For a long moment, silence ruled the battlefield—then Borsalino finally spoke, his voice faintly amused.
"So that punch… Kaido lost, huh?"
Garp nodded, arms folded and grin wide. "And he lost badly! In the end, Kaido underestimated him."
Tsuru, always composed, added coolly, "It's not quite that Kaido was careless. Rather, Rosinante once again exceeded even Kaido's imagination. Even though Kaido treated him as an equal, he still didn't think he'd need to go all out against Rosinante. And that overconfidence led to this defeat."
Borsalino chuckled, golden light flickering around him. "So even Kaido pays the price for underestimating Rosinante, huh? I can't say I don't enjoy the irony."
He would know—after all, he was the first one to be defeated by Rosinante because of his own arrogance. Seeing another suffer the same fate brought him an almost refreshing satisfaction.
"Rosinante's fighting style is all about explosive power," Garp said seriously. "He doesn't drag fights out for days and nights. Either he loses fast, or he ends it fast. Still, that one punch alone isn't enough to bring Kaido down completely."
Kaido wiped blood from his mouth and gave a monstrous grin. "Hah… I thought I was going to die for a second there. That punch was terrifying. But if you want to kill me, Rosinante—you'll need to try harder!"
Rosinante's eyes glinted coldly. "Next time, I'll gather even more strength—and I guarantee, I'll put you on your knees."
"What's going on?!" a reporter gasped as the tension broke. "Wait—was that… Rosinante's win?"
"Impossible! Rosinante defeated Kaido in a one-on-one fight?!" a Marine soldier stammered, eyes wide.
In the New World, there was a saying: If you seek a duel, find Kaido. Of the countless challengers who'd ever fought him, only one man had ever truly rivaled him—the one known as the world's strongest, Whitebeard.
And now… Rosinante had done it.
"Fufufufu… Rosinante, you've surprised me once again," Doflamingo said with a grin, his laughter tinged with disbelief.
"His Majesty has won!" Shaxia cried joyfully.
Bins and Enel both smiled with pride. Kaido—the same monster who had crushed the BloodSworn Guard a year ago—had been forced to retreat.
Kaido tilted his head, his tone faintly mocking. "You've got guts saying that, but do you still have the stamina left? That was your limit, wasn't it? Compared to last time, your ability's improved—no more of those ridiculous restrictions. But to absorb and release my power, you burn through your strength fast. That last punch probably drained half your stamina. And your Silent Power isn't limitless. That was your current maximum—you won't manage another like that."
Rosinante smiled faintly. "The same applies to you. That punch drained a large portion of your own stamina."
Kaido's expression hardened. He stared deeply at Rosinante for a long moment before bursting into laughter. "Even if it did, so what? I, Kaido of the Beasts, fear no exhaustion. But killing you here would be a waste, Rosinante. I'll be waiting in the New World. I want to see the day you can actually kill me!"
With that, Kaido turned and leaped into the sea, vanishing into the waves beneath the shattered battlefield.
Just like that—the battle that had shaken the archipelago came to an abrupt, almost anticlimactic end.
"Bins!" Rosinante called out sharply.
In response, a black portal opened beside him, and Bins stepped out, holding a tattered flag embroidered with a coiled dragon—the flag of the Grey Dominion. He handed it to Rosinante.
"What's this about?" Garp frowned deeply, a bad premonition creeping over him.
Tsuru's face darkened. "Not good—he's planning to seize control of the Sabaody Archipelago while the iron's hot."
"That's impossible!" Borsalino said in disbelief. "The Sabaody Archipelago is directly controlled by the World Government! It's the playground of the Celestial Dragons!"
Tsuru shot him a sharp look. "And what about the lawless zones?"
Borsalino fell silent.
The truth was, even under government control, the Sabaody Archipelago was fractured. The lawless areas had always been a cesspool of crime and corruption, crawling with pirates, brokers, and even corrupt nobles—all tied up in the Celestial Dragons' shadowy business deals. The World Government saw it as a necessary evil, a problem too tangled to erase, so they simply tolerated it.
And now, if Rosinante wanted to take advantage of his victory to occupy those zones—it wasn't impossible.
Rosinante raised the flag and drove it into the roots of a massive red tree. The Grey Dominion's sigil fluttered in the wind.
"From this moment forward," he declared, voice booming like thunder, "Zones 1 through 29 of the Sabaody Archipelago belong to the Grey Dominion. Who approves? Who objects?"
His words froze the air itself.
Even the Marines—silent, wounded, and weary—did not move. No one dared speak.
Before this war, they might have objected. They might have drawn their weapons and shouted that Sabaody was government land. But after what they had witnessed… after seeing the Grey Dominion's overwhelming might… even defiance felt meaningless.
The BloodSworn Guard alone had shown strength that rivaled an army. The major divisions of the Grey Dominion hadn't even joined the battle. And with a living thunder god like Enel among them, they were a force none dared to provoke.
If the World Government wanted to destroy the Grey Dominion now, the cost would be catastrophic. And until they were ready to pay that price, the Marines could only remain silent.
Rosinante's voice rang out once more, calm but absolute.
"Since no one opposes, I'll take that as unanimous approval. From this day forward, the Grey Dominion will build within this lawless zone a **city where all races and professions may live and trade freely—**a place of equality, entertainment, and peace. Whether you are an officer of the World Government, a pirate who rules the seas, or a figure of the underworld, you may come here and deal as equals. I promise you—no one will interfere."
He paused. His eyes gleamed cold and resolute.
"In this city, when you see a Celestial Dragon, you will not kneel. Merfolk and Fishmen will live here freely without fear of being hunted or sold as slaves. Minor races will not be shunned or discriminated against. And if you ask me why…"
His voice turned sharp as a blade.
"…because I don't allow it."
The crowd was struck dumb.
Not kneel before the Celestial Dragons? Impossible.
Merfolk and Fishmen living freely? Laughable—one mermaid was worth seventy million berries, and collectors would easily pay ten times that.
A world without racial discrimination? Even the World Government had failed to achieve that dream.
But the conviction in Rosinante's words—the sheer authority of his tone—made people believe, if only for a moment, that he might truly accomplish it.
"This city…" Rosinante continued, "will be called the City That Never Sleeps. And the Grey Dominion's investment in it will be…"
He raised a single finger.
"One trillion berries."
The crowd erupted in wild cheers.
Even if the fight with Kaido had ended abruptly, this declaration—this vision—sent waves through the entire world.
Because for the first time, someone dared to stand before the World Government and say, with absolute certainty—
"I don't allow it."