Buru Buru Buru~
The sound of two Den Den Mushis ringing interrupted Sengoku as he watched the battlefield below. Glancing at the incessantly ringing devices, he waved Crane over.
"Crane, the Five Elders are calling. Could you pass a message to Kizaru? Tell him to probe Whitebeard's current strength and shift the world's attention back to this war. It'll buy our navy the time needed to consolidate control over the Four Seas.
"If he does this well, I'll promote him and raise his pay. If not, he'll lose this month's salary."
"Also, ask little Klee to help persuade Whitebeard. That old man, who's always longed for a family, might understand our navy's intentions and possibly assist us."
"Got it," Crane nodded and turned to Riku and Shuvi, who had just sat beside her.
"Riku, could you relay our plan to Kizaru through your chat group?"
"No problem," Riku replied, her serene demeanor unchanged as she opened the chat group. Her eyes sparkled with amusement. After spending days working overtime with Zhongli and Crane to craft new world order policies, Riku found it immensely satisfying to send the ever-lazy Kizaru into action.
On the battlefield, Kizaru, lounging with his legs crossed, scratched his head as Riku's message popped up in the chat.
"How terrifying~ Sending me to duel the world's strongest man alone. Truly terrifying."
Lazily getting up, Kizaru dusted off the rubble on his clothes and looked at Whitebeard, who was holding Klee.
"I'm not interested in promotions, but a pay raise? Now that's something I'm interested in."
Meanwhile, Klee, perched on Whitebeard's broad shoulder, cheerfully swung her short legs. Tugging on Whitebeard's crescent-shaped mustache, she giggled.
"Grandpa Whitebeard, Grandpa Sengoku wants you to join the navy."
"Will you say yes? Klee doesn't want Grandpa Whitebeard to be a bad pirate."
"Sengoku wants me to join the navy?!"
Turning to glance at Sengoku, who was still on the high platform, Whitebeard burst into laughter.
"Kurararara! Sengoku, trying to recruit me, Whitebeard, into the navy? Ridiculous…"
"Grandpa Whitebeard!"
Before Whitebeard could finish, Klee pouted and stopped him. Her little face scrunched in determination.
"Klee knows Grandpa Whitebeard and the uncles below are good people, but you're being bad! That's not right!"
Raising her tiny hand, she wagged her finger at Whitebeard.
"Captain Jean and Brother Hiroshi always say that admitting mistakes and correcting them makes you a good person. Grandpa Whitebeard and the uncles can still be forgiven if you write apology letters and promise to change!"
Crossing her arms, Klee continued sternly, "Klee and her friends came to Grandpa Whitebeard's world at Uncle Kizaru's invitation. Brother Hiroshi and Riku said we need to lock up the big bad guys from the Four Seas in Master Banir's Dark World. The smaller bad guys can be reformed and taught to be good people."
"Then, we'll defeat the four super villains in the New World and the ultimate villain on the Red Continent. Finally, Shuvi and Uncle Zhongli will reshape the world's terrain into one big piece and rebuild a better home."
Pulling out a bouncing bomb, Klee proudly added, "I'll help too! Just like last time when I bombed the demon who messed up Keqing's home. Brother Hiroshi turned it into delicious jerky!"
"Rebuilding a new home? The Red Continent and New World?"
Whitebeard's eyes lit up with realization. The sudden disappearance of the navy during Klee's friends' arrival made sense now.
"So, the Four Seas have already been subdued."
Glancing at Hiroshi and his group on the high platform, Whitebeard, now enhanced by his transformation, could clearly sense their overwhelming power. Four among them radiated an aura so profound that even his advanced Haki couldn't fully gauge it.
Turning to his family behind him, Whitebeard took a deep breath. Seeing Klee's expectant gaze, he nodded.
"Alright, Grandpa will listen to you, Klee. As long as Sengoku doesn't blindly follow those fools in the World Government, I'll trust him."
"But tell him to release Ace immediately. After this, I'll have a face-to-face talk with him."
"Okay!"
Klee's eyes sparkled as she grinned at Whitebeard.
"Klee always knew Grandpa Whitebeard was a good person!"
Happily opening her chat group, Klee relayed Whitebeard's message to Riku.
On the high platform, Riku turned to Sengoku, who had just hung up on the Five Elders.
"Sengoku, Whitebeard has agreed to Klee's persuasion. His terms are releasing Ace and having a face-to-face talk with you afterward."
"Hahaha! As expected of little Klee, even persuading Whitebeard!"
Stroking his beard, Sengoku chuckled. "The Five Elders also told me to release Ace. They don't want us to clash with all four Emperors simultaneously."
"However, those old geezers also ordered me to capture Klee and hand her over to the World Government."
Sengoku's fist slammed onto his knee as fury overtook his face.
"They're not just after her jerky—even the Celestial Dragons have taken an interest in her!"
"Those parasites are a disgrace to justice! If I had the power before, I would have wiped out those trash long ago!"
Grinding his teeth, Sengoku declared, "They are the greatest insult to naval justice!"
"Oh?"
Watching the battlefield, Hiroshi raised an eyebrow and turned to Sengoku.
"In that case, there's no problem if I erase that so-called Holy Land from this world, is there?"