CHAPTER 326: CHAPTER 326: THE DEAL – LIV’S HOMETOWN

New World.

On an island near the Calm Belt.

This was still part of Whitebeard’s territory—for now. But after today, it would belong to someone else.

Today, the Whitebeard Pirates, the Beasts Pirates, the Big Mom Pirates, and the Red-Haired Pirates were all meeting here for an alliance.

Because the Marines kept pressing forward and the Whitebeard Pirates had kept losing ground, all of their division commanders had made a painful decision.

That was to let the other Four Emperors join the war.

And the price they had to pay was a quarter of their territory.

The Beasts Pirates, Big Mom Pirates, and Red-Haired Pirates had already been planning to get involved.

But their original plan was to wait until the Whitebeard Pirates had lost at least half their land before making a move.

That’s because Whitebeard’s territory was huge.

Their ideal outcome was for the Marines to take a chunk, other pirates to take a chunk, and they would also each grab a chunk.

And leave Whitebeard with, at most, a quarter of what he used to control.

That way, the ones directly fighting the Marines would be the stronger pirate crews in the New World, then the Whitebeard Pirates.

This would give the other three Emperors a large buffer zone between them and the Marines. If the Marines wanted to keep moving forward, they’d have to go through that buffer.

And as soon as the Marines made a move, the whole sea would know about it.

That would give the other Emperors time to respond, while also stopping the Whitebeard Pirates from keeping such a massive area.

But things didn’t go as planned—every pirate crew that tried to invade Whitebeard’s territory got driven out.

Even worse, the Marines had chosen to strike when the Whitebeard Pirates were at their weakest.

So the other Emperors couldn’t sit still anymore. On top of that, they had all received invitations—or more like pleas for help—from the Whitebeard Pirates.

Whitebeard’s side was willing to give up a quarter of their territory in exchange for forming an alliance with the other Emperors to drive the Marines out of the New World.

This was a deal the Whitebeard Pirates had no choice but to offer—and the others accepted.

At the meeting, there was no mocking, no unnecessary talk.

Because now, they all had a common threat: the Marines, especially under the hardline leadership of Akainu.

"Marco, the deal’s set. I’m sure they’ve all made the same decision." Beckman said calmly to Marco.

King and Katakuri both gave slow nods.

"In that case, there’s one more thing—we need to speak as one. A joint Four Emperors statement!" Marco said through gritted teeth.

The other three leaders looked at each other and nodded.

"Alright." Beckman replied.

Then Vista brought out a document they had already prepared. The content was ready—they just needed the signatures of the four factions.

Vista laid the document on the table. Marco was the first to sign it, and then the other three each signed on behalf of their factions.

The joint Four Emperors declaration was now officially in effect!

It was a military alliance statement from the Four Emperors, opposing the World Government’s invasion of the New World.

"Caw~"

Suddenly, the cry of a news bird came from above.

Everyone looked up. A news bird flying in circles above suddenly dove down toward them.

What stood out the most was the symbol of the Dream Exploration Team on the bird’s wings!

"Incredible... what a strange ability." Beckman murmured as he watched the bird.

King and Katakuri frowned slightly.

"I contacted Morgans ahead of time. I wanted this message to spread across the seas as fast as possible," Marco explained.

He was also a bit surprised—the news bird Morgans sent actually carried the Dream Exploration Team’s symbol.

"Looks like Morgans really did join them..." Katakuri said in a low voice.

Vista put away the document and handed it to the news bird. With another loud caw, the bird took off and flew away from the island.

"So, it’s done?"

"In that case... Marco, how about we throw a party to celebrate?" Shanks leaned in, grinning.

"You bastard!"

"You think we’re in the mood for a party right now?!" Marco instantly snapped.

"Ahahaha..."

"Sorry, sorry, Marco. The mood felt a little heavy, so I just wanted to lighten things up," Shanks said with a smile.

"Damn you, Shanks!"

"Are you mocking the Whitebeard Pirates?!"

"Bastard! I challenge you to a duel!"

In an instant, the Whitebeard Pirates’ captains started yelling angrily at Shanks.

King and Katakuri stood silently off to the side.

...

Meanwhile—

In the Kingdom of Magiatsuka.

After leaving Punk Hazard, the Dream Exploration Team took a slow route and finally arrived in Leaf’s homeland.

But...

"Something’s not right here..." Anya looked around the empty harbor, puzzled.

According to what Leaf had told them, the Kingdom of Magiatsuka had a pretty strong economy.

Its ports were supposed to be bustling.

But now that they were here, the harbor looked completely deserted.

"Hmm..."

"I think it has something to do with the Marines. After all, Akainu personally came and wiped out the nobles here..." Robin said after thinking it over.

"I agree with Robin." Ryuen said calmly.

The people in power in this country had all been taken out. For the Kingdom of Magiatsuka, it was impossible for something like that to happen without causing some unrest.

The only good thing was that, so far, no civil war had broken out. Maybe that was because everyone knew the Marines were the ones behind it.

Liv looked conflicted.

She had gotten her revenge. Those awful nobles really were all wiped out. But now, the country felt like it had lost its soul.

"Liv."

"Don’t think too much about it. The Kingdom of Magiatsuka is rich in resources. What we’re seeing now is just temporary."

"As long as the systems and institutions start working again, this port will go back to being just as busy as it used to be," Nojiko said, trying to cheer Liv up when she saw how down she looked.

"Haa~"

"I get it. Come on, let me take you guys to get some rest first." Liv took a deep breath, then smiled again.

The Dream Exploration Team got off the ship and followed Liv toward her old home.

"That’s them!"

"They finally showed up. The woman leading them... that should be our target, right?"

"She looks exactly like the photo. No doubt about it."

In a corner of the port, a few people were quietly watching the Dream Team.

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