For the second time in as many days, shocked silence reverberated around the featureless stone meeting room. Shijo slowly took in the various expressions on the faces of the members of Gibraltar; The openly displayed shock on the faces of Cecil, Vapor and Seere, the bored faces of Kibe and Yakshi and the contemplative look on Isoko's face. Shijo exhaled slowly, leaning back in his seat.
"Just to recap, 5 billion Beli per person. All we have to do, as a collective, is kill the Yonko Kaido. Doable, no?" Shijo's attempt at a quip belied the undercurrent of apprehension in his voice.
"You realize that what has been asked of us is not a feasible request?" Cecil finally spoke up. He clutched the rolled parchment in his hand even harder
"The highest bounty ever is Kaido's 3.5 billion Beli though. 5 Billion Beli! Where else would you even acquire that much Beli at once without plundering all of Mariejois?" Yakshi countered, looking more attentive than anyone had seen him in a while.
"Is 5 billion Beli worth the risk, you madman?!" Seere glared angrily down at Yakshi, who was seated on the floor next to her.
"If we have all seven of us, and we're no slouches, yeah, I'd say 5 billion Beli is worth the risk." Yakshi lazily replied, slouching so as to lean against Seere's leg. Glaring once more an the man, Seere haughtily huffed and raised her head to look back at Shijo.
"You three? Any thoughts?" Shijo directed his attention at Vapor, Isoko and Kibe, who had yet to speak.
"It doesn't matter to me. At least it'll be some good action." Kibe shrugged and made his way over to one of the couches scattered throughout the room and promptly flopped on it.
"If we're going to do this, we'll need to prepare and we'll have to start now." Vapor met Shijo's eyes, acceptance and resignation present in equal amounts. Isoko nodded, seemingly agreeing with Vapor's conclusion.
"Then it's settled. Looks like we're going to kill a Yonko. No doubt the Marines will thank us." Shijo chuckled humorlessly as he stood. "Cecil, what's that you've been holding onto?" Shijo questioned.
"I came across some fresh ruins before my departure back here. It wasn't just the buildings, the entire island I was on had suffered damage all the way to its foundations. It wasn't the only one in the area like that either." Cecil expression looked almost haunted, wondering what could have caused that destruction.
"That would probably be the islands that the World Nobles owned that got rampaged by Kaido." Shijo said grimly.
"All that destruction was Kaido? There doesn't even seem to have been a battle, just wanton violence!" Cecil exclaimed in shock. "I knew he was strong, but all that and he wasn't even serious?" Shijo nodded at Cecil's question.
"Yeah, that's what we're up against. The parchment?" Shijo questioned once more.
"Something that might be of use in this upcoming fight. They're inscriptions of three poneglyphs, one of them a road poneglyph. I've already made a copy." Cecil spoke.
"A poneglyph?! We have no time to waste then. Cecil, you and Vapor are heading to Zou immediately. Take those inscriptions, you're looking for Nico Robin of the Straw Hat Pirates. Get those translated and bring them back her, you can leave the copies with them afterwards." Cecil nodded and exchanged a quick glance with Vapor, before the two departed for the docks. Shijo turned towards the rest of the members.
"Kibe, you and Yakshi, vist Water 7. We're going to need a ship of a higher caliber than anything we have now. Six days from now, be at Tree #7 at Sabaody Archipelago. You don't have to do anything but be present. Yakshi, I know you're a lazy bum, don't let this be that rare occasion you draw attention to yourself." Shijo finished his statement with a hard look at Yakshi, who grinned with his eyes closed, still leaning against Seere's leg.
"Help me up dearie?" Yakshi lazily raised a hand at Seere, who rolled her eyes, before hoisting him up. Pausing only briefly, she suddenly grabbed his wrist and upper arm, before spinning and throwing him out of one of the narrow windows. The sound of maniacal laughter faded as Yakshi began his descent into the valley below. Kibe started momentarily at Seere, before activating his devil fruit powers and flying out of the very same window Yakshi did.
"Was that entirely necessary Seere?" Shijo questioned with a small chuckle.
"Eh. I needed the laugh anyhow. You got instructions for us too?" Seere gestured at herself and Isoko.
"The three of us will be gathering allies. You and Isoko are both girls, which is why I saved this one for you all. You'll both be looking for the Shichibukai, the Maiden Hunter Artemis. She owes me a favor and since you're both women, she won't kill you on sight. Check Lunar Island first, if she's not there, you'll have to encounter her somehow." Isoko and Seere nodded quickly.
"Shijo, what are you going to do?" Isoko questioned as she and Seere made their way towards the door.
"I've got my own Shichibukai to find. After that, I'm not sure. There is someone else who could be beneficial to our goal, but he wouldn't exactly be an ally." Shijo stood suddenly, throwing his coat around his shoulders, the feeling of excitement coursing through his bones.
"And who would that be?" Seere asked as the three made their way down the stairs to the docks.
"The Green Bull, Admiral Ryokugyu." Shijo grinned once more. Gibraltar was united once more.
The trio reached the docks. Several ornate, yet sturdy wooden ships were anchored, all forms from Yakshi's Tsuri Tsuri no Mi. Kibe and Yakshi could be seen in the distance, having already set sail. The beginnings of a storm could be seen, likely a result of Kibe's Taifū Taifū no Mi manifesting. Cecil and Vapor were present on another ship, making final preparations and raising the anchor.
"Shijo. You don't need both of us to find the Straw Hats, Cecil is fine on his own. I'm tagging with you." Vapor spoke as she hovered off the ship.
"What makes you think I'm not fine on my own either?" Shijo split from Isoko and Seere, each heading to their respective ships, Vapor trailing along behind him.
"You are, you're just most likely to get in trouble and whatnot. Besides, it's been a while since it's been just us." Vapor smiled knowingly as she and Shijo began preparations to depart on their own ship. Behind them, Isoko and Seere and Cecil's ships begun leaving the docks, their ship being the last there.
"Sure. Not like you're already on the ship anyhow. While you're here, might as well pull up that anchor." Shijo spoke gruffly, although not without humor, as he stared out into the New World ocean that lay before him.