marshall D. Teach.
The White Whale cruised daily through Whitebeard's New World territory, following a set cycle. Souta had no idea how exactly Thatch would obtain the Dark-Dark Fruit—only that once he did, he would be murdered by Teach within hours.
From discovery in the day to theft that same night—less than twenty-four hours. No time to plant spies, no window to act.
Anyone too weak to face Thatch or Teach stood no chance. And those strong enough were all too well-known to earn trust aboard the Moby Dick. Even if they somehow stole the fruit, escaping alive would be near impossible.
It seemed intercepting the Dark-Dark Fruit early was impossible.
The only option was to wait—wait for Blackbeard to kill Thatch, seize the fruit, and betray Whitebeard's crew. Then Souta could strike.
Once captured, Teach could be transformed into a Pacifista, ideally preserving his Dark-Dark powers. Vegapunk might even uncover the secret of his bizarre body—the reason he could wield three Devil Fruits.
After Morgans, Souta contacted Stussy, the spy among spies, for further intelligence.
"Three medium-sized World Government fleets departed from the Red Port. Eighteen warships in all," Stussy reported. "They've requisitioned a large number of CP agents, likely for deployment on the Contest Islands.
"In Mariejois, the families have also selected a new batch of powerful slaves. It seems the time is drawing near…"
Though the precise location of the island used for the Celestial Dragons' deadly 'native purge contests' remained unknown, the fleets' movements gave clues. They had already vanished into the sea for a day or two—beyond even Viola's clairvoyance.
And since Viola had entered the deeper New World with Souta's crew, her Glare-Glare Fruit's 4000-kilometer range couldn't possibly stretch back to the Red Line. The window for observation had been missed.
"If any more World Government fleets set sail, notify me at once. I'll be operating in the mid-front of the New World for the time being."
Souta was determined to locate that island—even if it meant watching the Red Line for months.
As participants, the Celestial Dragons themselves would have to depart eventually.
And while he waited, Souta would keep an eye on the Whitebeard Pirates. Once Blackbeard defected, he would be ready to hunt him down.