On the other side, in the New World—
After bringing Zou under his protection, Marco also invited Nekomamushi and Inuarashi to join the Phoenix Pirates, taking two hundred warriors of the Mink Tribe with them. With that, the Phoenix Pirates' fighting power grew even stronger.
Marco had already informed Kaido and Big Mom of his plan. The three had agreed: once they seized every territory in the New World, they would join forces for a decisive battle against the Marines and drive them out of the New World completely.
—
Meanwhile, in a prison cell on Beehive Island—
Kizaru's hands, feet, and neck were all locked in Sea Stone chains. He lay on the bed like a dried-up fish, cigarette between his lips, lazily reading a book as if he didn't have a care in the world.
Outside the bars, more than a dozen pirates were rotating shifts to guard him.
The door suddenly opened. The pirates on duty saw who it was and hurried to their feet.
"Captain Marco."
Marco gave them a slight nod, signaling for them to clear out.
Once they had left, Marco turned his gaze to Kizaru in the cell and said, "Long time no see, Kizaru. How's the room? You look pretty comfortable. If there's anything you're not satisfied with, just let me know."
Kizaru listened without so much as a change in expression. He replied in a bored tone, "If you could help me take off these chains, that would be great."
Marco shook his head. "No can do. If I really unchained you, this little cell wouldn't be able to hold you."
He pushed the cell door open and stepped inside. This prison had been specially prepared by Marco for Kizaru.
Beehive Island already had an extensive underground complex built by Wang Zhi, and this cell sat 150 meters below ground—the deepest dungeon on the entire island.
After Kizaru was brought here, Marco had the place completely remodeled. The interior of the cell was more like a room than a typical prison, but Kizaru had lost any notion of privacy; more than a dozen people watched him in shifts around the clock.
Marco looked him over and said, "At first, I thought you were just a clock-in-and-out salaryman, but it seems I was wrong. You really are a Marine to the core."
During Kizaru's imprisonment, Marco had tried every approach he could think of to win him over, but Kizaru never budged. Only then did Marco understand that Kizaru had his own brand of justice. For all his laziness in the Marines, as an Admiral-level powerhouse, his will was unshakable. Bribes and temptations that worked on ordinary people were completely useless on him.
Hearing that, Kizaru pursed his lips, at a bit of a loss for words. "What's with that way of putting it? I have always been a Marine, you know. What do you mean by 'You are a true Marine'?"
Marco chuckled softly. "Yeah, I know. I'm a pirate, so there's no way a Marine like you can join me right now. But if, one day in the future, I overthrow the world government… when that time comes, I hope you'll join the new world government I create and become my fleet admiral. How about it?"
Kizaru's eyes narrowed slightly in surprise. Over these past days, the Phoenix Pirates had been sending him newspapers every morning. Aside from his loss of freedom, they did their best to meet any request he made, so he was well aware of Sakazuki's death.
As a Marine admiral, however, Kizaru understood the true foundation of the World Government better than most. The Marines were merely the World Government's front line. They were its strongest military arm, but still only one of many forces operating under its banner. Even without counting those subordinate powers, the World Government's own strength was terrifying in itself.
The Gorosei and the God's Knights were all monster-level powerhouses.
Even if the Three Emperors Alliance had managed to take some small advantage against the Marines and the World Government, defeating the World Government outright was still impossible.
"I admit it," Kizaru said slowly. "Not just me—everyone underestimated the strength of your Three Emperors Alliance. You could be called the greatest threat the World Government has faced in the eight hundred years since it was founded. But you're right. You're still pirates. This world doesn't like pirates. Even if you really manage to rule the New World, in the end, you still won't be able to defeat the World Government.
"What's more, your alliance might not be that solid…"
Marco listened, then grinned. "We all know that even if you don't say it. That's why our next move is to launch an all-out attack on Marineford—to shift our internal conflicts onto the battlefield."
Kizaru fell silent at that. War was indeed the best way to redirect internal strife. As long as the three captains agreed, then no matter what disagreements existed between their crews, they'd be set aside—for now—in order to face the Marines together.
Kizaru could already picture the pressure the Marines were under. He himself had been captured, Sakazuki had fallen in battle, and Kuzan had left the organization entirely. In a short span of time, the Marines had lost three Admiral-level powerhouses.
And every Yonko-level powerhouse possessed Conqueror's Haki. No matter how many ordinary soldiers the Marines deployed, they would only become cannon fodder. Only Admiral-level fighters could stand against monsters of that caliber.
Kizaru was worried, but there was nothing he could do. He was a prisoner now, with no way to escape. Brooding on it was pointless. He exhaled and said, "If it really comes to that point, then I can't do anything either. After all, I'm just a captive now. I promise you, if you truly defeat the World Government, I can join you. But if you fail, you're not allowed to vent your anger on me."
Marco smiled. "Don't worry, we won't."
A pirate's promise wasn't worth much, but it was still something. At least his life wouldn't be in danger for the time being. Kizaru stood up and said, "Now then, I'm going to the toilet. Are you still planning to watch?"
Marco heard Kizaru's blunt dismissal and let it go. The man was still an Admiral, one of the strongest in the world. Even as a captive, he was owed a certain level of respect.
Besides, Marco had absolute confidence he could bring down the World Government. Even without forming an alliance with Kaido and Big Mom, he believed he could topple it.
He was a transmigrator with a cheat, after all. Aside from not being able to resurrect, he was practically a walking Calamity. Against the natives of the One Piece world, as long as he had enough time, he wouldn't lose.
"Remember what you said," Marco added, not wanting to drag the conversation out any further. His current strength wasn't enough to overthrow the World Government yet—but given time, doing so would no longer be a difficult task… Egghead Island.
—
At that moment, a woman with short golden hair, blue eyes, and refined, striking beauty walked down a lab corridor. She passed through a facial-recognition door and stepped into Vegapunk's laboratory.
Vegapunk didn't turn around. Still focused on the experiment in his hands, he said, "Stussy, you're here. Just take a seat for now. Let me finish this experiment first."
That's right—the newcomer was the Queen of the Pleasure District, Stussy. But behind that title, she was also a World Government agent, a member of CP0.
The mission the World Government had given her was to become one of the underground emperors of the New World and, through seduction, gather intelligence on the Four Emperors.
However, both her status as Queen of the Pleasure District and her role in CP0 were only covers. Her true identity was that of a clone of Buckingham Stussy of the Rocks Pirates—a successful product of the MADS cloning experiments conducted aboard the research vessel 3AD.
And her loyalty had always belonged to Vegapunk.
"Yes," Stussy replied softly.
Noticing that Vegapunk was still immersed in his work at this late hour, she stepped closer to the row of incubation pods. Seven petri dishes stood before her, each containing a figure whose features mirrored the Shichibukai—only smaller, younger, and unnervingly pristine.
She studied the brown-skinned children floating inside, the dark, feathered wings folded against their backs. Without taking her eyes off them, Stussy asked, "Doctor, have the Seraphim been successfully created?"
Vegapunk continued adjusting instruments and monitoring data, but still spared a moment to answer. "They're basically complete. Next, we just need to run the final tests. If they all pass, they can be deployed in actual combat."
"I see." Stussy gave a small nod at his explanation.
A little over ten minutes later, Vegapunk finally wrapped up the experiment in front of him. Turning around, he saw Stussy calmly sipping coffee as she waited. He walked over to her and asked, "Stussy, did you come to see me this time because the World Government has a new order?"
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