Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 558 Another War About to Begin!

The meeting room in Marineford.

A group of the Seven Warlords of the Sea sat here.

Doflamingo, idly flicking his fingers as he manipulated two Marines into a sword fight, turned to them with a grin and asked, "Gentlemen, how about a bet to see who will survive?"

"I advise you not to do that in the end."

Kisame Hoshigaki grinned, revealing a mouthful of menacing, sharp teeth, and said with a light laugh, "Mr. Doflamingo, in less than a month, a world-changing war will begin. Before then, you'd better kick your gambling addiction..."

Is this advice or a warning?

Doflamingo glanced at Kisame with a smile, and continued with a grin, "Fufufufufu, I thought Mr. Kisame wanted them to live..."

"It would be best to let them live."

A voice reached everyone's ears. Kabuto Yakushi strolled over, adjusted his glasses, and smiled as he said, "I specifically sent them here to welcome you. These two naval captains are my capable assistants..."

"I see..."

Doflamingo nodded, put away his puppet strings, and crossed his arms with interest, looking at Kabuto Yakushi: "Speaking of which, we saw the Orange Battleship on the way, and the Vice Admiral on board didn't seem very happy..."

Growing oranges on a warship...

Only Uehara Naraku would be so eccentric.

On their way here, the Seven Warlords of the Sea encountered Uehara Naraku. It was clear that their superior was in a bad mood, and it was unclear who would become his scapegoat...

"Um."

Kabuto Yakushi sat opposite one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and said softly, "Perhaps it's because Vice Admiral Naraku was transferred to the Sabaody Archipelago! I hope he'll be happy there after he arrives..."

"Fufufufufu..."

Doflamingo rubbed his cheek, tilted his head, and grinned, "I happen to have some properties in Sabaody, I'll definitely make that Vice Admiral happy..."

"I hope so."

Kabuto glanced at Doflamingo discreetly.

Just as they finished their conversation, Buddha Sengoku walked in carrying a document, his face still showing signs of lingering anger.

Sengoku glanced around the conference room, slowly sat down, and said coldly, "It's truly surprising that four of the Seven Warlords of the Sea have arrived at Marineford ahead of schedule..."

Hawkeye Mihawk slowly closed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "I just want to visit Shanks on Enies Lobby and take a look around Marineford."

"Anytime is fine."

Kabuto chuckled and agreed.

"Fufufufufu... I'm just traveling in Marineford."

Doflamingo chuckled and said, "Red-Haired Shanks has been captured, and the other two Yonko are still fighting in the New World. There's nothing much for me to worry about now, so I've recently taken to traveling..."

"...Marine Fendo is not a tourist destination."

Sengoku gave Doflamingo a cold look: "If you want to travel, I can recommend Impeldown."

Sengoku's expression darkened further as he looked at Doflamingo's smile. He slowly picked up his documents and said in a deep voice, "Forget it, I'm not going to talk about this with you scum of the sea. Let's get down to business!"

The purpose of this meeting is to announce the removal of Bartholomew Kuma from the list of those who refuse to continue cooperating with the World Government, and to recruit Deidara of the Art Pirates as a new Shichibukai…”

"I have no objection."

Hawkeye Mihawk continued to feign sleep, seemingly unconcerned.

"This candidate isn't bad!"

Kisame Hoshigaki grinned and nodded, saying, "Isn't this my colleague from back in Baroque Works? Looks like we really are destined to meet!"

"I have no objection to this..."

After Kakuzu nodded, he suddenly spoke up: "However, I've been keeping an eye on Deidara's bounty, and the Navy's actions have cost me a lot of money..."

"Fufufufufu..."

Doflamingo didn't even look at the crowd, but just smiled and continued, "Well, since no one has any objections, it seems a bit out of place for me to offer one..."

The fact that the four Shichibukai had no objections to Deidara's appointment was already the most satisfactory result for the World Government and the Navy.

Sengoku the Buddha was finally somewhat satisfied, at least before the great war, the Navy didn't have to worry about the troubles caused by the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

The World Government's decision to strip Bartholomew Kuma of his title as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and imprison him for refusing to cooperate did indeed intimidate another Warlord of the Sea, Boa Hancock, the Queen of Amazon Lily.

It at least intimidated Gloriosa, the former emperor of Amazon Lily, who resorted to various means to force and beg Boa Hancock to accept the navy's conscription order.

Perhaps they were forced into a corner...

The world's most beautiful woman chose to accept the call-up.

