Kaido listened to the information, his eyes lighting up with savage delight. He slammed his kanabo into the ground and roared,
"If that's the case, then contact what's left of the Donquixote Family immediately! Tell them to send Caesar to me!"
Now that he knew SMILE production could continue as long as Caesar was alive, Joker's death no longer mattered to him in the slightest.
Dead or alive—Joker was irrelevant.
As long as SMILEs could be mass-produced, everything else was secondary. Better yet, with Caesar in his grasp, Kaido wouldn't need to pay a single Berry. Unlimited SMILEs, zero cost—an absolute windfall.
One of his subordinates quickly replied,
"We already contacted them, Governor Kaido. They said Caesar was taken away, but they don't know by whom."
Hearing this, Kaido slowly calmed down. His expression hardened as he growled, "Who's Who."
At once, Who's Who hurried forward, a transponder snail already in his hand.
"Lord Kaido."
Kaido's voice was low and dangerous.
"Contact Marco. Now."
"Yes!"
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Pirates were sailing back toward port.
Marco lay reclined on a deck chair, eyes half-closed, basking in the sunlight and savoring a rare moment of peace. The sea breeze brushed past him—calm, almost serene.
He opened his status panel.
After defeating Doflamingo, his available attribute points had risen to a full 8,000.
His other stats remained unchanged, but one improvement stood out clearly:
Soru among the Rokushiki had advanced from Intermediate to Advanced.
Marco shifted his gaze to the quest interface. Four missions glowed faintly before him:
Quest: Revenge
Eliminate the Blackbeard Pirates to avenge my old man.
Reward: 10,000 attribute points
Bounty Targets:
Captain Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach – 3,000 attribute points
Crew members Shiryu, Jesus Burgess, Doc Q, Vaso Shot, and others – 500 attribute points each
Quest: Establish Authority
Face the provocation of the Beasts Pirates and teach them a profound lesson.
Reward: 1,500 attribute points
Quest: Challenge a Yonko
Issue a challenge to Kaido of the Beasts.
Remain undefeated for 1 day – 1,000 attribute points
Remain undefeated for 3 days – 2,000 attribute points
Remain undefeated for 5 days – 3,000 attribute points
Defeat Kaido – 10,000 attribute points
Quest: Surpass the Old Era — Become the Strongest of the New Era
Reach a bounty exceeding 5.5648 billion Berries and inherit Whitebeard's title of "Strongest Man in the World."
Reward: 10,000 attribute points
At that moment, Karma—the captain of the Karma Pirates—and Zack approached Marco.
"Captain Marco," Karma said, "Kaido's calling."
Marco wasn't surprised in the slightest. In fact, he had been expecting this. Capturing Caesar had never been an end in itself—it was bait. And the fish he wanted was Kaido.
After all, the "Challenge a Yonko" quest was still sitting quietly in his mission log. With Caesar in hand, even if he couldn't kill Kaido outright, completing that mission would be effortless.
Marco took the transponder snail and chuckled softly.
"So you finally called, Kaido. I've been waiting."
Kaido's cold voice echoed from the other end.
"Marco. Caesar is in your hands, isn't he? Hand him over, and I'll let the matter of Joker's death rest."
Marco laughed—low and sharp. Whether it was Big Mom or Kaido, the old yonko all spoke with the same arrogant tone, as if the world still revolved around them.
Ace clenched his fists at the side. "That bastard… how dare he talk down to us."
Marco's expression cooled.
"Kaido, who do you think you're talking to?" he said flatly. "I captured Caesar because I know exactly what he's worth—he can make SMILEs."
Kaido paused for a moment. "Oh? You're interested in SMILEs too?"
"Not in the slightest," Marco replied, eyes icy. "But I know how important they are to you. That's why I took him—just to drag a coward like you out of Wano."
On the other end, Kaido's voice turned dangerous.
"So… are you trying to start a war with me, Marco?"
"If you want an all-out war," Marco answered calmly, "I don't mind."
There was no hesitation in his voice. With his current strength—and thousands of unused attribute points waiting—Marco felt no fear.
"Wororororo!" Kaido laughed harshly. "It's only been a few months since Marineford. How much of the Whitebeard Pirates—no, the Phoenix Pirates—have you really recovered? Half your people were buried back then. Even when Whitebeard was alive, he didn't dare start a full war with me. Where does your confidence come from? From beating Linlin?"
