Throwing Momonosuke's body into the sea, Kaito turned his gaze toward the deck.
There, Kanjuro lay trembling, weak and pale.
With a calm smile, Kaito spoke.
"Should I call you Akasaka Kushiro Kanjuro, or Kurozumi Kanjuro, the undercover rat serving Kurozumi Orochi, the false shogun?"
"What… what are you talking about? I don't understand anything!"
Kanjuro collapsed onto the floor, fear burning in his eyes despite his desperate attempt to act confused. No one besides Kurozumi Orochi should have known the truth about his identity. Yet this man, Ayanami Kaito, had exposed it without hesitation.
"How, how does he know? Did he make a deal with Orochi?" Kanjuro's thoughts spiraled wildly.
Kaito shook his head.
"It doesn't matter whether you admit it. Kaido and Kurozumi Orochi are my enemies, and so are you. Your identity changes nothing."
He stepped aside and gestured.
"Momonosuke is already dead, so join him."
Redfield nodded slightly.
Squeak. Squeak.
A swarm of blood-red bats descended. Kanjuro screamed in terror, dying with deep unwillingness stamped across his expression.
Thump. Thump.
Redfield casually ordered the bats to drag the three corpses across the deck, tossing them into the sea before he walked back toward Kaito.
"I don't understand," Redfield muttered. "Why was Momonosuke so young?"
"Yeah, it doesn't add up, Captain," Bullet added. "When Kozuki Oden left our crew, Captain Roger brought us to Wano. Oden already had a son back then, Momonosuke. That was more than ten years ago. The kid should be a teenager by now, not a child."
"And he didn't look fake either," Bullet continued, scratching his head. "I remember the retainers. They were always with Oden, helping around his estate. His household servants protected that kid. That means he really was Kozuki Oden's son, but the age…"
Bullet frowned deeply, completely confused.
"It's simple," Kaito replied. "What I was about to explain is this: everything happened because of Kozuki Oden's wife, Momonosuke's mother."
He paused.
"More than ten years ago, when Kaido and Kurozumi Orochi joined forces to defeat Kozuki Oden and burn his clan, Oden's wife activated the power of her Devil Fruit. I don't know its original name, but you would envy her ability."
"What ability?" Bullet asked.
"Time."
"Time? Does she manipulate time?" Issho asked.
Kaito shook his head.
"No, she doesn't manipulate it. She sends people through it. She pushes them forward, across time itself."
Bullet, Issho, and Redfield all froze.
"Time travel?" Bullet whispered, stunned.
They had heard of slowing time, speeding time, but traveling through it was something else entirely. Even monsters like them found it hard to accept.
"You mean they moved forward from the past, more than ten years ago?" Bullet asked, voice trembling.
"The side effects must be extreme," Issho murmured.
Redfield nodded thoughtfully.
"It sounds less like a Devil Fruit and more like a sacrifice. A fruit that burns away everything to send its targets through time."
"That's right," Kaito continued. "Kozuki Toki sacrificed her own life to send Momonosuke and Raizo forward into this era. Judging from their state, they must have arrived recently."
Redfield let out a small sigh.
"Power like that always demands a price. I'm more curious how the captain knows all these secrets."
Issho and Bullet turned toward Kaito, waiting for an explanation.
"It's just a kind of ability," Kaito said dismissively, turning his eyes toward the distant sea.
Redfield shook his head. "The captain isn't our enemy, so it doesn't matter."
An hour later, their pirate ship reached the waters belonging to Kaido.
Before long, another ship entered view. The massive vessel was unmistakable, lined with spiked iron plating and the Beast Pirates' flag.
"Stop where you are!" a voice boomed. "You have entered the territory of the Beast Pirates!"
Bullet looked at Kaito eagerly.
"What now, Captain?"
"Don't waste time on them," Kaito replied. "Kill them. We're heading straight to Wano. These small fry won't slow us down."
"Understood," Issho said calmly.
Clang.
Issho drew his bamboo sword and swung it in a single clean arc.
Hum.
A majestic wave of sword energy erupted forth. A brilliant crescent of force shot ahead, growing rapidly as the wind fed its power.
In moments, the slash expanded into a colossal pillar of cutting force, tearing across the sea.
The ocean split apart, the waters on both sides shearing open like canvas, revealing a dark abyss below along with several startled Sea Kings.
The parted sea refused to merge, as though an invisible wall held the water back.
A sword that split the sea, the true mark of a master.
The Beast Pirates' ship didn't even have time to respond.
The colossal slash crashed into it, cleaving it cleanly in two.
The halves sank immediately, vanishing beneath the waves without leaving survivors.
After a long moment, the ocean slowly reunited, sealing away all traces of the destruction.
"What an incredible blade," Kaito said with admiration.
"It's nothing compared to the captain," Issho replied modestly, keeping his sword drawn as more Beast Pirates' ships approached from behind.
They continued cutting their way through the enemy fleet until they reached a towering waterfall.
"So we're here," Bullet murmured. "If I remember right, Wano is at the top."
Redfield gazed upward.
"A magnificent sight."
"An airborne waterfall isn't surprising," Kaito remarked coolly. "Like a carp leaping toward the Dragon Gate."
…
Wano, near the port.
King and Queen stood at the battery fortifications, their expressions grim.
"Do you know who this intruder is?" King asked.
"No idea," the subordinate replied through a Den Den Mushi, voice trembling. "All we know is that he's a swordsman. Every pirate ship we sent was destroyed with a single strike."
"What pirate flag?" Queen demanded nervously. "Not Big Mom's, right?"
"No. This ship had a purple-eyed emblem surrounded by lightning."
King and Queen stiffened, exchanging a horrified look.
Sweat dripped down Queen's forehead.
"The Thunder Pirates," they whispered together.
"Kaito."
---