Karol nodded.

“Even if you see through it, there’s nothing you can do.”

“Who can resist becoming an Emperor?”

“Especially those lawless pirates.”

Sakazuki stretched his hand out the window, catching a snowflake.

“The New World is vast.”

“Three Emperors aren’t enough.”

Karol’s eyes suddenly widened.

“You can do that?”

“Tsk!”

“Politics really blackens the heart.”

Sakazuki let out a faint snort, withdrawing his hand from the window. Yeah… it really was dark.

He watched four snowflakes melt and evaporate quickly in his palm.

Then, Sakazuki casually tossed a booklet toward Karol.

“Give Dragon a little help.”

“But don’t get exposed.”

Karol looked at the characters on the cover and smiled.

“Got it.”

…

New World, Wano Country.

The Gekko Pirates’ ship had been split in two.

Several strong-looking pirates were rummaging through the sea.

“Found him!”

“Quick, pull him up!!!”

“Get two more people!!!”

“Where’s the doctor!!!”

Before long—

The unconscious Gecko Moria, dragged up onto the beach, opened his eyes.

“Cough cough…”

“Where… am I?”

His subordinates swarmed around him.

“Moria!”

“Thank goodness!”

“You’re okay!”

“Uwaaahhh!!!”

Moria shook his head.

“I’m fine.”

“I remember we climbed up a waterfall in the fog.”

“This place is…??”

His crew started chattering:

“We’re not sure.”

“We came up the waterfall and ended up here.”

“There’s sea and an island.”

“It’s amazing.”

“That’s the charm of the ocean.”

“Hahahahaha!”

“By the way, looks like there are people living on this island.”

They pointed toward several massive chimneys visible to the naked eye.

Moria looked over and stood up to stretch a bit.

“In that case…”

“Let’s throw a banquet!”

“And explore this island.”

“Hee-shee-shee-shee-shee!!!”

The crew erupted in cheers.

“Woo!!!!!!!”

…

Wano Country, Onigashima.

Kaido held a newspaper with the headline about the new Emperor.

He raised his sake gourd and gulped it down.

Bang—

The gourd dropped to the ground.

“An Emperor, huh. Hohohohoho.”

“What a clever scheme.”

Step step step…

Boots echoed on the floor.

King walked over with one hand resting on his sword.

“Kaido-san.”

Kaido tossed the newspaper aside and stood up.

“What is it, King?”

King spoke up.

“Reports say a group of pirates was seen over at Itachi Port.”

“It’s the Gekko Pirates.”

Kaido’s interest was instantly piqued.

“That Moria guy, huh?”

“Interesting.”

“Then let’s use him as an example.”

He glanced down at the newspaper on the ground.

Who wouldn’t be tempted by the title of Emperor?

…

Itachi Port, beach.

Suddenly, a small red dot appeared in the sky.

One of the crew glanced up and rubbed his eyes.

“Hey!”

“Look up!”

“Is that thing getting closer!?”

Everyone grabbed their weapons.

“What!”

“Where!?”

“Is it an enemy!?”

“No, look up!!”

“It’s in the sky!!!”

“That is!!!”

King flew high above. Looking down at the Gekko Pirates, he hurled the fireball in his hand.

The scorching fireball rapidly grew in size. The wave of heat snapped everyone to attention.

Moria grabbed his longsword, and dark shadows surged up the blade from the ground.

“Shadow Slash!!!”

A crescent-shaped black shadow shot out.

Zzzkkk—

It tore the giant fireball apart.

King slowly descended.

Moria narrowed his eyes.

“You… you’re that idiot Kaido’s underling, right?”

King sneered at the disrespect.

“This is the territory of the Beasts Pirates. Watch your mouth.”

“You see that island to the east?”

“In three days, Kaido-san will be waiting for you there.”

“Don’t chicken out.”

“Gecko Moria.”

Moria suddenly burst into laughter.

“Hee-shee-shee-shee-shee!!!”

“So this is that idiot Kaido’s territory, huh.”

“No wonder no one could find them.”

