Chapter 36: Alliance
“What the hell do you want with me—Shiki!”
Kaido’s deafening roar exploded between the clouds, his cyan dragon scales refracting chilling cold light under the sunlight.
His massive body coiled in the high heavens blotted out the sky and sun, his dragon whiskers trembling violently with his heavy snorts.
The man named Shiki didn’t answer Kaido, instead stepping in wooden clogs with clacking sounds toward the building behind him.
“Come down first, Kaido. The banquet is about to start, I’ve prepared top-notch fine alcohol this time.”
Hearing there was fine alcohol, Kaido said nothing more and directly transformed back to human form, landing on the ground.
Meanwhile, Kanjuro, who had been following behind him, and Burufaruto holding Kanjuro’s claws also landed together.
“Boss Kaido, this is…”
“We’ll talk after going in!”
Kaido had actually already guessed Shiki’s purpose in his heart, but he remained composed and strode boldly into the banquet hall.
The banquet hall’s style was very unique, unlike the wild pirate banquets that just threw together a few chairs and a long table; this hall was not only huge in area but also adorned everywhere with carved beams and painted rafters, inlaid with gold and silver decorations.
Massive precious straight timbers were distributed around as support pillars, evenly coated with eye-catching red lacquer.
The polished-to-a-shine wooden floor on both sides had rows of low tables, neatly placed with alcohol and food. Behind the low tables were fine velvet cushions, where quite a few people were already seated.
At the end of the hall were three massive seats, with Shiki now standing in front of the central one, arms spread wide to welcome Kaido’s arrival.
“Hahahaha! You’re here, Kaido! Sit, the banquet is about to start.”
Kaido didn’t waste words, just glanced at the figure gorging itself on the left seat before directly sitting on the right-side cushion, picking up the alcohol on the table and gulping it down in big mouthfuls.
Kanjuro and Burufaruto also naturally sat at positions below him, but didn’t touch the alcohol on the table.
“Speak, what do you want by calling me and this old woman here?”
“Mama~ Mama~ Kaido! You brat have gotten even more rude after not seeing you for a few years!”
The massive figure on the left seat heard Kaido’s voice and lifted its face from a dozens-of-layers-high cake, speaking bluntly.
“These Fish-Man Island desserts are so delicious! Too bad Newgate that guy got ahead of me!”
Without a doubt, this huge woman was Charlotte Linlin, nicknamed BIG MOM.
As an original Rocks Pirates member, the Sea Queen occupying most of the territory in the Totland Sea Area, she was one of the overlords of the New World.
Though now nearly forty and having borne several children, her figure remained slender and graceful, full of charm. Of course, ignoring her height which was a head taller than Kaido.
After Kaido’s group sat down and saw that most people had arrived, Shiki also returned to the main seat.
The pirates below who had been toasting and drinking also stopped their actions one after another, all eyes turning to him.
Sensing everyone’s gaze, Shiki grinned at the corner of his mouth and laughed wildly: “First, welcome to my territory! My floating island has nice scenery, right! Xi hahaha~”
The Flying Pirates crew members and the captains of pirate crews subordinate to Shiki naturally chimed in agreement; now there were already over a dozen pirate crews affiliated under the Golden Lion.
“Haha, even such a massive island can be lifted to the sky, Captain Shiki’s ability is truly impressive~”
“Exactly! As expected of the legend of the seas.”
“In the entire New World, probably only Whitebeard can compare to Boss Shiki.”
……
“Hey! Shiki, did you call old lady here just to put on these boring shows? Speak quickly, if the desserts weren’t good old lady would’ve flipped the table long ago!”
Having finished a full table of desserts, Charlotte Linlin urged without any regard for face.
“Still so impatient, Linlin!”
Shiki turned to look at BIG MOM with cream all over her mouth, not getting angry.
“Well~ then straight to the main topic. I called you here today for one thing—attack Hachinosu Island!”
At these words, the pirates below instantly fell silent, followed by irrepressible clamor.
Everyone knew what this meant; in this era when ‘ONE PIECE’ was still unknown to the world, the treasure left by Rocks was almost the most maddening thing on the seas.
And Hachinosu Island was once the Rocks Pirates’ main base!
“Mama~ Mama~ You’re finally making a move on John?”
“Exactly, those treasures John kept for me for so long, now it’s time to take them back.” Shiki wore a confident smile, not hiding his ambition at all.
“After all, with my current factions, it’s far from enough to conquer the world! Xi hahaha!”
This man standing almost at the pinnacle of the New World said thus.
“So, you called me here to make me your thug? Can’t you handle it alone?”
“If it was just John alone, no problem of course, but that guy somehow pulled Silver Axe and Wang Zhi those two together.
Their ships are all at Hachinosu Island now; if I go alone, the losses would be too great.” Shiki admitted frankly.
Of course, there was another aspect he didn’t say aloud: if he didn’t pull these two in now, after he and John were both wounded, they would definitely intervene in the endgame and reap the benefits.
“What about Newgate that guy? He’s not coming?” Charlotte Linlin suddenly thought of another old acquaintance.
“I approached him, he’s still the same as before, no interest in treasure. All day with his ‘sons’, no need to mind him.”
Shiki always sneered at Whitebeard’s ways; with such powerful strength, yet pursuing some boring so-called ‘family’ all day.
“So we just need to deal with John and those three?” Charlotte Linlin continued devouring the newly served desserts in big bites.
“Mama mama~ Rocks that guy’s treasure, wonder what it is, really looking forward to it~”
“Didn’t expect us remnants of Rocks to start slaughtering each other again so soon, truly exciting.” Kaido’s tone also carried some eagerness to try.
Without a doubt, the two’s attitudes showed they had agreed to Shiki’s alliance suggestion.
“Xi hahaha! Then, I declare the Flying Pirates and its subordinate pirate crews, the Beasts Pirates, and the BIG MOM Pirates formally form a pirate alliance.”
“Goal—Hachinosu Island! Go seize Rocks’s treasure!” Shiki raised the alliance alcohol and downed it in one gulp.
“Oh!!!!”*n
No sooner had the words fallen than deafening cheers erupted from below.
“Hope it’s a battle that won’t bore me!”
“Mama~ Mama~ Hope you won’t disappoint me, Rocks’s treasure.”
……
