Two Emperors Meet, Troops Deployed

"Lord Hawkins..."

On a small hill not far from the dust-filled Kasa Village, a group of samurai riding small dinosaurs turned to look at their leader, 'True Striker'.

A brooding man with flowing blond hair, a slender build, six distinctive vertical lines on his forehead, armor on his left arm, and wearing black trousers with an open, ruffled white shirt, calmly took out a deck of divination cards, and then:

"If we continue forward, the probability of death is ninety-seven percent..."

Ah, this... it's not even a matter of nine out of ten chances of survival, it's a sure death.

Although Hawkins hasn't been a member of the Beasts Pirates for long, his habit of consulting the oracle before making any decisions, and his near-perfect accuracy, has already become well-known within the Beasts Pirates. The samurai under his command, in particular, have absolute faith in their leader's abilities. Therefore:

"Then, we..."

Turn around and leave?

After all, samurai are human too, with elderly parents and young children to care for. Knowing they would die, they still charged forward... Moreover, this was just a normal patrol, there was no need to risk their lives like this, since they were unlikely to climb to the 'True Striker' position anyway.

"Let's go, I already have a guess what happened here."

Hawkins immediately turned his mount and headed towards the Capital of Flowers. He had already performed two divinations. The first predicted an encounter with the enemy, which would undoubtedly result in total annihilation; the second predicted the chance of escape, which was still less than five percent...

Judging by the timeline, the Straw Hat crew should have already infiltrated Wano Country. Only they could have ensured that there was no escape, and moreover:

Hawkins, who was sitting on a mutated beast with antlers, was carrying the tarot cards in his hand and doing another divination when his gloomy face suddenly froze!

That's a whopping 63%! Is it not just the Straw Hat Pirates?

It seems we must start planning early...

"This Hawkins, has he eaten the 'divination fruit'?"

Roman was monitoring the entire Kuri via white doves, stroked his chin. He had to admit that people really are different.

Hawkins loved playing fortune-telling games from a young age, and his accuracy was astonishing. Capone Bege, on the other hand, was a mafia trainee from childhood—tickets and shirts, lollipop in hand, ready to pull out a gun at the drop of a hat; Jewelry Bonney rummaged through trash cans for food; Kid and Killer made their own toys in abandoned factories...

Therefore, divination is actually Hawkins' own ability, and the 'Straw-Straw Fruit' he eats is more inclined to curse, transfer, and enhance.

Should we recruit this guy to our side as well?

Hawkins' divination abilities are almost always accurate, unless he encounters Destined Protagonist like Luffy. If only he could...

"... Hey! Commander-in-Chief!!"

?

"It's Melody," Roman said, snapping out of his daze. "What's wrong?"

"... I've asked that several times already,"

Seeing the helpless look on the girl's face, Nami smiled apologetically and explained.

"Roman always thinks like this, please don't mind him. —I'm Nami,"

Faced with the outstretched right hand, Melody, carrying a bow and arrow, first shook hands in return, then glanced at Roman and Nami before Satori.

"So you guys are... hehe~"

?

"Speak quickly,"

Get lost if you have nothing to say!

Faced with Roman's displeased tone, the girl Melody, carrying a bow and arrow, straightened her expression.

"Commander-in-Chief, what are our plans going forward?"

"Should we unite the samurai who are resisting Kaido and Kurozumi Orochi across the land to storm the Capital of Flowers, or attack Onigashima first, or perhaps..."

"Don't be impatient, tomorrow is the 'Fire Festival'."

After a hearty meal, the Straw Hat crew, Trafalgar Law, the Bad Guys, Tama apprentice listened attentively as Roman explained their upcoming plans:

"The so-called 'Fire Festival' is an annual celebration in Wano Country, which Tama and the rest of the Bad People are well aware of. At that time, Kurozumi Orochi, as the 'Shogun' who rules Wano Country, will go to Onigashima to pay homage to 'Guardian King' Kaido."

"It's actually a day of revelry where officials of all ranks and the Beasts Pirates gather for a banquet. We've chosen that time to make our move!"

If a full-scale war breaks out, regardless of victory or defeat, the greatest casualties will always be ordinary people! A single swordsman's Plasma Sword can injure dozens or even hundreds, while a calamity like Kaido can kill thousands with a single breath attack. Therefore:

"Oh, so we'll take advantage of the fact that the villains are all gathered together and wipe them out in one fell swoop?"

Zoro, arms crossed, revealed a murderous smile.

"I like simple and straightforward plans."

"Hey, Three-Sword Style samurai, don't interrupt!" Melody glanced at Zoro with displeasure. "Do you know how many troops they have? At least tens of thousands! And they're all elites, with countless swordsmen capable of Iron Cutting! Add to that the Beasts Pirates' 500 Devil Fruit users, the Six Sons, the All-Stars... How are we going to surround them with our small force?"

"Tsk, it's just a matter of swinging the knife a few more times..."

