Half an hour later...
On the massive stone bridge that connected Red Harbor to the G1 Branch, a grim scene unfolded. When Fleet Admiral Sengoku arrived with Admirals Akainu and Aokiji to provide reinforcements, what greeted them was devastation on a scale few had ever seen.
The entire G1 Branch looked like it had just been through a full-scale war. Smoke curled through the air, wreckage littered the ground, and part of the towering main building had completely collapsed. Marines scrambled through the ruins, some dragging the wounded to safety, others kneeling beside fallen comrades with expressions of helplessness and despair.
Kaido of the Beasts had long since disappeared.
Sengoku's eyes narrowed as he took in the destruction. He stepped forward and seized a nearby Marine by the shoulder.
"What happened here? Where is Borsalino?"
Though a Yonko was certainly stronger than a single Admiral, someone of Kizaru's caliber should have at least been able to hold Kaido off. To imagine he had failed so utterly sent a chill down Sengoku's spine.
The Marine he'd grabbed looked hollow, like a man clinging to the edge of sanity. When he realized who was standing in front of him, his legs gave out and he began sobbing uncontrollably.
"It was Kaido... he's a monster... a real monster...!"
Seeing that the soldier was too shaken to give anything useful, Sengoku let go and turned to another Marine nearby. This time, he got a clearer response.
"Kaido took down Admiral Borsalino in one blow... He's in the main building, receiving treatment..."
"One blow..."
Sengoku echoed in disbelief.
Behind him, both Akainu and Aokiji stiffened, stunned. The idea that Kaido had defeated an Admiral in a single hit was difficult to accept, but with the ruins of G1 laid out before them, denial wasn't an option.
"And Kaido?"
"He left... right after he defeated Admiral Borsalino."
Sengoku stared into the Marine's fear-stricken eyes. There was no point pressing further.
"Follow me," he said to Akainu and Aokiji.
Inside the medical room of the G1 Branch headquarters, the atmosphere was thick with silence. Sengoku entered, followed by Akainu and Aokiji. Their eyes immediately fell on Borsalino, who was lying motionless on the bed, his entire body swathed in thick bandages.
The sight crushed any lingering doubt they had. If anyone had questioned whether Borsalino was truly defeated in a single blow, the truth was undeniable now. What surged in their hearts was not just disbelief, but a growing unease at the monstrous power Kaido had revealed.
"What exactly happened?"
Sengoku asked sharply as he stepped closer.
Borsalino, seated upright beside the bed and covered in gauze, raised his head to look at them. He didn't hesitate in his answer.
"Kaido has become even more terrifying."
"What do you mean?"
Aokiji asked. Borsalino's eyes darkened as he recalled the moment.
"Kaido's Conqueror's Haki… when I faced it, it felt like I was standing against Whitebeard... or Shanks. It overwhelmed my senses. For that instant, my Logia body meant nothing. My Observation Haki failed me. I wasn't fighting just a Yonko anymore... I was fighting something beyond that."
===
One hour earlier...
Above the G1 Branch, the air shimmered with blazing heat. Borsalino stood in midair, expression grim, as he faced the oncoming storm of fire. His hands moved swiftly, drawing energy to his chest.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
Golden light burst from his fingertips, illuminating the sky and reflecting against the flames. Countless beams of light shot forward, colliding with the incoming torrent of fire. The clash triggered a violent explosion that lit up the heavens, erupting into a dazzling storm of light and flame.
But for the Marines watching from below, the spectacle was no cause for awe.
To them, it was a rain of death.
Flames rained down from the heavens, engulfing the base below in a searing inferno that spread in mere seconds. Entire sections of the G1 Branch ignited, swallowed by relentless waves of fire.
"Oi oi... Kaido of the Beasts, are you seriously declaring war on the Marines?!"
Borsalino shouted into the scorched sky, which was now blanketed with the smoke and debris of countless explosions. He had managed to block the initial strike, but he had no intention of continuing the battle. There was simply no way he could stop Kaido on his own, and more importantly, this was a Marine stronghold. Below them were not just soldiers, but thousands of civilians—Marine families and staff who had no part in this fight.
