Chapter 315: The Web of New World Alliances

Just as Kaido and his men pulled away from the Red Blossom Empire,

A well-prepared fleet burst out from behind the Red Blossom Empire.

Leading the charge was the colossal Moby Dick—Whitebeard’s fleet had arrived.

There were no complicated schemes here; this was simply the trap Marco of the Whitebeard Pirates set for Kaido.

From the moment Marco learned that Kaido was heading into the New World, he resolved not to let Kaido and Charlotte Linlin join forces.

So he had to lay a ruthless plan.

Lure Kaido in, make him believe the Red Blossom Empire was up for grabs, let him plunder to his heart’s content.

That chaos would inevitably lead to bloodshed, turning the Red Blossom Empire against Kaido and undermining any chance of an alliance with Charlotte Linlin.

Charlotte Linlin and Kaido weren’t just casual acquaintances—knowing Kaido was moving in, Linlin would surely sail out from Cake Island.

When Linlin closed in on the Red Blossom Empire, that’s when they’d make their move.

With just the right words, they could convince her Kaido was in cahoots with Whitebeard, shattering years of trust and friendship.

“Mama, Kaido really was sent by the Whitebeard Pirates!”

Aboard the Singing Ship, Perospero hefted his massive lollipop and watched as Kaido sailed toward Whitebeard’s fleet, immediately relaying the news to Charlotte Linlin.

“Ma ma ma ma!”

“You don’t have to tell me; I can see it myself.”

Charlotte Linlin’s face had darkened. Was Kaido really going to throw away all those years of friendship for this?

Memories of how she’d looked after Kaido flashed through her mind—she never imagined he’d turn on her like this.

“Bring the ship closer!”

“Yes, Mama.”

The Singing Ship angled its course, heading straight for Kaido and Whitebeard’s fleets.

Kaido sat on the deck, staring at the rapidly approaching Singing Ship. A thought struck him—”Isn’t that Charlotte Linlin’s vessel?”

“Could the Red Blossom Empire be her turf after all?”

“Admiral, Whitebeard’s fleet is right behind us. What do we do?”

A pirate rushed over, panic written all over his face. Karl’s Pirate Crew was in front, and now Whitebeard’s fleet was closing in from behind.

Caught between these two juggernauts, their situation was nothing short of dire.

Kaido sprang to his feet, eyes wide as he turned to look behind.

“Whitebeard?”

“What are they doing here?”

“Damn, have we walked right into a trap?”

“Turn the ship toward Karl’s Pirate Crew, now!”

Call Kaido a brute if you want, but you couldn’t say he was clueless.

Back on the island, fighting off those enemies, it hadn’t occurred to him they were with Karl’s Pirate Crew.

But seeing Big Mom’s ship and overhearing those pirates mention Karl’s crew put all the pieces together.

Now it all made sense.

Clearly, the Whitebeard Pirates didn’t want to see Karl’s crew rise alone, so they played this little trick to drive a wedge between him and Charlotte Linlin.

Now, Kaido was alone in the New World with no one to back him up. Trying to carve out territory between the three overlords on his own would be almost impossible.

Marco knew their scheme wouldn’t stay hidden for long.

But with the Moby Dick far outpacing Kaido’s ship, so long as Kaido and Linlin didn’t meet before it was too late, the plan would work.

In a flash, several massive ships sailed past Kaido’s vessel.

“Thanks for your help, Kaido!”

“Here’s to working together again someday!”

Marco, wreathed in blue flames, shouted loudly from atop the rail.

The words carried swiftly, picked up by Charlotte Linlin’s ever-vigilant Observation Haki. Furious, she crushed the railing beneath her hand.

“Damn you, Kaido! Didn’t think you’d really join the Whitebeard Pirates… Attack!”

As Kaido passed Whitebeard’s fleet, he clenched his fists tight.

He glared at the towering man sitting mid-deck and barked, “Whitebeard! When did you become so devious?”

But Whitebeard didn’t even spare him a glance.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Cannonballs rained through the sky, locking everyone’s gaze on the battlefield.

“Whitebeard, don’t think this is the end of it!”

Kaido knew that with Whitebeard here, he had no chance to meet with Charlotte Linlin, so all he could do was steer his ship away.

Under Marco’s watchful eye, Whitebeard let out a barely audible sigh.

He hated relying on tricks like this, but in the end, he had to protect his crew.

If Kaido ever joined up with Karl’s Pirate Crew, the sea might see a new era of overlords in just a few years’ time.

And then, Whitebeard’s family would be in real danger.

With the cannon fire intensifying, the Whitebeard Pirates fired back.

Charlotte Linlin drew the Emperor’s Blade and, standing atop Zeus, soared straight at Whitebeard’s fleet.

“Mama?!”

“Full speed ahead!”

Perospero didn’t like the idea of Mama facing them alone.

He awakened his Devil Fruit power, forming a gigantic candy platform that wrapped around the ship.

Dozens of oars, nearly a hundred meters long, drove the ship forward at breakneck speed.

“Sovereign Nation!”

A signature opening attack, as a sign of respect.

Faced with this terrifying blow, Whitebeard wasted no time—he leapt into action.

He brandished his enormous Cloud Cutter, channeling the Tremor-Tremor Fruit’s mighty power.

Crack!

Above the clash, the sky itself splintered like shattering glass, streaked with hundreds of jagged cracks.

“The sky’s splitting apart!”

From where Perospero and Marco stood, clouds were sucked toward the fissures overhead.

The gloomy sky cleared in an instant.

“Gura ra ra ra ra!”

“Charlotte Linlin, seems like you haven’t slacked off one bit these past years!”

Even Whitebeard had to marvel at the raw force traveling up through Cloud Cutter.

Back when they’d fought side by side, Linlin had never been this powerful.

He wondered just what had happened to make Charlotte Linlin’s strength skyrocket like this.

“Ma ma ma ma!”

“Compared to you, I’m still lagging behind.”

Though Charlotte Linlin had pushed her power to new heights by injecting Titan blood, she’d only tapped into its beginner stage.

Her strength had increased three to fivefold, but even that left her far short of matching Whitebeard.

Whitebeard’s power was legendary—he’d taken the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and turned it into the mightiest Paramecia.

Without overwhelming strength, nobody could wield the Tremor-Tremor Fruit on that scale.

The real danger: every time he unleashed that power, it battered his body from within.

If you didn’t have the physique for it, the Devil Fruit could easily be called the Short-Lived Fruit.

They say there are no useless Devil Fruits, only useless users.

But even then, there are hard limits—no matter how much you struggle, some Fruits will only take you so far.