CHAPTER 251 SHOCK ACROSS THE SEAS, KAIDO'S FURY
Every time the World Reverie convened, the people of the seas became obsessed with newspaper reports. It was unavoidable—each topic discussed at the conference affected at least one nation dramatically. Issues that rippled across entire sea regions and impacted the entire world were far from rare. Every Reverie brought significant changes to the global landscape, and anyone with even passing interest in the state of affairs made certain not to miss a single government news story that week.
Then, on this particular day, the people finally received major news.
But it had nothing to do with the Reverie itself.
When people opened their newspapers that morning, eager to discover what headline awaited them, they found themselves staring at a single image plastered across every front page.
A fierce, snarling dragon with scales gleaming in crimson red.
"Is that Kaido?" was the immediate thought that crossed every reader's mind.
Then, just as quickly, they reconsidered.
Anyone who knew Kaido's abilities understood that his dragon form was blue—a vibrant azure—not red. And upon closer inspection, the details differed noticeably as well.
Then people finally noticed the headline above the image.
"BRETT REVEALED! THE SECRETS OF THE DEEP SEA EMPEROR!!"
The article provided a comprehensive examination of the man known as the Deep Sea Emperor—the fish-man named Brett. By this point, Brett's name had become legendary throughout the seas. In virtually every corner of the ocean, few remained ignorant of who he was. Yet the specifics of his history remained largely unknown to the common seafarer. Most people didn't even realize he had once been a pirate.
Today's newspaper detailed Brett's entire life story.
His birth as a human-fish-man hybrid. His abandonment on Fish-Man Island as an infant. His upbringing under the care of a man named Fisher Tiger. His later recruitment into the Sun Pirates that Tiger founded. His capture and imprisonment when the Navy hunted down the Sun Pirates. His pardon and release when Jinbei became a Shichibukai. His subsequent rise to prominence.
In truth, none of this was the revelation that mattered. While many people didn't know these details, those who needed to know already did.
The true bombshell was what the newspaper claimed about that red dragon in the photograph.
The article stated that during the World Reverie, Fish-Man Island faced pirate attacks. King Neptune and Brett had attempted to depart early. However, the bubble ships that ferried travelers between the depths and the surface had been damaged, making their immediate return impossible.
In desperation, Brett had unleashed his ability for the first time.
He transformed into a red dragon.
This was information almost nobody in the entire ocean possessed.
"It can't be! An ability similar to Kaido's?!"
"No! You can't even call it similar anymore—it's nearly identical except for the color!"
"Didn't you read what the paper said? Brett can manipulate clouds, lift objects with them, summon winds, breathe flames, and unleash lightning. Can Kaido even do all that?"
"Shut your ignorant mouth! Those are abilities that should belong exclusively to Kaido!"
The entire ocean erupted in chaos.
This was beyond shocking.
Who could have imagined that the fish-man Brett was a Devil Fruit user—and one who had never revealed this secret before?
And his ability was so remarkably similar to Kaido's?
The newspaper heavily implied—sometimes overtly, sometimes subtly—that this fruit might be a replica of Kaido's own.
A Devil Fruit replica.
Had such a thing ever existed in the world before?
Did Fish-Man Island possess such technology?
People couldn't help but wonder.
But for the people of the seas, this wasn't even the most shocking revelation.
Equally astounding was a different discovery entirely.
"Wait a second—if Brett is a Devil Fruit user, how does he move around in the deep sea?"
The question hung in the air, unanswered.
Devil Fruit users were cursed by the sea itself. They couldn't function in water. Everyone knew this as fundamental truth.
Yet somehow, Brett—a Devil Fruit user—retained the fish-man ability to move freely through water.
Fish-Man Island had become less isolated over the years. Humans regularly visited and had seen Brett swimming underwater with perfect ease.
How had he managed this impossible feat?
"Could he have discovered a way to overcome the sea's curse?!"
Two unprecedented breakthroughs. Two revelations that fundamentally challenged everything people had believed about Devil Fruits for centuries.
The ocean, quite literally, exploded into pandemonium.
Almost simultaneously with the news breaking, Brett received a call from an old friend.
"Brett, what the hell is going on?!" Tesoro's voice was urgent and confused. "You never told me you were a Devil Fruit user!"
"Well, now you know," Brett replied, feeling a familiar headache forming.
To be honest, he had never wanted this information broadcast across the seas. But the government had contacted nearly every major newspaper in the ocean—not just Morgans.
Even if he could have stopped Morgans, stopping every other publication would have been impossible.
So he'd simply let it happen. At this point, what did it matter if the secret was exposed? What danger could it really pose?
Threats from ambitious individuals?
He already faced the World Government itself. What else on the seas could possibly frighten him now?
"So explain this ability of yours," Tesoro pressed. "Is it really the same as Kaido's?"
"Think of it that way," Brett replied casually.
"That's pretty evasive, you bastard!" Tesoro complained, then added with a hint of schadenfreude, "Still, Kaido won't just let this slide, will he? He'd never tolerate someone else having the same ability as him."
"It doesn't matter," Brett said. "Is Kaido really going to sail all the way to Fish-Man Island to cause trouble? Besides, I've already broken openly with the government. Compared to them, the Beasts Pirates are nothing."
"What?!"
Tesoro had been about to ask how Brett managed to overcome the sea's curse, but he froze at this revelation. "Wait, what? I never heard about this! What happened at the Reverie?!"
"Right, I haven't told you yet."
"You bastard! Explain everything from start to finish right now!"
While Brett was filling Tesoro in on the details of what had transpired at the Reverie, on the other side of the world, in Wano Country, on Onigashima.
"Hey! Hey! CLOUDS?! FIRE BREATH?! LIGHTNING?! WIND?! Aren't those all abilities that Kaido has, boss?!" A massive, rotund figure waved the newspaper frantically, his voice shrieking.
"Damn it!!" a roar echoed through the island. "VEGAPUNK!! I won't forgive him!!"
"Was it during that time?" a man wrapped entirely in black leather spoke gravely, his voice heavy with memory. He recalled the moment he had first met the man he had devoted his life to following.
"I'm going to kill that bastard Brett!!" The monster transformed into a colossal dragon, launching skyward with a deafening roar.
"Kaido, sir! Calm down! That man is on Fish-Man Island!" someone desperately called after him.