The aftermath of the battle still lingered.
Giant waves tens of meters high rose and fell without end. Powerful gales swept in all directions. Vast stretches of sea were frozen solid by the frigid sword-ice, turning the surrounding waters into a perilous, devilish land of death.
Kaido lay atop a glacier, his breath faint as a thread.
His body was covered in wounds. Blood and pus sprayed out nonstop, yet strangely, chunks of ice on him kept collapsing and re-forming, over and over.
If one looked closely, they could even see the cycle of life and destruction repeating inside his wounds: fresh flesh-buds continuously sprouted, trying to knit him back together—but two sword intents kept devouring those buds, turning them into dead meat in the next moment, even melting into pus that flowed out.
The Shōjū Hōmetsu (Formation, Dwelling, Decay, Emptiness) true meaning of the Rinne sword intent, along with the Shōmetsu Ken'i (Erosion-Destruction Sword Intent) of the ice-eroding sword intent, were shredding Kaido's vitality and severing his "undying" regeneration and recovery.
But this time, his undying power wasn't winning.
Because those two sword intents—both amplified by killing intent—were far too nasty!
Creed hovered in the air more than ten meters above, sword in hand, looking down at him.
"Creed… you can't kill me!"
Kaido panted hard as he shouted.
But inside, he was terrified beyond measure.
This time, he truly felt death's shadow looming over him… yet his mouth was still stubborn.
As an emperor of the seas, he had his pride. Even facing death, he wouldn't throw it away.
"Your undying ability can be as strong as you want, but today you're finished!"
Creed drove his sword down—straight into Kaido's heart!
But this time he didn't use the Rinne sword intent.
Instead—he switched to the Blood-Shadow Sword Intent!
"ROAR!"
Within Kaido's body, the Blood-Shadow Sword Intent formed countless tiny blood-demon shadows, rapidly devouring Kaido's blood and vitality.
At the same time, the ice-eroding sword intent collapsed and gnawed away at Kaido's defenses, carving a "path" for the blood-demon shadows to surge through.
For a moment, these two SSSS-level sword intents actually complemented each other perfectly—an extremely exquisite coordination!
Especially with the Blood-Shadow Sword Intent boosted by killing intent, it became ferociously violent, its power skyrocketing—no longer at the level of an ordinary SSSS sword intent!
Maybe… it was already close to an SSSS+ sword intent!
"AAAHHH!"
The pain was so intense that even Kaido couldn't endure it. He grabbed Creed's Rinne blade with both hands, trying to shove it even half an inch out of his heart—but exhausted to the bone, how could he move it at all?!
Yet with the Blood-Shadow and ice-eroding intents invading his body, Kaido understood that if he didn't stop it, he would absolutely die soon.
Under the assault of two SSSS-level sword intents, his undying power couldn't keep up at all—it was left far behind!
"I surrender… I'm willing to surrender!"
Crushed under death's shadow, Kaido finally yielded!
Creed sneered. "How ironic, Kaido. You're making me look down on you."
"I just have an unfulfilled wish. I don't want to die like this for nothing!"
Kaido gasped, blood spilling from his mouth again and again.
If Creed didn't stop, he really was going to die.
"Oh? You still have an unfulfilled wish? Don't tell me you want to revive your captain, Rocks?"
Creed asked with interest, casually guessing.
"You! You—how do you know?!"
Kaido's eyes went wide in shock.
That he had once served Rocks wasn't some secret.
But reviving Rocks… he had never told anyone outside.
Even his most trusted commanders—the All-Stars—had never heard a word of it!
Of course, he had more than one wish… but this was the biggest one.
Then a thought struck him.
"Big Mom told you?"
Kaido clenched his teeth.
He remembered he might've mentioned it to that dead old hag Big Mom once—only once—and even then, it was in a joking tone. She didn't seem to take it seriously, and she'd never asked about it again all these years.
"No. I guessed it. ROOM!"
Creed obviously wasn't going to tell him he'd seen One Piece.
He poked the sword at Kaido's chest again—then pulled his heart out.
With that heart in his hands, Kaido could be controlled however Creed pleased.
"Help me attack the Holy Land, Mary Geoise, and bring down Imu. When that's done, I'll restore your freedom."
Creed laid out his terms.
"You're insane. You probably still don't understand how terrifying Imu is… I advise you not to dream of overthrowing him. No one has succeeded in centuries. Even my old captain Rocks—an overlord of the seas—couldn't do it…"
Since Creed was no longer feeding sword intent into his body, Kaido's complexion looked a little better.
But hearing Creed's words made his face go pale again.
Trying to overthrow Imu, the master of the Empty Throne, was no different from walking into death.
"You've seen Imu?"
Kaido's words sounded like there was more buried inside them, and it made Creed curious.
"I… I have. But back then, I hadn't grown yet."
Kaido admitted, as if recalling something unpleasant—his face dimming.
Just then, a bolt of lightning streaked in from the horizon.
It landed beside Creed in an instant.
It was Ain!
She looked anxious as she handed over a copy of the World Economy News Paper.
Creed took it—and his expression changed.
"Public execution of the Pirate King Roger's son?! So the 'plot' still didn't change… only the timing moved up, and the location shifted to the New Marine Headquarters."
Creed thought to himself, then tossed Kaido a line:
"Redfield-senpai is in the Flower Capital. He probably already killed Orochi. From now on, you'll follow his commands and arrangements."
What else could Kaido do but agree?
Creed, Ain, and Falkor boarded the Ark Maxim. After explaining the situation to Redfield via Den Den Mushi, they then went all-out—racing straight toward the New Marine Headquarters.
His relationship with Ace was just so-so. They'd only met a few times, so whether Ace lived or died wasn't something Creed cared about.
But Luffy was his brother.
He didn't want anything to happen to Luffy later.
He'd already changed the world's course by a huge amount. He'd become the true main character of this era.
So if Luffy went to the New Marine Headquarters without the protection of "protagonist luck"…
Dying was absolutely possible.
If Creed guessed right, the current Luffy had, at most, unlocked Gear Second.
With that level of strength, charging into the Marines' headquarters was nothing but a road to death.
(End of Chapter)
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