What arrived faster than even the final step in Orochimaru's plan were the ships of the Big Mom Pirates and the Beast Pirates.
It was quite a coincidence that these two ships sailed towards Dressrosa from different directions, only encountering each other when they were almost at the shore.
"Ms. Smoothie, over there... that looks like a Beasts Pirates ship!"
On the deck, Smoothie had been wearing sunglasses, enjoying the sunbath while tasting her newly developed 'juice'.
What a joke. Could there possibly be anyone in Doflamingo's little territory who could defeat the two Sweet Commanders?
With this thought, neither Smoothie nor Cracker were very tense about this mission.
Or perhaps they were already very familiar with it.
Unexpectedly, before they even docked, the pirates under her suddenly exclaimed.
"Beasts? Kaido?!"
Hearing this, Smoothie's expression changed immediately. She didn't even care that her juice had been knocked over, directly pulling off her sunglasses, sitting up, and looking into the distance.
The bull-horned skull black flag… indeed the Beasts Pirates' symbol.
For the two major pirate crews that frequently had friction, the other's pirate flag was all too familiar.
However, upon seeing the size of the ship, Smoothie let out a sigh of relief.
'Tch… I thought it was Kaido himself coming.'
'Judging by the ship model opposite, it wasn't Kaido, and not even one of the [Disasters], right?'
'Then it's no problem.'
Pursing her lips, Smoothie ordered her subordinates.
"Tell Cracker to stop eating biscuits in the cabin and get ready to go ashore."
Regarding her older brother Cracker, she wasn't particularly close, but she didn't dislike him either.
Both were among the [Sweet Commanders]. Even within the family, there wasn't a clear hierarchical difference.
Aside from Katakuri, none of them truly submitted to the others.
"Ms. Smoothie, that ship-"
"Don't mind it."
Smoothie put her sunglasses back on.
"If they make any moves, sink it."
On the other side, Who's-Who made a similar decision.
"It's one of the Big Mom Pirates' Sweet Commanders, [Smoothie]. Don't open fire first."
Unlike their ship, the one opposite was Smoothie's personal flagship, recognizable at a glance.
Although his words were about avoiding conflict, Who's-Who was already calculating in his heart.
This operation was basically planned by Who's-Who, and he did this to seize greater power within the Beast Pirates.
So he not only needed to do it right, but do it well!
The appearance of Big Mom Pirates' Sweet Commander at this time point in Dressrosa made him suspect that they might have the same idea… wanting to bring this country into their sphere of influence.
He wanted the SMILE production line, and he wanted Dressrosa too!
In the past, JOKER could use Dressrosa's convenient geographical location to smuggle their weapons all over the world.
There was no reason he, Who's-Who, couldn't do this business!
He believed that with the credit of taking over this territory, if he asked Kaido for the authority to manage this place, Kaido shouldn't be stingy about it.
By then, he would be the [Weapons King] of the New World!
Only-
Who's-Who glanced inconspicuously at the captain's cabin on the second floor.
There was a big trouble here too.
Who's-Who's orders weren't problematic… at least the other [Tobiroppo's] members who came out with him didn't raise objections.
The siblings Page One and Ulti just silently watched the other ship without speaking.
Sasaki and Black Maria remained on Onigashima to guard, not traveling together.
Only X Drake's eyes flickered somewhat complicatedly between the two large ships, then looked at the Dressrosa port not far away.
He was a Marine spy, responsible for infiltrating the Beasts Pirates to provide intelligence to the Marines.
After the war at Marineford not long ago, the Marines retracted their forces in the New World.
While this 'unleashed' the pirates to some extent, it also increased the difficulty for him to transmit information.
In fact, ever since learning they were going to move against Dressrosa, he had been trying to pass the information to Marineford, but simply couldn't find an opportunity.
Drake didn't want to see Dressrosa become another [Wano Country].
After all, there was no other [Great Hero] here to vouch for them.
Now, the appearance of the Big Mom Pirates was an opportunity.
'I needed to find a way to stir up conflict between the two sides...'
Drake thought to himself. Only a chaotic situation would make it convenient for him to make some small moves.
Both pirate ships were flying their flags, which put the dock guides in a difficult position.
"It's the Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates!"
"Why would they come to Dressrosa together?!"
"Quick, go report to the Donquixote Family's executives!"
A smart person reacted promptly, instructing those around him.
"But what about them… there's only one berth left at this pier!"
Another person looked at the large ships approaching simultaneously, on the verge of tears.
Both sides were forces they couldn't afford to offend. What to do?!
Dressrosa naturally couldn't have only one port, and this port had more than one pier.
But it was just that unlucky. Both sides chose the nearest berthing spot, which could only accommodate one such large ship at the moment.
"You few, come with me to send semaphore signals, tell them to go to Pier No. 2."
"Huh? Tell which one to go to Pier No. 2?"
"...Both! Pier No. 2 has more than one empty spot!"
The staff immediately sprang into action, boarding small boats and rowing towards the two large ships.
Simultaneously, they began waving small flags, guiding them to dock at the more spacious Pier No. 2.
"Ms. Smoothie! They're asking us to dock at the neighboring pier."
Hearing this, Smoothie didn't even remove her sunglasses this time, directly ordering.
"Don't mind it. Dock here."
She had also seen that this place seemed only able to accommodate one more large ship.
But so what?
Could it be that the two Sweet Commanders should give way to the guys opposite?
On the other side, Who's-Who and the others also received the same message from their subordinates.
"Go next door?"
It seemed they would have to take a detour, which would make them land a bit slower than the Big Mom Pirates.
But if a conflict broke out now, it would be somewhat unfavorable for his subsequent arrangements.
Unlike Drake, who was hoping for conflict, Who's-Who didn't want to clash with the other side so quickly just yet.
However-
"Are you kidding me?! You want us to avoid him?!"
"Steer the ship over!"
Hearing this bold and unrestrained female voice, Who's-Who silently covered his eyes.
There it is, the most troublesome person on this ship.
Yamato had, at some point, come to the deck. Her kanabo, Takeru, was already slung over her shoulder.
"Young Master Yamato, don't forget the reason we came this time-"
"Are you teaching me what to do?"
The cold kanabo directly pointed at Who's-Who. A faint chill spread from Yamato's hand, the white frosty mist making Who's-Who's hairs stand on end.
Yamato's gaze towards him was very unfriendly.
She already disliked Who's-Who, this scheming villain, and was just itching for a chance to beat him up.
If this guy dared say one more word, her Thunder Bagua would land on his face.
"...No, you have the final say."
Wisdom of the wise.
Who's-Who deeply understood the principle of enduring small humiliations for the sake of larger goals.
So many years had passed, another moment wouldn't hurt.
On this ship, Yamato's words were the command.