Seeing Zoro's displeasure, Roman reached out to calm him down.

"Indeed, neither Kurozumi Orochi's subordinates nor the Beasts Pirates are the grunts of Fish-Man Island."

There are no trashy people here who can be instantly wiped out by Conqueror's Haki. They are all elites who have been brutally selected by the Grand Line. Unless it is a close-range Conqueror's Haki Impact, at most they will only be momentarily stunned if they are far away.

"At the same time, I have some bad news. The BIG MOM Pirates have caught up with us and are probably already on Onigashima making contact with the Beasts Pirates..."

——!!!

Before Roman could finish speaking, everyone present suddenly stood up and looked south with serious expressions.

Click,

Despite the clear blue sky, Lightning Flash blazed in the distance, and in the next instant, scorching white light filled the entire sky. The winding, streaking Lightning Flash silently branched into countless eerie forks in the sky, filling the space between the sky and the sea with an indescribable sense of chilling cruelty and savage greed.

A few seconds later, a dragon's roar accompanied by the thunder's roar echoed, and the seawater not far away, after a moment of stillness, suddenly surged into a colossal torrent, while countless fish and shrimp, their bellies turned white, floated to the surface. Birds of prey swooped down from the sky, and the two terrifying auras, like millstones, crushed each other, sweeping across all directions!

"This is·····"

That dragon's roar was very familiar to the Bad People and Tama apprentice; it belonged to the 'Strongest Creature' who had dominated Wano Country for twenty years. But—who on earth could possibly fight Kaido to such an extent?

"It's BIG MOM,"

Of everyone, Roman was the only one who didn't get up. After all, his white doves had been observing the battle from afar and had seen the two figures on Onigashima, both radiating an aura of Haki.

"It seems those two Four Emperors have already clashed."

"This... this... is really... wonderful!"

Usopp was also terrified by the horrific scene before him. Two Four Emperors were fighting each other some distance away, and even from that distance, he was still affected by the aftershocks... However:

"If Big Mom could defeat Kaido... no, ideally, if they both suffer heavy losses! Then we could reap the benefits!"

Roman calmly shook his head at Usopp, who was trembling slightly, whether from excitement or fear.

"Impossible,"

"Don't forget that Big Mom and Kaido were once on the same ship. Their understanding of each other's strength far surpasses that of all of us. It's perfectly normal for them to fight for days and nights without a clear winner. And in the end—"

"What will happen in the end?"

Faced with Usopp's expectant question, Roman uttered two cold words.

"Alliance,"

"The two Four Emperors crews have joined forces to deal with us troublesome juniors who are hiding somewhere."

!?

"Then we're doomed! No way!"

The self-proclaimed "bravest warrior of the sea" and Chopper embraced and wept, drawing disdainful glances from the surrounding Bad People. —However, this interruption lightened the previously tense atmosphere, and Melody even had the mood to make a sarcastic remark:

"Commander, why didn't you say earlier that you had one of the Four Emperors following you around? I could have prepared my coffin and eulogy in advance!"

"No, I've contracted a disease that will kill me if I get close to Onigashima. Let's get out of here quickly..."

"Don't panic, they're just two Four Emperors crews."

Roman calmly waved his hand. Wasn't this day the result of two years of planning?

"Everything is going according to plan. As soon as we liberate the quarry in Udon, we will immediately gain a group of samurai who hate Kaido to the bone. Together with the Bad People and other reinforcements, we will be no less than the enemy in terms of either quantity or quality."

"It's not that simple," the young, Bandaged Vice Commander frowned.

Only those who have fought Kaido truly know how strong he is. His speed, strength, skill, defense, and even his Devil Fruit abilities are all top-tier in the Grand Line. His physical strength, in particular, is simply outrageously powerful! No matter what kind of attack lands on him, it's like a scratch, enough to drive a person to the brink of madness.

Since the Four Emperors named 'Big Mom' was able to fight Kaido to a draw, she must be one of the top fighters on the sea. Therefore:

"Commander-in-Chief, we'll leave this 'BIG MOM' to us..."

"No,"

When faced with the Bandaged Vice Commander's offer to take the lead, Roman waved his hand again.

"Leave Big Mom to me. She's a physically powerful elemental mage, just like us. I'll hold Big Mom off, and the rest of the BIG MOM Pirates are yours."

"····no problem,"

He actually volunteered for the most dangerous job? Looks like I underestimated this 'Great Leader' before...

"Hehehe, Roman will definitely be fine."

Luffy has absolute faith in his crew, just as they have faith in him. Therefore:

"Leave Kaido to me, I'll definitely beat him to a pulp!"

"Kaido's title of 'World's Strongest Creature' isn't just for show. Defeating him won't be easy, but I've found a helper—"

"Ugh, I don't want to!"

Roman smiled slightly at Luffy.

"Don't worry, you definitely won't refuse when that helper appears. Before that, let's discuss the specific strategies..."