Long before the big deal even began, Lu Feld had already sent his subordinates to join the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates' grand fleet.

Whenever the Shipping King's transport fleets arrived to deliver supplies, it marked the start of the Moneylender King's business hours.

In less than a month since the Super Pirate Fleet had set sail, Feld's loan business had already exceeded 70 billion Berries.

Most of these loans were borrowed by the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates to purchase goods from the Shipping King, Umit. After Umit received the money, it would soon circulate right back to Du Feld's hands.

This was part of Feld's secondary operation — using the money others deposited with him to conduct high-interest lending. Naturally, those who deposited their Berries also received a share of the profits.

Through this self-sustaining cycle, Du Feld managed to release over 70 billion Berries in loans using less than 3 billion Berries of actual capital.

And when that money came back, it would at least double. Even an Emperor of the Sea couldn't get away with defaulting on the Moneylender King's debt.

Fortunately, Boros had no intention of doing that. The Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates weren't worried about repayment — the islands and nations they had conquered along the way could easily be sold for hundreds of billions of Berries combined.

---

Aboard the Dominion, the flagship of the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates, Katakuri entered the grand temple with a grim expression. Moving with practiced formality, he knelt on one knee before Boros.

"Lord Boros," he reported in a low tone, "up ahead lies the Marine G-1 branch. Beyond that is the headquarters of the World Government — the Holy Land, Mary Geoise."

As the fleet drew closer to Mary Geoise, Katakuri could feel the mounting pressure.

No one knew what trump cards the World Government, which had ruled over the world's summit for eight hundred years, still held. Yet even the small fraction that had been revealed so far was enough to fill Katakuri with unease.

Perhaps it was because he had just finished 'training' with Boros, but Kaido and Charlotte Linlin — the two other Emperors — were nowhere to be seen. Only Boros remained seated upon the throne, as calm and imperious as ever.

Katakuri waited for a response, but when none came, he continued his report.

"…The World Government is mobilizing its forces to prepare for war. So far, through Morgans' information channels, we've been able to roughly estimate the scale of their deployment…"

Katakuri pursed his lips, recalling the intelligence Morgans had sent him, and his heart grew heavier.

The armies of the World Government's member nations didn't worry him — even if they had elite soldiers among them, they were nothing compared to pirates forged in the brutal crucible of the New World.

However, the mercenaries hired from various global organizations were another matter entirely. Especially the elite legions from the Land of Endless War, who had reached Mary Geoise within mere days — they were no rabble.

Katakuri himself had little to fear, but his younger siblings might not fare as well. Against those human war machines, a few lives could easily be lost.

"Are there any strong ones among them?"

Boros finally spoke from the throne. He didn't particularly care about the lives of his highest-ranking officers — let alone Katakuri's siblings.

No matter how many soldiers the World Government gathered, it was of no concern to Boros. For someone of his level, the difference between killing a hundred men and a million was negligible.

The only thing worth his attention were powerful individuals — those who could surpass even the Emperors of the Sea.

"Yes," Katakuri replied, "the World Government has already summoned the Warlords of the Sea to join the fight. In addition, they've hired several powerful bounty hunters…"

Here, Katakuri's expression turned uncertain.

What puzzled him most was the Marines' silence. Despite the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates being on the brink of reaching Mary Geoise, Marineford hadn't summoned any elite reinforcements from the other branches.

It was as if the Marines didn't intend to fight at all.

Only Admiral Akainu had arrived at the G-1 branch — but rather than defending it, he'd taken its forces and returned directly to Mary Geoise.

"Are there any strong ones I should pay attention to?" Boros asked quietly, his voice rumbling through the vast temple like thunder wrapped in calm.

Boros opened his single massive eye. At first, he had only promoted Katakuri because Kizaru had recommended him, assigning him to handle the more trivial affairs.

But now, Boros's satisfaction with Katakuri had grown to the point where he was seriously considering elevating him to the rank of Supreme Combatant. Having such a subordinate made things far easier for him. Boros had once been troubled by the pile of complicated tasks Kizaru had given him—but now, he could just dump everything on Katakuri.

The only thing Boros had to do these days was drag his two top combatants into "daily training." Everything else, Katakuri managed with flawless precision.

Compared to those who rose to high ranks purely through brute strength, Katakuri gave Boros a new reason to promote someone to the top: not just power, but capability.

