On Waterway Star Island, the last stop before reaching the final island of the Grand Line.
"Ha ha ha, that was exhilarating!"
Kaido, with bandages wrapped around his chest, sat in a large chair, raising a crimson sake gourd and gulping down the alcohol.
As Kaido drank heartily, the clear liquid spilled onto the bandages around his chest, causing the red bloodstains to spread.
"Kaido, are you sure you're alright? I don't want you holding us back later,"
Bullet, sitting next to Kaido with his arms crossed, gave him a cold sideways glance and said.
"Ha ha ha ha, don't worry! These minor wounds are nothing to me. Now, let's prepare for the war that will sweep across the world!"
Kaido slammed the sake gourd onto the table in front of him and declared arrogantly.
As Kaido finished speaking, the large hall erupted into a frenzy.
Most of the pirates present in the hall were either notorious villains of the sea or representatives of underground dark forces. Anyone with a bounty of less than 100 million had no place here.
"Are you sure about this?"
Bullet remained skeptical of Kaido's words.
If he hadn't arrived in time the other day, Kaido would have been torn apart by the enraged Whitebeard.
"Morgans, is everything set on your end?"
Kaido turned his gaze to Big News Morgans, who was seated not far from him.
"Of course, everything's ready. The newspapers are printed and can be distributed worldwide at any moment,"
Morgans said, his eyes gleaming with excitement. This period had been the most thrilling time of his career, with big news breaking out constantly. And the upcoming news was bound to create massive waves across the globe.
The next day, a piece of news from the World Economic News spread to every corner of the world through the newspapers.
"The pirates' grand celebration has officially begun! The ticket? The head of a Navy officer with a rank of at least lieutenant! A major's head can be exchanged for five tickets, a lieutenant commander's for twenty-five tickets..."
The announcement sent shockwaves around the world!
The news published in the papers sparked global panic.
Yes, panic.
It had always been the Navy that issued bounties, turning countless pirates into targets for bounty hunters and others looking to cash in.
This was a common practice, a tactic the Navy used to curb the ever-growing number of pirates.
It also gave ordinary people a sense of security, reassuring them that one day, the pirates with bounties on their heads would be brought to justice.
But now, Kaido and his crew were bold enough to equate the entry ticket to their celebration with the heads of Navy officers.
To the common people, this was nothing short of a paradigm shift, leaving them deeply anxious and fearful.
It was natural for the Navy to issue bounties on pirates since one was an enforcer of law and order, and the other was a criminal. The Navy had always been the one chasing pirates across the seas.
But now, the roles were reversed, and many ordinary people found this hard to accept. If the Navy could be hunted, didn't that mean the Navy could no longer intimidate the pirates? And surely, if the pirates went on a rampage, the first to suffer would not be the Navy, but the common people.
After all, Navy lieutenants were the backbone of the Navy, and most ordinary pirates wouldn't stand a chance against them. But those ordinary pirates would definitely take advantage of this opportunity to pillage, while the stronger pirates were out hunting the Navy.
And, as feared, the situation played out as expected.
Many powerful pirates were quite pleased with the idea of Kaido and his group's upcoming celebration.
A Navy lieutenant's head in exchange for a ticket to the celebration seemed quite reasonable to them.
After all, this was a celebration tied to the ultimate treasure, not just any riff-raff could participate.
Moreover—
They had always been the ones being hunted by the Navy, and now it was their turn to give the Navy a taste of their own medicine.
...
"This is serious trouble, Shanks,"
On the Red Force, Ben Beckman, holding a newspaper, had a grim expression.
With Kaido and Bullet's actions, the two sides were now irreversibly on a collision course.
The rules set by Kaido and his crew were sure to have a massive impact on the Navy.
Navy officers' strength varied greatly, with officers from the headquarters being far stronger than those from remote branch offices.
Pirates seeking entry tickets would likely target the weaker branch officers' heads.
It was easy to predict—
The seas would soon descend into chaos.
"Hmm, one lieutenant's head for a single ticket, how cruel..."
Yasopp, leaning against the ship's railing, said with narrowed eyes.
"And there's definitely involvement from the dark underworld's emperors. After all, Kaido and Bullet alone couldn't handle the worldwide distribution of entry tickets.
It seems those rats in the shadows couldn't resist the urge to profit from this massive upheaval."
"Ho ho, those who read the newspapers must be on the move already. We need to act quickly too, Captain. Once the tide rises, it'll be much harder to stop it,"
Benn Beckman said, looking at Shanks.
Hearing Beckman's words, everyone present turned to Shanks, waiting for his response.
"Hmm, let's go see what this so-called pirate celebration is all about,"
Shanks said calmly, meeting everyone's gaze.
As Lucky Roux continued eating, he said, "So, do we need to prepare entry tickets?"
Shanks shook his head, a bright smile spreading across his face.
"I never said we had to follow their rules,"
he replied.
The crew members nodded in agreement, not surprised by his answer. After all, they were the Red-Haired Pirates, and they went wherever they pleased.
...
Marineford, Naval Headquarters.
In the Admiral's office, Sengoku's face was dark with anger.
The entry ticket rules set by Kaido and his group were nothing short of a provocation against the Navy, completely disregarding them.
At the same time, Sengoku could already foresee the chaos that would erupt across the four seas and the first half of the Grand Line.
The hard-won peace would be shattered by such reckless actions, something Sengoku could not tolerate.
Right now, he wanted nothing more than to fly to the New World and punch Bullet and Kaido to death.
But on second thought—
This so-called pirate celebration might just be the perfect opportunity to wipe out all the pirate forces on the sea.
With this in mind, Sengoku picked up a transponder snail with a Mohawk hairstyle and dialed.
Before long, hurried footsteps echoed through the hallway outside his office.
Hearing the noise, Sengoku did not look up but continued speaking into the transponder snail.
Moments later, three men, each wearing a white coat and a strange mask, pushed open the door and entered Sengoku's office.
Without looking at the newcomers, Sengoku coldly ordered,
"Get out!"
His icy words were accompanied by a terrifying wave of Conqueror's Haki.
Momentarily stunned by Sengoku's pressure, the three men were slow to react.
"Watch your tone, Sengoku!"
Quickly recovering, the trio remembered that they represented the World Government, and one of them responded harshly.
"Chief, I have to go. Something's come up,"
Sengoku said, hanging up the transponder snail. He rose from his chair and approached the three CP0 agents, looking down at them with a cold, commanding gaze.
"Go back and tell the Five Elders that whatever they plan to do...this time, they need to stay out of the Navy's business!
Now, get out."
"You...!"
The three CP0 agents were taken aback by Sengoku's strong stance, which was far beyond what they had anticipated.