Under Whitebeard's forceful intervention, the originally ambitious Charlotte Linlin could only give up, leading her massive family fleet back empty-handed.
Before leaving, Charlotte Linlin didn't forget to promise: "Kai boy, my proposal remains permanently valid for you."
On another side, Kozuki Hiyori gazed at the distant tall figure, her toes shifting slightly. She looked like she wanted to go but didn't dare.
Kai noticed her hesitation and gently encouraged her. "Go ahead, Hiyori. They surely want to see who you've become now."
With his encouragement, Kozuki Hiyori took a deep breath, finally making up her mind and walking quickly toward Moby Dick.
Coming before Whitebeard, she looked up with concern. "Uncle Newgate, how's your health?"
"Hm?"
Whitebeard looked down slightly at this pretty face that vaguely resembled an old friend. "You... are you Hiyori?"
"It's me, Uncle Newgate!"
Kozuki Hiyori nodded heavily, her eyes immediately reddening as she couldn't help stepping forward to hug Whitebeard's leg. "It's been so long..."
"Gurararara! The little one from back then has grown up."
Whitebeard released warm, hearty laughter, extending his large hand to gently pat Hiyori's hair.
"Hiyori? Is it really you?!"
Marco also approached in surprise, his face beaming with joy.
When Kozuki Oden joined the Whitebeard Pirates, he came together with his wife, Kozuki Toki, and Hiyori was born aboard their ship. So Kozuki Hiyori could be said to have been watched over from birth and raised by them.
They never expected to see her here.
Right, why would they see her here?
After the surprise, Marco seemed to think of something, his brow furrowing slightly. "Hiyori, why are you here? Are you working for the Beast Pirates?"
After Kozuki Oden left the Whitebeard Pirates, contact gradually ceased. They didn't even know that after returning to Wano, Oden fought a great battle with Kaido and Kurozumi Orochi's faction, nor did they receive any requests for help.
When they finally learned of Kozuki Oden's fate, it was only the terrible news of his defeat and death. Though the information was unclear, it was definitely connected to Kaido.
But now?
Kozuki Hiyori looked up seriously. "I'm now Kai's companion."
She deliberately emphasized the word "companion."
"Is that so? I hope you won't regret it."
Whitebeard nodded knowingly, glancing at distant Kai before withdrawing his gaze and solemnly promising: "If you encounter trouble in the future, don't be like your father—we're also your family."
"That's right!" Marco nodded.
Officers who knew Kozuki Oden all nodded in agreement.
In the crowd, a man in a gorgeous woman's kimono dressed as a geisha was already in tears. He choked up, his voice full of self-reproach. "Hiyori-hime, this subordinate was incompetent, unable to return to Wano in time to assist our lord."
"Uncle Izo, I've never blamed anyone. That was Father's own choice."
Kozuki Hiyori gently pulled out a handkerchief, softly wiping his tears.
Then, as if wanting to change this sorrowful atmosphere, she raised the two great swords at her waist, smiling like a girl showing toys to family. "Look, I successfully tamed Enma!"
"And this Ame no Habakiri—it's a great sword Kai helped me obtain."
"I'm quite an impressive swordsman now!"
Watching the battlefield turn into Hiyori's large-scale family reunion, Queen's eyes widened, his jaw nearly dropping.
"Komurasaki—no, Kozuki Hiyori knows Whitebeard?!"
"You didn't know? Kozuki Oden previously served in both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Roger Pirates."
Kai shrugged.
His gaze casually swept over the diverse crew members of the Whitebeard Pirates. Soon, he locked onto a rough-looking, hairy, burly middle-aged man in the crowd.
Son of Rocks, future Yonko, Blackbeard—Marshall D. Teach. Or rather, Davy D. Teach.
Currently, he was peacefully staying in the Whitebeard Pirates, playing the role of an honest, good-natured character while waiting for his destiny. Nothing about him suggested the future schemer's appearance.
This was probably the secret of the Davy clan's successful concealment for eight hundred years. Never revealing disguise or strength before the time was ripe.
Even Rocks was like this—when he emerged, his debut battle was stunning, directly killing a Marine Admiral.
Unfortunately...
Kai regretfully withdrew his gaze.
