Carlo gave a nod and said, "Even if we see through it, there's nothing we can do. Who could resist becoming an Emperor? Especially those lawless pirates."
Reaching a hand out the window, Sakazuki caught some snowflakes. "The New World is a big place. Three Emperors aren't enough."
Carlo's eyes widened at that. "You can do that? Tch... people who play politics are all heartless."
Sakazuki let out a faint chuckle and pulled his hand back from the cold air. He watched four snowflakes melt and evaporate quickly in his palm. Then he casually tossed a booklet toward Carlo.
"Give Dragon a little help when it's needed. Don't expose anything."
Carlo looked at the words on the cover and smiled.
"Understood."
* * *
New World. Wano Country.
Itachi Port, on the beach.
The Gecko Pirates' ship had been split in two and several strong-looking pirates were wading through the sea, searching for something.
"Found him!"
"Pull him up, quick!"
"Get two more people!"
"Where's the doctor?!"
Soon after, as an unconscious Gecko Moria was dragged up onto the beach, he slowly opened his eyes.
"Cough... cough… where... am I?"
His crewmates rushed over at once, crowding around him.
"Captain Moria!"
"Thank goodness!"
"You're okay!"
"Uwaaah!"
Moria shook his head. "I'm fine. I remember we… climbed a waterfall through the mist, right? Where is this place?"
His men spoke over each other.
"No idea. We came up the waterfall and ended up here."
"There's an island and an ocean. It's pretty incredible."
"That's the beauty of the sea, hahahaha!"
"Looks like this island's inhabited too."
While speaking, they pointed toward several huge smokestacks visible in the distance.
Looking at them, Moria got up and stretched. "In that case, let's have a feast! Then explore the island, kishishishi!!!"
His men instantly burst into cheers.
"YEAHHHH!!!!"
* * *
Wano Country. Onigashima.
Kaido held a newspaper with the headline about the new 'Emperor' title and took a long swig from his gourd.
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
Bang!
The gourd hit the floor, breaking into pieces.
"Emperor... hohoho. Pretty clever move."
Tap, tap, tap...
Bootsteps echoed as King approached with one hand resting on his sword. "Kaido-san."
Kaido tossed the newspaper aside and stood up. "What is it, King?"
King spoke calmly, "A scout reported seeing a group of pirates over at Itachi Port. The Gecko Pirates."
With his interest piqued, Kaido responded, "That Moria guy, huh. Interesting. Let's use him as a warm-up."
He glanced at the newspaper on the ground. No one could resist... the title of Emperor.
* * *
Itachi Port, on the beach.
Suddenly, a small red dot appeared in the sky.
One pirate happened to glance up and rubbed his eyes.
"Hey! Look at that! Is that thing getting closer?!"
The crew grabbed their weapons.
"What?!"
"Where?!"
"Are we under attack?!"
"No, wait! Up there!"
"What is that?!"
Flying high in the air, King hurled a fireball down at the Gecko Pirates.
"Imperial Flame."
The fireball grew rapidly in midair, and the intense heat shocked everyone to full alert, sobering them up.
Moria grabbed his long blade as black shadows surged onto it from the ground.
"Shadow Slash!"
A crescent-shaped dark slash shot forward, slicing straight through the massive fireball.
Zzzraaa—!
At the same time, King descended slowly.
Moria narrowed his eyes at him. "You... you're that idiot Kaido's lackey, aren't you."
Hearing the pirate's insult, King snorted coldly. "This is Beasts Pirates' territory, watch your mouth. You see that island to the east? Three days from now, Kaido-san will be waiting for you there. Don't be too scared to show up, Gecko Moria."
Moria burst into laughter. "Kishishishi! So this is Kaido the idiot's territory. No wonder no one could ever find them. In that case, I'll gladly take it for myself. Kishishishi!!!"
A dangerous glint flashed in King's eyes, his killing intent growing stronger.
"Hmph."
