In the grand tea party hall, Kaido sat alone drinking by himself with a table laden with delicacies.
"Wahhh, why can't I have a good son? That bastard Caesar slept for decades and still made a fortune. It pisses me off!"
Kaido wailed between gulps of alcohol, his expression shifting between sorrow and brooding.
His face cycled through emotions with each drink, far more skillfully than even Pudding's acting earlier.
Tap tap tap.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed from the corridor.
Kaido frowned—he had explicitly ordered his subordinates not to disturb him.
Who would dare approach him now?
Looking up, he saw two girls enter.
One was Pudding, the other a child he didn't recognize, though he paid her no mind, assuming she was Pudding's little sister or something.
The moment Ain entered, she cheerfully bounded forward with boundless energy, her clear childlike voice pleasant to the ears.
Before anyone could react, she ducked under the massive table, grabbed Kaido's legs and—to his utter astonishment—climbed up his leg like a tree before plopping onto his lap, swinging her little legs playfully.
Tilting her head up with an impish grin, Ain chirped.
"Uncle Kaido's crying again? So embarrassing~"
Kaido's eye twitched in bewilderment.
Who the hell was this kid?
Since when did children waltz up to him so fearlessly?
Didn't she know he was the terrifying Kaido who could gobble up little brats for breakfast?
Pudding, witnessing Kaido's dumbfounded expression, couldn't help but giggle behind her hand.
She stepped closer and beckoned. "Ain, come down now. That's very rude."
Ain pouted and shook her head vigorously.
"No! I wanna drink!"
She turned those big sparkling eyes back to Kaido. "Uncle Kaido, give me some!"
"What kind of child drinks alcohol? Huh—?"
Kaido's retort died in his throat as his massive frame shuddered.
A flood of long-buried memories surfaced—how strikingly similar this was to when his precious daughter Yamato used to look up at him with that same innocent, mischievous expression all those years ago.
The nostalgia made his eyes moisten again.
"Get down now, or I'll tell Father" Pudding warned.
At the mention of Caesar, Ain immediately scrambled off Kaido's lap and obediently trotted to Pudding's side, puffing her cheeks in protest.
"Pudding-nee, that's cheating! You always use Daddy to scare me!"
As Ain walked away, an inexplicable sense of loss tugged at Kaido's heart.
Pudding placed a hand atop Ain's head—then suddenly clenched her fingers.
Ain's memories flickered as her small body stiffened, frozen in place.
"Oi! What are you doing?"
Kaido's brow furrowed with confusion and a flicker of anger.
Strangely, in these brief moments, he'd already developed something akin to paternal protectiveness towards the little girl.
Seeing his reaction, Pudding hurriedly explained.
"It's not what you think, Uncle! She's a spy planted by a Marine Admiral."
Kaido looked even more baffled, pointing at the tiny figure no bigger than his palm.
"This runt? A Marine spy? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Pudding shook her head, signaling for Kaido to come closer.
She enlarged the memory tape of Ain and the scenes within it played out continuously, like watching a movie.
Kaido frowned as he scrutinized the images.
After a moment, his expression turned serious and he fell silent.
After some thought, Kaido pulled out a Den Den Mushi from his pocket and placed it on the table.
He then looked at Pudding and after a brief pause, said.
"You've done well. Who would've thought such a small girl was actually an adult but shrunk by using her abilities? So she was one of that old man Zephyr's students, huh? Heh, a half-crippled geezer and Aokiji, who became a pirate—two former Admirals. Quite the grand scheme! Luckily you discovered it, or we might've suffered heavy losses if they'd launched a surprise attack on our base."
Pudding gave a faint smile, appearing calm and composed.
Kaido almost curled his lip, thinking to himself.
'Little girl, your expression is showing it'.
'You must be overjoyed inside.'
'Trying to act cool in front of me? You're 10,000 years too early for that!'
"What do you plan to do?" Kaido wasn't a fool either.
Recalling Ain's earlier behavior, he knew Pudding must have altered her memories.
Pudding chuckled. "I can't hide anything from you, Uncle. Here's the plan—I'll have her contact Zephyr directly and arrange a 'good day' for them to launch their surprise attack."
Hearing this, Kaido grinned and gave Pudding a thumbs-up, praising her without restraint.
"That's a brilliant idea! Hehehe, but don't notify them just yet. It's best if you keep the Den Den Mushi for her. Even though you've altered her memories and turned her into one of us, she's still in a child's body and might act mischievous. We can't afford any mistakes with something this important."
Pudding was taken aback—she hadn't considered that at all.
After a brief moment of reflection, she realized Kaido's words made perfect sense.
Immediately, she looked at Kaido with admiration and respect, thinking.
'No wonder he's one of the legendary Four Emperors who ruled the seas—his foresight is incredible.'
"You can head back now. I'll talk to Caesar and Linlin later and have them pick a time" Kaido said before returning to his seat.
Pudding nodded, using her fingers to reinsert Ain's memories.
As if time had resumed its flow, Ain who had been frozen in place for so long, suddenly became lively again.
Her big, dark eyes darted around curiously, and she drooled over the food on the table.
"Let's go back to the room Ain" Pudding said with a smile.
Ain pouted, reluctant to leave.
Suddenly, Kaido coughed and called out.
"Ain, come here to Uncle. Are you hungry? Eat whatever you like."
Pudding blinked all three of her eyes in surprise before breaking into a faint smile and turning to leave alone.
Behind her, the faint sound of a little girl's cheers could be heard. (💀)
****
New World, Hachinosu Island.
Inside the massive palace, the top captains of the Blackbeard Pirates had gathered.
Second Ship Captain Shiryu, Third Ship Captain Van Augur, Fourth Ship Captain Avalo Pizarro, Fifth Ship Captain Laffitte, Sixth Ship Captain Catarina Devon, Seventh Ship Captain Sanjuan Wolf, Eighth Ship Captain Vasco Shot, and Ninth Ship Captain Doc Q.
"Where's Aokiji? Why isn't he at the meeting?" Blackbeard, seated on the golden throne at the head of the table, asked with a frown.
The heavily make-up Catarina Devon giggled and said.
"Him? Well, he's been sneaking around these past few days, meeting with someone you'd never expect. Seems like they're plotting something, probably to take down the Beast God Pirates and avenge Sengoku."
"Zehahaha! Avenge Sengoku? Hmm, that does sound like Aokiji's style. Stop beating around the bush, Devon. You know I don't like roundabout talk."
Devon quickly covered her mouth with a laugh.
"It's Zephyr—former Marine Admiral, 'Black Arm' Zephyr."
Blackbeard's eyes lit up as he straightened in his seat.
"Oh? Are you serious? That's no small fry. Aokiji's been keeping quite a lot from us, Zehahaha! All of you, keep a close watch. I want every detail about the Beast God Pirates' movements reported to me, no matter how trivial it is."
Shiryu, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.
"Teach, this is a good opportunity."
Blackbeard raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I know what you're thinking, Shiryu. But that Caesar isn't some pushover and the Beast God Pirates' strength is overwhelming. If we jump in, we might suffer heavy losses."
Shiryu nodded. "Fair point. So, we stay out of it?"
Blackbeard grinned wide, revealing the gaping darkness behind his missing teeth—a void that stretched down his throat like the entrance to a pitch-black abyss, evoking an inexplicable dread.
"No."
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