The Pirate Princess Becomes Queen

Kaido wanted his army to look imposing enough, at least in front of his ally, the Big Mom Pirates, so they wouldn't look like a rabble. He couldn't control their fighting strength, but he insisted that their clothing be uniform.

Black Maria spent over ten days looting clothes from Wano Country. Many civilians had their last piece of clothing stolen. As a "grunt," Luffy also received a red Wano-style kimono. The previous owner of this kimono must have been a poor man, as the shoulders, sleeves, calves, and other hidden parts were covered with patches of all sizes.

Luffy is now wearing a straw hat, a patched kimono, sneakers, and a curved sword at his waist. His whole look is terrible, but he is very happy.

When he's happy, he likes to wander around.

"Oh, what a strange nose." Luffy was unaware that he had arrived in Wano Country three years ahead of schedule. He was wandering around the camp when he spotted Buggy the Clown sneaking around in a tent.

Bucky's red nose was very noticeable; he saw it from a great distance.

“You mean red nose!” Bucky roared.

Seeing that Luffy was a kid he had never met before and thought he didn't have any powerful backing, he reached out and tried to tear off Luffy's mouth. He tore the rubber mouth off with force, pulling it out more than half a meter long.

Luffy also threw a punch at Buggy the Clown. It was a fight between two weaklings, with dust billowing up, but neither of them actually got hurt.

"Hey, isn't this Bucky? It's been so many years!" Rayleigh looked at Bucky the Clown with a smile, as if he were looking at his own mischievous child.

"Who? Who's calling me?" Buggy stomped on Luffy's face, but Luffy had wrapped his rubber hand around his neck seven or eight times and was choking him. Hearing the familiar voice, he split his neck, like a flying headbutt, and his head was suspended in the air. He turned his head 180 degrees to look behind him.

He was stunned for a second, seemingly unable to believe it, but the second second brought him surprise and delight.

"Mr. Rayleigh!? Is that you? Am I seeing things?"

"Hahahaha! It's me, yeah, uh, could you please let go of that straw hat kid under your feet?"

Buggy still gave Rayleigh, the vice-captain, face. He snorted angrily and was about to lift his foot when he saw Luffy's hat. Then, remembering the straw hat boy Rayleigh had mentioned, he immediately understood something.

"Straw hat?...This!...This is Shanks' hat, isn't it?!"

Luffy's head popped out from under his feet: "Red-Nosed, you know Shanks too?"

"Don't call me Red Nose!"

The two gritted their teeth and started fighting again. Rayleigh covered his forehead, feeling that his brain blood vessels might not be able to hold on much longer. He thought he should go see the old ship's doctor, Crocus, in a while. He used to think he could live for another twenty years, but now? With such a bunch of clowns around him, it would be a miracle if he could live for another two years.

......

Completely unaware that there were so many "capable people" within his own camp, Kaido has been very busy mobilizing his troops during this period.

Before, after finishing my work, I could drink alcohol; now, I have nothing and can only tough it out.

He was very pleased with Doflamingo's timely arrival. Kaido's side lacked intelligent mid-level elites, and the Donquixote Family's large number of officers made them an effective supplement.

To be fair, Doflamingo was always an ally, not a subordinate, when he cooperated with Kaido. He himself was very strong and influential. Including the executives in his family, he was basically equivalent to half of the Beasts Pirates, not counting Kaido.

His addition is a great help to Kaido.

However, the chaos in Dressrosa had a significant impact on Doflamingo's power. Even with the use of conscription, he only managed to gather an army of 10,000 men, half of whom were elite soldiers and half were regular soldiers.

Although Doflamingo joined Kaido's side, he did not gamble everything. He did not activate his family's executives, including Vice Admiral "Red Heart" Vergo, who was an undercover agent in the Navy, nor did he sever ties with the Celestial Dragons. His plan was actually no different from Vivi and Crocodile's: to play it safe and join the victorious side after the war.

Chapter 244 Boys also need to protect themselves when they're out.

Including Doflamingo's reinforcements, Kaido's side had just over 80,000 pirates. The real elites were the 20,000 of the Beasts Pirates, Orochi's 5,000 samurai, and Doflamingo's 5,000-plus pirates. The rest were cannon fodder.

The Big Mom Pirates agreed to send troops together, but Perospero did the math for Big Mom, which confused her so much that she only agreed to send 40,000 troops in the end.

Forty thousand is fine, Kaido doesn't mind, as long as Big Mom brings her older children to fight Marineford with him.

On the tenth day after the two sea emperors formed their alliance, they jointly announced that they had mobilized a total of 200,000 troops to flatten the naval headquarters, Marineford.

Whether it's actually 200,000 or not, nobody knows for sure; if he says so, then it is.

While outsiders were calculating Kaido's forces, this number one villain came up with a tactic that everyone found incomprehensible.

Leaving troops to defend Onigashima? Studying attack routes? Neither is necessary!