But remembering Kaido's instructions, he suppressed it. He stared at them for a second, then shot into the sky.
Moria rested his blade on his shoulder and turned toward his crew. "Kishishishi! Back to the party, boys!!!"
"OHHHHH!!!"
Cheers once again erupted across the beach...
* * *
Wano Country. Onigashima.
Kaido listened to King's report and scoffed. "Heh. What a joke."
* * *
Three days later.
Wano Country, Ringo region.
This was the land of graves, where the dead of Wano rested. Almost no one ever came here.
The howling north wind and falling snow made the place feel solemn and heavy, with tombstones shaped from swords covering the ground as far as the eye could see.
Kaido and his men stood here in thin shirts, staring across the snowy land.
From the distance, Moria and his crew approached. Both men smirked at each other from afar.
Without another word, the two pirate captains charged straight at one another. Their subordinates followed, blades drawn, shouting.
"Charge!!!"
"HAHAHAHA!!!"
"Crush them!!!"
"Kill those bastards!!!"
"YEAHHH!!!"
As the gap closed, Kaido's kanabo began to crackle with a faint Haki.
"ORRAAAAAAH!!!"
He swung it at Moria, who gripped his sword with both hands, channeling his ability into it.
"Go to hell!!!"
Clang!
Their weapons clashed, unleashing a storm of violent wind that sliced outward through the snow. In the middle of the blast, the two stared each other down.
"You haven't improved one bit in all these years, Moria."
"I'm not about to be lectured by a brute like you, Kaido."
BOOM!
An explosion burst between them, forcing them apart.
Kaido spun his kanabo. Sparks of lightning danced along its surface as he grinned wickedly.
"Then die here! Thunder Bagua!"
Moria summoned shadows to wrap around his blade, mocking him.
"Try me! Shadow Slash!"
CLANG!
Their weapons collided once more, killing intent and energy raging. But the clash only lasted a moment and Moria's eyes widened in shock.
'Impossible! This strength…'
Kaido's raw power completely overpowered him as the kanabo came crashing toward his head.
Boom!
The weapon slammed into the ground, carving out a giant crater. Right before the blow landed, Moria swapped places with his shadow.
He looked at Kaido with lingering fear but didn't hesitate.
"Brick Bat!"
Reappearing in the air, he thrust out both hands. His shadow split into countless pieces, transforming into a storm of bat-shaped shadows that dove toward Kaido.
But Moria had underestimated the man's talent and strength. In this information-starved sea, he was still thinking of the Kaido from years ago.
The bat-like shadows that could bite through steel crashed into the pirate, yet they had no effect at all.
In response to the attack, Kaido's right hand twisted around the kanabo.
"Twister!!!"
He spun in place and a powerful whirlwind formed, shredding the shadow bats to pieces.
But as soon as he stopped spinning, a sharp sound cut through the air.
"Hmm?"
BOOM!!!
A dozens of meter long shadow spear erupted from the ground and struck Kaido in the chest, leaving a bright white mark.
The spear didn't stop. It kept stretching, driving his body backward and launching him across the battlefield.
More shadow spears followed, some stabbed into Kaido, others locked up his limbs. The attack was so fast, even he couldn't react in time and was pinned to the earth.
A shadow then rose in front of him and reformed into Moria. The blade in his hand twisted with swirling darkness, its size swelling several times larger. From a distance, it looked like a child lifting an enormous black cleaver.
"Die!!!"
He swung the blade down, aiming for Kaido's neck.
Crack!
However, the giant shadow blade snapped in half the instant it made contact, making Moria freeze in disbelief.
"How... how is that possible..."
Still pinned to the ground, Kaido's face darkened. With a powerful push of his arms, he forcefully shattered the shadow spears restraining him, his Haki and killing intent erupting in a devastating wave.
"You've really reminded me of something unpleasant, Moria. Now tell me... how do you want to die?"
