Capítulo 172: A Prelude To Conflict

[ Third Person POV ]

Whole Cake Island

Big Mom, Shiki and Kaido were all gathered at a meeting area in the middle of Linlin's castle. There was no food or snacks prancing about or begging to be eaten, a sign on how serious this matter was.

Their subordinates were also in the meeting as well. The vice-captains of each pirate group were busy hashing out the details of who and where their groups would be. Meanwhile, the big three were busy watching each other warily. The truce that Shiki and Linlin had made with each other was strictly under the premise of colluding interest.

What was making them really weary of each other was what would happen soon after the battle. Would they immediately betray each other and start killing off one another? Or would they wait until they had fully stabilized themselves to start another conflict?

These questions plauged the three pirate groups as they carefully sorted out how they would go about this battle. Matter of fact, it was the sole reason as to why they were so organized. One little mistake from a pirate group would be a spark that would cause a completely new battle within the battle with the Whitebeard x Roger pirate alliance.

"Kaido, I assume that you already know what you'll be doing? Mamamamama!" Linlin asked.

"Shut up, you old hag! I'm already prepared for battle, surely he will be able to give me a fight worth risking my life for!" Kaido snapped at Linlin.

"As long as you two hold your end of the bargain, you will not hear any complaints from my end," Shiki said indifferently.

The meeting went on for another couple of hours before everything was cemented.

They would be attacking at dusk of the next day. The ships would be heading out the morning before. They all wanted to initiate an element of surprise, and it was agreed by all three parties along with the minor pirate groups that happened to be supporting the three different factions.

However, you could only trust a pirate as far as you can throw 'em.

Big Mom's Castle

"We're going to be fighting them partially, I want you all to let the pressure on to Shiki's men. There's no doubt that he actively wants to screw me over at the end of the battle," Linlin announced sternly.

"Absolutely, mama! I'll make sure to tell my siblings to do so," Charlotte Perospero responded.

"Mama, what about Kaido? Are we going to let him run rampant after dealing with the Storm Dragon?" Charlotte Katakuri asked concerned.

"First of all, that will all depend if Kaido can defeat that brat Boris. There's no doubt that he's gotten more powerful compared to the last time that we had fought. Secondly, Kaido owes me a favor after I had helped him back on Rocks' ship, so he won't make any bad moves. Just in case though, I want you to keep an eye on the two of them for me. Report any suspicous activity or developments," Linlin ordered.

"As you wish, mama," Katakuri responded.

"There's no doubt that this battle will end in a free-for-all if we get sloppy. So I want everyone to be about their wits tommorow when the battle starts," Linlin's voice boomed throughout the castle.

The rest of the Big Mom Pirates all roared in response.

The Golden Lion's Fleet

Shiki, The Golden Lion, and the rest of his subordinates were all gathered around a rectangular table. The room that they were in had a Yakuza-like vibe, but everyone was dressed in formal attire.

From an outside perspective, one would think that they were having a formal event to grieve over a lost comrad. However, it was far from it, instead; they were all meeting to discuss their plan of action during the war.

"Admiral Shiki! Are you suggesting that we backstab the Big Mom Pirates and the Beast Pirates?!" One of his subordinate captains asked.

"Obviously," Shiki snapped, "do you genuinely believe that this alliance will last us through the war? That old bitch has something in-store for us, and we're going to get a first hand experience of it if we let them have the upper-hand!"

"So instead, I want the team that's going to be near the Big Mom Pirates to let the pressure of battle towards them. Retreat if you have to, as long as you weaken their forces. The goal will be achieved," Shiki announced.

"What about the Beast Pirates?" another subordinate asked.

"Maintain vigilance of them while doing the same. What you all haven't noticed is that most of his forces aren't even here as of now. They are all comprised of allies who want to get in that brat's favor instead of ours, idiots," Shiki explained, "So even if we tried to weaken his forces, it won't amount to much."

"Also, when the time comes, I will give out a signal so that we can all collectively target Roger. Linlin's going to be busy with that brute Newgate, and that Storm Dragon brat's going to be taking care of Kaidou. So it'll give us the minute freedom to attack Roger collectively," Shiki ordered.

"I must make Roger submit to me at all cost!!" Shiki roared as his Conqurer's haki flared.

Beast Pirate's Fleet

Kaidou, King and Jack were all in a room within Kaidou's main ship.

Queen was left back in Wano to handle affairs there along with a majority of his crew. Although Kaido wanted to leave his entire crew back in Wano so that he could have the freedom to go all out, King stubbornly brought some of his men along with Jack to the meeting area.

Kaidou had wanted to beat him up for this, but he soon forgot about it upon hearing what his role would be during the battle.

"Boris.....it's been a while since I fought him.." Kaidou muttered while guzzling down his wine.

"Can you beat him?" King asked carefully.

"What kind of question is that?! Of course I can!! It'll just be harder compared to the norm, and I cannot wait!!"

Kaido's laughter boomed across the entire ship as he let his Conqurer's haki run rampant. All who couldn't handle it immediately passed out. While the other's who could froze as they tried to bear their wits.

"What about the other Pirate crews?" Jack asked, "Can we trust them?"

"Probably not," King responded, "however, that doesn't really matter to us. We only have about 1000 crewmembers with us. Less than a quarter of our entire fleet at the moment."

"No, there is one crew that we need to worry about. That bastard Shiki might cook something up, so keep an eye on him, King!" Kaidou interjected.

"Alright," King immediately responded.

"Also, anyone who gets between my fight with Boris will immediately be killed, do you understand?!" Kaidou roared.

King and Jack immediately nodded.

The Pirate groups that had decided to ally themselves with the Beast Pirates weren't there to be informed of how things would go down tommorrow. So it was left to King and Jack to explain to them what their roles would be in tommorow's battle.

Things were quickly beginning to heat up, as everything was beginning to fall in place like a semi-complete puzzle.