Wano Country, Onigashima Island.
At the top of the towering castle, inside the magnificent hall that was the pirates' lair, Kaido the King of Beasts sat on his wooden throne. His gigantic posture, over seven meters tall with bulging muscles, radiated a terrifying aura of dominance even when he was just sitting casually. In his brawny right hand, he held a giant sake barrel that contained hundreds of liters of the drink. Carefree, he lifted the barrel and drank its contents.
"Gulp! Gulp!"
The sake flowed fiercely, drenching his throat. In a few gulps, half the barrel was empty.
Queen, the Prince of Plagues who was in charge of all logistical matters under Kaido's command, entered the room with light steps. He stopped in front of Kaido, bowed respectfully, and began his report.
"Yohohoho… Kaido-san, Doflamingo and his men have completed the task in Amigasa Village, and the recruitment of labor went very smoothly. They managed to convince more than a thousand people, including men, women, old, and young, to voluntarily become workers in the weapon factory…"
"Ohh, oh, oh, oh…! So fast!? And they all voluntarily!?" Kaido was surprised. His big left hand wiped the remaining sake from the corner of his mouth.
Normally, even after being destroyed, the villagers would fight desperately before finally giving up and being forced to submit to working until they died in the slave factory.
"Yes, thanks to Doflamingo's methods, which are no less crazy than King's," Queen explained briefly, implying that Amigasa Village was destroyed in an extremely brutal way by the Donquixote Family.
"Ohh, oh, oh, oh…! Doflamingo, even though you are weak, at least you can work… Ohhhhhh…" Kaido laughed heartily, drunk.
"…"
Doflamingo, who heard the praise that sounded more like an insult, could only sneer inwardly.
'If only I could beat you right now, I would beat you to death, Fufufu!'
However, a smile was still plastered on his face. "Governor Kaido, I have a plan that will increase the labor force in our weapon factory. Are you interested in hearing it?"
Kaido frowned. "Oh? Speak."
"Governor Kaido, I think Sugar is still alive, isn't she?"
"Sugar… the little girl who used to be with me… short green hair, eight or nine years old… Ah! Her. I threw her on the Onigashima veranda, it seems she's still alive."
"…"
Hearing how casual Kaido was, Doflamingo could only fall silent with his mouth twitching. He took a few seconds to compose himself before speaking again.
"Hmph! Her Devil Fruit, the Hobi Hobi no Mi, a Paramecia type, can turn people into toys. These toys will not feel tired or hungry. They are the best workers, and they will be bound by their contracts. If we turn the residents of Wano into toys and let them do rough work that doesn't require technology, such as mining and raw material handling, our labor force will increase rapidly, at least fivefold! And they will never die from sickness or starvation!"
Workers who never felt hungry, tired, and were obedient. This meant that the production and profits of the Beast Pirates' weapon factory would skyrocket!
Kaido again drank the remaining sake in his barrel. Then, with a sneer, he said, "Ohh, oh, oh, oh…! Your proposal is good, Doflamingo! Do as you say!"
"Fufufu! Of course! On my way back, I also found something interesting, Governor Kaido. It turns out that some of Kurozumi Orochi's men are actually secret agents sent by the Marines!"
Doflamingo took out three photos. The first showed a man named Sephiroth in a Marine uniform. The second photo, he was in the form of an orc from his Zoan type Devil Fruit. And the last one was a photo of Sephiroth disguised as a samurai named Miyamoto Musashi. Two of these photos were obtained from an intelligence agent he contacted using a fax Den Den Mushi. The other photo was backup information material collected by the Beast Pirates.
"Hiccup! Show me."
Kaido burped loudly, grabbing the three photos with his left hand. He shook his slightly dizzy head from drunkenness, then focused his gaze on the photos.
"The hair and eye color are gone… it's not that he's similar, he's exactly the same. Damn it… the Marine lackeys have started infiltrating Wano Country!"
Kaido's face became ferocious.
"Despicable Marines!"
"Where is that person?"
"He is in the Flower Capital, under Kurozumi Orochi's rule. I saw him there on my way back…"
BAAANG!
Kaido immediately threw the empty sake barrel to the ground, shattering it to pieces.
"Queen! Send the order! Tell Kurozumi Orochi to kill the Marine spy who uses the alias Miyamoto Musashi!"
After speaking, Kaido stood up, took his iron club, and walked out.
'A mere Marine spy dares to infiltrate here? I will go myself and show that man named Sephiroth the meaning of the word 'death'!'
Wano Country, Ebisu Village.
In front of the gate of a magnificent mansion, a crowd of about eight to nine thousand people gathered. There were men, women, old, and young, all members of the large Miyamoto family.
Sephiroth, as the captain of his more than 2,000 men, knew that this evacuation must include their families. If not, their morale would fall and trigger dissatisfaction. Sephiroth, who had been leading for many years, understood this very well.
"Don't crowd! Line up and enter in an orderly manner!"
His men, like Kumagoro and Camel, stood on both sides of the road, maintaining order.
Seeing that the crowd was almost complete, Sephiroth, who was standing in the mansion's living room, drew the sword attached to his waist, the Hades Flame Sword, then opened a door to a large room. He looked at the people standing in front of him with a shocked expression.
"Hurry up and evacuate, don't crowd!"
Because Sephiroth had explained his plan, the family members already knew that they would be evacuated from Wano Country. So, although they were a little shocked to see the open space door, they didn't hesitate. Aided by his men, they all entered the door in an orderly manner, heading straight for Sky Island.
With more than two thousand men, Sephiroth had to move eight to nine thousand people. The portal had to remain open for at least thirty minutes. Under normal conditions, his vitality reserves were not enough for that. Opening the door alone consumed half of his strength, and the rest could only last about ten minutes.
Therefore, to increase the time limit, he asked Gan Fall and his men to collect livestock such as cattle and sheep on Sky Island to replenish his vitality.
On the other side of the portal, on a beach on Angel Island, Gan Fall and his men were leading a herd of livestock.
"My lord, is this number of livestock enough?" Gan Fall asked respectfully.
His gaze unconsciously glanced at Sephiroth. He felt strange. This man from Wano in front of him was very similar to his God. Could they be twin brothers?
'Maybe…! I once reported to my Lord that the combined population of Angel Island, Birka, and Shandian is only more than 40,000, but the population from Wano that will migrate is 160,000 to 170,000! A population ratio of one to four. This foreign population far surpasses the native population, which could cause a magpie-stealing-the-nest phenomenon in the future. But the Gods don't care… If they are really brothers, this makes sense!'
"Hmm! This number is enough." Sephiroth nodded.
He approached the herd of cows and sheep that had been tied up, holding a butcher knife in his right hand, while his left hand stroked each animal. Instantly, their vitality was quickly absorbed. The cows and sheep he touched aged at a speed visible to the naked eye, their skin drying and wrinkling, then falling one by one on the white clouds.
One by one, five to six thousand people passed through the space door and arrived at Angel Island. After more than ten minutes, the remaining people were still queuing in an orderly manner.
Fast!
Sephiroth, who relied on his high-level Kenbunshoku Haki, felt eleven life signatures moving fast toward Ebisu Village.