Chapter 43: - 43: The Lion That Defied the Sea
King stood on the deck of one of the beast pirates' ship. It wasn't his own as he generally had no time captain a ship, since all the running of the beast pirates operations was his job.
The winds howled across the open waters as King stood silently at the prow of the sleek black-hulled Beast Pirates ship. His obsidian armor gleamed under the afternoon sun, and his wings, folded behind him, cast long, sharp shadows across the deck.
"Distress signal was logged just after midday," one of the crewmen reported, holding up a scratched and blinking den den mushi. "Patrol vessel #8. Last known coordinates pinged near the Shoal Ridge Isles—barely 20 kilometers from Egghead's territorial waters."
King narrowed his crimson eyes. "Egghead..."
"Is that another island under Kaido's thumb?" Shinobu asked, standing behind him with her arms folded. Though her voice was casual, her stance was tense—Wano's seas were not to be taken lightly, especially so far from home.
"No," came the reply from a tall, wiry Beast Pirate manning the starboard post. "Egghead's a top-secret island run by the World Government. Most of us only know about it through rumors. Full of Cipher Pol dogs and weird tech they say."
"Cipher Pol?" Shinobu blinked. "You mean that shadow group Orochi used to whisper about? I thought that was just a ghost story for nobles."
"No ghost stories," the man grunted. "They're real. Egghead's crawling with 'em. And worse. It's where Vegapunk's based. That old science freak."
King said nothing, but his gaze sharpened. He reached beneath his armored chestplate and pulled out a sleek metal canister—smooth, airtight, and lined with rows of glass vials inside.
"Why bring that?" Shinobu asked.
"If I find a sample of Lunarian DNA—blood, bone, cells—anything that isn't mine, I'm taking it," King replied flatly. "That island may be the only place in the world where such data could exist."