A thunderous roar echoed across the entire sea.
Everyone turned their gaze toward Portgas D. Ace, the sole bloodline of Pirate King Gol D. Roger. A storm of complex emotions swirled in the young pirate's eyes as the weight of Kaido's words crashed down upon him. Beside him, Garp's broad shoulders began to tremble violently. Sengoku's face turned incredibly grim, his usual stoic demeanor completely shattered.
No one expected the war to take such an unforeseen direction before it even began. There were no earth-shattering battles or violent clashes of Haki. There was only a series of piercing, uncomfortable questions. The overwhelming momentum of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet was instantly suppressed. Even seasoned veterans like Red-Haired Shanks and his powerful crew stood in stunned silence, completely unsure of how to respond to the heavy truth.
Kaido looked down at the trembling Marine hero and grinned, his sharp teeth flashing in the dim light. "Marine Hero Garp. You just called me pathetic for bullying the weak. What about everything you Marines have done in the past? You love to call me an evil pirate, but in all my years on this sea, I haven't killed a single innocent child or pregnant woman."
He shifted his massive gaze down to the terrified boy tied to the execution post. "Oden's brat. I could have easily killed you twenty years ago in that burning castle, but I chose to spare your life. Do you know why? Your idiotic father was a fool, but he had the overwhelming strength to be called a true hero of his time. You, on the other hand, are completely useless. I will give you a choice right now. Tell me, should I kill this old man?"
Thousands of eyes instantly locked onto Kozuki Momonosuke. His face was red and puffy from crying, and he stared blankly at the unfamiliar, chained old man beside him.
"Y-yes. How could an adult kill newborn babies and pregnant women?" Momonosuke stammered without the slightest hesitation.
Garp's expression darkened even further. In the distance, Kin'emon and the other samurai reacted with visible shock at their young master's blunt answer.
Kaido threw his head back and laughed heartily, the sound booming like thunder. "Look at that, Garp and Sengoku. Even a sniveling, cowardly child understands this basic moral principle. Why don't you?"
Garp clenched his jaw so hard his teeth nearly cracked. He struggled to find his voice before finally speaking with immense difficulty. "Sengoku was acting on strict orders from the World Government! He had absolutely no other choice!"
"No choice? Was it truly a lack of choice, or were you just unwilling to give up your precious power? You couldn't bear to let go of the Fleet Admiral position. If I remember correctly, Garp, your son Dragon used to be a Marine too. Why was he able to abandon his post to form the Revolutionary Army, while you and Sengoku stayed behind like obedient dogs? You stood by and watched countless tragedies unfold. You chose to close your eyes and ignore the screams. You even actively aided and abetted their atrocities!"
Garp and Sengoku stood completely frozen. Their mouths gaped open, but neither man could utter a single word in their own defense.
Seeing their broken spirits, Kaido slowly withdrew his intense gaze and looked out over the vast, crowded sea. "This is exactly why I detest this world. The Celestial Dragons commit evil simply for the sake of being evil. The Marines commit horrific atrocities in the name of absolute justice. Pirates cause destruction in the name of freedom and dreams. At their core, there is absolutely no difference between any of them. Yet, somehow, the Marines became the shining representatives of justice, while pirates were universally branded as the ultimate evil."
Kaido paused, letting his words sink into the minds of the thousands of listeners. "Even when pirates do something truly righteous and heroic, you Marines swoop in and steal the credit to boost your own fame and gain. Isn't that right, Marine Hero Garp? Former Fleet Admiral Sengoku?"
Both veteran Marines remained deadly silent. They simply did not know how to respond. Deep down, their deeply tormented hearts confirmed that the Emperor's harsh words were entirely correct.
"Let us look back at the history of this sea," Kaido continued, his voice projecting across the waves. "The world endlessly praises the Marines, simply because they have successfully brainwashed the public into labeling all pirates as evil. But are all pirates truly monsters? Look at the pirate crews of the East Blue. The Arlong Pirates, the Buggy Pirates, the Alvida Pirates, the Black Cat Pirates. They might be violent, greedy, and far from being good people, but they are not the absolute pinnacle of evil."
