Shiro paused, respect flickering in his eyes as he thought of Roger, then continued:
"No. Captain Roger wasn't called the Pirate King just because of his strength.
What made him truly deserving of that title… was that he understood the responsibility that comes with power.
He never used his strength to bully the innocent.
When the moment called for it, he used that power to protect the weak, to defend his cherished comrades and the dreams he believed in."
Shiro's gaze drifted to the Wano civilians still fighting desperately against the remnants of the Beasts Pirates. A sigh escaped him.
"But you?
To chase your ambition… to squeeze out every ounce of profit… you slaughtered, pillaged, and enslaved the people of Wano.
You dragged an entire nation into suffering.
With actions that twisted… with tyranny this rotten… you could never succeed.
And you could never become the true Pirate King."
"...Protect… huh?"
Kaido froze at Shiro's words.
Fragments of his life flashed through his mind uncontrollably.
From his early days on the Rocks Pirates, vowing to become the strongest pirate—
to wandering the seas alone after the crew fell apart—
to eventually seizing Wano and ruling it as its iron-fisted tyrant.
It had been a long, blood-drenched road.
To gain more strength, more power, more territory, he had killed without hesitation.
Whenever a flicker of conscience surfaced, he suppressed it with the same excuse:
"Isn't pillaging and killing what pirates do?"
With that twisted justification, he spiraled deeper—becoming more brutal, more unhinged.
He enslaved Wano, forced its people into labor mines, stripped families apart, and drove the nation to the brink of collapse.
"So… I was wrong from the very beginning…"
The thought surfaced in his mind—heavy, bitter, full of regret and resentment.
He opened his mouth as if to speak further—
and coughed up a fountain of blood instead.
At last, the man once known as the Strongest Creature, the one who stood unrivaled for decades…
slumped over, lifeless, collapsing into a pool of blood.
"KAIDO-BOSS!!!"
A thunderous roar tore through the ruins of Onigashima.
The Beasts Pirates' remaining elites—All-stars, Top Headliners, hardened Gifters—stared wide-eyed, veins bulging, refusing to accept what they saw.
But no matter how they screamed…
the monster who had risen from death countless times—the "immortal" emperor—never moved again.
Only the spreading pool of blood beneath him remained, erasing the last sliver of hope.
With Kaido's life finally extinguished, the Flame Clouds supporting Onigashima evaporated almost instantly.
The floating island trembled…
lost its final pillar…
and began plummeting rapidly toward the raging sea below.
The massive shadow swallowed the waves beneath it.
In moments, the island that bore countless battles and sins would crash into the sea, burying everything under its weight.
"Zeff! Use the Float-Float Fruit—stabilize the island!"
Shiro's voice was hoarse yet carried surprising force as he cried out to Zeff.
The battle with Kaido had wrung out every last drop of strength—he could barely stay upright.
If Onigashima fell, not only would their remaining allies die…
it could trigger a massive tsunami and devastate the surrounding seas.
Zeff, locked in combat with Ulti, snapped his head around at Shiro's shout.
His eyes hardened.
He swung his chef's knife, releasing a sharp blade of force that sent Ulti stumbling backward.
Using the brief opening, Zeff kicked off the ground and sprang into the air.
Golden light radiated from his body as he fully unleashed the Float-Float Fruit.
An invisible force spread like a massive net—
and wrapped itself around the entire island.
The fall slowed…
slowed…
and finally stopped entirely.
Onigashima hovered once more, stable in midair.
Shiro exhaled deeply, tension melting from his body.
He forced one final hand sign, whispering:
"Spatial Bind."
A transparent barrier formed around Kaido's corpse, locking it in place.
He knew well:
when a Devil Fruit user dies, the fruit reincarnates nearby.
A Mythical Zoan this powerful—Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon—could not be allowed to fall into the hands of anyone else.
Minutes later, just as he expected, a strange blue fruit covered in swirling patterns materialized beside Kaido's body.
Dragging his exhausted body forward, Shiro staggered toward the fruit—vision blurring with every step.
But just as he reached out—
A figure suddenly lunged from behind the rubble, blocking his path.
It was Ulti—battered, bleeding, barely standing—yet glaring at him like a wounded beast.
"You killed Kaido-boss… I'll… avenge him!"
She lowered her head and charged.
Her sharp dinosaur horns gleamed coldly as they aimed straight at Shiro's chest.
Shiro tried to raise an arm—
but his body refused to respond.
He had emptied every drop of strength fighting Kaido.
Damn… am I really going to die to someone this weak?
He could already feel the icy sting of her horns closing in.
Then—
in that instant—
A red blur flashed between them.
Ulti froze mid-charge.
She looked down in confusion.
A strange umbrella-sword protruded from her chest—blood dripping steadily down its ribs.
Shiro's tension evaporated.
His vision tunneled into darkness, and he collapsed unconscious.
Standing over him was Patrick Redfield.
Redfield glanced at Ulti's fallen body, then at Shiro.
He knelt, picked up the Azure Dragon fruit, and carefully tucked it into Shiro's arms.
Then he lifted Shiro onto his shoulder—
and calmly began walking toward the Virtue, waiting in the distance.
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