“In that case, I’ll gladly take it for myself.”

“Hee-shee-shee-shee-shee!!!”

King’s eyes glinted with killing intent.

“Heh…”

But recalling Kaido’s orders, he restrained himself. He gave them one last deep look, then soared into the sky.

Moria rested his massive blade on his shoulder.

“Hee-shee-shee-shee-shee!!!”

“Keep the banquet going, boys!!!”

“Yeahhhhhhh!!!”

Cheers echoed…

…

Wano Country, Onigashima.

Kaido listened to King’s report and snorted, smirking disdainfully.

…

Three days later.

Wano Country, Ringo region.

This was a graveyard of Wano Country, rarely visited by people.

The howling northern wind and falling snow lent a solemn and austere atmosphere.

Everywhere were graves marked by swords as tombstones.

Kaido’s group stood in thin shirts, looking ahead at Moria’s approaching crew.

From a distance, both Kaido and Moria exchanged wicked grins.

The two led the charge toward each other.

Behind them, their subordinates followed, swords and blades raised.

“Kill!!!”

“Hahahahaha!!”

“Crush them!!!”

“Wipe out this trash!!!”

“Yeahhhh!!!”

As the distance closed—

Kaido’s kanabo club was infused with a thread of Haki.

“RAAAHHHH!!!”

He swung it at Moria.

Moria gripped his blade with both hands, a thread of power surging into it.

“Die!!!”

Clang—

Blade and club collided, releasing a violent gust of wind.

Blades of wind exploded outward, sweeping across the snowy battlefield as the two locked eyes.

“All these years and you’re still weak, Moria.”

“I don’t want to hear that from a dumb brute like you, Kaido.”

BOOM!

A massive explosion erupted between them, blowing them apart.

Kaido flicked his kanabo, sparks of lightning crackling from it, grinning viciously—

“Then die here, Moria!!!”

“Thunder Bagua!”

Moria infused his shadow into his longsword and sneered sharply:

“Then try it!!!”

“Shadow Slash!!!”

Clang——

Their weapons clashed, killing intent and shockwaves surging wildly.

But the deadlock only lasted a moment.

Moria’s eyes widened:

“Impossible!”

“This power…”

Kaido’s overwhelming strength crushed Moria instantly, and his kanabo came whistling toward Moria’s head.

Boom——!!!!!

Kaido’s kanabo smashed a massive crater into the ground.

Just before the blow landed, Moria swapped places with his shadow.

Still reeling in fear, he glared at Kaido but didn’t hesitate:

“Bat Scattering!”

Reappearing, Moria waved both hands and split his shadow.

Countless bat-shaped shadows spread across the sky, swarming toward Kaido like a black tide.

But he had underestimated Kaido’s talent and strength… In the information-starved seas, his impression of Kaido was stuck years in the past.

These bat shadows that could tear through golden armor had no effect at all when biting Kaido.

Kaido rotated his right hand gripping the kanabo:

“Tornado!!!”

His whole body spun in place, forming a massive twister, wind blades spiraling through the air.

In a flash, the sky-darkening bat shadows were swept away.

Just as Kaido stopped spinning, several sounds of slicing wind rushed at him.

“Hm?”

Boom!!!!

A shadow spear dozens of meters long shot from below and struck Kaido’s chest, leaving a white mark.

The infinitely extending shadow spear hurled Kaido backward.

Sharp shadow spears followed in rapid succession.

Some pierced Kaido’s body, others locked his joints.

They moved too fast to react, pinning Kaido to the ground.

A shadow rose before him, condensing into Moria’s form.

The longsword in Moria’s hand was coiled in layers of shadow, swelling to several times its size.

From afar, it looked like a baby wielding an oversized black cleaver:

“Die!!!!”

He swung it straight at Kaido’s neck without hesitation.

Crack——

The massive shadow blade shattered. Moria stared in disbelief:

“Impossible…”

Pinned to the ground by shadow spears, Kaido’s expression darkened. With a heave of his arms—

He forcibly broke the shadow spears locking his joints.