Kaido's cold eyes locked onto his opponent as his body began to shift. In the blink of an eye, he entered his hybrid form—dragon horns twisting from his skull, thick scales covering his limbs. He gripped his kanabo tightly.
The second Moria saw this transformation, he knew there was no chance of winning.
"Shadow Dou—"
But before he could even switch places with his shadow, Kaido appeared right in front of him.
"Roaring Thunder Bagua!"
The kanabo, coated in Haki, slammed onto Moria's head.
CRACK!
The sound of bones breaking rang out sharply as Moria's eyes bulged, and his body, engulfed in wild shockwaves, was flung straight into the crowd of his own crewmates.
BOOM!
The impact left a huge crater dozens of meters wide.
Moria struggled to get up, his limbs trembling. "No way... this can't be happening…"
The battlefield fell into complete silence as Kaido, in his hybrid form, walked slowly toward the crater with his kanabo dragging behind him. He stopped at the edge and looked down.
"It's over, Moria."
Bloodied and furious, Moria glared up at him with wide eyes. Then, from all sides, his crewmates rushed forward and jumped into the crater, shielding him with their bodies.
"If you want to lay a hand on our captain, you'll have to go through us!"
"That's right!"
"Hahaha! Don't worry, Captain! We won't let him get a step closer!"
Kaido watched the scene unfold and sneered. "Worororororo, pathetic. Every one of you. Demolition Gust."
He opened his dragon mouth and a flurry of wind blades shot out, sharp as razors. They tore through Moria's men, tearing them apart. Blood and limbs flew in all directions.
"You're just as weak as your captain, Moria. Trash should know their place. Worororororo!"
Kaido's cruel laughter echoed in the air, paralyzing the rest of the pirates around. Moria himself couldn't believe what had just happened. In mere seconds... everyone was gone.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! Shadow's Asgard!!!"
Roaring, he unleashed his power, ripping shadows from people nearby—Kaido's subordinates, his own men, anyone he could reach.
Absorbing them all, his form expanded fivefold, muscles bulging in size. A menacing aura poured from his entire body and in his hands, a giant sword made of shadows took shape.
"Die!!!"
He slashed forward with all his might.
Kaido's left hand, now a dragon's claw, glowed with Haki as he raised it to catch the shadow blade.
BOOM!
The resulting shockwave cracked the earth beneath them, spiderweb fractures spreading for hundreds of meters. Wind exploded outward, making it nearly impossible to keep one's eyes open.
Holding the blade, Kaido grinned. "Worororororo! The best way to break someone… is to crush them completely!"
With those words, he clenched his claw, shattering the sword into pieces. Then he stomped hard and launched himself into the air, narrowly dodging Moria's massive right hook.
Rising to eye-level with the giant Moria, his kanabo surged with flickering lightning.
"Roaring Thunder Bagua!!!"
The sound of bones breaking echoed again as Kaido's strike smashed directly into Moria's skull. The hulking shadow-empowered form crumpled, slamming into the earth.
Meanwhile, Kaido twisted in midair, transforming into a gigantic blue dragon. Inhaling deeply, fiery energy gathered in his throat.
"Blast Breath!"
A thick column of fire shot down, creating a towering mushroom cloud. The crater left behind bubbled with lava, hundreds of meters wide.
Everything inside had been vaporized—no life remained.
"...Heh."
* * *
An unknown amount of time later, Moria awoke in the darkness of a vast underground crypt, hatred boiling in his heart.
"Kaido..."
* * *
Grand Line. Aboard a massive marine vessel.
"Vice Admiral Saul, we've spotted a ship from the illegal exploration team near the island ahead."
The giant Vice Admiral Saul was silent for a moment, then replied, "Capture them. Remember. Capture."
"Yes, sir!"
The officer saluted and left. Saul stood at the bow, watching the distant island grow closer. After so many captures, doubt had begun to creep into his heart.
'They're just unarmed scholars… why must it come to this? Why must they die?'
**
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