Who do you think I am?! Kaido demonstrated one thing to his underling Jack: your big brother is your big brother. You can only rely on a ship, but your big brother can rely on an island!

After working tirelessly for two weeks, the scientist Queen the Plague lost weight. He installed a cola-like thruster on Onigashima, and with a sudden shake, all the thrusters started up. Kaido then transformed into his Azure Dragon form and dragged the entire Onigashima towards Marineford.

The image of Oni Island rising and then flying towards the Red Line was captured by a reporter under the command of the Intelligence King and spread around the world.

The Navy raised its mobilization level again. Garp, who was looking for his grandson in the East China Sea, was urgently recalled by Sengoku, and all leave for naval personnel was canceled.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku personally gave orders to Akainu and Kizaru: Kizaru would escort King back to Marineford, while Akainu would join forces with Crocodile and lead a large army to wipe out the pirates at the Expo, thus boosting morale.

Originally, the Navy disapproved of this kind of entrapment and cooperation with pirates to deal with pirates, believing that it was not the Navy's justice. However, Fleet Admiral Sengoku did not have time to consider their feelings. He suppressed all dissent and ordered Akainu to attack.

There are 100,000 pirates gathered here; we absolutely cannot let them become Kaido's pawns.

As soon as Vivi returned to the Expo site, she received orders from Crocodile to begin closing the net.

At her notice, the simple-minded Ace ran away first. This guy was oblivious to everything else, focused solely on fighting in the arena, and didn't read books or newspapers, so he knew nothing about the Navy or Kaido.

The remaining pirates did not receive this treatment. They were surrounded by the Navy. Akainu's soldiers suffered some losses during the attack on Onigashima, but Kizaru still replenished his forces when he left.

Akainu single-handedly defeated Chinjao, the former leader of the Happo Navy and a former pirate with a bounty of over 500 million, once again demonstrating the strength of a Marine Admiral to the world.

Vivi glanced at him from afar and could only conclude that Chinjao was unworthy of his reputation. Akainu was lucky; after "King," he had picked up another bargain. His battle with Iron Fist Garp had completely shattered Chinjao's arrogance. Like Gecko Moria, who was brutally beaten by Kaido, this great pirate was simply not worthy of his 500 million bounty.

Doflamingo did not expose his family's subordinate Vergo. At this time, Vice Admiral Vergo and Vice Admiral Onigumo each led their subordinates to carry out a large-scale capture operation in the north and south directions of Expo Island.

Military strategy dictates surrounding three sides while leaving one open; they're currently surrounding two sides while leaving the other two open. The Navy is arresting people from the north and south, while Big Mom's crew and Crocodile's forces, represented by Vivi, are collecting protection money from the east and west... Fighting above and making money below are not mutually exclusive; cooperation is still necessary.

Pay up and we'll take you away; otherwise, just wait for the navy to come and arrest you.

"You guys are too greedy! How dare you ask me for money! Do you even know who I am? I'm the white horse prince with a bounty of 280 million! This year's supernova!"

The handsome Cavendish, with his shoulder-length blond hair, rode a white horse all the way to the Baroque Studio, hoping to find refuge.

This guy used to be extremely pretentious, always flirting with roses, but today he was in a terrible state. Not to mention the roses, even his white shirt and jeans were covered in blood and grime.

Vivi picked up the phone and spoke briefly with Baron Tamago from Big Mom's crew. Soon after, she burst out laughing.

"Oh, Cavendish? I heard that several Charlotte family ladies from Big Mom's crew have taken a liking to you and are vying to marry you. Why are you doing this? Why don't you just give in to them? They're Big Mom's crew, you know. Why did you have to come out here?"

Vivi was getting happier and happier. Good heavens, she heard that several "beauties" from Big Mom's pirate crew had already started fighting over this white-horse nobleman as her husband!

The tragic young nobleman in front of us is a perfect example. These days, it's not safe for either men or women to go out. Boys need to protect themselves too! My aunt's family has a tradition of forcing women into marriage.

Vivi carefully examined the appearance of this handsome young man on a white horse, and to be fair, he was indeed very good-looking.

You could even say this guy's art style is completely different from the rest of the One Piece world; he looks like a character who stepped out of some other anime...

"How dare you mock me?! Die, woman! Beautiful Sword. Bluebird!" Cavendish wanted to leave Vivi's side, partly because he thought she was relatively weak.

Vivi looked around and, finding no one paying attention to her, took a step to the left before the opponent could launch his thrust. Before Cavendish could even be surprised, her arm was covered in Armament Haki, and she punched him in the stomach.

"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!" The young nobleman knelt on the ground like a shrimp and howled for several seconds. Before he could even raise his head, Weiwei's hand pressed down on his shoulder, and he felt as if there was a mountain on his shoulder.

"Don't let that personality inside you come out. If it does, I won't be able to control my strength, and I'll have no choice but to kill you." Weiwei's calm tone made the young nobleman hesitate. Did he really need to take another gamble?

"What do you want?" he asked in a low voice.

