"Hey, Buggy. That red-haired kid actually seems to have some skill."
Enel watched as Daifuku broke off from their fight to attack Shanks instead. He casually perched himself on the railing of the Big Mom Pirates' ship, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.
"He's all right, I guess. But he can't beat the fairy tale guy on his own."
Buggy crossed his arms and floated in midair.
He had already developed his Devil Fruit ability to the point where even his feet could levitate.
"So should we go help them or not?"
"Let's wait and see. That red-haired kid gets on my nerves. We'll jump in when he's desperate enough to beg us for help."
Buggy pulled a face, showing absolutely no sense of honor.
It wasn't as if he'd invited these people to intervene in the first place. They had barged into the fight on their own.
Whatever happened to Shanks was really none of his concern.
On Shanks' side, things were quickly going south.
Though he had spent several years training under Roger, Shanks was only fifteen years old this year.
Against a seasoned veteran like Charlotte Daifuku, he soon found himself outmatched.
His crewmates were even less capable in combat.
Ever since recruiting them, Shanks had been teaching them how to use Haki.
But the timeframe had simply been too short. Even Beckman hadn't managed to grasp it yet.
"Hey, you guys over there! Stop gawking and come help!"
Shanks grew frantic as he saw Buggy's group just standing around watching.
Why weren't these people following the script?
Wasn't this the part where both sides teamed up against the Big Mom Pirates?
Shanks felt a twinge of grievance.
If he hadn't felt such an instant kinship with that red-nosed guy, he never would have jumped into this fight so readily.
And now they weren't even appreciative.
"You want my help? Say 'Please, Lord Buggy, I beg you!' and maybe I'll think about it!"
Buggy's face twisted into a smug grin.
"Are you an idiot? Just go finish that guy off already!"
Even Enel couldn't stand Buggy's attitude anymore. He rolled his eyes and then charged toward Daifuku alongside Fleche.
Buggy hadn't expected his own crewmates to abandon him like that.
He hastily followed suit, and now it was four against one — Charlotte Daifuku was in serious trouble.
The tides had turned so sharply that Charlotte Daifuku began seriously considering retreat.
Meanwhile, in the New World.
Following the public execution of the Pirate King Roger, the first wave of pirates to set sail had now passed through Fish-Man Island and reached the New World.
Among them, the fastest ships had already arrived.
"Hehehehehe, we've finally made it to the New World!"
Gecko Moria stood at the bow of his ship. At this point in his life, he still maintained a well-built, triangular physique.
His neck and head made him look somewhat unusual, but he was still a highly capable combatant.
"Captain Moria, what's our next move?"
His current crew was not the same group he would later assemble.
These men had followed him all the way from Roguetown to the New World over the past several months, and their confidence was sky-high.
Moria himself, having enjoyed smooth sailing the entire journey, felt that the throne of the Pirate King was practically within his grasp.
"Hehehehehe, what else? We challenge the three great pirates of the New World, of course."
Moria said it as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
And to be fair, he had reason to be confident.
Though he had not yet mastered Haki, his physical prowess alone had earned him a bounty exceeding one hundred million Belly.
In this era, a hundred-million bounty made him a supernova among supernovas.
But Moria was making the same mistake that most Paradise-born pirates made.
He overestimated himself while dismissing the so-called monsters of the New World as overhyped frauds.
Even though Kaido was already dead in this timeline, Moria's fate would likely not change much.
"That Whitebeard guy was at best the silver medalist who competed with Roger for the Pirate King title. Let's leave him for last!" Moria declared.
Whitebeard: I never did that. I never competed with Roger for the Pirate King title. You couldn't pay me to take that title.
After some discussion, Moria's gaze settled on Inazuma.
"Inazuma only has the influence and territory it does now because of those giant war machines! If that's all they've got, then we've got nothing to fear!"
Moria incorrectly attributed Inazuma's success entirely to its war machines.
He figured Inazuma would be the easiest of the three great powers to push around.
They had encountered similar machines in the first half of the Grand Line.
While their destructive power was impressive, they were far too rigid and predictable to pose a real threat to him.
"Captain, picking a fight with the heavyweights the moment we arrive — isn't that too reckless?"
Some of the more level-headed crew members voiced their concerns.
"That Lightning General of Inazuma — isn't he supposed to be the world's greatest swordsman? He's the one who killed Kaido, and Kaido was said to be unkillable just a few years ago."
"No need to worry. This so-called unkillable Kaido was nothing but a fraud."
Moria had no idea that in another timeline, Kaido had beaten him to a pulp.
He genuinely believed Kaido wasn't anything special.
"Think about it. If this Kaido guy were really that incredible, how could the Marines have captured him so many times?"
Kaido: Is it a crime to get hungry and look for somewhere to eat?
To be fair, from an outsider's perspective, Moria's logic actually sounded pretty convincing.
"Of course, going straight after the Lightning General himself might be a bit premature." Moria reconsidered.
He had a better idea.
"Here's what we'll do. Remember that crew that burned BIG MOM's flag a while back? Let's start with something like that!"
Charging straight into the enemy's stronghold could mean getting swarmed by dozens of war machines.
He could handle a few of them, and maybe a few dozen would force him to retreat.
But if there were hundreds, Moria doubted he could even escape.
They quickly settled on a target — an island that was relatively close by.
Flying prominently on the island was Inazuma's thunder-patterned flag.
Normally, a single flag like that was enough to intimidate the scattered pirate crews of the New World.
Even subordinates of Whitebeard or Big Mom would typically think twice before causing trouble here.
Because of this, the island had almost no defensive garrison stationed on it.
The locals didn't even flinch when pirate ships approached.
But this time, the king of this island was about to pay a steep price for that complacency.
Moria docked his ship at the harbor and immediately led his men ashore.
"Go on, boys! Loot everything and burn that flag!"
[
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