The rules among pirates were ultimately rather loose. One was the highest-ranking officer in the pirate crew, and the other was the future successor. For the position of "garrison commander," Yamato and Queen had practically exhausted all means in their reasoned arguments.
Everyone made convincing points, and in their debate, if they didn't stay behind to guard the home, it would be an enormous loss for the Beasts Pirates.
Their reasoning held some merit, and Kaido almost laughed as he listened — but it was out of anger.
"Shut up! You two, come with me to the battlefield obediently. Situations like this are rare. The Marines have never deployed this much military force at once. The only comparable case was the battle at God Valley.
If you cower now, what are you going to do when something even bigger comes later?!"
The Summit War was by far the largest Marine war in decades. A hundred thousand elite Marines were mobilized from all over the world, the Shichibukai were forcibly summoned, the Marine Headquarters deployed its three Admirals, the Marine Hero, and the Fleet Admiral.
Excluding the actors, slackers, and those not taking things seriously — and setting aside the damage to the surrounding environment — this lineup could definitely defeat the Whitebeard Pirates.
In other words, from the very beginning, the World Government had always been wary of the other Emperors of the Sea and had precautionary measures in place for potential developments.
Since the battle of God Valley ended, Kaido had been through many wars and had fought powerful opponents, but never before had he witnessed a battle with such a massive concentration of forces.
God Valley didn't have as many troops in total as this, but Rocks at his peak against a young and vigorous Garp and Roger — the quality of that battle was in no way inferior. At that time, Kaido wasn't even qualified to participate in the final showdown.
To Whitebeard, this was about saving his son. To the Marines, it was about achieving their strategic objective and stabilizing the order on the seas. But to Kaido, the Summit War was his paradise.
Other arrangements might still be up for discussion, but as for Yamato and Queen, there was no way either of them was getting out of it.
"I object! Boss! You know exactly what my situation is. If I go there, do you want me to become a walking target?!"
Although his bounty poster still marked him as "only alive," and he had regained some confidence on banana plantation island before, the possibility that those guys wanted him dead had always been real.
Daring to go out was one thing — heading straight into the enemy's headquarters was a whole different story.
"Queen, think of it from another angle. If you can prove your strength, they won't send small fries to bother you anymore. Isn't that a permanent solution?"
Kaido had no intention of letting Queen and Yamato get out of it, yet he didn't simply impose orders as a captain. Instead, he tried to coax the two of them into voluntarily joining the battle.
"But if the small fry don't come, the big ones will!"
"No, no, Queen, you're wrong. Top-tier combat power doesn't have time for trivial things like assassinations. What you need to do isn't to hide — it's to make them too afraid to touch you. Only then will you gain real safety.
Besides, it's not that easy to take down the current you, is it?"
Kaido was trying to talk Queen into it using his own brand of logic, but Queen still felt something was off. Kaido's words made some sense — they just didn't fit his particular situation.
"I object too! Father, if you want to fight, just go yourself! What difference does it make whether I'm there or not?!"
"As long as you show enough strength in this war, I won't bother you anymore in the future, and I would also ignore whatever you did during this time you went out to play."
When it came to his daughter, Kaido changed tactics—he outright started making empty promises.
"I wasn't out playing! I was helping Dad look for something. What do you mean you won't bother me anymore?"
"It means, I won't ask you to train anymore. You'll be officially graduated as far as I'm concerned. As long as you show you're strong enough, I'll keep this promise."
Kaido's condition was "strong enough," but he didn't say how strong that actually meant, reserving the final right of interpretation for himself.
Yamato, however, didn't notice this loophole. Enticed by the "generous terms" Kaido offered, she immediately dropped her earlier objections and even started warming up.
"I get it! When do we leave?"
Yamato put on an extremely eager appearance — though she had her own plans.
Usually, it wasn't hard to fool her, but that person couldn't be Kaido. She'd never trusted what Kaido said. Though she hadn't noticed that he held the final say over what "strong enough" meant, she did have another idea in mind.
[Anyway, Father's going to be busy fighting. Once he gets into it, he definitely won't be paying attention to me. All I need to do is find a place to slack off and coast through. Stupid old man — don't think you can fool me this easily.]
[Why does it feel like my daughter's brain is missing a few parts? Who the hell did she inherit that from...]
Kaido and Yamato's gazes crossed, and both wore strange smiles. The war hadn't even begun, but some people were already beginning to scheme against each other.
"This matter is settled then. As for guarding Wano Country… you handle it. You're better at this kind of thing than I am."
In the end, Kaido handed over the arrangements for the defense to Arceus. He truly couldn't decide who would be best suited to handle the defense.
"Zeraora, Setsuna, I'm entrusting Wano Country to you two. Call Zunesha back as well. With it and the Gyarados stationed outside, no fleet will be able to approach this place.
Also, have Perona and Lami assist in the defense. You're familiar with their abilities — even if a few slip through the net, it won't matter."
"Understood."
With the couple and Zunesha involved, it was essentially equivalent to having the entire Mink Tribe stationed in Wano Country — a kind of special assignment for an "allied nation."
"Ulti, Page One, you two siblings are coming with me."
"Yes."
"Mandrell, I'm leaving the outer territories' defense to you. You'll also be in charge of the remaining single-digit Numbers. As for you, Shayna..."
"Let me borrow Shayna. It's inconvenient without someone who can fly to Marine Headquarters."
Among the senior officers, Shayna was the only one who hadn't been assigned anything yet. As for Greninja, he had never participated in external missions and had always been responsible for security in the Flower Capital — and this time was no exception.
Kaido's predetermined team included King, Queen, Yamato, and his own Hydrachton — this was the group slated to stir trouble. Seeing that Arceus hadn't made any arrangements for Shayna, Kaido set his sights on this high-level combatant as well.
After all, there weren't many suitable candidates to stir trouble at Marineford with him. Being able to fly gave them maneuverability, and being strong was essential for survival. That's why Kaido didn't plan to bring anyone other than senior officers.
"Shayna, any objections?"
"None, Lord Sacred Beast. If I'm not needed here, I can go wherever."
"Worororo, then it's settled. There are nine days left until the war. From now on, everyone — prepare for war!"
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