G-14 Branch, temporary office.
"Thunder… Bagua!!!!"
Roya shot up on the sofa, his eyes wide open. Kaido's booming war cry echoed in his mind.
The memory of being smashed by the Wolf Fang Club was still fresh and painful.
"Ugh, woke up by that again!"
He sat up, rubbing his forehead, the back of his shirt clinging to him, damp with sweat.
Enduring that Thunder Bagua every single day was really starting to wear him down.
It had been a month since the battle against Kaido. Every day, after honing his Proper Fist skills in the virtual training room and practicing warship coating, he faced Kaido again.
But no matter what he tried, whether using his Observation Haki or relying on instinct, he was always just a hair too slow, unable to fully defend against Kaido's devastating Thunder Bagua.
He figured he would need to either master seeing the future or drastically improve his reaction time to completely block it.
It was simply too fast.
The only improvement he'd made was learning to protect his vital organs, so at least he wouldn't be knocked out with a single blow.
Roya massaged his forehead, trying to shake off the lingering pain. Then, his eyes landed on the black silk stockings of his adjutant, slightly digging into her skin.
"Senior, the G-5 Branch reconstruction plan is complete. Take a look. The total budget is five billion Belly."
"Only five billion?"
Roya took the blueprint Lu Yun offered. It showed the proposed design for the G-5 Branch, not much different from the old one.
He was seriously unimpressed by the budget.
"Senior, five billion Belly is a lot," Lu Yun reminded him gently.
Considering the G-5 Branch's reputation, getting a construction budget of two or three billion would be considered a win. They should be thankful.
"Hmph!" Roya scoffed.
What G-System Fortress wasn 't built with a massive fortune? The G-1 Branch Fortress, for example, with its sprawling scale, probably cost tens of billions of Belly.
Five billion Belly was like throwing a beggar a single coin.
How was he supposed to skim any money from that?
He still needed to scrape together three billion Belly for his research. Was he supposed to start robbing people if he couldn 't get the money from the World Government?
Roya rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
"Any news about Caesar lately?"
"No, he's probably still holed up in Totto Land." Lu Yun shook her head.
The Marines had been closely monitoring Caesar's movements, but he seemed to have vanished completely, not showing his face at all.
According to their information, Caesar was in Big Mom's clutches. But Marine intelligence couldn't easily penetrate Totto Land; it was known as the most heavily guarded pirate territory.
Lu Yun pulled out an ornate invitation card and handed it to Roya. "Senior, you might find this interesting."
"Oh? Golden City?" Roya raised an eyebrow.
The invitation card appeared to be made of solid gold, with a picture of the giant ship Gran Tesoro on the front. It looked pretty flashy.
Lu Yun explained, "They say the Golden City is hosting a grand banquet. Gild Tesoro, the Golden Emperor, is inviting people from all walks of life to visit his Golden City. They're even saying Celestial Dragons will be there!"
"His ambition is growing!" Roya sneered. He could easily guess what Tesoro was up to.
Choosing this time was undoubtedly a play to snatch the Donquixote Family's business network for himself. And at this point, he was the only one who could play both sides of the game.
Roya toyed with the invitation, a hint of suspicion in his eyes. "Lu Yun, this invitation wasn't actually meant for us, was it?"
"Smoker got it from a pirate crew with bounties over 100 million Belly. Tesoro probably isn't rolling out the welcome mat for us Marines," Lu Yun giggled.
"Senior, are we going?"
"Of course!" Roya's eyes gleamed.
He was in desperate need of some cash!
---
In just a few days, Tesoro's golden invitations had been delivered to various underworld figures in the New World. Some of the Underground Emperors were even planning to attend in person.
Wano Country, Onigashima.
"Wororororo, finally, news about Caesar!" Kaido roared with laughter.
To obtain artificial Devil Fruits, the Beasts Pirates had also been searching for Caesar's location. He hadn't expected Caesar to contact them on his own.
Caesar was in the Golden City!
Kaido, clutching the Golden City's invitation, looked at his three most trusted subordinates.
"Which of you will go?"
"I'll go, Lord Kaido," King volunteered, seizing the opportunity to insult Queen. "That good-for-nothing Queen would only make a mess of things."
"You bastard King, who are you calling a good-for-nothing!" Queen roared, his face turning red. "Lord Kaido, let me go to the Golden City. I'm better at dealing with those guys!"
King and Queen were both eager to go, but Jack stood silently to the side, not saying a word. Ever since he'd returned from the G-5 Branch, he had become much quieter.
Kaido looked at the two arguing.
King was more reliable, but Queen was better at handling smaller tasks, like trade.
This trip to the Golden City wasn't just about getting SMILE from Caesar; it was also about establishing a weapon trade agreement with Gild Tesoro, allowing him to sell weapons for the Beasts Pirates.
Without Doflamingo, the Beasts' warehouses were overflowing with weapons, being sold at a loss, essentially cutting off their funding.
This needed to be fixed immediately.
"Queen, you go!"
"Mwahahaha! Good-for-nothing King, this old man is way more reliable than you!" Queen exclaimed joyfully, wanting to dance.
"Wait a minute, Queen!" Kaido paused, thinking of Roya. "Take a few more Headliners with you. If you see the Black Hair Kid and Yamato in the Golden City, have someone follow Yamato."
"Brother Kaido, are you planning to plant a spy next to Black Hair?" Queen asked, intrigued.
That Vice Admiral Black Hair was a major focus for the Beasts Pirates now. He'd not only kidnapped Lady Yamato but also taken one of Little Brother Jack's tusks.
That kid Jack had become so withdrawn!
Besides, Brother Kaido seemed to value Vice Admiral Black Hair. He'd even mentioned, during a drinking session with the executives, that he wanted to marry Lady Yamato to Black Hair. It was truly something to envy.
"A spy? You can think of it that way. Yamato is my daughter. That blood bond can't be broken. The Black Hair Kid will eventually become my ally. Just have someone follow Yamato, that's all."
"Understood!" Queen replied, a bit jealous.
Damn it!
Brother Kaido had never cared this much about anyone before!
Soon, the Brachiosaurus warship set sail from Onigashima.
At the same time, the New World's underworld organizations were sending out their representatives, and some of the Underground Emperors were even planning to attend in person.
---
Marine Headquarters, Marshal's Office.
Sengoku rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
The Golden City's invitation had also become a headache for the Marines, mostly because the Celestial Dragon, Saint Rosward, and his family were planning to visit.
With the Golden City likely drawing a large number of powerful figures, ensuring the safety of the Celestial Dragons was now their top priority.
Besides the G-1 Branch's escort ship, they needed to make plenty of other preparations.
"Knock knock!"
"Come in!"
Sengoku looked up at his two trusted Vice Admirals. "Gion, Tokikake, the secret escort mission this time will be entrusted to you."
"Understood!"
*
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[T/N:
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]