Very quickly whitebeard's orders were issued.
Fourth Division Commander Thatch, Fifth Division Commander Vista, Sixth Division Commander Blamenco, Seventh Division Commander Rakuyo, and Renji each went to gather their respective forces.
The rest of the Whitebeard Pirates were assembled together.
Whitebeard looked down at his crew members below him.
Then he spoke.
"You've all seen it."
"This is the work of Kaido."
"They took advantage of our absence to burn, kill, and plunder our territory."
"They…"
Whitebeard's speech completely ignited the fury already burning within the Whitebeard Pirates.
For a moment the flames of battle that had only recently faded after the Summit War surged back to life once again.
"Now then."
"I officially appoint Whitebeard Pirates instructor Renji as the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' Seventeenth Division."
"And all of the Impel Down prisoners will be fully incorporated into the Seventeenth Division."
"Does anyone have any objections?"
"Agreed! Agreed!"
Voices of approval rose one after another.
The Whitebeard Pirates' division structure had always maintained roughly one hundred members per division.
The rest served as reserve members.
This rule had existed since the day Whitebeard founded the Whitebeard Pirates, and it had never once been broken.
Not to mention the number of people willing to follow Renji totaled nearly twelve hundred.
In fact, they even outnumbered the current weakened core members of the Whitebeard Pirates themselves.
However that was simply because nobody worthy enough to make Whitebeard break the rules had ever appeared before.
Now, Renji was clearly such a person.
"Good."
Seeing everyone acknowledge it, Whitebeard quietly let out a breath of relief.
Breaking the rules meant accepting the consequences of breaking them.
Fortunately no one opposed the decision.
And all of that was thanks to Renji's performance during the Summit War.
"Now that the good news is out of the way, let me speak about the bad news."
Renji's appointment was only a small matter.
Whitebeard's true focus was still Kaido.
"The Fourth Division will be led by Thatch."
"The Fifth Division will be led by Vista."
"The Sixth Division will be led by Blamenco."
"The Seventh Division will be led by Rakuyo."
"The four divisions will replenish their manpower first, then gather local allied forces and begin reclaiming the islands that belong to us."
"As for Renji…"
"He will directly lead the newly formed Seventeenth Division to hunt down one of the Beasts Pirates' Three Calamities 'Plague' Queen!"
The news and orders quickly spread throughout the entire Whitebeard Pirates.
Naturally, everyone supported and agreed with the decision.
The five people personally appointed by Whitebeard had already begun moving.
Among them the fastest-moving force was Renji's.
After all, the others still needed to gather troops from nearby areas.
But Renji already possessed more than a thousand subordinates of his own and every single one of them was an elite survivor who had escaped from Impel Down and lived through the Summit War.
"Captain!"
Renji's ship was a warship.
Although Renji had intended to remodel it into something more fitting for a pirate crew there simply hadn't been enough time, so it remained as it was.
At this moment, someone emerged from the side.
He was one of the previous generation's Supernovas.
A man known by the title "Shark."
A user of the Fish-Fish Fruit, Shark Model.
Shako.
In terms of pure strength, he was definitely stronger than the current Luffy.
He also possessed both Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
Although his mastery of the two forms of Haki wasn't especially high, he had already surpassed the level of ordinary Supernovas.
After the Summit War ended and everyone else departed, he had become the strongest among those who remained.
Now, Renji had promoted him to the position of vice-captain.
Originally he had merely been a prisoner locked away in Impel Down, someone destined to rot forever in Level Five.
But now, in the blink of an eye, he had become a vice-captain of the Whitebeard Pirates.
It was like climbing straight from hell into paradise.
Looking at Renji, excitement filled Shako's eyes as he spread out a sea chart before him.
The chart was covered in markings and notes, clearly showing the effort put into gathering intelligence.
Shako pointed to a red line.
The line ultimately led to the only island circled on the map.
"We've found information on Queen."
"He probably already knows we've returned."
"He's currently holed up on Oni Island, the former border zone between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Beasts Pirates."
Renji glanced at the map Shako handed over and nodded.
"Good."
Warships were naturally faster than pirate ships.
Renji immediately set course for Oni Island.
At this speed, they would arrive in roughly two days.
Meanwhile thatch of the Fourth Division, Vista of the Fifth Division, Blamenco of the Sixth Division, and Rakuyo of the Seventh Division had all replenished their divisions and recruited nearby allied forces.
Each of their groups had now reached roughly one thousand members.
To the east, Thatch wielded his twin blades as he began reclaiming islands.
To the west, Vista also fought with dual swords, already engaged in battle.
To the southwest, Blamenco swung his massive hammer and had already reclaimed one island.
To the southeast, Rakuyo's meteor hammer swept across the battlefield, slaughtering most of the remaining Beasts Pirates stationed on an island.
"Bad news!"
Wano Country.
Kaido's territory.
A scout rushed before Kaido.
His face was filled with fear.
"Governor, the Whitebeard Pirates have launched their counterattack!"
The scout trembled as he relayed the information he knew to Kaido.
Four division commanders and Renji.
Even though the Whitebeard Pirates hadn't dispatched their strongest First, Second, or Third Divisions the mere presence of Renji already meant more than enough.
This was only natural.
After all, this was the legendary pirate crew that even the Navy had failed to destroy.
And the moment Whitebeard made his move, he dispatched four division commanders at once.
"So Whitebeard's really defending this fiercely?"
Even Kaido was surprised by the result.
Frowning slightly, Kaido fell into thought for a moment.
"Where's Queen right now?"
"Lord Queen is currently on Oni Island."
"Oni Island, huh?"
Kaido narrowed his eyes slightly.
Oni Island was the perfect location.
For a long time, the island had been a constant point of conflict between the two sides.
Calling it disputed border territory would not be an exaggeration.
"Then let him stay there for now."
"As for the other islands, we've already looted all the money and supplies anyway."
"If Whitebeard wants them back, then let him take them."
Kaido's response was extremely calm.
Life was like a spring.
Especially when dealing with an old monster like Whitebeard.
When you were weak, he would become strong.
Now that he was showing strength then Kaido would simply pull back for a while.
"Yes!"
After hearing that Kaido had no intention of continuing a direct clash with Whitebeard, the scout visibly relaxed.
"Then I'll go deliver the orders immediately."
Seeing Kaido wave him away impatiently, the scout hurriedly withdrew.
The moment he left Kaido's sight, he immediately broke into a sprint.
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