Chapter 347 The New Emperor, Pluton's Progress
Sea Circle Calendar 1516—not long after this year began, major news spread across the entire world.
"Hey! Brett! There's been a new development in the New World war!"
Tesoro burst excitedly into Brett's office waving a newspaper. "Hahahaha! That guy's really something! Even Kaido can't do anything about him now!"
"Has the war already ended?"
Brett raised an eyebrow.
"Not yet, but at this rate the final result can only be a draw."
Tesoro said with a smile. "Hahaha! Before this, probably no one imagined such an outcome!"
"Morgans has already started calling him the Fourth Pirate Emperor."
"A new Emperor?"
Brett chuckled softly. "So then, Four Emperors. Not bad at all."
At the year's start, a war had broken out in the New World.
A pirate crew's territorial expansion had caused conflict with the Beasts Pirates.
After negotiations failed, war erupted.
Kaido and a certain man engaged in fierce combat in the New World.
Now it seemed truly fierce combat indeed.
"Four Emperors? Shouldn't it be Five Emperors? Brett, did you forget to count yourself?"
Tesoro laughed heartily. "That way, among the five Emperors, besides you, two others are our friends!"
"Though it's only natural. For Shanks to reach this point—he's truly strong!" He said.
Yes.
A new Pirate Emperor had been born—his name was Shanks, captain of the Red-Hair Pirates.
In war with Kaido, this man had displayed terrifyingly abnormal strength.
Though a non-devil fruit user, his formidable swordsmanship and overwhelming Haki still let him hold his own against Kaido without falling behind.
Despite having only one arm, he remained one of the super-powerhouses standing at the sea's peak.
Moreover, his officers possessed extraordinary strength as well. Though absolutely outnumbered by the Beasts Pirates, their exceptionally high average quality meant they showed no weakness facing Kaido's Beast Legion.
The Emperor title was well-deserved.
This was naturally good news for Fish-Man Island. After all, Shanks was Brett and Tesoro's friend. His precious daughter currently made her living under Tesoro's employ.
"Isn't the New World getting a bit too crowded now?"
Tesoro said with a smile. "Four Pirate Emperors, plus the NEO Navy led by Zephyr-sensei, and the World Government and Navy—this sea area must be more lively than ever before, right?"
Indeed.
The New World was ultimately somewhat too small. The monsters occupying it all had to restrain their claws. Now with another monster's rise, this sea area would inevitably become even more congested.
That's why the conflict between Red-Hair and Kaido occurred.
"At the current pace, Shanks and Kaido's war can only end in a draw."
Tesoro's smile faded slightly. He said seriously, "But Kaido probably won't accept such an outcome."
Brett nodded lightly. "Kaido and Charlotte Linlin are allies. At the critical moment, that old woman definitely won't sit idle."
Because of his own existence, these two monsters' alliance had formed several years earlier than in the original story.
Kaido was a warmonger but equally skilled at schemes.
When necessary, he absolutely wouldn't hesitate to request Charlotte Linlin's aid in dealing with that Red-Hair fellow together.
"Should we do something?"
Tesoro asked.
"No need to rush."
Brett shook his head. "Just warn Shanks. We'll discuss the rest after Charlotte Linlin officially joins the war."
After all, this was currently a war between Kaido and Shanks.
Intruding uninvited into a war between men would be quite rude.
"Alright."
Tesoro nodded.
At least judging by the current situation, Red-Hair truly didn't need their help at all.
Rather than worrying about his war with Kaido, better to pay more attention to his daughter's concerts.
Because of continuing hostility with the government, All Stars' work couldn't proceed normally.
Originally Tesoro's plan had been holding worldwide touring concerts for them, but the current situation made such things impossible—too easy for the government to exploit as an opportunity.
So this world's number one idol group could only hold online concerts, transmitting their voices worldwide through Den Den Mushi broadcasts.
But even so, this idol group had gained enormous influence worldwide.
As mentioned before, people in this world severely lacked entertainment options, yet had tasted too much suffering.
When reality disappointed and couldn't be changed, people could only seek solace in the spiritual world.
Conveniently, All Stars' existence provided excellent spiritual sustenance for people.
Just because of them, Tesoro's company was already making enormous profits.
The government was powerless about this.
No helping it—Tesoro's partner was Morgans. That bird-man always delighted in chaos.
However, for the government, Tesoro's propaganda offensive didn't really matter. After all, in this world, strength always spoke.
And fortunately, Brett's side had plenty of strength too.
After seeing Tesoro off, Brett went to the Sea Forest's weapons factory.
After the previous incident, this factory's security had become incomparably stricter than before. Large numbers of soldiers were stationed here.
Simply because a ship was currently being built here.
A very large steel ship.
This ship already had a general outline. Right now it sat quietly positioned in the Sea Forest's center.
Brett had come here now. He gazed up at this massive ship still under construction, already able to hear the gradually flourishing voice.
That was the voice called powerful.
"Truly magnificent."
He sighed admiringly.
"Hahahaha! Of course it's magnificent!"
Accompanied by hearty laughter, Master Tom walked over. "This should be the most resounding ship I've built in my entire life!"
"We can give it a name first."
Brett said with a smile. "Give it a resounding name."
"No need to rush."
Master Tom paused. He said, "It still needs quite some time before construction is completely finished."
Brett nodded lightly. "Then let's take our time. We still have plenty of time."
Indeed, no need to rush now.
As Red-Hair had said, before officially going to war with the government, at least they should visit the Final Island first to clarify this world's secrets, right?
Clarify what happened eight hundred years ago. Clarify exactly what power the government held. Only by seeing the enemy's true appearance clearly could they better overcome them, right?
To reach the Final Island, two more conditions remained.