The waves crashed violently against the fortress walls once more, the battlefield roaring with tension.
"Teach… I never imagined that someone like you—someone I once trusted—would dare commit such treachery, again and again. You truly are ambitious beyond measure. I misjudged you before!"
Kozuki Oden's gaze locked on Blackbeard, his eyes cold, overflowing with murderous intent.
After learning of the vile atrocities Blackbeard had committed, all traces of sympathy or nostalgia for his former comrades had vanished.
"C-Captain Oden…!"
Feeling the killing intent radiating from Oden, Blackbeard's dark, twisted face contorted even further. He couldn't hide the unease in his eyes.
Of course, he knew who stood before him.
That man—Kozuki Oden, former Captain of the Second Division of the Whitebeard Pirates—was a legend, a figure both revered and feared.
Oden wasn't just a subordinate of Whitebeard.
He was his brother, his equal in spirit, someone who had once stood proudly among the strongest of their era.
Blackbeard remembered it well—the years when Oden commanded him, when he'd been forced to follow his lead.
When Oden left to join Roger's crew, and later fell to Kaido's hand, the pirates under Whitebeard's flag mourned a hero they thought they'd never see again.
And yet, here he was.
Back from the dead—at the worst possible moment.
Now, after betraying Whitebeard and throwing the entire crew into chaos, Blackbeard found himself staring at the one man whose judgment he feared most.
A cold dread pierced his heart.
"Heh… pathetic, Teach. You're trembling over one man?"
Katarina Devon, the Crescent Moon Hunter, sneered mockingly.
"It's embarrassing! How can the great Blackbeard be frightened by just Kozuki Oden?"
The Wicked King, Avalo Pizarro, added with a derisive grin.
Blackbeard stayed silent.
The others didn't understand—but he did.
They couldn't possibly know the extent of Oden's strength, the overwhelming force he'd once wielded as Whitebeard's right hand.
"Ku la la la la!"
Whitebeard's deep laughter rumbled across the sky, stirring the air itself. Even Blackbeard couldn't help flinching.
"Oden, leave this one to me. I'll handle cleaning up my own house. You've got more pressing matters to deal with."
Whitebeard's eyes glowed with fierce determination as he spoke.
"Whitebeard…" Oden murmured softly, his throat tight.
After a brief pause, he nodded firmly.
"Understood."
Then, without hesitation, Oden turned—his focus shifting from Blackbeard to another figure across the field.
His true enemy.
Kaido of the Beasts.
"Heh heh heh… long time no see, Oden!"
After his initial shock, Kaido regained his composure, grinning with anticipation. His massive frame loomed over the battlefield, the iron mace resting lazily on his shoulder.
"Honestly, I'm glad to see you again. Been waiting for this, Oden."
"Enough nonsense, Kaido. The pain and destruction you brought upon Wano—today, it all ends."
Oden's grip tightened around his twin blades, his aura surging like a storm.
"That's just what I wanted to hear!" Kaido grinned wide, baring his teeth.
Eighteen years had passed since their fateful duel in Wano.
Back then, Oden had fallen—humiliated, defeated by Kaido's deceit.
That shame had haunted both of them ever since.
Now, the time for reckoning had come.
Kaido's blood boiled with excitement. Finally, he could face the man he'd never truly conquered.
"Linlin! I'll leave Rocks to you for now. Once I'm done with Oden, I'll lend a hand!"
Kaido barked, striding toward Oden, his iron club crackling with lightning.
Without another word, the two charged at each other—
their roars shaking the heavens.
"Oden Two-Sword Style!"
"Thunder—Eight Trigrams!!!"
Steel met steel.
Lightning met flame.
Their clash split the skies open as the long-awaited rematch began—
eighteen years in the making.
Meanwhile, across the field—
"Damn that Kaido! He left me the hardest opponent again, that useless drunkard!"
The Four Emperors' Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin, was fuming, cursing loud enough to shake the sea itself.
She had joined forces with Kaido to challenge Rocks, but now the beast had abandoned her mid-battle, leaving her alone to face one of the strongest monsters alive.
"Hahahaha! What's wrong, Linlin? Where's that pride of yours now? Don't tell me you're scared!"
The Sea Overlord Rocks taunted her mercilessly.
"Scared? Don't make me laugh! I'm still one of the Four Emperors!"
Big Mom roared back, brandishing her sword.
The ground split apart beneath their feet as she launched forward—
BOOM!!!
RUMBLE!!!
The air exploded as the titans collided, and once again, the sea itself trembled under the wrath of legends reborn.
...
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