As I swam away from Whitebeard, I felt the potion being digested inside me, and its influence echoed with something distant and heavy in the depths of my consciousness. The main events of the Empty Century allowed us to advance by only 15 percent. Given the knowledge I've already accumulated, my current digestion rate was about 30 percent. A bleak prospect. To complete this process, I had to either touch even more ancient mysteries, or expand entire layers of history.
It weighed heavily on my mind, but I had already made up my mind. My way was to the country of Vano. I wasn't going to start a pointless war with Kaido. The only purpose was to read the ponoglyphs that he and Big Mom had. To understand them means to get closer to Raftel.
Our small fleet anchored off the nearest island. I sent the puppets to search for the eternals of the pos. They returned as quietly as they had left, and we immediately set off on our way.
The prediction obtained on the pendulum showed that one of Kaido's subordinates would meet us on the way. The very arrival in Vano's country promised a lot of problems. A second, deeper prediction session revealed that we would be found sooner or later—or rather, my fleet. The battle cannot be avoided.
I wasn't enthusiastic about it. However, there wasn't much choice.
Our fleet has been spotted. A small Kaido patrol moving along a standard route. The battle was pointless, but I already had a plan. I couldn't afford to lose my strength by exceeding my own limits, so I sent Doflamingo forward.
—Get started," I said, watching him step onto the deck.
Doflamingo smiled and raised his hands. Thin strands of "Parasite" flashed in the air. Against their will, the weak members of the Beast Pirates froze, their movements becoming puppets. There was one of the lower—ranking Sinuchi captains there. His strength turned out to be mediocre, but there are always ways to make even a weak enemy useful. Just in case, I added him to my collection of puppets, replacing one of the old ones.
A few minutes later, his voice was already coming out of the Den Den Mushi speaker.:
— Business with outsiders is settled. Their fleet has been captured.
Doflamingo remained motionless, controlling the remnants of the team like a puppeteer. I watched the painting with mild disgust: "Parasite" is a convenient technique, but with fatal drawbacks. The victim remains conscious, and the facial muscles are beyond the control of the controller. While Sinuchi was reporting on the "victory", the team's eyes were running with fear and misunderstanding. The team members struggled with their captain's betrayal, but could only express their bewilderment verbally.
While our ship was moving towards the shores of Vano, I focused on a new task. I stood in the cabin, surrounded by the quiet shadows of the past, and tried to summon the historical projection of Edward Newgate. I knew it wouldn't work on the first try. Connecting with the past requires effort, understanding, and, most importantly, time. But I needed that power.
Every time a projection was born on the edge of materiality and ether, I felt that perhaps the next attempt would be more successful.
"Just a little more,— I whispered, closing my eyes and focusing on the image of Whitebeard.
Finally, our fleet reached the shores. Huge rocks surrounded the ships, like the silent guardians of samurai country. The smell of the sea and impending danger was in the air.
Doflamingo and Enel ruthlessly mowed down the ranks of the Beast pirates. Doflamingo, like a spider, threw invisible threads on weak opponents, turning them into puppets ready to tear and kill their own comrades. Enel was merciless — his lightning rained down on those who managed to survive in the chaos, burning flesh and leaving only smoking bodies. The whole battle was like a delusional dream: faces distorted by incomprehension and fear, extinguished in mute submission.
But the chaos was short-lived. The peak, which had merged with the ground, grew into a gigantic figure, suppressing the remaining opponents on land. Stone hands crushed the weak Shinobi until a roar pierced the air — Ulti and Paige Wang arrived on the field.
From behind the ship, I watched the situation change rapidly. These two are much more serious opponents. I glided through the air, as if my shadow had detached from my body, and landed closer to the battle. At the same moment, I began to grab their threads, my fingers wove invisible nets in the air.
Ulti rammed Doflamingo with savage fury, knocking him out of the battlefield. Paige Wang was hunting Enel, who, although lightning fast, was forced to retreat. But their movements were slowing down. At first, it was barely noticeable — a look that clung to the void, a fist that stopped halfway. Their bodies were becoming alien.
"It's time,— I whispered to myself.
Doflamingo and Enel didn't fight anymore. They kept the two Tobiroppos at bay while my threads made their way deeper. Minutes later, two of Kaido's strongest fighters were standing by my side, their gazes extinguished, and their bodies were waiting for orders. My five hundred puppets and thousands of controlled pirates rushed to the capital of Vano. Ahead of them was the giant stone figure of a Pike, its footsteps echoing all over the ground.
