Back in Dressrosa, when Ian led a group of Shichibukai to attack the Donquixote Family, he wasn’t yet strong enough to crush Doflamingo completely. Moreover, the interference of Jack the Drought and Perospero—two executives from the Four Emperors’ pirate crews—disrupted the situation, preventing Ian from killing Doflamingo and allowing him to escape successfully.

Although Ian managed to drive the Donquixote Family out of Dressrosa and expose their secret criminal activities, causing Doflamingo to lose his Shichibukai title, the problem was that Doflamingo’s identity was exceptionally unique. Not only was he a former Celestial Dragon and an important partner of Emperor Kaido, but he was also a renowned dark broker in the underground world.

After losing the throne of Dressrosa, the most significant blow Ian dealt to Doflamingo was the obstruction of SMILE (Artificial Devil Fruit) production. Without the Tontatta Tribe’s exceptional planting abilities, even though Doflamingo still had the scientist Caesar at that time, he couldn’t successfully cultivate Artificial Devil Fruits.

But beyond that, the impact on Doflamingo wasn’t too significant. After aligning himself with Kaido, he continued to handle the underground world’s arms smuggling and Devil Fruit trading.

This was the Donquixote Family’s longstanding business. With his connections, reputation, and channels, as long as Doflamingo wasn’t killed, this line of work wouldn’t be easily cut off.

The reason Kaido accepted him was because of Doflamingo’s expertise in these dealings. Without the Artificial Devil Fruits, Doflamingo could still provide genuine Zoan-type Devil Fruits to the Beasts Pirates through underground channels. Kaido’s plan for an army of Devil Fruit users would just take longer but wouldn’t come to a complete halt.

Ian was aware that Doflamingo could be a hidden threat and wanted to eliminate him. However, Doflamingo was cunning and sly, always avoiding a direct confrontation with Ian. Even during the New Edd war battle, when he received secret orders from the World Government to eliminate Gecko Moria on the battlefield, he slipped away quietly upon Ian’s arrival, leaving his new boss Kaido to give Ian and the Whitebeard Pirates a surprise.

These events were known to Ian only after gathering intelligence later on. Especially with the recent addition of the Germa Group—Judge and his associates had close ties with the underground world—which allowed Ian to understand Doflamingo’s situation better. He knew that although Doflamingo had joined Kaido’s pirate group, he didn’t seem to be regarded by Kaido as an executive but rather continued as a collaborator. It’s unclear what Kaido was thinking; perhaps he genuinely preferred animals over humans, or maybe it was some inexplicable obsession that led him not to consider Doflamingo, a Paramecia-type ability user, as a pirate group executive.

Doflamingo was now scouring the world for various Zoan-type Devil Fruits for Kaido. Therefore, his sudden appearance in Wano Country likely meant he brought information related to Devil Fruits for Kaido.

It’s common knowledge that when a Devil Fruit user dies, the corresponding new Devil Fruit will regenerate somewhere in the world. This regeneration is almost immediate. However, since the location isn’t fixed, the time it takes for the fruit to appear before people varies.

During the battle on Whole Cake Island, many people perished. Big Mom was killed by Ian during her eating disorder-induced rampage. Perospero was obliterated by the Empyrean Thunder Cannon. There were also Katakuri, Cracker, and even the Marine Admiral Arest—all well-known figures with high bounties who died in that battle, or rather, on that day.

With so many ability users dying, it meant that several new Devil Fruits suddenly appeared in various corners of the world on the same day.

When the news of Ian defeating Big Mom and becoming a new Emperor spread worldwide, those who understood the nature of Devil Fruits thought beyond the shock shared by the masses. They considered these newly reborn Devil Fruits.

What is the Soul-Soul Fruit? It was the ability possessed by Emperor Big Mom!

While it’s uncertain if anyone who eats the Soul-Soul Fruit can become an Emperor like Big Mom, she had already established an immense value for the fruit.

Whether the Devil Fruit made the Emperor or the Emperor made the Devil Fruit is debatable, but no one can deny the power of this fruit.

Thus, people like Doflamingo were eager to obtain the newly reborn Soul-Soul Fruit.

Not only the Soul-Soul Fruit but also Arest’s Blood-Blood Fruit, Katakuri’s Mochi-Mochi Fruit, Perospero’s Lick-Lick Fruit, and others had been marked as powerful by their previous owners, sparking a frenzy among many seeking them out.

When Ian received the call from Whitebeard informing him of this news, he immediately connected the dots. It all came back to the saying: a single action can affect the entire situation. As Ian’s influence grew with his rising status, the butterfly effect naturally intensified.

