"No… That's right, Jack—the calamity of the New World—is dead. Even his head fell into the sea, there's no mistaking it!" Morgans exclaimed, feathers bristling with excitement.
Click! Click!
Kuritz, suddenly realizing the value of the moment, scrambled to pull out his camera and began snapping shots of the scene below. Morgans himself leaned forward, raising his video camera to capture a close-up.
In the frame, Thorne Ashveil appeared utterly unbothered, lounging as though nothing extraordinary had occurred. Even after slaying Jack, he wore the same calm, almost lazy expression, as if the entire battle had been a casual errand.
"Hahaha! Ashveil is truly an interesting man," Morgans laughed.
"Now I understand why he awakened Conqueror's Haki."
"After killing an opponent as fearsome as Jack, his face remains calm, not a ripple of emotion. What a terrifyingly strong will!" Morgans' voice brimmed with admiration.
Kuritz, standing beside him, was nearly trembling with excitement.
"Boss Morgans, this story alone should be worth five billion Berries, don't you think?"
Morgans' wings flapped sharply, his eyes glittering.
"More than that! Jack was Kaido's right-hand man, practically family to him! His death could spark a war between Kaido and Whitebeard—the clash of two unstoppable monsters!"
"This news is worth at least ten billion! Once the draft is out, I want every press running at full capacity. Publish it nonstop for a month. Buyers? Hah, the world will fight for it!"
Meanwhile, aboard the Marine warship, Ashveil stretched casually, surrounded by the unconscious bodies of Jack's pirate crew strewn across the deck.
The sea breeze grew stronger as Ashveil sighed.
"Troublesome… I didn't come to the Sabaody Archipelago looking for a fight with Jack, but that stubborn ox just wouldn't listen."
He looked around at the battlefield, frowning slightly.
"Now I've even got to clean up after all this. Seems like I really need to find myself a capable subordinate. Doing everything alone is far too annoying."
With that, Ashveil unleashed a wave of Conqueror's Haki. The air crackled as pirates were blasted off the warship, hurled screaming into the sea.
Splash! Splash!
The deck fell silent.
Ashveil dusted his hands and gave a small nod.
"Much better. Peace and quiet."
Noticing the wind rising, he walked back to his cabin, pulling out the lavish food and wine gifted by Doflamingo. With a ham in one hand and a cup of fine wine in the other, he let out a satisfied sigh.
"Now this is living."
Though he had no desire to provoke Jack, Ashveil was not one to back down. If someone dared to trouble him, he made sure they paid with their life. Jack was simply the latest proof.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for killing Jack. Reward: 200 Conqueror's Haki points. Magma-Magma Fruit development upgraded to advanced!]
The system's chime rang sweetly in his ears.
His Conqueror's Haki had now surpassed 5,800 points, and his Magma-Magma Fruit ability had ascended to the advanced tier. Jack, foolish as he was, had turned out to be quite the source of rewards.
Thinking of his Devil Fruit brought another figure to mind—Akainu Sakazuki. The hardline Marine Admiral, ruthless even toward his own men. In Marineford, he had used his magma powers to pierce Fire Fist Ace straight through the chest.
He was one of the men Ashveil most longed to kill, second only to Blackbeard.
According to the system, Devil Fruit mastery was ranked as: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Ultimate.
"System, what level is Sakazuki's Magma-Magma Fruit mastery ranked at?" Ashveil asked eagerly.
[Ding! Sakazuki's Magma-Magma Fruit development is at… Intermediate!]
Ashveil blinked, stunned.
Intermediate? That man, who had scarred Whitebeard—the strongest man in the world—burning half his face during the Marineford War, was only… intermediate?
The system was truly on another level. If Akainu was intermediate and Ashveil himself had already reached advanced, then the difference was staggering.
He grinned faintly, imagining the Admiral's expression when faced with someone wielding the same fruit but at a higher mastery.
But Ashveil's victory did not remain a secret for long. Because Morgans had broadcasted live, the world was already buzzing with the shocking news: Jack the Drought, one of Kaido's All-Stars, had been slain.
It was an even greater shock than Ashveil's destruction of Blackbeard's crew. Blackbeard, though infamous, lacked the legacy Jack carried. Jack was Kaido's banner-bearer, a calamity whose path left nothing but wastelands, a pirate with a bounty of one billion Berries.
The seas erupted with chatter, disbelief spreading like wildfire.
Far away, on Onigashima, storm clouds gathered thick and black. Lightning crackled above as Kaido's drunken rage boiled over. His minions cowered, heads bowed, too afraid to meet his eyes.
Smashed sake barrels littered the ground around him.
This was the peak production period for the SMILE factory, and Kaido had dispatched Jack specifically to safeguard it. Normally, Jack reported hourly. Now, contact with his Mammoth ship had been completely severed.
A gnawing premonition filled Kaido's chest.
"That idiot Jack, no word from him yet?" Kaido growled, his breath stinking of alcohol.
A trembling subordinate with deer-like antlers stammered, "R-reporting, Kaido-sama, we've tried repeatedly. We'll inform you the moment we get a reply."
Kaido's face twisted in fury. He hurled the massive sake barrel in his grip to the ground, shattering it to splinters.
"Useless worms! Find him! Bring me news of Jack!"
The terrified officer scrambled away, nearly tripping over his own feet.
Just then, another messenger entered, clutching a freshly printed issue of the World Economic Journal. He shuffled forward nervously, wings trembling.
"K-Kaido-sama… there is… news. About Jack."
"Oh? Out with it!" Kaido barked.
The bat-winged Gifters froze, stammering, unable to speak.
"Pathetic!" Kaido roared, snatching the paper from his hands.
On the front page, the truth screamed back at him: Jack's severed body, blood pooling around him. The photo was unmistakable, printed with Morgans' infamous seal.
Kaido's hands trembled, veins bulging, eyes filling with murderous rage. He threw back his head and roared, his voice shaking all of Onigashima.
"Jack is dead?! Impossible!!!"
Lightning tore through the sky, thunder booming in reply to his fury. Rain lashed down in torrents as Kaido's rage consumed him.
He seized his massive kanabo, purple lightning sparking across its iron spikes.
"You fool, Jack! I haven't claimed the title of Pirate King yet, and you dare die on me?!"
His roar echoed with thunder. With a sweep of his weapon, he unleashed his fury.
"Thunder Bagua!!!"
A storm of lightning crashed outward, splitting the heavens as Kaido's wrath shook the island.