Kaido pointed a massive finger toward the Marine ships in the distance. "The real monsters in those waters were the corrupt Marine officers. Men like Captain Nezumi and Captain Morgan. They colluded with pirates, engaged in rampant corruption, ruled over towns like brutal tyrants, and executed innocent citizens on a whim. Ask any ordinary person who they feared more: the petty pirates, or the corrupt Marines who were supposed to protect them?"
"And what about the first half of the Grand Line?" Kaido sneered. "Apart from a few ambitious schemers like Crocodile, most pirates are just out for adventure or their own isolated survival. Take Gecko Moriah. He hid in the dark fog of the Florian Triangle, playing with corpses in his own territory. The only people he ever harmed were other pirates foolish enough to sail into his waters. What normal, sane citizen would ever go near Thriller Bark?"
"But the people aligned with the World Government?" Kaido's eyes narrowed dangerously. "They are the true villains. Look at Wapol, the former king of Drum Island. Look at the ruthless assassins of CP9 in Water 7. Those government dogs caused far more suffering and despair than Crocodile or Moriah ever did. The same goes for the Warlords of the Sea and the Supernovas. If you really had to pick truly evil people from those powerful groups, you would struggle to find one."
"Boa Hancock, Dracule Mihawk, Jinbe, Bartholomew Kuma. Even Doflamingo was merely reclaiming a country that originally belonged to his family line. Under his strict rule, Dressrosa was actually a peaceful, well-ordered kingdom. He only eliminated the people who actively resisted his reign. Even if you consider Doflamingo completely evil, the proportion of truly wicked pirates on this sea is incredibly low."
Kaido took a deep breath, his massive chest expanding. "This is even more true here in the New World. Look at the great pirates who rule these waters. Look at the Four Emperors. Do you honestly think Whitebeard or Red-Haired Shanks would ever go out of their way to slaughter innocent civilians? Even Charlotte Linlin, despite her destructive tantrums, built Totto Land into a genuine paradise where all races can live peacefully in this chaotic era."
"And my Wano Country?" Kaido chuckled darkly. "The world pities the starving citizens of Wano, but they forget that Kurozumi Orochi, the Shogun appointed by this country's own twisted politics, was the one who starved them. He openly admitted that he tortured and enslaved the commoners purely out of petty revenge against the Kozuki Clan. Even if you blame me as the main culprit for Wano's current state, my actions are absolutely nothing compared to the global genocide the Marines have committed."
"Have you all forgotten the Native Hunting Games?" Kaido roared, his voice echoing with intense, raw fury. "Thirty years ago, the Celestial Dragons used to massacre the populations of entire islands just for sport! The only reason that sick, twisted game finally ended was because Rocks D. Xebec attacked God Valley and destroyed them! The World Government desperately covered it up, but Rocks was the one who stopped the endless slaughter! From that perspective, wasn't Rocks the true hero of this sea?"
"For decades, the World Government has wiped entire nations off the map. The evil they have committed completely eclipses everything all the pirates in history have ever done combined. Yet every time a tragedy occurs, the Marines are right there, standing by and assisting the slaughter instead of upholding their precious justice!"
Kaido lowered his flintlock pistol, aiming it directly at Sengoku's head. "Pirates might be violent, but the Marines have absolutely no right to claim the word justice. You are a far more evil existence than we could ever be. So, former Fleet Admiral. Do you think what I said makes sense?"
Kaido's heavy, condemning words echoed in the ears of everyone across the sea. Sengoku and Garp gritted their teeth. They desperately wanted to argue, to defend the justice they had dedicated their lives to, but neither man could utter a single syllable. The undeniable truth paralyzed them.
"It seems you admit your own evil, then," Kaido muttered coldly.
Amidst the incredulous, horrified gazes of the entire world, a single gunshot rang out with a deafening bang.