However, Ian wasn’t particularly concerned about the reappearance of the Soul-Soul Fruit. He believed that Big Mom’s strength as an Emperor stemmed more from herself. She had been a monster since childhood, and the Soul-Soul Fruit merely amplified her power. Even if someone else obtained the new Soul-Soul Fruit, they wouldn’t necessarily reach Big Mom’s level after consuming it.

The same logic applied to the other fruits. A new eater of the Mochi-Mochi Fruit wouldn’t necessarily become a second Katakuri.

Therefore, he felt that Pops didn’t need to be so anxious. He shared his thoughts with Whitebeard over the phone.

“I understand,” Whitebeard sighed after listening. “But have you considered why Kaido, already a Devil Fruit user with many ability users under him, would personally make such an effort to seize the Soul-Soul Fruit?”

Ian was taken aback by this question. Indeed, why would Kaido do that? The Soul-Soul Fruit is a Paramecia-type. It’s unlikely that Kaido would break his ‘Hundred Beasts’ theme and start incorporating Paramecia users.

Was he planning to rename his crew the ‘Hundred Beast-Men Pirates’?

“There’s another thing I forgot to mention,” Whitebeard continued. “It’s not just Kaido who’s interested in the Soul-Soul Fruit; the Navy is as well!”

“What!? The Navy!?” Ian, Marco, and Bonney were all stunned.

“The Navy wants the Soul-Soul Fruit? What are they planning?” Ian was filled with questions, feeling he couldn’t grasp the situation.

“I’m not sure. It’s hard to say whether it’s the Navy or the World Government behind it,” Whitebeard replied. “The Navy has almost deployed its full force—twenty-one warships led by Kizaru, with the new Admirals Momousagi and Chaton accompanying him. It’s a massive fleet. They’re heading to the island where the Soul-Soul Fruit has appeared.”

Three Admirals moving together! Such a formation…

“Pops, you want us to return quickly to get involved?” Ian pondered for a moment before asking.

“That’s the idea,” Whitebeard admitted. “I don’t know what Kaido and the Navy intend to do with the Soul-Soul Fruit, but I have a bad feeling about it. Setting Kaido aside, we still have unresolved issues with the Navy from the Edd war Sea battle. If we can cause them some trouble, we’d be more than happy.”

At this point, Marco interjected, “Pops, that might not be wise. If both the Whitebeard Pirates and Ian’s Dragon Hunter Pirates get involved, it would mean three Emperors clashing with the Navy. This could trigger a massive war!”

There was a moment of silence on the other end as Whitebeard considered Marco’s words.

“You’re right,” Ian agreed. “With the situation unclear, jumping in might not be the best move. Perhaps we should wait and see.”

“Alright, we’ll go with your suggestion,” Whitebeard conceded. “But if possible, resolve the situation in Wano Country quickly. Even if we don’t intervene, both our pirate crews need to be prepared.”

Ian agreed before hanging up.

After the call ended, the room remained silent as everyone pondered the implications of Whitebeard’s news.

Bonney suddenly whispered to Ian, “Do you think the World Government wants the Soul-Soul Fruit to use its power to extend the lives of the Celestial Dragons?”

Given her own abilities, Bonney naturally thought of this possibility. However, Ian felt it was unlikely.

He knew that while Big Mom’s Soul-Soul Fruit could extract lifespans from others, the stolen lifespans couldn’t be transferred to other people.

Living beings and corpses that have lost their life cannot accept the lifespan infusion from the Soul-Soul Fruit. Only inanimate objects and energies without souls can accept it.

In other words, the Soul-Soul Fruit can’t be used to prolong the lives of the Celestial Dragons.

But why was the Navy still involved? Three Admirals and twenty-one warships—even if it wasn’t as large as the New Edd war battle, it demonstrated their determination. It was hard to believe this wasn’t an order from the World Government.

With too little information, Ian couldn’t make a definitive decision. After some thought, he decided to sit back and let the Beasts Pirates and the Navy clash first.

Moreover, since Kaido had personally gone to seize the Soul-Soul Fruit and wasn’t in Wano Country, Ian now had much more room to maneuver there.

From the information Hidakira had previously provided, Ian learned that ‘Plague’ Queen, one of the ‘Three Calamities,’ was still in Kuri. Perhaps he could capture Queen and use him to find the Beasts Pirates’ lair.

The red Poneglyph that Kaido possessed was likely kept in his lair.

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