“Linlin, you’ve seen Kuke and the strength of the Sun and Moon Pirates. You should know the times have changed. Our era is over. In the future, there will only be one Emperor of the Sea, and that will be Kuke. Forget about Whitebeard, he doesn’t have what it takes either,” Kaido said in a heavy tone, analyzing the current situation to Charlotte Linlin.

“The Sun and Moon Pirates—no, Kuke—is already akin to our former captain Rocks, the sole ruler of the sea. We, the old rulers, have two choices: submit or step down. Linlin… what do you think?”

This was Kaido’s true intention all along. Setting a trap for Charlotte Linlin ultimately led to this moment.

“What do you think we should do?” Charlotte Linlin retorted.

“We’re both rulers. Well, I have no intention of submitting to anyone, nor do I want to retire. If we want to live as we once did, we have to join forces.”

After his crushing defeat, Kaido finally accepted the truth: neither he nor the Beasts Pirates stood any chance of surpassing the Sun and Moon Pirates. The only option was to form alliances. Charlotte Linlin was the best candidate for an ally.

The trap he had set was to make Linlin feel the full force of the Sun and Moon Pirates, to hate them, and naturally seek an alliance with him. Kaido couldn’t fathom any reason for her to refuse. As long as she had ambition, she would agree.

“An alliance, huh?” Linlin snorted. “What was the last thing you said?”

Kaido paused for a moment, his face contorting in confusion.

“What?” He tried to recall what he had said. After a moment, he repeated, “The Sun and Moon Pirates are already what Rocks once was—rulers of the sea, while we, the old rulers, must either submit or step down. Linlin, what do you think?”

“No, no, before that.” Linlin cut him off.

Kaido was even more confused.

What was the old hag up to now? Had she lost her mind?

Still, in order to seal the deal, Kaido thought hard. He needed to remember what he had said earlier.

After a while, Kaido’s eyes began to widen.

His heart sank, and his voice trembled. “Linlin, is there anyone around you right now…”

“Yes!” Linlin replied gleefully.

Kaido was visibly shaken.

“Now it’s my turn,” she thought, triumphant. Time to dig a pit for this bastard.

Kaido was in a full-blown panic now.

“Who—who’s there with you?” He clung to his last shred of hope.

Maybe, just maybe, it was one of Linlin’s daughters.

After all, Kuke had taken a few of her daughters as well. If her daughter was with her, it would make sense. Surely, her daughter would be loyal to her.

Linlin looked around, scanning her surroundings. Most of the members of the Sun and Moon Pirates were present, including the captain.

“You dumb old geezer, I’m here. The captain heard everything too,” Yamato chimed in, mocking her father as she joined the conversation.

“Yamato? Kuke’s there too? You all heard it?” Kaido was completely falling apart.

“Of course we heard it, old man. You were trying to team up with our crew member Charlotte Linlin to take on our captain. Just like I thought, I should have killed you last time,” Yamato snapped.

Kaido’s face twisted into a pained expression.

Oh, what a wonderful daughter he had.

“Don’t make stuff up! Don’t slander me! When did I ever say I wanted to take on Kuke? I didn’t say that! I didn’t mean it, I swear!” Kaido stammered, desperately trying to explain.

Even if he had thought about it, he dared not say it out loud to Kuke. He had been defeated in just four hours, with no chance of victory. Linlin had fallen in two hours. Kaido had known for a long time that Kuke was even stronger now—more terrifying than before.

“I wanted an alliance just to protect myself, really, that’s all,” Kaido muttered, wishing he could cut open his own chest and show them his honest heart.

Deep down, he really meant it. He didn’t dare to provoke Kuke actively.

Even if he allied with Linlin, his only goal was to have some kind of power to resist if Kuke ever targeted him again—at least enough to run away, rather than have to beg for mercy as he did last time.

“Kuke, didn’t I owe you a favor from last time? You can call it in anytime…”

What dignity? What pride?

All he wanted was to keep himself safe. Kaido was terrified that one morning he would wake up and see the Radiant Eclipse ship heading straight for his new headquarters.

“Hahaha, pathetic Kaido, you’re such a disgrace!” Linlin cackled, slapping the deck in her excitement.

She laughed so hard she could hardly breathe. In her entire life, she had never seen Kaido this humiliated.

Kaido’s face turned green.

There was no mistaking it; he had fallen into Linlin’s trap.

But he didn’t dare show anger. All he could do was swallow his pride.

“This is what happens when you betray me, little brother Kaido. Our grudge is far from over,” Linlin threatened, giving Kaido no chance to ask for mercy before she hung up abruptly.

On the Other Side of the Call

Kaido stared blankly at the den-den mushi, tears almost welling in his eyes.

“That damn old hag. Has she really accepted being Kuke’s subordinate? Damn it!”

No matter how much Kaido thought about it, he hadn’t seen this coming.

“How the hell did Kuke manage to make Linlin obey like that?” He slapped his bare head.

His burnt hair and broken horns still hadn’t grown back. After several minutes of hitting himself, he still couldn’t understand it.

But he knew one thing for sure.

“The Sun and Moon Pirates are definitely off-limits. No way can I afford to provoke them.”

Thinking about the current members of the Sun and Moon Pirates—even without Kuke, the scariest of them all—Kaido felt his scalp tingling.

“This era is completely under Kuke’s control now. The only question is whether the Marines and the World Government will take action.”

Kaido had completely given up.

Aboard Radiant Eclipse

Charlotte Linlin was still laughing, her excitement unabated.

She had never seen Kaido in such a sorry state—furious but utterly helpless. Even when Kaido had owed her favors in the past, he’d never spoken to her in such a friendly tone.

There was never a time when he didn’t dare utter a single harsh word. Linlin suddenly found herself thinking that perhaps being part of the Sun and Moon Pirates wasn’t so bad after all.

Her aura—what little light she had—seemed to shine just a bit brighter. She was approaching a level of acceptance.

Meanwhile, Kuke was watching his system panel, reviewing the combat power levels of each member.

His eyes grew brighter and brighter as he examined them, one by one.

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DONT FORGET POWER STONE

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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up 40+ chapters at patreon.com/Emik01.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep