According to the information passed along by the Golden Emperor, Tesoro, the recent batches of Celestial Dragons who came to the Gran Tesoro for entertainment had taken a particular liking to practicing shooting competitions.
For this purpose, Tesoro had rounded up a large number of pirates and unfortunate gamblers who had lost everything, handing them over as living targets for the Celestial Dragons to gun down.
A few of those pig-like Celestial Dragons even bragged arrogantly that they would take first place in the upcoming "competition."
But the most important piece of intelligence Tesoro provided was this: after March 25th, there had been no more supreme orders from the Celestial Dragons to visit the Golden Entertainment City.
Taking into account the travel time of the Gran Tesoro back to Mary Geoise, and the additional four days required for the Celestial Dragons to reach the island where the "event" would be held, Souta Kiryuu realized he had likely uncovered the starting time of the so-called Native Extermination Tournament.
"Ehhahahaha!! So the competition begins on April 4th, 1520 of the Sea Circle Calendar? What a perfect date!!"
Hanging up the Den Den Mushi after Tesoro's report, Souta Kiryuu burst into uncontrollable laughter. That meant that by around April 1st, the Celestial Dragons would set sail from Mary Geoise toward their slaughter grounds.
With this rough schedule in hand, Souta could now calculate the timing for each faction to move—Emperors, the Golden Lion, and even the Revolutionary Army—so they would depart in sequence.
"A three-week hunting competition… more than a hundred thousand 'hares' for them to slaughter. Even if two hundred Celestial Dragons join in, that still averages out to five hundred kills each. The so-called elite Celestial Dragons would probably kill over a thousand apiece."
Souta muttered darkly, his eyes narrowing. It struck him then that the five hundred lives Bartholomew Kuma had once sacrificed everything to save… was nothing more than a single Celestial Dragon's allotted share in this massacre.
Back then, after the Rocks Pirates and Roger Pirates clashed with the Marines at God Valley, even heroes like Garp appeared on the island. But when the Marines received the order to withdraw, God Valley was erased completely—wiped from maps, from history, leaving no trace at all.
The hundred thousand people dragged in for the "game" were all butchered. Any native inhabitants were wiped out too.
This was the true reason why Garp despised the Celestial Dragons and refused every offer to be promoted to Fleet Admiral.
"If I hadn't uncovered this blood-soaked competition island… then in three weeks' time, it too would vanish, erased completely, with countless innocents massacred."
Souta's gaze sharpened like a blade. This was the true darkness of their world.
By his calculation, the Native Extermination Tournament would end around April 25th. And ten days later, on May 5th, it would be Monkey D. Luffy's seventeenth birthday—the day he set sail on his own journey.
The timing was… uncanny.
After pinning down the dates, Souta pulled out a New World map. He marked the approximate location of the slaughter island, along with Onigashima in Wano and Totto Land under Big Mom. Then he began plotting distances and travel times.
The Revolutionary Army headquarters and the Golden Lion's base both lay along the Grand Line. That meant they would need to set off early; otherwise, they'd fall behind even the Celestial Dragons.
The Emperors situated in the mid-to-late stretches of the New World had shorter distances to cover. Souta could wait until the Celestial Dragons' armada actually left Mary Geoise before contacting them. Arriving a little late wouldn't matter—the "game" would last three weeks.
"Ehhahahaha!! Celestial Dragons, your doom is sealed. Get ready for the gift I've prepared for you!"
His heart pounded with exhilaration as he stared at his growing, meticulous plan. This would be a war even greater than the God Valley Incident or the Paramount War.
More audacious than the Sorbet Kingdom conflict he had orchestrated.
The World Government had made far too many enemies. So many powerful figures despised them. Half the dark underworld now fed Souta with information. Finding an opening in the Celestial Dragons' defenses was child's play.
The Gorosei never imagined that a few Celestial Dragons' leisurely trip to the Gran Tesoro would expose the timing of the Native Extermination Tournament.
Nor did they imagine that Souta's crew had camped on the Red Line for so long, tailing CP fleets until they tracked down the target island.
As Souta refined every detail, time slipped steadily by. Finally, he circled Impel Down on his map and marked it with a bold red X. The full outline of the grand operation was set.
"Time to notify Dragon and the Golden Lion."
A few days later, reinvigorated, Souta dialed their Den Den Mushi, instructing them to rendezvous at an island in the first half of the New World.
He warned Shiki repeatedly to keep a low profile and avoid detection. The Celestial Dragons' fleet had not yet departed, and discretion was critical.
As for Dragon's Revolutionary Army, Souta trusted them implicitly. If anyone knew how to hide, it was them—they were even more cautious than his own crew.
Once notified, Dragon set out with Crow, Belo Betty, Lindbergh, and Sabo—three commanders and his chief of staff.
The massive giant Morley and the other deputy commanders remained behind to guard their base and continue the Army's other missions.
The five were a compact strike force. Whether by Dragon's storm or Crow's coal-black ravens, they could carry the others to safety in an instant. Even Lindbergh, the Southern Army commander, came equipped with his own flight technology.
For the Revolutionary Army, committing half their top brass to Souta's plan was already a remarkable show of support. After all, in the original timeline, even during the daring raid on Mary Geoise to rescue Kuma, Dragon himself had not gone—only Sabo and the three commanders.
Shiki cursed and snarled through the Den Den Mushi before finally steering his massive floating island-ship into the sky, carefully avoiding islands along the way to keep the Marines from catching his trail.
With those two heavy-hitters secured, Souta moved on, calling Big Mom and Kaido and urging them to have two strong lieutenants ready to deploy at a moment's notice.
Both Yonko swore at him furiously for stringing them along for so long. If not for the sheer strength of Souta's crew and the enticing bait he dangled, they might have already stormed off to beat him bloody.
Time raced by, and before long, the end of March arrived.
Then came the moment: in the dead of night, the Celestial Dragons departed. Enormous, ostentatious warships slipped from the Red Port, swallowed by the darkness.
If not for Violet's tireless surveillance—her eyes bloodshot from overusing her Devil Fruit's power—they might have slipped right under his nose.
"Rest now, Violet. You've done enough."
Souta spoke gently to her before immediately rallying his crew to prepare for departure.
At dawn, Bartholomew Kuma would deliver two eternal log poses—one to Shiki's airborne fortress, and one to Kaido's Onigashima—quietly directing them toward the rendezvous island.
For Big Mom and Whitebeard, Souta would rely on Morgans' News Coo to deliver the log poses discreetly. He had already secured several news birds for the job.
Meanwhile, the five Revolutionaries were on their way to join him. Together, they would set sail for the target island.
"Tomorrow morning… it's time to give Whitebeard a little surprise."
Staring out into the ink-black night, Souta's grin widened.
The war was coming.
Were the great powers ready?