The Straw Hat Pirates followed along for medical treatment aboard the ship.
Even if Maude hadn't offered, Sabo definitely would've asked him to treat Luffy and the others.
But because Maude took the initiative, it left a completely different impression.
"Sorry to trouble you again, Maude," Sabo sighed softly.
"Why so polite?"
Maude gave Sabo a puzzled look.
From his perspective, they had fought life-and-death battles together—something like this was hardly worth mentioning.
Besides, to be fair, Kaido had come here because of him.
In that sense, he bore some responsibility as well.
Sabo nodded silently in acknowledgment.
No matter what, both he and the Revolutionary Army owed Maude too many favors.
Those debts—he would never forget.
Maude said no more, silently controlling his shadows to gently lift everyone except Luffy and Zoro.
"Gaya, bring the Straw Hats' ship over to ours."
Before heading to Thriller Bark, Maude thought of the Straw Hat Pirates' ship.
"Got it~"
Gaya responded cheerfully, then headed for the opposite coastline.
The Straw Hats' Thousand Sunny was anchored there.
Watching Gaya leave, Maude turned and began walking toward the shore where Thriller Bark was docked.
As for the seriously injured Luffy and Zoro, they were left to Philo and Law—both doctors—to handle. Better to avoid any accidents.
Soon, everyone had boarded Thriller Bark.
Maude waited at the ship's edge for Gaya to bring over the Straw Hats' vessel.
Moments later—
The Sunny rose into the air, floating gently across the sea, with Gaya standing on its deck.
The only member of the Straw Hat Pirates still conscious, Sanji, stood by the rail. Seeing Gaya piloting the Sunny over safely, he finally let out a quiet breath of relief.
Under Gaya's control, the Sunny settled smoothly into a small harbor on Thriller Bark built for docking ships.
Then Gaya landed beside Maude.
"Gaya, let's bring this whole island too, while we're at it."
Maude pointed toward the island ahead.
He liked the terrain—it might be a great place to build a festival stage someday.
Even if it ended up unused, they could always drop it somewhere in the ocean mid-voyage.
Without hesitation, Gaya followed his instruction, lifting both Thriller Bark and the island into the sky.
RUMBLE—
A deep, thunderous boom echoed as the island rose, followed by crashing waves that shattered the calm of night.
Sanji watched in silence as the island floated up under Gaya's control, awe-struck by the sheer might of Maude's crew. A deep sigh welled up from within.
Their journey hadn't exactly been smooth sailing, but they'd made it through each trial with strength and resilience.
But ever since they reached the Sabaody Archipelago, the strength they'd always relied on… no longer seemed to work.
It felt like all they'd been doing was getting beaten—or preparing to get beaten.
He had once thought that their months of grueling training on the island, learning Armament and Observation Haki, had transformed their strength.
But the brutal reality had hit them once again—hard.
Sanji stood in silent dismay.
Thriller Bark drifted into the sky and vanished.
—An hour later—
A dozen ships appeared on the horizon.
Each one bore the Jolly Roger of the Beasts Pirates.
On the lead ship, clad in black, King stood at the bow, holding two small Vivre Cards—one in each hand.
One belonged to Kaido, the other to Ulti.
The former writhed in his grip, twitching downward. The latter pulsed upward toward the sky.
One pointed deep beneath the sea, the other to the skies above.
"Kaido-sama …"
King frowned, staring down at the water.
They were supposed to deal with the Maude Pirates—so how did he end up sinking?
What the hell happened out there?
Could it be…
Kaido was defeated by the Maude Pirates?
"No way in hell."
King muttered grimly.
All around him, the Beasts Pirates' crew fell silent, staring at the Vivre Card in his hand.
It pointed to the ocean floor.
They couldn't help but let their minds spiral.
To them, Kaido was a godlike, invincible figure.
The thought of him losing to Maude's crew…
Just imagining it made their scalps go numb.
...
Above, stars blanketed the night sky as the full moon hung high.
Thriller Bark floated silently among the clouds.
Inside the still-unfinished prison cell—
Maude sat on a low stool, formed from his shadows. Leaning forward, hands clasped between his knees, he stared with cold, unreadable eyes at the fragmented body of Ulti—dissected into a dozen pieces and pinned to the icy wall.
Unusually, Ulti said nothing.
