Even though Maud had taken the Celestial Dragons hostage, the World Government had never considered resolving the matter peacefully.
Kizaru and those dozen or so warships had come to deal with Maud.
To eliminate any possibility of unexpected developments or exposure, they had even kept Smoker and Hina, who were responsible for bringing people over for the exchange, in the dark.
According to the original plan, once the Celestial Dragons had been safely brought aboard the warships, Kizaru would lead the dozen or so warships in flattening the Maud Pirates, island and all.
However, plans could never keep up with changes...
In the end, Maud had outplayed them. Through some unknown means, he had planted something inside the Celestial Dragons that could make the World Government wary of acting against him.
"Marine Admiral... Kizaru."
The Admiral, representing the Navy's supreme combat power, stood right before him, yet Maud remained unhurried and calmly watched Kizaru.
As things stood, judging only by strength, Maud had at least enough power to fight a Marine Admiral or one of the Four Emperors.
Even if he was defeated, he could escape with his life.
But his opponent was Kizaru, an Admiral renowned for his speed, whose pursuit capabilities could be called unparalleled.
Once Kizaru set his sights on him, the chances of escaping alive would be extremely slim.
This also showed just how seriously the World Government took this operation. They had clearly sent Kizaru to wipe out the Maud Pirates before they could truly mature.
"Are you going to make a move? Gambling with the lives of the other four Celestial Dragons..."
A dangerous smile slowly appeared on Maud's face.
Once his trump card had been revealed, everything was under his control.
Some people, and some things—
once they had been accurately anticipated, there