Jack laughed manically, blood bubbling in his throat. "What's the matter, brat? Haven't made a move yet? Could it be you chickened out?"
High above the battlefield, in a birdhouse tethered to a great hot-air balloon, President Morgans watched with unblinking eyes. The usually boisterous news emperor looked uncharacteristically grim.
"If Ashveil kills Jack… it will spark war between two Emperors," Morgans muttered, feathers twitching. "No wonder he hesitates. Understandable… but boring. The value of this story drops by half if it ends in restraint."
He shook his head with disappointment, but Kuritz, his sharp-eyed photographer, suddenly jolted upright. His hands trembled against the telescope.
"President Morgans!" Kuritz's voice cracked with excitement. "Thorne Ashveil… he's moving!"
Morgans froze, his feathers fluffing in shock. Then, in an instant, his regret was gone, replaced with feverish excitement. He yanked his camera into position, eyes wide with anticipation. "He's making a move? Capture everything!"
On the deck of the ship, silence reigned save for the groaning of the timbers beneath the waves.
Ashveil's gaze fixed coldly on Jack. His voice was calm, indifferent, cutting sharper than any blade. "You've said enough. If you have no last words, then I'll end this now."
The title of Four Emperor meant nothing to Thorne Ashveil. Kaido, the self-proclaimed "strongest creature in the world," carried no weight in his heart. If Kaido dared to come, then let him. The only inconvenience would be that Ashveil would have to personally deal with him.
Jack's eyes went wide with disbelief. "What… what did you just say?"
"Did you not hear me clearly?" Ashveil's tone did not change, his hand lazily flicking at his ear as though brushing away dust. "If Kaido dares to come, then let him. I don't mind if there's one less Emperor in this world."
A buzzing roar filled Jack's mind.
One less Emperor?
This boy spoke of Kaido as though swatting a fly. Impossible! His master was Kaido of the Beasts—captured eighteen times, tortured, executed, drowned, yet never killed. His strength had crushed Marineford fleets and split open battles with other Emperors. Even the world government called him "the strongest creature alive."
And yet this boy, this Zero Division Captain, claimed so casually that he could erase him?
Jack's fury drowned his disbelief. "Arrogant brat! Kill me, and you'll suffer Kaido-sama's endless wrath! You'll drown in it!" Even at death's door, Jack's threats rang out across the sea.
But Ashveil's lips curved into a faint, mocking smile.
Then it happened.
A surge of Conqueror's Haki tore upward, bursting from his body and climbing into the sky. The pressure alone rattled the planks of the ship, but what followed was something unseen before.
Above them, Ashveil's Haki condensed, coalescing in the heavens like black lightning. The aura gathered into form, until a massive scimitar, shimmering with visible energy, hung in the air.
Jack's pupils shrank. His jaw dropped. "What… what is this? Conqueror's Haki… shaped into a weapon?"
Through his Observation Haki, he could feel it—the blade above him was no illusion. It was pure Conqueror's Haki, honed so densely it had manifested into reality.
From the sky-house, Morgans' camera clicked wildly. His beak dropped open. "A weapon, made from Conqueror's Haki…? What is this power?"
Kuritz nearly shouted as he adjusted his lens. "President! Could it be… his Haki?"
Morgans' mind reeled. He recalled the earlier reports: Ashveil annihilating Blackbeard's entire crew, wielding overwhelming Conqueror's Haki. But this—this was something else entirely. A manifestation so dense it took form without Observation Haki.
"This will shake the world," Morgans whispered, eyes gleaming. "Film everything! Every detail! The experts will analyze it later. Don't miss a single frame!"
His reporters snapped into action. The thought of the bonus—hundreds of millions of Berries—spurred their hands into a frenzy.
"Boom!"
The sky split as the scimitar descended. The air screamed as if the heavens themselves were cleaved. Even before it struck, the pressure of the attack washed over Jack like a tidal wave, choking his breath.
His battered body twitched, his lips trembling as he forced Armament Haki across his head in desperation. "W-what a joke… just the aura alone feels like an ocean…!"
The colossal blade crashed down.
For an instant, time froze. Jack's eyes widened in horror, his mouth open, disbelief carved across his face.
Then, in a spray of blood, the mammoth's head was severed cleanly from his shoulders. His metal jaw gleamed once before tumbling into the sea.
The waves swallowed it whole, erasing him from existence.
Jack the Drought—one of the All-Stars of the Beasts Pirates, a man whose bounty reached one billion Berries, who left desolation in his wake—was gone.
The sea itself seemed to reel. The wind howled, the waters surged, the ship trembled beneath the aftermath of Conqueror's Haki unleashed.
Inside the birdhouse, silence fell.
Reporters who moments ago had been scrambling for shots now stood frozen. The air itself felt heavy, as though the sea mourned what had just transpired.
Morgans' feathers trembled, his beak struggling to form words. "D-dead… Jack the Drought… killed in one strike by Thorne Ashveil."
Kuritz's eyes were wide, his camera hanging limp. "The Zero Division Captain of Whitebeard's Pirates… just killed Kaido's calamity…"
Morgans finally exhaled, his voice low but burning with awe. "The seas will never be the same."
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