Her gaze fixed on Maude, filled with a chaotic mix of shock and disbelief.
She'd been locked up in the cell throughout the battle that took place on the island over an hour ago.
But her Observation Haki had served as her eyes—allowing her to witness how Maude cleaved Kaido into the depths of the ocean with a single strike.
She couldn't believe it.
She didn't want to believe it.
But the truth was right in front of her.
She had no choice.
Maude remained silent, and so did Ulti.
The prison cell was so quiet that the sound of a pin drop would've echoed.
A chill seemed to hang in the air, wrapping around the heart.
Finally, Maude broke the silence, his tone tinged with regret.
"Looks like… not even the sea can deal with someone so obsessed with dying."
As he spoke, Maude raised his right hand.
With a thought, the Hunter's Notebook appeared in his palm.
Shff—
The pages flipped automatically.
They stopped at the entry bearing Kaido's name.
Maude glanced down at it, unable—or perhaps unwilling—to hide his disappointment.
Ulti's eyes, once dazed and full of disbelief, began to narrow, burning once more with the ferocity that defined her.
"Bacardi Maude… you're afraid, aren't you? Afraid that Kaido-sama will return and wipe all of you out on that island!!"
"I don't really get what you're trying to say."
Maude closed the notebook with one hand, looking at her calmly.
Ulti ignored it entirely, staring him down as if nothing else existed.
"You're scared of Kaido-sama's power! That's why you used some underhanded trick to make him fall into the sea—just so you could force the fight to end!"
"…???"
Maude blinked, stunned by her twisted logic.
He stared at her like she was completely insane.
This woman—she was a total Kaido fangirl.
Well… whatever.
The reason he came to see Ulti as soon as Thriller Bark lifted off was to finish her—removing the danger of any Vivre Cards tied to her.
"As long as it makes you happy."
Maude dismissed the Hunter's Notebook and pulled Ulti's shadow from the Shadow Casket.
He first returned it to her, and then—without pause—tore it off again.
In one fluid sequence, the perfect sedative effect took hold, and Ulti slipped into a deep, silent coma.
"Law, get in here."
Maude called toward the prison entrance.
Tap. Tap.
Footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Moments later, Law's silhouette appeared outside the cell.
"Let's begin the 'extraction surgery.'"
Maude glanced back at him, voice calm and steady.
"Alright."
Law nodded and pulled out a pre-prepared fruit, then began the procedure with practiced ease.
Before long—
Ulti's breath faded entirely.
The prison cell now held one ancient-type Devil Fruit… and one complete corpse.
Maude toyed with the Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit—the swollen, bulbous fruit of the Pachycephalosaurus.
"After achieving four nine stars, the experience gain has really started to drop off… even from prey this strong."
Feeling the gains resonating within his body, Maude silently reflected to himself.
"I was hoping I could squeeze more value out of her… I really need to stop assuming things will always go smoothly."
A wave of shadow pulsed from Maude's palm as he sealed the Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit—the Pachycephalosaurus model—into the Shadow Casket.
That made it seventeen Devil Fruits now stored within the casket.
"Law, take the body to the freezer."
Rising to his feet, Maude glanced at Ulti's corpse before turning and walking out of the holding cell.
"…Got it."
Law responded calmly. Only after Maude had left did he lift the body and head toward the cold storage.
...
Castle – Medical Wing.
Zoro lay on one of the hospital beds, both arms severed, his condition critical.
Thanks to Philo's medical treatment, his life was no longer in immediate danger.
However, regaining consciousness anytime soon seemed unlikely.
As for Luffy—who had taken a direct hit from Kaido's Raimei Hakke over a year earlier than fate had intended—his injuries were just as severe.
If not for the defensive boost granted by his Gear 4 form, he likely would've died on the spot, cutting his dream of becoming Pirate King tragically short.
By contrast, Nami and the others, though also struck by Kaido's lightning, had already begun to regain consciousness after being treated with Philo's potent salve.
People in this world, it seemed, possessed an unusually high resistance to elemental attacks.
Enel's lightning, Ace's flames, and Aokiji's ice—even when directly striking targets untrained in Armament Haki—rarely resulted in immediate death.
Kaido's violet lightning was no exception.
By all accounts, its force should've reduced someone to ash. Yet Nami and the others had escaped with only charred skin—severely injured, yes, but alive.
