Raijin Island, at the heart of the island—
Inside the misty, steaming hot springs, Vergo and Doflamingo lounged shirtless at the edge of the pool.
This bathhouse had been Doflamingo's idea: designed by Tesla, constructed by Enel, and powered by lightning to maintain the heat.
"Ahh, this is the life," Doflamingo groaned in satisfaction, feeling all the exhaustion from days of travel melt away.
He picked up a glass of red wine from the tray beside him and took a slow sip before glancing over at Vergo.
"So, Vergo, what was that thing you mentioned about his Observation Haki being... special?"
Vergo nodded slightly.
"That gunslinger's Observation Haki—it's like his rifle itself. Once he locks onto you, there's no dodging it. You're trapped."
"Locked on?"Doflamingo raised an eyebrow thoughtfully.
He immediately thought of one of the legendary Red-Haired Shanks' signature techniques—the so-called Observation Kill.
A wild idea popped into his mind: Could it be that Shanks, Ben Beckman, and Yasopp developed Observation Kill specifically to counter each other's powerful Haki during training?
If that was the case, then Ben Beckman was worth a lot.
"Dig into his past. Start with the North Blue," Doflamingo ordered casually.
A man who has lived leaves traces behind—and Ben Beckman, nearly thirty, would surely have plenty of them. Find a weakness, and squeeze it for all it's worth.
"I understand, Doffy," Vergo said, standing up and sending a splash of water into the air.
"Relax, Vergo," Doflamingo chuckled, motioning for him to sit back down. "This is supposed to be downtime."
He took another slow sip of wine, then changed the subject.
"By the way, about the maniacs from the Beasts Pirates... they didn't cause too much trouble during the experiments in Flevance, did they?"
"No, Doffy," Vergo said, shaking his head. "As you ordered, the ones looking to cause problems—I drove them off into neighboring countries. Those who refused to cooperate... I eliminated."
Over a year had passed. The world had almost forgotten about Flevance. Now, under Doflamingo's control, the island was his private experimental ground. And the neighboring nations... were starting to become an annoyance.
A perfect way to recycle the Beasts Pirates' trash.
"Good," Doflamingo said lazily, swirling his wine. "Anyone who won't listen—cut them down. Kaido won't care."
...
Soon after, the Numancia Flamingo set sail once again.
...
Bristol Island Sea—
A ship from Wano Country silently approached the shore.
On the island, tucked away in a small side hall, Marco was sneakily leaning on Izo's shoulder, giving it a playful squeeze.
"So, Izo," Marco grinned, "what kind of present did you prepare for Pops' birthday this year?"
"Obviously... sake," Izo said, smacking Marco's mischievous hand away and shooting him a sharp glare.
Izo turned his gaze toward the direction of Wano and said softly,
"Lord Oden's been back in Wano for almost four years now. I'm sure Wano's changed a lot..."
"I even sent a letter with a messenger. This year's sakura sake is going to be—"
BANG!
The door slammed open.
A huge, rotund man stumbled inside, panic etched across his face.
"Izo-sama! Lord Oden—Lord Oden is dead!!!"
"What?! Oden?!"
"Lord Oden?! Dead?! No way!!"
Time seemed to freeze. Both Izo and Marco blanked out completely, eyes staring in stunned disbelief.
The Oden Kozuki—the unbeatable—was dead?
"Lord Oden... dead?!"
Izo howled, a raw, broken scream tearing from his chest.
"No!!! Lord Oden would never die!!!"
Before he could even think, Izo's hand moved faster than his mind—reaching for his pistols.
BANG! BANG!
Two quick shots rang out, scorching the air beside the fat man's head, who immediately froze in place, too terrified to move a muscle.
Through tearful, trembling lips, the man stammered,
"Izo-sama! It's me, Urashima! The top sumo wrestler! And... and Kikunojo-sama... she's fallen too!"
Kikunojo—Izo's own younger sister.
Marco snapped out of his shock, grabbing Izo's arms to stop him from firing again. His face turned cold, deadly serious.
"Who did it?"
"Kaido of the Beasts Pirates!" Urashima choked out.
"KAIDO!!!"
Izo, usually so poised and composed with his delicate, almost feminine features, now looked like a demon unleashed, blood vessels bulging across his hands and neck.
At the door, more heads poked in—drawn by the shouting. Blackbeard, Thatch, Jozu, and other crewmates were all there.
"Calm down, Izo," Marco said firmly. "First, let's figure out what exactly happened."
"Yeah," Thatch nodded quickly. "Right now, we need answers."
Tears and snot ran down Izo's face as he rasped,
"Tell me... after Lord Oden returned to Wano, what happened?"
Under Izo's bloodshot, burning gaze, Urashima swallowed hard and began to speak.
"Four years ago, when Lord Oden returned..."
As Urashima recounted the tragic events in Wano, wave after wave of curses filled the air.
"That snake Orochi!"
"That damned Kaido!"
"Those bastards!"
"We have to avenge Lord Oden! We need to tell Pops!" someone yelled.
The captains, fueled by anger and grief, erupted in agreement.
But not everyone was shouting the same tune.
A young Marshall D. Teach—future Blackbeard—narrowed his eyes and said quietly,
"But think about it... after Lord Oden left Roger's ship, he didn't come back to us. He went straight back to Wano."
"And even when facing Orochi and Kaido...He chose to dance like a clown instead of reaching out to us for help."
"Maybe... maybe Lord Oden never really saw us as family."
The room fell into stunned silence.
Faces stiffened. Thoughts tangled.
After all, back when Oden left to join Roger, many had secretly seen it as a betrayal—even though Pops gave his blessing. Some still saw it as Oden walking out on them, the family they had built together.
To just leave—and come back whenever he pleased? To think of the Whitebeard Pirates as disposable?
This ship was their home.
"Shut your damn mouth, Teach!!"
Izo's voice cracked, bloodshot eyes locking onto Teach with murderous intent.
Veins bulged on his hands gripping his pistols, trembling with barely contained rage.
"I know you hate me! You call me a traitor! But Lord Oden was never like that!"
"He just didn't want to drag us into Wano's suffering. I understand that... and I'll follow him to the end!!"
BOOM!
Marco immediately stepped between the two before it turned bloody.
"Enough!!" Marco barked.
"Izo, are you really going to point your guns at family?"
"And you, Teach—Oden wasn't the kind of man you're trying to make him out to be."
"Right now, the most important thing is—we need to tell Pops."
Those words, firm and clear, seemed to snap everyone out of their turmoil.
One after another, they rallied.
"Yeah... let's tell Pops!"
"Pops will know what to do!"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg