Hearing King's words, Yamato let out a cold snort, resting her kanabō on her shoulder without saying anything else.
Issho chuckled, not taking it to heart.
He led both groups toward the Raijin Pirates' base.
Once inside, Marco looked around and quickly noticed there were very few people present.
None of the Raijin Pirates members with active Marine bounties were around.
"Looks like your crew doesn't stay here much," Marco remarked.
"This is just a temporary base for us," Issho replied with a smile.
"Your real headquarters is up ten thousand meters in the sky? That's pretty secure."
"No enemies to worry about up there," Marco commented thoughtfully.
Issho smiled and paused for a moment before saying:
"Mr. Marco, why don't you rest a bit? I'll have someone prepare food. After I finish handling some matters, we'll discuss the territory transfer."
Of course, the matter he needed to handle involved the Beasts Pirates.
King wouldn't have come all this way just to restock supplies.
Marco waved it off, clearly unbothered.
Though curious about King's true reason for coming, he knew the man wouldn't talk openly with him around.
"Take your time. Oh, by the way—where's Sanders? I've got a few things I want to discuss with him," Marco asked.
"Captain's not here at the moment. But if it's urgent, I can contact him for you," Issho offered.
"He's not here?"
Marco frowned slightly.
The territory exchange was a minor issue—
His real reason for coming was to ask Sanders to heal Pops.
If Sanders wasn't here, how could he make the request?
Still, if they could get in touch, that would do.
Upon hearing Sanders was absent, King also frowned.
He had come here for a political marriage and alliance.
But now the key person wasn't even around?
"He should've at least left his contact info when he visited Onigashima," King muttered, clearly frustrated.
"Now we've got this mess."
"Where did he go? Did he say when he'd be back?" Marco asked.
Issho replied calmly:
"Captain went traveling. Didn't say when he'd return."
King felt a wave of helplessness.
Sanders seemed just as unreliable as his own captain, Kaido.
Both of them were hands-off leaders who disappeared on a whim.
Thinking this, King gave Issho a knowing glance—
A mix of mutual understanding and a bit of envy.
The Raijin Pirates were few in number, with little territory.
They didn't have much to manage.
But him?
Above him was Kaido, who didn't care about anything.
Below him, Queen was always holed up in the lab, and Jack was just a brute.
The Flying Six were always scheming, looking for ways to climb the ranks.
The newly joined Crocodile was clearly a man of ambition.
He definitely had his own secrets for joining the Beasts Pirates.
Not only did King have to handle more work than Issho,
he didn't even have a dependable subordinate by his side.
Following Issho, King and Yamato arrived at the arranged meeting room.
"Mr. King," Issho began after they were seated.
"Now can you tell me the true purpose of your visit to Dressrosa?"
Inside the room, Issho sat calmly on the sofa.
Across from him were King the Wildfire and Yamato.
"The Beasts Pirates wish to form an alliance with the Raijin Pirates," King said, his words shocking.
"An alliance?"
Issho's face revealed a rare hint of surprise.
"And the reason?" Issho asked directly.
"The idea of an alliance was something Sanders casually brought up before. No official pact was agreed on.
This time, I've come specifically for a political marriage."
King spoke slowly and deliberately.
As long as a marriage bound the Beasts and Raijin Pirates together, they'd have a formal link—
That would make the future war Sanders spoke of much more secure.
As a pirate, King didn't trust verbal promises or written alliances.
Pirates were cunning and ruthless—such agreements meant nothing to them.
Issho's eyes widened, his pale, clouded pupils staring directly at King.
It was shocking enough that the Beasts Pirates wanted to form an alliance.
But now a political marriage too? That was completely unexpected!
King glanced toward Yamato, who immediately understood.
She removed the Hannya mask from her face and introduced herself in a bold voice:
"My name is Yamato.
Though I don't like to admit it—Kaido of the Beasts Pirates is my father."
"Kaido's daughter?!" Issho was visibly stunned.
Kaido actually had a daughter?
And judging from her age, she wasn't young anymore—yet not a word of her existence had leaked to the world.
"Strictly speaking, I'm Kaido's son," Yamato corrected.
"That bastard of a father raised me as his son from the beginning."
She stated this openly.
If not for the marriage proposal, and King arranging for someone to finally teach her about gender differences,
Yamato might still fully believe she was a man.
Of course—
Even now, she didn't really think of herself as a woman.
After all, she was someone who aspired to become Kozuki Oden!
"Yamato," King muttered in a disapproving tone.
Clearly, he was displeased at her calling Kaido a bastard.
Issho's expression had calmed by now, having digested the sudden information dump.
The parentage and drama between Yamato and Kaido didn't really concern him.
"This matter is something only our captain can decide," Issho said after a pause.
"I'll go ahead and contact him for you."
As he spoke, Issho pulled a Den Den Mushi out from inside his robes and dialed Sanders.
The Den Den Mushi made a faintly displeased sound as if annoyed.
It didn't take long before it began ringing, and then Sanders' voice came through.
"Issho?"
"What happened?"
His tone carried a slight slur, suggesting he'd been drinking—and a bit of nervousness.
The Den Den Mushi's cheeks turned slightly pink, perfectly mimicking Sanders' current expression.
"Nothing major happened," Issho replied.
He knew exactly what Sanders was nervous about—
The assault on Mary Geoise.
Issho had known about that event.
Sanders had been staying in Dressrosa for a while now, specifically to guard against a possible World Government counterattack.
"Good. That's a relief."
Sanders let out a breath.
"The Beasts Pirates' King the Wildfire is here," Issho continued.
"He says they want to form an alliance with us."
"That so?"
Sanders' voice became lazy and unconcerned.
"Tell King—what I agreed to was dragging Kaido into a war, nothing more.
I never said anything about forming some kind of deep alliance."
What Sanders wanted was to drag Kaido into a Top War 2.0—a massive, upgraded version of the Marineford War.
As for a true alliance on other matters—
He had no interest.
Besides, he still planned to take over a fifth of Kaido's territory.
If they officially allied now, how would he move against that land later?
"That's precisely our position as well," King suddenly said from in front of Issho.
"We haven't officially declared any kind of alliance with the Raijin Pirates."
"Then there's no problem," Sanders replied calmly.
"Go back and tell Kaido I'll still need some time to prepare."
There were still about three years before the time Sanders had set for the next major war.
Sure, he could force a war early if needed—
But it was much easier to let things unfold naturally.
Besides—
His crew still needed time to grow stronger.
"I'll relay that to Lord Kaido," King replied.
There was a moment of silence.
Then King added:
"Also… Lord Kaido wishes to propose a political marriage between the Beasts Pirates and Sanders!"
"What did you just say?"
The Den Den Mushi on Issho's hand displayed an expression of utter shock.
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T/N:
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