A Banquet

The samurai of Wano Country carried the unconscious Oden away, Beasts Pirates did not give chase.

The war ended there; the samurai of Wano Country left the battlefield and had to return home, and the war could no longer continue.

Oden was defeated by Kaido, and they were also unable to defeat Kaido's subordinates; victory in the war remained a distant dream.

The Night Pirates had only used about one-fifth of the food they had prepared, enough to feed ten thousand people for a month.

They traded dozens of ships with the Night Pirates and left the Night Sea Domain, returning to Wano Country.

Regardless of the outcome, this battle will undoubtedly boost the Beasts Pirates' reputation and bring them considerable future benefits.

The Night Pirates also benefited, although not much. They achieved their goal: Wano Country, having suffered a defeat, needed time to recover and was unlikely to help the Whitebeard Pirates against the Night Pirates.

Few people know about Teach's kindness to Wano Country, but the help and supplies provided by the Night Pirates during this war, which allowed them to pass through the Night Sea Domain, are clearly visible and can be seen from the ocean.

Most importantly, they provided medical support. Many wounded and seriously injured samurai received treatment from the Night Pirates and developed a goodwill towards Night Pirates.

By using such a gentle approach, Oden gained the favor of these samurai. After this scene, Oden would not oppose the Night Pirates, and might even strengthen ties with them.

Even if he wanted to help the Whitebeard Pirates, he could only represent himself, and might even provoke opposition from these samurai. He had to consider the wishes and interests of Wano Country.

On the other side, in the Babarossa Kingdom, in the City of Beasts.

This is the capital of the Babarossa Kingdom, and also the most prosperous place in the country.

Even the name of Pet Island was changed to Beast Island, completely bearing the mark of the Beasts Pirates.

More importantly, the term "Pet Island" is no longer sufficient to describe the current state of the Babarossa Kingdom.

Relying on the various Beast Island and their advanced animal taming techniques, Beast Island has cultivated a large number of beasts that can be controlled by the Beasts Pirates.

This is also one of the ways the Babarossa Kingdom exports itself: selling the ferocious beasts it breeds. Many people, especially the wealthy and nobles, want to have fierce beasts as pets.

The breeding of ferocious beasts requires a large amount of money, so naturally, they need to be exported to earn money. After years of development, the Babarossa Kingdom has been able to systematically breed ferocious beasts, reducing costs, and even conducting research on the modification of ferocious beasts.

This has resulted in numerous buyers for the Beasts Pirates' beast business, including nobles and wealthy individuals from all over the world and the Grand Line. After all, owning a beast can be seen as a symbol of status, and there are even Celestial Dragons among the buyers.

Imitating the various arenas of the Night Sea Domain and combining them with their own characteristics, a thriving gladiatorial arena has emerged, but the battles are not between humans, but between beasts, or between humans and beasts.

Such arenas have been established in other seas and are considered part of the Beasts Pirates' property. They are also very popular and bring the Beasts Pirates a lot of benefits.

After all, Kaido is not just the leader of a pirate crew, but also the ruler of a kingdom and a region of the sea. His vision and thinking are bound to be much broader.

Unlike before, when they were confined to Onigashima Wano Country, even after expanding their territory significantly, they only did so through barbaric plunder.

They are fundamentally inept at management, while the Babarossa Kingdom is different; it can provide the Beasts Pirates and Kaido with a large number of talents beyond just combat power.

This is the foundation upon which the Beasts Pirates have grown so rapidly over the years.

In the center of the royal city stood the Beasts Pirates' stronghold, a vast palace brightly lit.

To celebrate their victory in the war, the Beasts Pirates held a grand banquet, which was also attended by the people of the Babarossa Kingdom.

The Beasts Pirates are protected by Kaido of the Beasts's immense power, which provides them with a sense of security. For years, the Babarossa Kingdom has remained peaceful and prosperous, having never been invaded.

With the king and nobles no longer oppressive, life improved, and many merchants made a fortune by relying on the Beasts Pirates.

"Whoa! What a thrilling battle!" His body was wrapped in bandages, and the injuries from fighting Oden had not fully healed. He had suffered considerable injuries and it would take some time for him to fully recover.