Marco raised an eyebrow and laughed lightly.
"You're well informed."
Then his tone hardened.
"You made the first move. You attacked us while we were weakened. Now I'm hitting back—it's only fair. Or what, Kaido? Is it fine when you strike first, but unacceptable when someone returns the favor?"
Kaido snorted. "Hmph. We attacked because you were weak. That's how this world works—the strong survive, the weak are crushed. But the moment you defeated Linlin, you proved you had the strength to stand here."
He paused, then continued coolly, "If you want to use that as an excuse to fight me, go ahead. Pirates don't need reasons. Freedom is enough."
Marco smiled faintly.
"You're refreshingly honest. I'll be just as direct."
His voice sharpened like a blade.
"You don't deserve the title of 'strongest in the world.' As my pops' successor, that title belongs to me. I'm here to take it from you."
There was silence.
Then Kaido erupted in wild laughter.
"Wororororo! So that's it! You want my title? Just because you beat that old hag, you think you can beat me? You really can't accept it, can you?"
His laughter subsided into a savage grin.
"Fine. I'll give you a fair fight. Choose the time and place—don't say I bullied you."
Marco grinned.
"Half a month from now. Nanku Island."
Then he added coldly,
"And bring that useless Jack with you. If you lose, I want his head."
Kaido scoffed, utterly unconcerned.
"Worororo! And if I win?"
Marco answered without hesitation, his tone domineering and absolute.
"You get Caesar. And we settle the matter of Jack's attack on Nanku Island once and for all."
Kaido laughed once more, loud and fearless.
"Worororo! Deal."
The transponder snail clicked shut.
The war between Yonko had been set in motion.
After the transponder snail fell silent, the deck grew eerily quiet.
The members of the Phoenix Pirates all stared at Marco in disbelief. None of them had expected him to challenge Kaido to a one-on-one duel.
And yet… remembering how Marco had defeated Big Mom not long ago, the impossible suddenly didn't feel so impossible anymore.
Ace was the first to speak, his brows tightly knit.
"Marco… are you really planning to fight Kaido alone? That monster is known as the strongest in a one-on-one fight!"
Zack also couldn't hide his concern.
"That's right, Captain Marco. When Pops was still alive, Kaido was already called the strongest creature on land, sea, and air. He was the only one among the Yonko who could directly clash with the old man. And he's a Mythical Zoan user—an Azure Dragon. In a prolonged battle, he's definitely more dangerous than Big Mom."
That reputation wasn't something Kaido gained after Whitebeard's death.
One or two years before Whitebeard fell, Kaido had already been crowned with the titles "Strongest Creature" and "Strongest in a One-on-One Fight." Even though the Whitebeard Pirates had been deeply displeased by it, Whitebeard himself never cared.
Back then, Ace had gone to Wano precisely because he couldn't accept Kaido sharing the same "strongest" title as his father and wanted to challenge him.
Fortunately… Ace never ran into Kaido.
Otherwise, whether he would've made it back alive was anyone's guess.
Marco listened quietly, then smiled with calm confidence.
"Don't worry. We'll only know who's stronger once we fight."
He paused, then added evenly,
"And the battlefield will be Nanku Island. Even if we don't win outright, we won't suffer catastrophic losses."
Marco turned his gaze to Zack.
"Besides, this fight will be the perfect chance for you to learn how to truly use the Azure Dragon Fruit—by watching Kaido himself."
Zack took a deep breath, then nodded.
"Understood."
Marco's smile deepened slightly.
"Good. Spread the word. Tell everyone to prepare. The battle half a month from now won't be easy."
In truth, Marco had been looking forward to this clash for a long time.
He now possessed Strong Yonko–level strength, enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with Kaido. The only thing still holding him back was his Conqueror's Haki, which had yet to reach its true peak.
Perhaps…
Perhaps a battle against Kaido would be the key to awakening Conqueror's Haki Infusion.
—
Meanwhile, far away at Marineford, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki stared at the freshly printed bounty poster in his hand and clicked his tongue.
"So Doflamingo's really dead… Hmph. That's one less Shichibukai."
The Seven Warlords were already understaffed. Losing another one only made the situation worse.
Across the office, Kizaru leisurely sipped his tea, completely unconcerned.
After all, he wasn't the Fleet Admiral.
Let Sakazuki deal with the headaches.
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