PIRATES: I WORK IN NAVY FROM NINE TO FIVE

"Using someone else to kill him…?"

Doflamingo's expression shifted slightly.

He had already known the Gorosei wouldn't let this go easily, but he hadn't expected Ys to devise a countermeasure this quickly.

"Ys, do you have a way to kill that brat?"

He asked urgently.

Doflamingo had always seen himself as the strongest of the Seven Warlords—at ease maneuvering between the light and the dark, working under the Gorosei while also dealing with Kaido. But now, Luo Yu's sudden rise had utterly shattered everything he'd built.

To him, Luo Yu was a natural nemesis.

And Doflamingo knew full well: to reclaim what he had lost, he would have to eliminate Luo Yu completely.

Only then could he return to being the one and only Doffy—the most dazzling man alive.

"Doflamingo, interested in joining us?"Ys's voice was cold and deliberate.

Doflamingo hesitated—but ultimately hardened his expression.

"That depends. I want to know exactly how you plan to kill him. If it's not a guaranteed success, I'm not going."

"Heh… Doflamingo, looks like you've been beaten so badly you've lost your nerve," Ys sneered."You used to be the kind who would gamble everything—even your life."

"But don't worry. That brat has already slipped completely out of our control. He no longer has the right to exist."

"To erase him, we'll make sure everything is watertight."

"It's true Kaido was defeated and sank into the sea. But his Devil Fruit is of a special kind. Though the sea drains his strength, in time, he'll adapt and survive. Death isn't a problem."

"Yamamoto, I'll send you to him. Find Kaido—and make him our pawn."

"Kaido's not dead?" Doflamingo was stunned.

But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

Kaido was known for his obsession with suicide. He'd been captured by the Marines countless times—and every time, he endured endless forms of torture without dying.

Swords, guns, poison… even seastone punishments, the bane of Devil Fruit users—none of it could end his life.

All because of one reason: his Devil Fruit—the Mythical Zoan Fish-Fish Fruit.

A rare, sea-linked Zoan-type fruit.

It was the reason Kaido was hailed as the strongest creature on land, sea, or air.

It was also why the Marines had never found a way to execute him.

After all, what's easier than throwing a Devil Fruit user into the sea?

"Ys, this time, to make sure everything goes perfectly, I want to deal with that brat myself! I'll make him pay for the shame I suffered!"

Yamamoto's face twisted in fury as he clutched the hilt of his sword, his voice shaking with rage.

Ys had expected this. He silently retrieved another spatial jade and tossed it toward Yamamoto.

But before it could get close, Yamamoto smacked it back with a snort.

"Tch. That thing turned me into a laughingstock across the seas. I don't need it!"

"Or do you think I'll lose to that brat again and be unable to escape?"

Ys caught the jade without pressing further.

To him, Yamamoto's temper was short, and his tactics aggressive—but when it came to real combat, that "brat" was nothing in comparison.

Especially this time—when they had laid out a killing trap so meticulous it was foolproof.

"Very well. With you making the move yourself, no one should have any objections. You'll go with Doflamingo."

With that, Ys once again struck his cane against the ground.

A surge of spatial power rippled out like a vast tide.

Before Doflamingo could even react—

—his vision blurred, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished from the great hall.

Kaido's Resurrection

Far from Impel Down, out in the open sea, a battered pirate ship drifted quietly.

Two figures stood on deck—King and Queen, the Beasts Pirates' remaining commanders.

Below them, hundreds of crew members were diving madly into the ocean, using recovery tools developed by Queen in a desperate search operation.

The events of half a day ago still haunted their minds.

Even their seemingly invincible boss, Kaido, had been crushed and thrown into the sea.

They knew very well—if the Navy got free and located Kaido's position, it would spell certain doom.

Had Luo Yu not appeared as an unexpected variable, they wouldn't have hesitated to face off against the Marines.

But now, thinking back on the terrifying, unpredictable techniques Luo Yu had displayed…

Even King and Queen felt an unfamiliar sense of despair.

"Damn that brat… I'll rip him apart myself!"

ROAR!

A thunderous dragon's cry erupted from beneath the waves.

A massive shadow surged upward from the deep.

Queen's eyes lit up instantly. His mechanical arm shot out, latching onto the emerging form.

With a powerful heave, Kaido was dragged out of the sea with brute force.

ROAR!

The sky trembled as the Azure Dragon soared upward.

Once only a dozen meters long, his body quickly grew as the ocean's suppression faded, expanding to tens of meters—his true monstrous form restored.

Suspended in the sky, his blood-red eyes burned with killing intent.

"Boss Kaido! You're alive! That's great news! What now?" Queen exclaimed with joy.

All around them, surviving crew members looked up, desperate for orders.

"What now?!" Kaido's face contorted with rage."Whitebeard was supposed to be fighting the Navy—but now?! We go straight to Marineford. I'll use this chaos to kill that damn brat myself!"

His furious roar rolled across the sky like thunder.

King and Queen exchanged uneasy glances.

But before they could say anything, an unexpected voice echoed from thin air:

"Kaido, you just never die, do you?"

"But I've got some bad news—Whitebeard's already dead. Killed by that same brat."

"If you go now, you're just walking into your own grave."

"In the past, you had free rein because no one could kill you…"

"But now there's a new variable. Are you sure… you're not afraid that brat can kill you?"

The aged voice reverberated over the sea.

"Who's there?!" King and Queen spun around, faces tight with tension.

And when they saw the figures that had appeared behind them…

…their expressions changed drastically.

"We're from the Gorosei."

"Don't worry—we have the same enemy."