The waters somewhere in the Kingdom of Sasba.
A fleet sailed leisurely along.
"You dare call yourself the Honey Queen? Even the Queen of Hearts from a deck of cards would be a better fit!"
Nami teased Honey Queen, who had been fitted with a Slave Collar.
No, she could only be called Slave Honey Paste now.
"That's right. The only queen in the East Blue is Her Majesty, Empress Sally, King Wang Shi's queen."
Nojiko and Kaya chimed in with Nami.
No wonder King Wang Shi had personally gone after that female pirate.
It turned out that her title had offended their noble queen.
"I didn't want to! We just picked our nicknames based on playing cards," Honey Paste protested softly and pitifully. Feeling the cold Slave Collar around her neck, she was overcome with despair.
Was she going to spend the rest of her life as a slave?!
What was more, she couldn't escape the Slave Collar by turning into paste. She couldn't even use her paste powers, and a sense of helplessness washed over her.
Bear King had become a pirate slave just like her.
"Good thing I surrendered quickly. Otherwise, I'd have become a slave too."
El Drago glanced at the Slave Collar around Bear King's neck, the man he had defeated, and felt a surge of relief.
King Wang Shi really had no patience for persuading people to surrender.
Steel Bear had refused King Wang Shi's offer twice, and was promptly fitted with a Slave Collar.
So what if a few officers and a bunch of pirate underlings had died?
Steel Bear deserved to become a slave for daring to insult His Majesty King Wang Shi.
The El Drago Pirates had lost plenty of men themselves.
Did El Drago look angry?
Surviving and protecting his gold were what mattered.
King Wang Shi probably hadn't expected that Steel Bear, his newest slave, would quietly make Eric and El Drago's loyalty rise by a considerable amount.
After all, the difference in how King Wang Shi treated his subordinates and his slaves was like night and day.
Eric and El Drago had no desire to become King Wang Shi's slaves.
Now that he had calmed down, Steel Bear, who had been fitted with a Slave Collar, was starting to regret his actions.
Like Jango and the other pirate slaves, he desperately wanted to get rid of the Slave Collar and become a free man again.
But he had insulted King Wang Shi, and the thought filled him with despair.
He might never be able to escape his status as a slave.
In King Wang Shi's bedroom.
King Wang Shi was speaking with Empress Sally over a Den Den Mushi.
"Even the king of the Kingdom of Sasba hasn't said a word. What right does the Kingdom of Flaws have to criticize the Goa Empire?"
Hearing Empress Sally's report, King Wang Shi gave a scornful laugh, his tone dripping with disdain.
"Your Majesty, if we take the Kingdom of Sasba, our territory will border the Kingdom of Flaws. The Kingdom of Sasba is a buffer between the Goa Empire and the Kingdom of Flaws."
Empress Sally hadn't expected King Wang Shi to do more than tour the four new provinces and intimidate the old guard of the four kingdoms.
How had he ended up attacking the territory of the Kingdom of Sasba?
"Tell King Ba Dodeshinai that if he wants to defend the Kingdom of Sasba, he can bring his Germa mercenaries and come find me. I'll be waiting for him at Baratie, in the waters of the Kingdom of Sasba."
King Wang Shi chuckled as he gave Empress Sally his instructions.
If the Kingdom of Sasba and the Kingdom of Flaws could stomach this, he wouldn't have made his move so soon.
He would have followed his plan and made a quick stop in Loguetown.
He would have bought famous swords like Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri, then recruited or captured Bartolomeo, the Barrier-Barrier Fruit user.
But if Ba Dodeshinai couldn't resist making a move now,
King Wang Shi would fight the mercenaries of the Kingdom of Flaws and Germa 66 at Baratie, in the waters of the Kingdom of Sasba.
He would use Sanji as bait to draw a few more of his "good brothers" over. It would be even better if he could lure Reiju there.
However, in a war between kingdoms of the East Blue's scale, Germa 66 would probably only send one or two modified soldiers.
After all, shortly before heading to the New World for Four Emperors Big Mom's tea party, they had taken on a mercenary job.
They had sent only Ichiji and Niji, who settled the two-year war on Broccoli Island in just four hours.
They wiped out the enemy king's family and his country.
"Your Majesty, that's Germa 66's army. Are you sure you want to do this?"
Empress Sally was a little worried. The evil name of the Germa Kingdom in the North Blue was all too well known.
She was afraid King Wang Shi might not be able to handle Germa's mercenaries.
"Don't worry. Just send him that reply. Don't you trust my strength?"
King Wang Shi smiled gently. The Toki Toki no Mi had little offensive power, but its power to exile people through time was absurdly strong.
If he weren't worried about things going wrong, he would even have liked to test its limits on Fist Garp.
He urgently needed strong opponents below Admiral level to test the Toki Toki no Mi's power of temporal exile.
The four Vinsmoke siblings, who could trade blows with the Three Sweet Commanders, would make excellent test subjects.
"All right."
Empress Sally's voice was full of worry and anticipation.
If King Wang Shi could suppress the powerful Germa Kingdom of the North Blue, the Goa Empire would be able to run rampant across the East Blue—and even bully the Affiliated Nations throughout the Four Blues.
After they ended the call, King Wang Shi's eyes turned steely. Then he went out and resumed his arduous training.
Meanwhile, Nami was directing the fleet toward a stretch of the Kingdom of Sasba's waters, searching for Baratie.
Baratie was famous throughout the East Blue.
Marines, pirates, bounty hunters, wealthy merchants, tourists... everyone liked to eat at the floating restaurant hailed as the best in the East Blue.
Its chef, Sanji, was said to be the East Blue's finest, and many chefs from the region wanted to challenge him.
Elsewhere.
When King Ba Dodeshinai of the Kingdom of Flaws received the Goa Empire's reply, he flew into a rage and smashed a number of antique vases.
"How dare Wang Shi! He dares to ignore my warning!"
"He even dares to challenge me?!"
"Baratie, is it?!"
"Wang Shi! Just you wait!"
King Ba Dodeshinai was so furious that he even smashed the Den Den Mushi to death.
"Guard Commander, gather the army at once!"
"Minister of the Left, summon the Germa liaison officer immediately! I'm raising the price! Tell Judge to send another one of his strongest warriors!"
"Minister of the Right, make the preparations. I'll lead the army myself!"
"To hell with Wang Shi! To hell with the Goa Empire!"
"I'll kill their damned new emperor!"
King Ba Dodeshinai was livid, murderous intent blazing across his face. He couldn't take it anymore.
The title of "most beautiful country," favored by the Celestial Dragons, and being the hometown of a Marine hero—none of that mattered.
All he wanted now was to kill Wang Shi, the arrogant emperor who had shown him no respect.
At King Ba Dodeshinai's furious command, the entire Kingdom of Flaws sprang into action, displaying all the efficiency and morale of a powerful nation in the East Blue.
Within the Kingdom of Flaws were also powerful nobles and ambitious schemers who wanted to elevate their kingdom to an empire.
Now they would show Wang Shi, the newly crowned emperor, what they were made of.
They would rise to power by trampling the Goa Empire and Wang Shi.