Some superficial injuries can be easily healed by Kaido's regenerative abilities, but deeper internal injuries require a longer recovery time.

The X-shaped scar on my right abdomen is particularly noticeable and causes me a dull ache every time I think about it.

However, Kaido remained in high spirits and extremely excited.

Holding his sake gourd, he drank heartily and laughed loudly, "Kozuki Oden, what a monster! I've been looking forward to a battle with him for a long time, and it's finally come to a satisfying end."

It must be acknowledged that Oden was incredibly powerful. Even though Oden was defeated, he still had a large number of Oden around the world.

Kaido and Oden were of similar age and strength. Although Oden lost, it wasn't because of a lack of strength, but because of a lack of Oden. He lost to Kaido in terms of stamina.

Kaido is Mythical Zoan Fruit user, while Oden is not.

If Kaido hadn't possessed his abilities, or if Oden had eaten a powerful Devil Fruit, the outcome of this battle might have been reversed.

This argument is popular and makes sense, but the final result cannot be changed: Kaido win.

This is a victory celebration banquet after defeating the enemy from Wano Country. The officers of the Beasts Pirates and the officials who maintain the stability and development of the Babarossa Kingdom have gathered together.

"Waaaaah~~, damn it! I wonder when I'll get to have such an exhilarating battle again!"

Suddenly, Kaido had been laughing loudly just moments before, started crying again. He looked extremely sad, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably as he wailed.

She was drinking continuously while crying.

"Damn it, Oden! Why couldn't you have held on a little longer...?"

"Seriously, Boss Kaido is here again." Queen was already used to this.

"But it's alright, it'll be fine in a bit. It's much better now than before. Back then, he would get drunk all the time and cause a lot of damage. Now the governor is more restrained. If he really got out of control in the royal city, the damage would be incalculable." Queen was one of the first to follow Kaido and knew what it was like back then. Compared to now, it's like heaven and earth.

Life is much more comfortable now than before, and Queen has ample funds and resources to conduct research.

After Queen finished speaking, he began to enjoy his favorite red bean rice cake soup.

Kaido, then quickly calmed down. His moods changed rapidly, and he was unpredictable. He put down his gourd and began to consider what to do next.

"Continue preparing for the war against the Whitebeard Pirates. The Night Pirates plan to use the Whitebeard Pirates as a stepping stone to ascend to the throne. We should seize this opportunity to tear a piece of flesh from Whitebeard's grasp and expand our territory."

As expected of Kaido, he can't even rest after a victory; he's already planning another war.

The Night Pirates' ambitions are common knowledge. Using the Whitebeard Pirates as a stepping stone to become emperors, many believe that "Dark Emperor" Teach already has the qualifications to become Sea Emperor.

What's missing is likely just a catalyst.

Some have already predicted that once Whitebeard is freed from the Chaos Sea, given the losses suffered by the Whitebeard Pirates, he will inevitably have to fight the Dark Emperor.

To truly prove one's strength and become emperor in one battle—some have already foreseen this.

This won't be long; we just need to wait.

What Kaido said was actually their previous idea, and now they were confirming it again. "Omon and Laimer should not put too much pressure on the Whitebeard Pirates. We can go slowly. The only problem is that the old guy might not be able to hold back. We still have time."

Don't push too hard; just slowly erode their strength, keeping the Whitebeard Pirates' main focus on the Night Pirates.

The other cadres nodded, and they began to take action after the banquet.

"I just finished fighting Oden, and I'm itching for a fight again. Who do you think I can go find?" The topic suddenly changed, and unexpectedly, Kaido wanted to cause trouble again, which gave the other members a headache. Their governor couldn't stay idle. They had just fought a big battle, and his injuries hadn't even fully recovered.

However, Kaido also changed somewhat. He didn't just recklessly fly away; he wanted his crew members to give him some advice.

"Go find a place to commit suicide!" Queen, who was drinking red bean rice cake soup, said casually upon hearing this.

"Or jump into the sea? Climb out of the sea under its pressure," Jack said seriously. He was also qualified to attend such a banquet. Recently, he had been consciously training with Seastone and suddenly thought of this idea.