"My apologies, sir. So far, we haven't found anything… but according to the information provided by Morgans, there should be a powerful figure in Mary Geoise who might actually give you some entertainment!"

Katakuri lowered his head even further in submission. Once, he had believed that "Mama" was the world's strongest—perhaps only Whitebeard or that monstrous Marine could surpass her.

But after witnessing Boros overwhelm two Yonko simultaneously, Katakuri finally understood what "a sky beyond the sky" really meant.

Even when facing Mama directly, Katakuri could last a while—and when teamed up with Smoothie, they could even briefly suppress Mama when she lost control to her hunger madness.

But against Boros? Forget lasting a while—surviving the first strike would already be considered a miracle.

Even if all four Sweet Commanders fought together, the outcome would not change. It was precisely because of Boros's overwhelming combat power that Katakuri no longer felt fear toward the world government's terrifying mobilization.

"Oh? Morgans… that bird, right?"

Boros's lips curved into a faint grin. There was no way that oversized bird would dare deceive him.

With the intelligence Morgans had provided—combined with Kizaru's earlier hints that Mary Geoise might be hiding some unknown powerhouse—Boros's curiosity toward that place grew stronger and stronger.

If not for the unfinished formalities Kizaru had assigned him, Boros probably would've flown straight to Mary Geoise already to challenge that so-called "strong one."

"Yes. Morgans has provided extensive intelligence for our operations—his contributions rival, if not surpass, those of the Sea Transport King."

Katakuri added that remark objectively, partly to give Morgans some credit. When Boros eventually crushed the world government and took its place, Morgans's current contributions would likely be enough to make him a king anywhere he wished.

"You handle those matters yourself. Just inform me when you find a worthy opponent."

Clearly uninterested in Morgans's achievements, Boros waved Katakuri away before he could even finish reporting.

Any other leader acting so carelessly risked being undermined by his own subordinates—but Boros didn't care. As long as nothing interfered with his search for strong opponents, he would almost welcome being relieved of leadership duties.

"Understood, sir. I will do my utmost to find someone who meets your expectations!"

Katakuri replied in his usual, disciplined tone, seemingly unaware that Boros had practically handed the entire Cosmic Dark Matter Pirate Crew into his hands.

If Katakuri fully leveraged the crew's influence, his position as its "chief steward" would place him on par with the Yonko themselves.

"That guy's future-sight Observation Haki couldn't even detect you?"

Not long after Katakuri left the temple, Boros suddenly turned his head toward an empty corner of the hall and spoke, as if muttering to himself.

Moments later, a white figure gradually shimmered into view. The man's body was far taller and more slender than most, and his impossibly handsome face was instantly recognizable—

it was none other than Kizaru, the Marine Fleet Admiral who was supposed to be stationed at Marineford!

"Oh, that? High-level Conqueror's Haki can 'kill' Observation Haki—it blocks perception completely. So it's perfectly normal he didn't notice me."

Kizaru replied lazily, and before Boros could even ask anything, he snapped his fingers with casual ease.

Instantly, streaks of white light flared across the temple.

When the light faded, six distinct figures appeared—two men, two women, one bird, and one beast.

They were the friends from the Dimensional Chat Group, who had previously agreed to come:

Esdeath, who had volunteered to join the Battle of Mary Geoise;

Xiao Mei and her cousin Xiao Yan, who came simply to see another world;

Tatsumaki and Fubuki, who had come specifically looking for Kizaru;

and finally, a Lu the Random Guy from the Swallowed Star world who had joined purely for the spectacle.

Originally, Kizaru had wanted to bring along the newcomer Tanjiro as well, even going so far as to tempt him with a Devil Fruit.

But Tanjiro ultimately declined Kizaru's offer.

Having only just become a Demon Slayer swordsman, all Tanjiro wanted was to start slaying the man-eating demons as soon as possible—and find a way to turn his sister, Nezuko, back into a human.

As for Miss Hermione Granger, who had shown great interest in traveling to other worlds, she was grounded by Dumbledore after he learned of the situation.

According to the headmaster of Hogwarts, it was his duty to ensure the safety of every student and prevent them from venturing into dangerous places—vacation or not.

So in the end, only six of them came. Fortunately, Orochimaru had also sponsored a squad of Edo Tensei reanimated ninja, which would at least allow Kizaru to give the Gorōsei a rather large surprise.

°°°

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