Rosse looked down at the falling Golden Lion, and for once, a trace of hesitation flashed through his eyes.
With his current power, he could have easily captured Golden Lion alive. If he handed him over to Sora as experimental material, surely he would be of greater use.
But in the end, when he saw those eyes, filled with resolve, utterly without fear, Rosse chose to show respect.
There was no fear in those eyes, no pleading. Only calm acceptance, release, and firm conviction in his own beliefs.
That was the final pride of a fallen hero. It was worth Rosse granting him a grand funeral with his own hands.
Rosse slowly raised the Sea God Trident, aimed at Golden Lion's broken body plummeting downward, and with all his strength, hurled the halberd.
Swish!
Like a meteor tearing through the night sky, the Sea God Trident carried a momentum of utter destruction, traced a perfect arc in the air, and pierced Golden Lion's body with deadly precision.
That blood-red divine weapon was like the scythe of Death itself, mercilessly harvesting Golden Lion's life.
Even in the final moment of his life, Golden Lion's face showed not the slightest fear.
He still wore that signature wild, arrogant grin. A smile born of confidence and boldness, straight from the heart.
As if he were still that same man from years ago, dominating the seas, invincible, untamed. The sea overlord who carved countless legends.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[S-rank kill complete!]
[Strength +5,000,000]
[Special reward: S-rank Swordsmanship, Float-Float Fruit]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Buzz!
The instant the halberd passed through him, Golden Lion's body completely collapsed, dissipating into the world, leaving behind not even the faintest trace of flesh or blood.
In the end, only the two famed blades, "Oto" and "Kogarashi," fell with gravity, embedding into the ruined earth below.
PROOF THAT GOLDEN LION ONCE LIVED.
A generation's sea overlord, Golden Lion, finally met his end today.
"Tch… another old man dead, huh…", Not far away in the skies, the half-beast Kaido panted heavily, chest rising and falling like bellows, clearly drained from the battle.
In those still-fierce eyes of his flickered complex, unreadable emotions, desolation, shock, sorrow, and even a faint, hidden anger.
Just now, when Golden Lion had gone all out in his final struggle, he had not shown the slightest thought of helping Kaido withdraw. That stubborn old lion, even at the very end, thought only of his old friend.
Funny thing was, he himself had once been a member of the Rocks Pirates.
'That damned old lion has even taught me Haki back then!'
Thinking of this made Kaido feel even more stifled.
He was a man of flexible morals. He had long thought of running away. Too bad he couldn't.
From the very start of this battle, Rosse had completely locked onto him.
The moment he so much as thought about fleeing, he felt a sharp prickling down his spine, his hair standing on end, like a beast was watching him with predatory hunger.
Kaido knew all too well. This was Rosse's Observation Haki, honed to its absolute limit, signaling danger.
If he tried to escape, Rosse would immediately cut him off.
Rosse was like an immovable mountain, pressing down so hard it made one suffocate.
"Why was Whitebeard allowed to leave?", Kaido stared at Rosse, who floated slowly before him, and asked in a deep voice.
He couldn't understand.
In terms of threat, Whitebeard was above him.
In terms of strength, Whitebeard was above him.
In terms of hatred, Whitebeard was above him.
So why was it Whitebeard who left? Just because Golden Lion staked his life to cover him?
"Their performance was splendid. I look forward to their next act. You, on the other hand, think too much. The show you're fated to put on won't be half as entertaining," Rosse smiled as he spoke the reason.
With Whitebeard alive, the future would at least have some flavor.
Otherwise, even if Garp and Kuzan rebelled, pirates would still have no chance. That would be far too boring.
There were still 18 years before Luffy set sail. He had plenty of time to stir things up.
"All for that ridiculous reason?", Kaido's face darkened, staring in disbelief at Rosse.
'What kind of bullshit reasoning is that?'
'Because Whitebeard is more dangerous, because I myself scrutinize too much, so that means I should die?'
"Don't worry, I won't let you die. Just like when you were captured before. You should already be familiar with the routine by now," Rosse smiled, beckoning with his hand. The Sea God Trident flew back into his grasp.
At this stage, the battle was essentially over.
One Kaido left couldn't stir up any waves.
Oh, right, over on the other side, Kozuki Oden was still struggling against Gion.
During this battle, Gion had finally broken through herself, reaching S–rank level.
Coupled with Oden's already serious injuries, his defeat was only a matter of time.
"Tch! Used as lab material again. Haven't you bastards researched enough yet?", Kaido snorted, carelessly tossed aside his kanabo, and sat cross-legged on the ground.
It wasn't his first time being captured. So what if he was caught again?
As for being made into experimental material, he was long used to it. Worst case, he'd just escape again next time.
"Those researchers before weren't much good. Studying you wasn't quite up to standard," Rosse smiled lightly. Since Kaido was so cooperative, he could be relaxed too.
Now that Golden Lion had become his nourishment, Kaido could serve as Sora's research subject.
An S-rank specimen open to free experimentation, there was only this one.
As for other strong ones tied to the world government, they couldn't be studied so recklessly. But Kaido, so long as he wasn't killed, Sora could play with him however he liked.
Precautions would be made.
Now that Kaido was in his hands, whether he got out again was no longer Kaido's decision.
"Promise me one condition. Otherwise, I'll kill myself right now," Kaido suddenly spoke, his tiger eyes locked dead on Rosse.
"Oh? In your position, you think you can bargain with me? Threatening me with your own death? That's amusing."
Rosse chuckled. He hadn't seen many people try negotiating with such boldness.
But compared to Kozuki Oden, this was already much better.
"Go on. Since I'm in a good mood, I'll hear it out."
"Let the Beasts Pirates go. They won't raise a hand against the world government, nor will they bear hatred toward it," Kaido said in a low voice.
"Hm?", Rosse looked at him in surprise.
To make his last demand about the Beasts Pirates, this didn't fit Rosse's stereotype of Kaido at all.
'Could this guy actually be a man of feeling?'
"Fine," Without much thought, Rosse readily agreed.
Though one should root out weeds completely, he hadn't done that yet.
Letting the Beasts Pirates live might even help his future plans.
And if Kaido someday lost his usefulness, he could always be thrown out for the child of destiny to spar with.
He was rather curious to see how that child would perform against a Kaido reshaped by him.
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