"Luffy…"
"Zoro!!!"
As the members of the Straw Hat Pirates woke one by one, they rushed to the bedsides of Zoro and Luffy.
They looked upon their wounded crewmates with a mixture of worry and barely restrained fury.
"How could this happen… Zoro's arms…"
Chopper trembled as he looked at Zoro, tears brimming in his eyes.
He was a doctor. He could treat wounds and cure poisons.
But he couldn't regenerate lost limbs.
When he thought of Zoro's dream—to become the world's greatest swordsman—and looked at the empty space where his arms once were, the dam broke. Tears streamed freely down Chopper's cheeks.
The others stood silent, weighed down by sorrow.
A heavy gloom filled the room like a storm cloud over the beds.
"Hey now, don't look so down!"
Franky suddenly struck one of his signature poses, then added in a serious tone, "You guys realize I can hook Zoro up with a pair of super mechanical arms, right?!"
The crew froze, then couldn't help but imagine Zoro pumping iron with a set of cybernetic arms…
…which only made the mood even heavier.
"Oi, I'm being serious here!"
Franky looked around, exasperated by the lack of enthusiasm.
Chopper, eyes red with tears, whimpered, "But… Zoro doesn't like cola…"
"..."
Franky was immediately at a loss for words.
"…Even if I've lost my hands, I still have my mouth…"
At that moment—contrary to Philo's prognosis—Zoro slowly opened his eyes.
Despite the blood loss, the pallor on his face bore no trace of despair or defeat.
"Zoro, you're awake!"
Everyone looked over, anxiety still etched in their faces.
Luffy, meanwhile, was completely ignored as he lay unconscious on the adjacent bed, bandaged head to toe.
Zoro, struggling, tried to sit up.
To everyone's surprise, Sanji was the first to act—reaching out to help Zoro sit up and lean against the headboard.
"How's Luffy?"
Zoro, seemingly unfazed by the loss of both his arms, turned his gaze to the battered Luffy, his concern focused on his captain.
Chopper wiped his tears and answered, "Luffy's hurt badly too… but with intensive care, he'll pull through. He just needs time to recover."
"Good."
Zoro gave a small nod.
Nami looked hesitant. "…Zoro, your arms…"
"It just means I've gone from Three-Sword Style to One-Sword Style, that's all."
Zoro's expression remained unreadable, his voice calm—too calm to tell if he was joking.
Everyone stared, unsure how to react to his demeanor.
Then—
Creak…
The door to the medical wing swung open.
Maude stepped into the room, followed by Sabo, Philo—who wore her Crow Mask tilted lazily over her head—and Perona, floating at his side.
All eyes in the room turned toward Maude.
Their expressions were a mixture of wariness, relief, and confusion.
"…Master."
Usopp called out softly.
Maude gave Usopp a small nod, then turned his gaze to the rest of the Straw Hats.
Noticing the somber mood in the room, Maude raised an eyebrow. "If Perona wasn't right beside me, I'd have assumed you were all just hit by her Negative Hollows or something."
"I wouldn't waste my time on them," Perona huffed, puffing out her cheeks.
Bailey, lounging lazily on Maude's shoulder, shot Perona a sideways glance and let out an exaggerated "Tch."
Perona's expression darkened.
With a flick of her hand, a ghostly white spirit phased effortlessly through Bailey.
"…I'm sorry for breathing the same air as everyone…"
Bailey slumped to the floor in a heap of despair.
"Hmph."
Perona crossed her arms and looked away with a pout.
Maude sighed at the spectacle, then refocused on the Straw Hats, who all looked slightly embarrassed.
"If you want a full update, talk to Sabo later. For now… I'll handle Zoro's arms."
"…Huh!?"
The Straw Hats all gasped in unison.
Zoro, leaning against the bed frame, tensed visibly. His eyes locked onto Maude with sharp focus.
Clearly, he wasn't as emotionally detached from the loss of his arms as he had pretended to be.
Maude blinked at their reaction. "Huh? Restoring severed limbs is nothing to me. What, I never told you guys?"
"No, you didn't!!"
Everyone—except for the ever-composed Robin—shouted in disbelief.
To think… Zoro's arms could actually be restored…
They all turned to Maude with wide eyes.
This man really could do anything.
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