A tidal wave of killing intent and Haki burst forth:

“You’ve brought back some unpleasant memories.”

“Moria.”

“How do you want to die?”

Kaido gave Moria a cold glare and immediately transformed into his hybrid form.

Grotesque dragon horns and scales appeared all over his body. He gripped his kanabo tightly with both hands.

And the moment Moria saw Kaido’s hybrid form, he knew—this was impossible to beat:

Before he could swap places with his shadow, Kaido had already appeared in front of him:

“Roaring Thunder Bagua!”

Kaido’s Haki-coated kanabo struck Moria’s head with both hands.

Crack——

A crisp bone-crushing sound rang out. Moria’s eyes bulged.

His body, carried by a violent shockwave, crashed into the battlefield where his subordinates were fighting.

Boom——

A crater dozens of meters wide appeared. Moria struggled to rise. No… it can’t be…

“How could this…”

The entire battlefield fell silent.

In the distance, Kaido in hybrid form walked slowly to the edge of the crater, kanabo in hand:

“It’s over, Moria.”

Blood-soaked, Moria glared at Kaido with rage-filled eyes.

Then, someone moved.

All of Moria’s subordinates leapt into the pit, shielding him with their bodies.

“If you want to hurt the boss, you’ll have to go through us!”

“That’s right!”

“Hahahahaha! Don’t worry, boss!”

“We won’t let him take a single step closer!”

Kaido looked at the scene in the pit and cracked a cruel smile:

“Oroorororororo!”

“What a bore, each one more pathetic than the last.”

In his hybrid form, Kaido’s dragon mouth expelled countless wind blades slashes.

They shredded most of Moria’s underlings in an instant, torn limbs flying everywhere.

“As weak as you, Moria.”

“Trash should accept their fate as trash.”

“Oroororororo!”

Kaido’s cruel voice echoed in Moria’s mind, and it also stunned the remaining pirates.

Moria couldn’t believe what had just happened. In an instant, everyone…

“Aaaaahhhhh!!!”

Activating his power, he snatched shadows from everyone around him—Kaido’s men and his own alike.

Every shadow was stuffed into Moria’s body.

His entire form expanded fivefold, with bulging muscles and a menacing aura radiating from him.

A longsword formed from shadows appeared in his hand:

“Die!!!!”

He slashed ferociously at Kaido.

Kaido’s left dragon claw, coated in Haki, grabbed the shadow blade directly.

Boom——

The impact cracked the ground and sent shockwaves rippling outward.

Cracks spiderwebbed across the earth for hundreds of meters.

The violent wind forced everyone’s eyes shut, while Kaido, gripping the shadow blade, grinned:

“Oroororororo!”

“The best way to destroy someone… is to crush them completely!!!”

With that, Kaido crushed the shadow blade in his left hand and kicked off the ground, soaring into the sky to dodge Moria’s massive right hand.

At the height of Moria’s head, Kaido gripped his kanabo, lightning crackling along its surface:

“Roaring Thunder Bagua!”

Bones shattered with a sickening crunch. Moria’s giant form, several meters tall, was smashed into the earth.

In midair, Kaido twisted his body and transformed into a colossal azure dragon, stretching hundreds of meters.

Flames and energy swirled in his mouth:

“Heat Breath!”

A giant mushroom cloud formed. The massive crater below churned with lava.

No trace of life remained—everything had been vaporized.

“Hah…”

…

No one knew how much time passed…

Moria awoke in a massive crypt, unconscious until now. An overwhelming hatred burst from him:

“Kaido…”

…

Grand Line, aboard a massive warship.

“Vice Admiral Saul, we’ve spotted a ship near the island ahead—it’s the vessel of that illegal expedition team.”

The giant Vice Admiral Saul fell silent for several seconds:

“Initiate capture.”

“Remember, it’s capture.”

“Yes, sir!”

The messenger saluted and left. Saul looked at the distant island. After so many captures, he was beginning to feel confused and lost.

They were just a group of unarmed scholars. Why… why did they have to die?

—

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