"Hmm? That's a good idea." Jack's words made the others' eyes light up. What they feared most was that their governor would cause trouble and get caught by that force. Although their governor wouldn't die, they didn't know what to do.

Especially at a time like this, with the Road Sign Stone in hand, many forces will surely be eyeing them. If they lose Kaido, the Beasts Pirates will definitely be in trouble.

The defeated Wano Country might seize the opportunity to make a comeback. Kozuki Oden was a powerful figure on par with their governor, and they wouldn't be able to withstand him.

This was their idea, but refusing was impossible; they could only let Kaido, but they needed to find someone who posed little threat to them.

Seeing his governor's face darken, Krell stepped forward.

"This is a poor strategy. The governor wants to fight, but if he wants a strong opponent, he needs to choose carefully."

"The Night Pirates are alright, but the whereabouts of Teach, Shadow Dragon, and Ares are all unknown; there's not even a trace of them."

Ares, who was originally guarding the Combat Pyramid, soon got bored and left, his whereabouts unknown.

"The Flying Pirates are fine, but I'm afraid you won't be able to come back, Governor. You might not even have a chance to escape by jumping into the sea."

"Whitebeard is in the Chaos Sea, which is fine, but our current strategy is not to attract too much of their attention. Given Whitebeard's relationship with Kozuki Oden, he might take drastic measures and trigger further conflict."

"The Big Mom Pirates are preparing for a tea party, so let's not cause any trouble. There shouldn't be any conflict."

"The navy won't do either."

Krell analyzed the options, eliminating them one by one.

"We can't afford to offend any power that has a top-tier expert capable of fighting the governor right now, or it will cause a lot of trouble. So we can only look for a slightly less powerful expert."

Having come all this way, if it were weaker, stronger individuals, they wouldn't pose Kaido. Kaido can leave whenever he wants, so they wouldn't worry.

In reality, Krell wanted Kaido to understand that if he wanted to find someone to fight, he needed to choose the right opponent, which was also for the benefit of the Beasts Pirates.

Kaido was getting impatient, not expecting such a big restriction, but he didn't react. He picked up his gourd and took a big gulp.

"Tell me, and you can help me choose someone to fight." Kaido also had to consider the group; now was not the time to act recklessly. At least Kaido had to control his drunkenness.

"The rulers of the New World are all possible, and the governor is quite familiar with some of them. The most important Moonlight Pirates. Besides Gecko Moria, there's also his Zombie Army. The three strongest are three deceased veteran rulers. If they were to unite, they would pose a significant threat."

"Ares of the Night Pirates is also a good candidate. If we send a message to the Night Pirates and challenge the Fierce God Ares to a duel, they shouldn't refuse. You've fought him before."

"His strength should have improved significantly over the past few years. He was able to fight Black Arm Zephyr to a standstill before, and his stamina is also very strong. He can definitely last longer than Kozuki Oden. After all, he is a true monster."

With a touch of emotion, Krell realized he had never imagined such a monster could exist. When a monster becomes human, it is even more terrifying than a monster.

At least after learning the truth, many people felt that Ares was an anomaly. Although he was, there was no rejection towards him. After all, there was also a similar existence in the Beasts Pirates, "Beast Disaster" Gates, who was the undisputed second strongest fighter back then.

Even Jhin was surpassed by Gates after he became familiar with human form. Of course, this is in terms of raw strength. In a real fight, Jhin would not lose. Gates's tall body has a great disadvantage.

Gates was already a terrifying beast, and with the addition of the Human-Human Fruit's Giant form, his strength was greatly enhanced.

The Human-Human Fruit in Giant Form is inherently more valuable than the regular Human-Human Fruit.

There are only two such beings in the ocean who are known to everyone. There may be others, but they are not strong. After all, over the years, Human-Human Fruit have more than ten Human-Human Fruits, and some of them must have been collected by others.

"That's right, he's a monster!" Kaido's eyes lit up when he heard this. Although they had fought many years ago, Ares's strength was now even more terrifying, and he had witnessed it in the war in the New World.

"Then let's have a duel. We'll deal with Moria after the battle. He's been to our territory before, so this is just reciprocity. We'll also see how those three resurrected old guys are doing now."