"I urge you to simply raise your hands and surrender, King." El spoke in a steady tone.
"And not just you—your entire Beasts Pirates would do well to admit defeat and surrender without resistance as well!"
El's voice carried absolute certainty and unwavering conviction.
Or you could choose to hold on… place every last shred of your hope in that man Kaido.
To be honest, I would not mind seeing you do exactly that. Kaido certainly carries quite the formidable reputation.
I have heard that he has been captured by powerful enemies more than once in the past, yet in the end, no one has ever truly been able to subdue him… truth be told… I have been very eager to see if that is really the case for myself.
"You…" King had stood faithfully by Kaido's side since he was little more than a boy. To his captain, King was loyal beyond question, beyond measure.
And Kaido had returned that loyalty in full, shielding King for all these years from the relentless pressure of the Celestial Dragons and the World Government, ensuring that he remained the last living Lunarian.
The Lunarian people, who had once thrived in great glory across the Red Line, had been persecuted and hunted to near extinction by the Celestial Dragons, leaving only this single survivor behind.
It went without saying that if the Celestial Dragons and the World Government ever learned of King's true identity, there was no doubt whatsoever—even if he remained under the protection of the Beasts Pirates, they would undoubtedly take the risk to come and seize him!
After all, among the Celestial Dragons and the lapdogs of the World Government, there were more than a few who would throw their very lives away just to claim such a prize!
"…How could you possibly stand a chance against Captain Kaido?!"
"Do not let your imagination run wild… hahahaha!!" King already knew deep down that there was absolutely no way he would ever escape from El's grasp.
Even so, he seemed unwilling to bow his head or yield so easily, to give himself up with no further struggle!
"…Sigh…" El paused for a moment, then shook his head slowly with a faint look of disappointment.
"What a true pity…"
"If every last pirate in the Beasts Pirates possessed the same unyielding spirit as you, I daresay my plans ahead would face quite significant obstacles…"
"But fortunately…" El suddenly broke into a confident grin.
"I have long since prepared for every possibility."
"Whether your resolve is strong or fragile…"
"Whether you are willing to turn your backs on the Beasts Pirates and abandon Kaido or not…"
"I will say this once plainly: choose to stand against me, and you had better prepare yourselves for the worst outcome."
"…Very well."
"There is no point in wasting any more words here with you."
"It is not as though you will ever be able to carry my message back to the Beasts Pirates anyway…"
"Come with me now… King."
"Or would you prefer that I personally break your legs and your wings before dragging you back?"
…
All three of the Beasts Pirates' All‑Stars, the most powerful fighters in the crew second only to Kaido himself, had now fallen into El's hands.
News of this magnitude would without a doubt send earth‑shaking ripples sweeping across the entire New World!
To have all three top officers captured by a single rival crew meant that the Beasts Pirates had lost nearly two‑fifths of their total fighting strength!
Make no mistake—this was a loss suffered by the Beasts Pirates as an organization, not a loss of Kaido's personal power.
Kaido and his crew were two separate entities that could be viewed as distinct forces.
This was true not only for him, but for all the other Four Emperors as well.
The value and sheer might of a single Emperor were enough to rival, and even surpass, the combined power of their entire formidable crew!
The Beasts Pirates, as the aggrieved party, were naturally the very first to receive the news.
It was said that upon hearing the report on Onigashima, Kaido of the Beasts flew into such a rage that he smashed his table straight over!
He then stormed across the island in a wild frenzy, and there was no one there capable of stopping him!
This was only to be expected.
In the past, whenever Kaido had gotten drunk and lost his temper on his own territory, his three All‑Stars had always been able to step in and restrain him to some degree, doing what they could to keep their captain from causing even greater destruction.
But now? All three of the Beasts Pirates' All‑Stars had been captured by the enemy.
Who was left within the entire crew strong enough to hold Kaido back?
Who possessed the power to do so?
Who even had the right to try?!
…
"Damn it!"
"DAMN IT!!"
Kaido had already laid waste to nearly half of the key island that served as his headquarters, yet his fury had not abated in the slightest.
"El… EL!!"
"That insolent scoundrel… that whelp has seized King and all the others!"
"This is a provocation… a blatant, deliberate insult!!"
Kaido had never been the sort of pirate known for his gentle temper.
Though come to think of it, that was rather a ridiculous statement—there was scarcely any pirate who could truly be called good‑natured.
Blessed with overwhelming physical power and a body that seemed nearly impossible to kill, Kaido often relied far more on his brute strength than on careful thought.
This was in no way meant as an insult to Kaido, one of the Four Emperors—he truly had the ability to solve the vast majority of problems through his own might and his fists alone.
Especially in recent years, the very name of the Beasts Pirates had been enough to command respect across the four seas, leaving no one daring to provoke them!
This was the true nature of the pirate world, a place where raw strength was the only thing that truly mattered.
Without power, you were nothing more than grass waiting to be trodden underfoot, or a helpless dish waiting to be carved up—anyone could do whatever they pleased with you.
Yet true strength was never something that could be obtained easily.
Not to mention Haki, martial arts, and swordsmanship—skills that required endless years of grueling practice and even natural talent to master.
Even Devil Fruits, often seen as a shortcut to greater power, demanded constant effort to develop their practical combat applications.
Was there not a world of difference between an awakened Devil Fruit user and one who had not yet reached that state?
The gap in power between those who had unlocked their potential and those who had not was simply too vast to ever be compared!
There was no shortcut to building true strength, and this held true for absolutely everyone.
For a long time, the Beasts Pirates had stood as one of the Four Emperors, ruling over a vast stretch of the New World with no one daring to defy them.
But what of now?
Could it be that the era of the Four Emperors… or at the very least, the era of the Beasts Pirates… had truly come to an end?
And what of this young pirate, El…
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