The Sabaody Archipelago consists of 79 trees, each with a designated building and number, making it very easy to navigate—almost impossible to get lost, unless someone is holding three knives.
Tree 29, formerly designated as such, is mainly known as an illegal zone—a gathering place for human traffickers, underground forces, and pirates.
Most of those who previously took action against the Kain Chamber of Commerce came from here, but they were all killed in the end, leaving a power vacuum that many have scrambled to fill.
Kain has no problem dealing with villains, but he prefers those with brains—people who can bring him tangible benefits. Pirates, however, are mostly driven by greed, always looking to take a bite out of you whenever they get the chance.
In the bar located on the 21st tree, the captain of the Kid Pirates, Eustass Kid, is confronting the captain of the On Air Pirates, Scratchmen Apoo, also known as the Noiseman. Both are famous pirates, particularly notorious as members of the "Supernovas."
In this bar, Apoo is the only one who can catch Kid's attention—especially this bizarre-looking bastard who keeps staring at him.
Kid suddenly hurls a bottle of wine near Apoo and grins viciously. "Asshole, are you staring at me, you disgusting freak? Believe it or not, I'll kill you right now!"
Kid is the type to kill at the slightest provocation, even if the other person is a fellow Supernova. But his crew quickly steps in to calm him down—they're here at the Sabaody Archipelago for rest and resupply. A fight might attract the Marines.
"If you want to fight, take it outside," Apoo sneers. "Seems like I need to show you how strong I really am."
Before he can finish his sentence, the bar door explodes open with a loud bang, shattered into splinters. Several people are hit by flying debris. But the one who kicked the door clearly knew there were pirates inside—no reason to be polite.
This kind of arrogant entrance doesn't sit well with Kid, who immediately turns toward the door with a smirk.
Wappa and his group stride in, scanning the room. "Where is the pirate Kid with the 300 million bounty? Show yourself!"
"Wappa, didn't you read the intel?" Mantis mutters with a frown. "Just find the guy."
The bar falls silent for a beat, then erupts in laughter. The pirates quickly size up Wappa and his group as rookie bounty hunters eager to earn big. This kind of thing happens a lot in the Sabaody Archipelago—and most of those hunters end up dead.
"Boss, someone's looking for you, hahaha!"
"Captain Kid, your bounty's high enough to attract even the newbies now!"
The bar isn't just home to Kid's crew and the On Air Pirates—there are many other pirate groups present, and nothing entertains them more than a brawl, especially when Kid's involved.
"Where the hell are you bumpkins from?" Kid growls. "Ruining my drinking mood. Get lost before I decide to make you regret it."
Kid isn't interested in making a scene over some bounty hunters who don't know their place.
"So you're Kid, huh?" Wappa says, eyes narrowing. "You've got twenty seconds to get out here. Braham, how the hell did you forget the photo?"
He tosses a bomb into the center of the bar and turns to leave.
The other Sandia warriors follow, but Braham—the one called "Flash Gun"—grumbles, "Wappa, you said you remembered the intel. Turns out you didn't even check the photo properly. Now neither of us can tell who's who."
The pirates in the bar assume Wappa is bluffing. They think he's still trying to provoke Kid—either him or that noise-man Apoo. Either way, they're hoping for a fight to break out for their entertainment.
Then, a Kid Pirates crew member leans in close to Kid and whispers, "Boss… that guy just now—he might've been Wappa the War Ghost, from the Kain Chamber of Commerce. He's known for hunting pirates."
BOOM!
BOOM!
The explosions are deafening. Dazzling fireworks and thick smoke shoot into the sky. The once lively bar is instantly reduced to smoldering ruins engulfed in flames.
The houses within a hundred meters were all consumed by the explosion and fireworks—shocks rippled through the air, leaving almost no one unscathed. Wappa and the others had activated their energy-absorbing alloy suits before the blast, tightly wrapping themselves.
The intense heat had no effect on the alloy, and the impact from the explosion was fully absorbed and stored within the suits.
"Hey, Wappa, was the bomb always this powerful? You need to be more careful next time!" Mantis asked in surprise. This was nothing like the weapons they'd used before. Fortunately, they were in an illegal zone—had any civilians been injured, both the Kain Chamber of Commerce and the chief would've faced serious consequences.
Wappa replied casually, "Ah, got it. I'll pay more attention next time."
As the smoke and shockwaves slowly cleared, Wappa and the others deactivated their battle suits and turned their eyes toward Kid, standing on the other side of the tree. With support from the Kain Chamber of Commerce and rigorous training, they'd gained firm control over both Observation and Armament Haki—and they were steadily improving.
