After the great war, what did those two do? Let's take a look.
Charlotte Linlin's fleet had already sailed far from Wano. Linlin sat on the deck, her massive body trembling slightly, her eyes burning with barely contained fury mixed with a rare clarity.
Well, of course. That beating knocked some sense into her. Being confused doesn't hurt the brain.
"Mother..." Katakuri stepped forward, his voice low. "We..."
Linlin's fists clenched until her knuckles cracked, but finally, she took a deep breath and suppressed her raging emotions. "Return to Totto Land... Avoid that brat's attention for now." Her gaze swept over her surviving core children, a rare hint of exhaustion showing. "Strengthen the defenses of Totto Land. Don't let anyone else take advantage of us."
She looked out at the distant sea, a twisted grin spreading across her lips. "Rhett... once I've recovered, you'll pay for this debt in blood!"
On the other side, Kaido, who had fallen into the sea, was rescued by his men at the cost of their lives. The majesty of his azure dragon form was completely gone. He lay on the deck, his scales peeling off, the wounds left by Oden and Rhett on his chest still fresh, his blood staining the deck red.
Rhett: A false dragon is, after all, a false dragon.
"Lord Kaido, should we head to Whole Cake..." Jack asked in a low voice, his eyes filled with unwillingness.
Kaido slowly opened his eyes. A flash of coldness passed through his dragon pupils. "Go somewhere else... to recover." His voice was hoarse and deep. "We were careless this time."
King was silent for a moment, then asked, "Should we ally with other forces?"
Kaido let out a cold laugh. "Ally? Who can defeat the combined force of Newgate and Rhett right now?" He barely propped himself up, looking toward the direction of Wano. "...He's more dangerous than we thought."
He suddenly took a big gulp of sake. "Just wait... once I've recovered, the skies of the New World will change again!"
Clearly, Kaido said this without much confidence. Whenever he thought of Rhett's ability to take his life from a distance and the mist inside his own body, Kaido felt uneasy. His top priority now was to expel it.
Rhett: If you can expel it, I'll change my name to Kat!!!!
Narration in a low voice: The two fleeing "Emperors" had both chosen to lie low. They knew that under the shadow of Rhett and Whitebeard's alliance, any reckless move would only lead to their own destruction. But lying low was not surrender—it was preparation for an even more ferocious counterattack.
Rhett: Heheh, you still have our little "melody" inside you, you know.
The seas continued to rage, and the undercurrents had already begun to stir quietly.
When this newspaper was spread across the world by the two news companies' News Coos, on the sandy beach of an uninhabited island somewhere in the New World,
Rhett had already left Wano. Everything that followed was Oden's responsibility as a daimyo. Rhett didn't want to be a babysitter. He was sunbathing on the island.
"That old fox Morgans... and Moore..." He chuckled lightly and tossed the newspaper toward the sea. "But this is fine. Let the Navy lose some sleep too."
Tesoro approached from behind, his golden cigar case glinting in the sunlight. He handed something to Rhett. "I just received news. The Whitebeard Pirates are starting to pull back their sphere of influence."
"Who said great pirates are all stubborn? That old man sees things more clearly than most. Take over what they're giving up. If it's offered to us, we'll take it." Rhett gazed at the distant horizon. "Oh, right. Go to Kaido and Linlin's territories. I want one-third of their land."
Somewhere in the New World, on a small island,
Waves crashed against the rocks on the shore. In an unnoticed shadow, a hand quietly fished the floating newspaper out of the water. Beneath his black top hat, Dragon's face revealed a meaningful smile. "As expected of Mr. Rhett... It seems the wind is picking up."
As mentioned before, you eat as much as your fists can grab. After this battle, Rhett would have no problem taking over those territories.
The people are there, and the balance of the seas is maintained.
I advise the Five Elders not to meddle in other people's business.
Let me reorganize the current structure of the seas:
The "Two Emperors" — "Mist Lord" Rhett and "Whitebeard" Newgate.
The "Two Rulers" — "Beast" Kaido and "Big Mom" Charlotte Linlin, regional rulers of the seas.
And the seven空缺 positions of the Warlords of the Sea, which Rhett had first agreed to, then later betrayed, slapping the World Government in the face.
Then there are the other smaller pirates and such.
At Windmill Village, the glow of the setting sun streamed through the window onto the wooden floor, painting the entire room a warm orange-red.
Rouge sat in a rocking chair. Time had left no marks on her face. She was knitting a small sweater, her gaze soft as she looked out the window.
Eight-year-old Ace was in the yard, swinging a wooden stick around, imitating the way his uncle fought in the newspaper, constantly shouting: "Mist God Style: Demon Slash!" The stick cut through the air with a swoosh.
In the corner of the room, eight-year-old Ann sat quietly. Her golden hair fell over her shoulders, her blue eyes fixed intently on the doll in her hands.
It was a cloth doll embroidered with sunflowers, sent back by Rhett. Rhett had written a special letter saying he had picked it out for her. Her fingers gently traced the stitches on the doll, as if that could bring her uncle closer to her.
Strangely enough, he used to come back every year when they were younger, but back then, the two little ones were too young to remember anything. By the time they grew up, Rhett was already wandering around the New World, building his career. He had wanted to come back, but Rouge said he had his own事业 to attend to. It was true that he never happened to pass by Windmill Village.
But every year, Rhett would prepare lots of delicious food and fun toys for the two little ones.
As for their basic training, they got that from Garp.
Makino pushed the door open, the latest newspaper clutched in her hand, barely able to contain her excitement. "Rouge! Big news!"
Rouge looked up and smiled gently. "What is it? Why are you in such a hurry?"
Makino spread the newspaper on the table. The headline read: "Morgans? Outdated! The King of News in the New Era Is Here! — Exclusive Revelation of Captain 'Blood Dawn' Rhett's True Great Achievements."
Next to it was a photo of Rhett leaning casually against a throne formed from blood mist. Beneath the throne were the burning ruins of Wano.
Smoke billowed everywhere, but he just propped his head lazily on his hand, a mocking smile on his lips.
Judging from the photo, it didn't look like he was watching the battle between Charlotte Linlin and Kaido. Instead, it looked like a tyrannical ruler审视 his subjects,审视 the entire world.
Rouge's smile froze.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she gently traced Rhett's figure in the newspaper. Her first words were: "Is he... injured?"