Somewhat strangely, the Whitebeard Pirates remained silent, seemingly unconcerned about what was happening at sea, and even refused other visitors.

For example, Monkey D. Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army.

It gives the impression that the Whitebeard Pirates seem to be abandoning the captain of the 2nd Whitebeard Division and giving up on the upcoming war.

What's even stranger is...

The Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates seemed to be engaged in a sit-in battle.

The two sides have not made any contact so far, and even members of the Beasts Pirates haven't appeared on this sea for a long time. Even the Big Mom Pirates find it a bit strange; given Kaido's personality, it shouldn't be like this…

All nations.

Totland Island.

The weather was sunny and cloudless.

"Mother…"

Smoothie, one of the four Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates, looked somewhat strange: "It's been a week since the Kaido Pirates and the Akatsuki declared war on us, but the sea slugs haven't found any signs of intrusion..."

The war has not yet officially broken out.

This is inconsistent with Kaido's usual reckless style.

To be honest, even the Big Mom Pirates thought that Kaido of the Beasts and the Akatsuki had given up on the war and were just creating the illusion of war...

"Hehehehe... Just stay vigilant..."

Big Mom slowly took a bite of cake and said with a grin, "Kaido is a very clever guy. The fact that he didn't come looking for us rashly only shows how dangerous he is!"

Because Big Mom and Kaido were once crewmates, this only female Yonko knows her former comrade very well.

BIG MOM never thought Kaido was a brainless guy... This is the first time he's been so cautious; he clearly really wants to have a big fight with her!

If Kaido simply wanted to vent his anger, he could have stormed into Whole Cake Island with his spiked club and caused a ruckus. But the lack of any activity suggests a conspiracy...

That guy…

It seems like a life-or-death battle is about to begin!

"That's really unexpected..."

BIG·MOM took a few bites of cake and swallowed them. Then, she picked up the hot chocolate on the table and stuffed the cup into her mouth. The crunching sound of the cup being chewed made one's teeth ache.

This scene…

That's really scary.

Even more frightening was Big Mom's expression. A gloomy look hung over the face of this Yonko, and she slowly chewed on the cup with her teeth, saying in a sinister tone, "Kaido, maybe he really wants to fight us to the death!"

"Mother…"

Smoothie couldn't help but take a half step back and whispered, "I...I'll go see Katakuri first...he's been waiting for news of the sea slug..."

Go!

Big Mom nodded with a sinister expression, revealing her enormous teeth, and said with a grin, "Katakuri has had a tough time lately, so you must give him a proper greeting on behalf of your mother, understand?"

"yes…"

A bead of cold sweat dripped down Smoothie's forehead.

The four generals slowly withdrew from BIG MOM's castle.

Although all of Big Mom's children rely on Big Mom, one of the Four Emperors, to survive on the seas, Big Mom is also a source of danger, as more than one of her children has had their lifespans arbitrarily taken away by her.

and…

If Big Mom dislikes any of her children, she will simply expel them from Whole Cake Island. Rather than having a mother-son or mother-daughter relationship, they are merely tools that Big Mom can discard at any time...

To be honest.

The relationships within the Big Mom Pirates are even less harmonious than those within the Whitebeard Pirates. There's no such thing as maternal love here; there's only exploitation and awe...

As Smoothie's heart trembled as she left Whole Cake Island, rushing towards the outer island where Katakuri was, only her brother Katakuri could dispel their fear...

The outer perimeter of the World Ocean.

This is the first and most important line of defense for the Big Mom Pirates. Katakuri has been staying on this island recently.

Besides Katakuri, there is also his good friend Itachi Uchiha.

Katakuri stood on a reef, gazing at the calm sea, a hint of wariness in his expression: "Itachi, when will the Akatsuki arrive here? Are you really sure someone can defeat Mom?"

"Don't worry about that."

Itachi Uchiha shook his head and said softly, "What we need to do now is wait to defeat Big Mom, and then select suitable people to become official members of Akatsuki according to the quota provided by the Akatsuki organization..."

When Itachi Uchiha reached this point, he glanced at Katakuri and calmly continued, "The members of Akatsuki represent the future power to dominate the world, so..."

"There's no need for that."

Katakuri's eyes flickered slightly as he whispered, "I just want to dispel the fear that has been weighing on us, so that Brulee and the others will never again face the nightmare of their mother taking their lives..."

"I've heard what you want."

Just then, a woman's soft sigh appeared in Katakuri and Itachi's ears: "What a pitiful child..."

First update!

(End of this chapter)