But Kaido wasn't a fool.
His silhouette appeared over the horizon — the gigantic figure of a dragon burst into the sky, and the King was already flying next to him. I could see them from a few kilometers away: a dark spot growing larger by the second. They were flying straight towards me.
I raised my hand. His fingers were trembling, as if strength was flowing into them.
Historical projection.
Belous.
The seconds passed endlessly as I held my grip on the emptiness of time. Kaido was already close—two kilometers, one. And so, when he tore open a space a hundred meters from the ground, Whitebeard's figure appeared next to me. He looked the same as always: monolithic, with a smile that left no doubt— it was him. Alive and scary.
— Whitebeard?! Kaido roared, his voice reverberating across the plain.
Whitebeard did not answer. He just clenched his glaive, and the air around him trembled with the power of Guro-Guro no Mi. The impact was monstrous: the sky cracked, the earth shook, and the shock wave swept away hundreds of my puppets. I was thrown several meters away, but I landed on my feet — the clown's balance did not let me down.
Kaido crashed into the ground with a bang, but he instantly got up, his eyes burning with rage. I looked at the clock in my head—three minutes. Whitebeard will last three minutes, and Kaido will become unstoppable again.
The King was already circling the battlefield, his scarlet wings slicing through the air. He raced towards my army, crushing soldiers, avoiding the lightning strikes of Enel and the threads of Doflamingo. Pike, rising into a gigantic figure, tried to stop him. It was useless —the King's wings cut through the stone like butter.
I moved. Invisible threads of entrapment were already reaching for him.
King noticed me. His dive was lightning fast — I barely managed to switch places with the nearest puppet. He punched through the ground, leaving a crater in his wake, but I was already standing behind him. My fingers danced in the air again, weaving threads. I thought about the next course of action for only a few seconds.
But even those seconds were expensive. King managed to burn holes in my army, killing dozens of soldiers. At some point, he noticed and cut the strings of Doflamingos, freeing the pirate Beasts.
"We have to hurry," I breathed, continuing to deepen my grip. King was strong, but now my strength level has surpassed his.
King's movement was as swift as a predator's strike. His black wings spread out, cutting through the air, and the fiery flames emanating from his body turned the space around into a hellish furnace. I continued to keep him in my field of vision, not allowing myself to relax my concentration for a moment.
The King swooped again, his blade flashing, aiming at me with deadly precision. I dodged, shifting out of position using a paper figurine. The blade forcefully pierced through the ground, leaving behind a deep mark. I could feel the heat coming from him, even being a few steps away. He noticed me and, without wasting a second, took off into the air, preparing for the next blow.
I opened my palm and felt the threads of the spiritual body wrapping around it, thin and almost invisible. But King was not just a fighter—his strength and resistance to impact surpassed most of the opponents I faced. He jerked, sensing the first signs of my control, and his eyes flashed with rage. He roared, cutting through the space around him with his flaming wings, knocking down the nearby puppets and destroying the stone fortifications created by the Pike.
— Do you think you can take me?! He roared, soaring higher and creating a whirlwind of fire.
I felt the control begin to slip. For a brief moment, I froze, analyzing the situation. The flame raged, and my threads trembled under the onslaught of its hurricane force.
— Doflamingo, keep him busy! I ordered out loud in a rush of adrenaline.
He threw the threads towards King, creating a web that immediately entwined part of the space, limiting his freedom of maneuver. It gave me the time I needed. I concentrated, pulling on the threads of the spiritual body again. They stretched weakly, but with each passing second I penetrated deeper into his being. King roared, trying to break away, but now his movements were slowing down.
—What... is this?" He growled, and his wings hovered for a moment, losing momentum.
I didn't answer, tightening my imaginary grip. Meanwhile, Doflamingo was advancing, and continued to keep King's attention on himself, forcing him to fend off the thread-like attacks. My threads have finally caught on to the deepest points of control. His movements became more jerky and jerky, like a puppet that lacks harmony.
"Almost.".. I whispered to myself, feeling my control tighten.
The King tried to take off one last time, but his wings were held down by an invisible force. He froze in the air for a moment, then crashed to the ground with a deafening crash, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris. I took a step forward, holding my hand outstretched in front of me, as if I were holding his invisible fate in my fingers.
"This is the end," I said, finally completing the capture.
King's body jerked once, then froze. His eyes flashed with emptiness, a sign of complete submission. I let my hand drop, and he got down on one knee, bowing his head in a sign of renewed loyalty.
—Get up," I ordered, watching my new servant get to his feet.