But just as he began considering a retreat, something felt wrong. He scanned the skies again and froze. Kaido's massive, serpentine dragon form had disappeared without warning. There was no sound. No presence. No aura.
Boom!
A shockwave erupted, followed by the sudden appearance of a colossal figure right in front of him. Wielding a kanabō and moving at a speed that seemed impossible for someone of his size, Kaido had transformed into his human form and closed the distance in an instant. It felt as though the very fabric of space had folded to deliver him there.
"What?!"
Borsalino's eyes widened in disbelief. He had sensed absolutely nothing. Not a ripple in the air. Not a flicker of presence. It was like Kaido had stepped through reality itself. The sensation was unnervingly familiar, just like the time Shanks released a wave of killing intent that rendered Observation Haki useless.
Still, Borsalino moved. He activated his Logia powers immediately to phase away and avoid the oncoming blow.
But something else crept up inside him—something worse than pain.
A cold, heavy dread surged in his chest. And then he saw it, just the barest curl of a smirk at the edge of Kaido's lips.
Then he heard two words.
"Divine Descent!!!"
BOOM!
===
Inside the medical room at the G1 Branch, the silence was suffocating. After hearing Borsalino's detailed account, Sengoku, Akainu, and Aokiji exchanged solemn glances.
Akainu, the least tolerant of any pirate gaining an upper hand, was the first to break the silence.
"Divine Descent? What kind of move is that? Is it some form of advanced Conqueror's Haki?"
Though none of them, except Sengoku, had personally awakened Conqueror's Haki, each had crossed blades with Yonko before and were deeply familiar with its overwhelming nature.
Borsalino shook his head, his voice unsteady with lingering unease.
"No... it wasn't advanced Haki. It wasn't even a direct attack. It felt like pure intimidation—just the raw, unrefined pressure of Conqueror's Haki. But the feeling I got... it wasn't like anything I'd experienced with Red-Haired, or even Whitebeard and Roger back in the day. This was different. It wasn't a sharp burst of pain or mental pressure. It was like... like Kaido had become something else entirely."
He paused, then added quietly.
"It felt like what he called it. Like a god descending. That moment... my Devil Fruit powers shut down completely."
No one in the room doubted his words.
"So now Kaido has power not just to disrupt Observation Haki like Red-Haired, but to nullify Logia intangibility too..."
Aokiji said slowly, his tone grim.
"That's not just a threat. That's a new level entirely."
Sengoku's face hardened. For a Fleet Admiral, there were few worse things than hearing a Yonko had grown stronger. But seeing Borsalino's bandaged form before him, Sengoku chose not to press any further for now. Instead, he offered rare sympathy.
"I understand. I'll report this to command. From now on, we proceed with even more caution when it comes to Kaido. The seas are becoming more chaotic by the day. How are your injuries? Anything critical?"
Borsalino gave a faint, bitter laugh.
"Honestly? It's laughable. A pirate showed me mercy."
"What do you mean?"
Sengoku frowned. Borsalino didn't hesitate, though his expression showed clear confusion.
"Kaido's attack completely caught me off guard. If he'd hit me with full intent to kill... I wouldn't be lying here talking. I'd be out for months. Maybe dead. But he held back. I don't know why... but it was obvious. The blow wasn't as heavy as it should've been."
The statement hung in the air like a puzzle no one could solve. Sengoku found himself at a rare loss for words. Kaido showing restraint against a Marine Admiral made no sense.
Why?
Then the Den Den Mushi in Sengoku's coat pocket rang.
He sighed, expecting a call from the World Government for updates on Kaido's attack. However, as he answered and listened to the voice on the other end, his expression shifted drastically.
"One of the Seven Warlords: Sir Crocodile... has been defeated by a pirate from the East Blue—someone calling himself Monkey D. Luffy."