After Claudius hung up the Den Den Mushi, he sighed, shook his head with a helpless smile, and tucked it away. Then, he looked up at the approaching figures in the distance.
Sakazuki and the others were making their way toward him. Judging by their pace, it seemed like all the remaining battles had wrapped up.
With Kaido, Shiki, Charlotte Linlin, and the other major threats eliminated, the sheer number of their forces gave them an overwhelming advantage.
With additional fighters like Zoro, Kuina, Smoker, and the rest handling the second-tier pirates, it was no surprise that things had been cleaned up so quickly.
Off to the side, Zoro's ear was being pulled by Kuina, the two locked in one of their usual spats.
"I told you already! You two look so much alike—it's normal that I mistook her for you! That Marine officer, Tashigi, she's not secretly your sister or something?" Zoro grumbled, clearly exasperated.
Kuina, still tugging on his ear, scoffed. "No matter how similar I look to Tashigi, we're completely different people! You idiot, aside from having no sense of direction, are you also face-blind?!"
"Come on! There are so many people watching, can you not humiliate me like this?" Zoro struggled. "I'm gonna be the world's greatest swordsman one day!"
Hearing that, Kuina snorted and let go of his ear.
"You? The world's greatest swordsman? Dream on." She smirked. "Talk to me again when you can actually beat me."
Not far away, Crocodile watched the scene unfold with amusement.
"Women are such a hassle," he muttered.
"You're absolutely right," Mihawk replied immediately, nodding in agreement.
Handsome, powerful, noble, famous, wealthy, and completely untouched by scandal, Mihawk had never been entangled with women. Despite being one of the most sought-after men on the seas, he remained solely devoted to his swordsmanship.
To him, relationships were just a distraction, something that would only slow his pursuit of the blade.
Women were trouble.
Crocodile turned to Mihawk with a smirk. "So, what do you think? Between Kuina and that green-haired brat, who's more likely to become the world's greatest swordsman?"
Mihawk raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying that either of them might surpass me?"
"Isn't that what you've been searching for?" Crocodile asked, completely unbothered. "A worthy challenger?"
Mihawk paused for a moment, then admitted, "You're right. I am searching for defeat in the way of the sword."
He glanced back at Zoro and Kuina, observing them carefully before responding.
"The green-haired brat has talent, but he made the terrible mistake of choosing Claudius as his master." Mihawk shook his head. "The man's swordsmanship is sloppy at best.
Kuina, on the other hand, has been carefully trained by Admiral Gion. Her technique is more refined. Between the two, I'd say she has the better chance of becoming my true rival."
Crocodile chuckled. "Want to bet on it? I say that brat will surpass her."
Mihawk narrowed his eyes. "Are you questioning my judgment? I am the strongest swordsman alive—you don't even understand swordsmanship."
Crocodile shrugged. "You're right, I don't. But you don't understand women. So, do we have a bet or not?"
Mihawk scoffed. "Fine. I accept."
"Good. Just remember—you're gonna lose." Crocodile smirked.
In truth, he did believe Kuina was incredibly strong. But he also knew that Zoro had one unshakable motivation—to surpass her.
And that kind of drive… was dangerous.
Still, as he thought about it more, Crocodile hesitated.
Wait a second…
Zoro seemed terrified of making Kuina mad.
What if he ended up being a completely henpecked husband?
…Did he just set himself up to lose this bet?!
Meanwhile, not far away, Gion and Kuzan were having a tense discussion.
"You're not a Marine anymore," Gion reminded him. "So why are you interfering? Katakuri is valuable, he should be handed over to Marine Headquarters."
Kuzan, hands tucked into his coat pockets, shrugged lazily.
"Hey now, even if I'm not a Marine, I'm still Minister of Security.
And in terms of rank, I technically outrank you." He smirked. "Keeping the seas stable, capturing dangerous pirates, that's part of my job."
Katakuri, meanwhile, was barely conscious, once again taken down by Kuzan.
During the Cake Island incident, Kuzan had completely crushed him, freezing him solid.
And this time was no different.
Kuzan had developed an effective countermeasure against strong Observation Haki users like Katakuri and Enel.
His solution?
Overwhelming firepower.
It didn't matter if Katakuri could see the future—he simply had nowhere to dodge.
Kuzan's massive ice attacks covered hundreds of meters at a time, freezing everything in their path.
If you couldn't escape, you got hit. Simple as that.
Even with his improved Observation Haki, Katakuri stood no chance.
Unlike his mother, though, he had survived.
But barely.
Now, with him in custody, Gion insisted he be handed over to Marine Headquarters, while Kuzan claimed jurisdiction under the Security Department.
After a pause, Kuzan smirked.
"Come on, Gion. Your man is the King of the World. Shouldn't you have enough credit by now?"
Gion's face turned bright red in an instant.
"Can we stay on topic here?!" she snapped.
Kuzan just laughed. "Fine. Want to settle this? Let's just ask Claudius and see what he says."
Gion sighed, rubbing her temples. "Since when did you get so petty, Kuzan?"
Still, she relented, letting him keep Katakuri.
Not far away, Borsalino sauntered over to Sakazuki, watching as his Marine Fleet Admiral struggled to suppress a rare smile.
"Are you… trying to laugh or cry?" Borsalino teased.
Sakazuki's face darkened. "Of course, I want to laugh."
"Then why does it look so… ugly?" Borsalino smirked.
"Ugly or not, I still want to laugh."
Sakazuki then turned his gaze toward Claudius, who sat on an ice block, lighting another cigar.
At first, he had doubted the man.
But now…
"From the very beginning, we made the right bet," he murmured. "And His Highness… never let us down."
Borsalino nodded.
"After twenty years… the Great Pirate Era is over."
Sakazuki clenched his fist.
"Yes… it's over."
---
Meanwhile, far from the battlefield, a small sampan broke free from the ice.
Seated inside, Shakky watched as Rayleigh climbed out of the frigid waters, carrying something.
"It's over?" she asked.
Rayleigh nodded. "It's over. Claudius won. Looks like… we were wrong. This was all part of his grand design from the very start."
"You mean his strategy?" Shakky corrected.
Rayleigh fell silent for a moment, then smiled.
"Yeah… a flawless strategy. The Great Pirate Era… ends today."
Shakky glanced at his hands. "What's that?"
Rayleigh sighed.
"Shiki. He was an old rival. I figured… I should at least bury him."
Shakky raised an oar and whacked him on the head.
"Just toss him into the sea! He was a pirate, that's how they're meant to go!"
Rayleigh rubbed his head. "Fine, fine! No need to hit me!"
(To be continued.)