Currently laughing among the crowd, Teach suddenly shivered inexplicably.
"What's wrong?" A nearby cheerful man in a chef's hat asked with concern. "Did you catch a cold?"
"Nothing, nothing, Thatch-captain."
Teach quickly scratched his head, that familiar, harmless, honest smile immediately filling his face again. "Maybe the sea breeze was a bit strong just now?"
At the Beast Pirates' temporary camp, post-war commotion was gradually replaced by another kind of busyness.
Chef teams set up massive grills, roaring flames roasting huge chunks of beast meat. Fat dripped into fires with sizzling sounds as the rich meat aroma spread, greatly comforting the pirates' survivor spirits.
What battle-weary pirates needed most was alcohol and meat.
Kai, Yamato, and other core officers sat around the largest grill. Freshly roasted, steaming meat was passed over and immediately devoured by them, becoming nutrients nourishing their weary bodies.
"Kaido-boss, our losses weren't small this time."
Queen, having just received preliminary casualty reports, frowned.
Of eight thousand pirates, over a thousand died directly in battle, dozens of Headliners died, twenty-three of fifty beasts died, and even two thick-skinned Numbers were lost.
From statistics alone, casualties were quite severe. The only consolation was that no important officers died, preserving the Beast Pirates' core fighting power.
Other casualties could be replenished anytime.
Kaido listened to the report while gulping down alcohol, his expression dark. Clearly, having his battle interrupted left him in a poor mood.
While the Beast Pirates rested, in distant waters, the withdrawing Marine fleet was conducting an emergency assessment of this sudden great war.
Marine flagship, captain's cabin—a small high-level meeting was being held.
Sengoku, Aokiji, Garp, and Tsuru via Den Den Mushi participated in this analysis.
"That's roughly the process and outcome of the entire war."
Sengoku finished his summary, saying gravely. "Share your thoughts."
"Overall, the Red Hair Pirates suffered greater losses."
Aokiji spoke first, leaning back in his chair with analytical calm. "But strictly speaking, it's not devastating. After all, their core—Red Hair Shanks himself—remains."
All three nodded silently.
On these seas, top-tier individual power often transcended collective strength. As long as the captain was fine, even as a lone commander, the pirate crew couldn't be called defeated.
"I think we need to focus on someone else now."
Aokiji changed topics, sitting straight as his joined fingers heavily tapped a wanted poster spread on the table.
Everyone's attention focused there.
On the poster, a man looked somewhat disheveled but wore a smile radiating undeniable heroic spirit.
"Natural Disaster Kai."
Tsuru, through the Den Den Mushi, was silent for seconds before slowly speaking. "About three years ago, he appeared in the Beast Pirates from nowhere, rising with amazing speed directly to All-Star status."
"His debut battle easily defeated the Charlotte family's powerful officers Oven, Daifuku, and Snack, directly turning that battle's tide."
"Then, he was still a pirate who could be suppressed and defeated by Borsalino. But after just three years, he can now directly defeat Ben Beckman—that man hailed as Shanks' equal. We've all witnessed Red Hair's strength."
"Without Marine, the Whitebeard Pirates, and the Charlotte family intervention, a freed-up Kai would've completely changed the battle situation."
"Kai's strength progresses too fast. Kuzan's right—we must increase our attention on him!"
Tsuru paused, adding a more disturbing fact. "Moreover, his fruit ability hasn't even awakened yet."
Mentioning abilities, Aokiji looked at Sengoku. "Sengoku-san, what exactly is Natural Disaster Kai's ability?"
That green dragon didn't match any Devil Fruit encyclopedia records.
Sengoku shook his head, indicating even he was unclear. "Currently, the only certainty is that guy possesses terrifying abilities triggering multiple large-scale natural disasters—the codename 'Natural Disaster' is fitting."
During that three-day intense war, Kai displayed so many varied abilities that even Sengoku found it ridiculous.
Summoning meteors, releasing shockwaves, controlling flames, wielding ice, calling storms, commanding thunder, and controlling earth and rocks, plus that monstrous body—each was alarmingly powerful.
It could even be said Kaido's abilities—he had them all; what Kaido lacked, he also possessed.