"Your bounty is 280 million? Then give me 28 million in protection money, how about that? Not too expensive, right?"

The young nobleman, unsure whether he had been careless or that his opponent was too powerful, weighed his options carefully before finally admitting defeat: "I have no money."

"Then I'll leave your sword with me as collateral. You can come back to redeem it when you have the money." Vivi moved so fast that the young nobleman didn't even see it clearly. In the blink of an eye, his rapier Durandal was in her hands.

This time, he finally realized the gap between the two sides.

"Okay, I'll raise the money as soon as possible."

"Hmm, no rush, no rush, please board the ship."

Chapter 245 Closing the Net

Those with connections or influence quickly boarded the boats on either side and fled.

The penniless pirates found themselves surrounded by the Navy. They begged Crocodile for help, but Crocodile's indifferent gaze made them realize the truth.

"This guy is in cahoots with the Navy!"

"He tricked us into coming here just for this day!"

The pirates were so angry that their eyes turned red, and some of them gritted their teeth until they broke.

Crocodile, you lackey of the Navy, you deserve to die a horrible death!

All the pirates who approached him were drained of their life force and he killed dozens of them. Even if they were furious, the pirates dared not provoke him. If they were captured by the Navy, they might survive, but if they fell into Crocodile's hands, they would definitely die.

"Hahahaha—that's so satisfying! This is the style of a pirate!" Crushing weaklings is always a pleasurable thing, and Crocodile is no exception. Recently, his enemies have been either the Four Emperors or the Seven Warlords of the Sea. He's been living in the cracks every day, and the pressure is immense. Now, killing a few ordinary pirates makes him feel extremely happy.

Vivi quietly came to his side: "Boss, part of the revenue sharing with the Big Mom Pirates has been completed."

Crocodile's attention immediately shifted. Apart from being timid and unwilling to do big things, his subordinate was quite capable.

How much money is there?

"Twenty million Berries." Vivi handed Crocodile a briefcase.

This is the share of protection money that Big Mom's crew is supposed to pay to Crocodile according to the agreement.

The Big Mom Pirates were fairly fair, and since Crocodile was one of their own, Vivi received the money from Baron Tamago without much hesitation.

After careful consideration, she left 20 million to Crocodile, and kept the rest for herself. After all, the King of Alabasta was still her father, and she herself was short of money.

Vivi was busy for a moment, constantly contacting several forces at the Expo. The Shipping King and the Warehouse King took away the pirates' weapons, supplies, and pirate ships, and they paid in cash. Everyone felt that this model of having the Sand Crocodile at the front and us doing business in the back was novel, efficient, and the payments were made very quickly.

Vivi would give Crocodile a box of money one minute and then bring him another box of money the next. Some of the money was forty or fifty million, and some was a little over ten million. There were both small and large sums. Crocodile, who had limited education, could no longer calculate how much income he had. He only knew that it was a lot, a great deal!

Even though he was making money on his knees and the lion's share was taken by others, looking at the stacks of money boxes in front of him, he still felt... well, it's really tempting!

Damaged reputation is worthless to him. What does a pirate like him need a good reputation for? Money in his hands is what really matters! He's already fantasizing about using that money to continue recruiting soldiers, making more money, and eventually building a maritime empire.

The battle lasted all day. There were over 100,000 pirates at the Expo. Apart from Luffy and Rayleigh who were out working, and Robin, Issho, and Ace who left early due to inside information, 20% of the remaining pirates were taken away by the Big Mom Pirates and Baroque Works. The remaining 70,000 to 80,000 pirates became meat on the Navy's chopping block.

Ordinary pirates were recruited by the World Government to repair bridges, while those with bounties were screened one by one, and the level of treatment they "enjoyed" was determined according to the amount of their bounties.

Pirates like Chinjao were sent straight to Impel Down, while the rest were assigned to different prisons based on their destructive power and the degree of harm they caused.

The bounties on these pirates are a huge sum, and Vivi needs to negotiate with several agents of the Celestial Dragons. The negotiations will take a long time, and how much will actually end up in Crocodile's hands is truly unknown. The Celestial Dragons are too greedy.

Vivi said she was going to negotiate with the Celestial Dragons' representative, and Crocodile had no problem with it. "Go ahead," he said. "This kind of thing really needs a shrewd person to handle it. We can't just send a crazy guy like Mr. 2 to negotiate, can we? And we certainly can't let Crocodile go by himself. Vivi volunteered, which is great."

Crocodile and Vivi put on a play in public, in which Vivi's identity as Mr. 0 was finally exposed, and Baroque Works officially split from Crocodile, with the two going their separate ways.

With the World Expo concluded, Vivi left the Kingdom of Prodens with over 3.1 billion Berries in cash.

Vivi, who was manipulating the course of the war from behind the scenes, did not return to the first half of the Grand Line. Kaido's decisive alliance with Big Mom made her feel that the current situation was very delicate. If another variable were to join the battle, the result would be disastrous.