Shiki had made his decision to go, and Shiryu and the others, equally ambitious, had no objections.
"Then we should start preparing," Lafitte said after a moment of thought. "Boss Shiki, if even you are interested, there's no way Kaido and the others won't be as well. And with how widely this news has spread, there's no way the World Government isn't aware of it. They might get involved too."
"They probably will," Shiki said after some consideration. "But this happened so suddenly, they won't have had much time to prepare."
In Shiki's mind, the idea that Bullet would actually cooperate with the World Government to set them up was laughable. Even if the World Government did show up, they wouldn't be fully prepared. If that were the case, wouldn't the risks be worth it?
But what Shiki didn't realize was that the World Government had already made its preparations. After all, how else had this information leaked in the first place?
And as for Kaido and the others… they had to be going, right?
If he was tempted, then there was no way Kaido wouldn't be. The only reason for Kaido not to go would be if he didn't want to become the Pirate King or find Laugh Tale.
A battle between giants was inevitable. But so what?
Shiki was the Golden Lion—renowned across the world. He never feared battle, nor did he believe he would lose.
As Shiki was mulling over these thoughts, suddenly, the Den Den Mushi beside him began to ring.
Glancing at it, Shiki frowned, looking displeased.
The caller was none other than that old hag—Charlotte Linlin.
"Did that old woman get wind of this too?" Shiki clicked his tongue in annoyance.
But at least on the surface, they were still "old classmates"—allies, even. If it had been anyone else, Shiki wouldn't have even bothered answering.
Despite his irritation, he picked up the receiver.
"Linlin? What do you want? I'm busy. If you've got something to say, spit it out, I don't have time for your nonsense," Shiki said bluntly.
On the other end, Charlotte Linlin's expression was equally sour. She didn't particularly like Shiki either, but some things had to be said.
Suppressing her irritation, she sneered, "You damn lion. You must've heard the news by now, right? About that so-called Pirate Expo that bastard Bullet is putting together?"
Shiki didn't bother hiding anything, he had no interest in playing games.
"Of course I have. Sounds like you have too. What, you finally managed to catch wind of something first? For someone with so many legs, you sure are slow on the uptake," he mocked.
He was, of course, referring to the fact that Linlin had been captured before—taking a jab at her past humiliation.
Charlotte Linlin's face darkened instantly. "You bastard! You think you're any better than me?"
"Want to fight about it?" Shiki taunted with a smirk.
Linlin fumed. Damn it! Here I am, talking to you nicely, and this stupid lion keeps running his mouth!
"You've got no class, you know that? You're just as insufferable as ever," Linlin scoffed.
Shiki rolled his eyes. You, of all people, are talking about class? Have you looked in a mirror?
Besides, he was a pirate. Why the hell would he care about "class"?
Before Shiki could fire back, Linlin cut him off.
"Enough of this crap. I called to tell you, there's a conspiracy behind this Pirate Expo," she said in a serious tone.
Shiki chuckled. Oh really? Like I didn't already know that?
But the potential rewards were simply too great to pass up.
"Even if the Eternal Pose to Laugh Tale is real, the source of that Road Poneglyph is highly questionable," Linlin continued.
This time, Shiki didn't immediately snap back. Instead, he paused to listen.
"And what exactly is the problem?" he asked.
"I suspect that the Road Poneglyph in question is the same one that was stolen from me," Linlin said darkly.
Before Shiki could respond, she continued, "Back then, that bastard Claudius led a raid on Whole Cake Island. I suffered heavy losses and among them was my Road Poneglyph. I've been searching for it ever since, so I know a few things about its whereabouts."
Charlotte Linlin did still have a copy of the Poneglyph's inscription, so losing the original hadn't been devastating. But for someone as possessive as her, having something stolen from her was unacceptable.
Over time, she had pieced together some clues and had reason to believe that the Poneglyph had ended up in the hands of the Revolutionary Army.
Originally, the Revolutionary Army had been a hidden ally to the pirates, constantly opposing the World Government.
But once Claudius took control, they switched sides—becoming an official member of the World Government.
That, in Linlin's mind, was blatant treachery.
And if the Poneglyph had once belonged to the Revolutionary Army, then it was now in Claudius's hands.
Now, all of a sudden, it was appearing at this Pirate Expo?
She wasn't buying it.
And she was cautious when it came to Claudius. If he was involved, then this whole thing reeked of a setup.
So, she had called Shiki not out of goodwill, but because she didn't want him to fall into Claudius's trap.
For now, when it came to Claudius, they were all in the same boat.
Shiki frowned slightly. "And what's your proof?"
"Back then—" Linlin began, proceeding to explain her theory in detail.
Shiki listened carefully. Her reasoning was logical, but…
"At the end of the day, this is just your speculation, right?" Shiki finally said. "What if this Poneglyph isn't yours at all? What if it's one of the other two that haven't been accounted for?"
There were four Road Poneglyphs in total. Kaido had one, Linlin had one before it was stolen, and Roger had found the other two.
One of those had been in Zou, but the location of the last one remained unknown.
Now Linlin was insisting that this was her lost Poneglyph?
Yeah, right.
"Believe what you want," Linlin sneered. "I've said my piece. My advice? Don't take the risk."
Shiki fell silent for a moment.
Even if this was the Poneglyph that had been stolen from Linlin—so what? It wasn't like she could prove the Revolutionary Army had taken it. For all Shiki knew, she just didn't want the Poneglyph's contents falling into someone else's hands.
Either way, Shiki didn't trust Linlin.
But his tone softened slightly as he said, "You might be right. I also think this whole thing stinks of a setup.
"Besides, why now? If an Eternal Pose to Laugh Tale really existed, why hasn't anyone seen one in all these years?
"And now, suddenly, Bullet—who never even made it to Laugh Tale—just happens to have one?"
Linlin narrowed her eyes through the Den Den Mushi. "Exactly. For once, you've actually got a brain, you damn lion."
"Hmph," Shiki scoffed. "In that case, I won't go. Things are tense enough as they are, we don't need to be taking unnecessary risks."
"Glad you understand," Linlin said with a smug tone.
"Anything else? Or do you want to team up with me?" Shiki smirked.
"Tch. You wanna die?" Linlin shot back.
Shiki chuckled, then hung up the Den Den Mushi.
Shiryu, lighting a cigar, asked, "Boss Shiki… are we still going?"
Shiki sneered.
"Of course we are. You think that old hag can talk me out of it? Not a chance."
(To be continued.)
***
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