Wappa looked at Kid calmly and said, "Still alive? I gave you a chance to walk away."
"You bastard… I won't let you die so easily!" Kid roared. At least half of his crew had been wiped out by the explosion, and he himself was badly burned. If he hadn't used some of his subordinates as a shield at the last second, his injuries would have been far worse.
"I don't intend to kill you just yet," Wappa replied. "The mission is to capture Mantis, Braham, and Jiebao alive. The rest… you can do whatever you want with them."
As he finished speaking, Wappa's battle suit shifted into its most optimized combat mode.
The explosion hadn't killed everyone—several powerful pirates had survived—but Wappa only cared about Kid, the one with the highest bounty. The others were beneath his notice.
At Marine Headquarters, a rare gathering of the Shichibukai was underway.
The atmosphere was tense, especially after Kain arrived.
Whether it was Doflamingo or Hancock—who had reluctantly agreed to attend shortly after returning home—their expressions turned cold the moment they saw him. Hawkeye and Kuma remained calm; the former indifferent, and the latter nearly devoid of emotion altogether.
Aside from Blackbeard, who had yet to arrive, Kain was the last to show up.
"Hehehe, so the Mage is here," Gekko Moria cackled. "No wonder Doflamingo suddenly shut up—the enemy has arrived!"
His mocking laugh made Doflamingo's face darken further. Then Moria turned to Kain. "Hey, Mage, interested in a trade? I've heard your weapons and gear are top-notch—some of the most advanced ammo in the world, right? Hehehehe."
"No," Kain replied flatly, not even sparing him a glance. "Unless you trade me one of your people. That girl, Perona—she's your subordinate, isn't she? Give her to me, and I'll sell you the ammunition."
Moria slammed the table in rage. "What the hell did you just say?! You dare try to barter for my people?" After losing to Kaido, Moria had grown especially protective of the few loyal subordinates he had left.
Kain calmly sipped his black tea and responded softly, "Then tell me—what else do you have that's actually worth trading?"
"You bastard… are you looking to die?!"
"Enough. Look at yourselves."
Marshal Sengoku entered the room, cutting Moria off immediately. If the two of them kept going, the Marines risked losing another valuable asset before the war even began.
After receiving Aokiji's report, Marine Headquarters assessed Kain's strength to be nearly equivalent to that of a Marine Admiral. His record against three Shichibukai alone spoke volumes. Coupled with his possession of the Thunder Fruit—though his Haki abilities remain uncertain—Kain earned the Shichibukai title "Mage."
"This operation is of utmost importance to both the Marines and the World Government. It has the potential to reshape the entire era of great exploration. I expect everyone to treat it with the seriousness it deserves and put aside any personal grievances," Sengoku said as he entered the room, followed closely by Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Marine's chief strategist.
"Tsuru will explain the operation. You are all expected to coordinate with Marine forces when the time comes."
Sengoku and Tsuru then briefed Kain and the six assembled Shichibukai. While they withheld the deeper layers of the plan, what they did reveal was enough to astonish even those unfamiliar with the scope. In the world of One Piece, this was already on the scale of a world war.
"That's the outline of the battle. I've made your roles clear. When the time comes—Hancock? What's wrong?"
Sengoku had noticed Hancock's pale expression and sharp unease. If a Shichibukai refused to cooperate, the Marines would lose critical firepower.
"I… king is fine… Please don't worry about me…" Hancock said after a pause. She took a deep breath, forcing her expression back to normal. What had just occurred—silent and trembling—was too dangerous to speak of. If her behavior were discovered...
Sengoku didn't quite believe her, but he had no choice. "In any case, I expect full cooperation. The Marines are treating this operation with the highest priority."
"Marshal Sengoku," Gekko Moria interrupted with a sly grin, "Please try to keep the bodies intact—for me."
Before he could finish, Kain cut in coldly. "I want the corpses too. It'll be first come, first served."
"You bastard—" Moria growled.
"You wanna start something early?" Kain tilted his head, smiling. Sparks of lightning crackled from his fingertips.
"Enough!" Sengoku snapped, raising his voice. "You can fight over spoils after the war."
Internally, he sighed. To him, every one of the six Shichibukai in the room was a problem child.
After the meeting, Sengoku assigned each Shichibukai their own room—spaced apart but within the same area.
Back in her room, Hancock was breathing heavily. Just as she tried to relax, a familiar jolt of electricity pulsed through her, almost making her gasp aloud. Her legs trembled.
Moments later, she walked slowly to the door, opened it with effort—and allowed Kain to step inside.
"It seems you're following my instructions quite obediently, Hancock," Kain said, stepping in. "Truly admirable."
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