If awakened, Sengoku couldn't imagine how ridiculous it would become.
Regardless, Marines absolutely had to immediately strengthen monitoring and intelligence gathering on "Natural Disaster" Kai and the Beast Pirates.
At the same time, the Whitebeard Pirates and Red Hair Pirates had completely withdrawn.
Moby Dick.
Having settled his crew, Shanks looked somewhat weary but not dejected. "Thanks for this."
He never expected that what was originally just a precautionary backup would actually become key to saving his entire crew from the brink of annihilation.
Without Whitebeard's timely intervention, at least half his companions would probably remain forever on Chagos Island.
"This is the first and last time I'll help you unconditionally."
Whitebeard said lowly. "What do you plan to do next?"
Shanks smiled dashingly. "Naturally strengthen our forces and find opportunities to strike back."
After such massive losses, he naturally had to regain face.
Whitebeard wasn't surprised by this. Without such fighting spirit, Shanks couldn't have reached today.
Meanwhile, the briefly rested Beast Pirates also began their journey home.
Thus, this war that attracted worldwide attention completely concluded.
But the massive aftershocks it triggered were just beginning to spread to every corner of the world.
Morgans, who personally went to the battlefield frontlines to collect materials and broadcast live, originally wanted to boldly attempt an exclusive interview with Kaido.
But as soon as he landed, Kaido's gloomy, terrifying aura scared him back.
"Kai-kun, I'll deliver your earnings in a few days. I'll leave first."
Morgans hastily shouted to Kai before jumping back into his hot air balloon at maximum speed, escaping skyward.
Since the interview was impossible, time to prepare the news. This was rare big news.
Thus, before Kai even reached Wano, he received the latest World Economic Journal.
"Shocking! Is He the Next Pirate King?"
Mm, the typical shocking headline style.
Kai was too tired to complain, yet such headlines attracted the most reader attention. Even Kai couldn't help reading on.
Fortunately, Morgans, having reached verbal agreement with Kai, didn't fabricate wildly this time. Though the wording was exaggerated, he did detail this war's complete story.
In the article, besides describing Kaido and Shanks' great battle, the largest section covered Kai versus Ben Beckman's fight.
Of course, the article inevitably included Morgans' artistic processing.
For instance, the Red Hair Pirates, having fought the Beast Pirates for three days and nights, were directly labeled an Emperor crew.
"The New World now welcomes the Four Emperors era!" Morgans wrote.
Along with the newspaper came a thick stack of wanted posters.
"Muhahahaha! My bounty finally increased!"
Queen held his poster, laughing loudly—it clearly showed: 1.32 billion berries.
But the next second, seeing Kai's wanted poster, his laughter stopped like a strangled rooster.
"How—how's this possible!"
"Two billion! Kai, you're amazing!"
After counting zeros, Yamato happily jumped on Kai's back.
Though Kai didn't understand what was so exciting about this.
Still, he didn't spoil the mood, responding: "You're not bad either, Yamato—1.25 billion's quite impressive."
"I am Yamato! Hahahaha!"
Yamato put her hands on her hips. "Someday I'll surpass that bull gorilla's bounty!"
"Wishing you early success."
Kai returned attention to his wanted poster.
This time, Marines were quite generous. Every Rayquaza crew member who participated received a brand new bounty.
Besides Kai and Yamato, the highest bounty went to Kuma—a full 240 million.
In this era before complete bounty inflation, an initial bounty of this amount was already remarkable.
On the other side of the deck.
Three boys huddled together, excitedly and competitively discussing their first wanted posters.
"Why's my bounty only 20 million?!"
Ace complained very indignantly, especially after comparing Zoro and Sanji's amounts. "I even fought the Red Hair Pirates' major officers!"
"Hmph, knocked out by Yasopp in one shot—you're still proud?"
Sanji smugly waved his 25 million berry poster. "I actually defeated several pirates to earn this amount! Be content—the green algae head only got 18 million."
"Boring."
Zoro crumpled his wanted poster and tossed it, heading to the training ground.
Damn, having the lowest bounty—must train harder!
"Hey, wait for us!"
Ace and Sanji saw this and immediately followed.
The three boys' figures soon threw themselves into intensive training.