"Where?"
Under King's mask, his eyes flickered slightly.
He detected an unusual meaning in Kaido's voice.
It wasn't anger, nor was it irritability.
Instead, it was a shiver of a beast that had been dormant for too long, finally smelling blood, on the verge of awakening.
"East Blue."
King was concise... Grand Line, latter half.
New World.
Above an unknown Sky Island, shattered ship wreckage and luxurious palace ruins intertwined, forming a bizarre scene.
Deep within the palace.
A man with long golden hair, with half a ship's rudder stuck on his head, was cackling maniacally at a sea chart spread out on a massive table.
His legs were two famous swords gleaming with cold light.
"Gyahahaha... Gyahahahaha..."
Once on par with Pirate King Roger and Whitebeard Edward Newgate, the legendary great pirate, Golden Lion Shiki!
Beside him, a man in a white research coat with comical wings was his confidant, Dr. Indigo.
At this moment, seeing his boss's deranged state, he didn't even dare to breathe.
"Boss..."
Dr. Indigo spoke cautiously, attempting to persuade him.
"The source of this information is unknown, and... East Blue, that weakest sea, how could such a level of power appear there?"
"It's clearly a smokescreen released by the Marine, a trap!"
"A trap?"
Shiki's laughter abruptly stopped.
He slowly turned his head, his cloudy but maddened eyes fixed on Dr. Indigo.
"Shut up!"
Bang!
His right leg, which was the famous sword "Sakura Juro," suddenly kicked Dr. Indigo in the stomach!
Dr. Indigo flew backward like a cannonball, slammed hard into a distant wall, slid down, and curled up in pain.
"A trap?"
Shiki grinned, revealing a mouthful of teeth stained yellow by cigars.
"I've fallen into more traps in my life than you've eaten meals!"
"So what!"
He extended his calloused hand and gently stroked the half-rudder on his head.
This mark of humiliation, for over twenty years, constantly reminded him of his crushing defeat at Impel Down, reminding him of that bastard Roger's death!
His eyes instantly became wild and fervent!
"Power that can defeat an Admiral..."
A gurgling sound came from his throat, a muscle spasm brought on by extreme excitement.
"Something that can make even Marineford's top fighting force suffer..."
"Gyahahahahahaha!"
Shiki suddenly spread his arms and burst into maniacal laughter, looking up at the sky!
"If I can get it..."
"What need is there for IQ plants!"
"What need is there for ancient weapons!"
"What need is there to wait for that long twenty-year plan!"
His lifelong ambition was to make the whole world bow at his feet! For this, he had lain dormant for twenty years!
Now, a massive, super shortcut, enough to bring all his plans to fruition ahead of schedule, was right before him!
What trap!
What conspiracy!
In the face of absolute power, they were all rubbish!
"Gyahahahahaha! Prepare the ship!"
Shiki suddenly waved his hand, his cloak cutting a domineering arc in the air.
"I'm going to East Blue myself to see!"
"See what kind of 'treasure' it is that can make that old man Sengoku unable to sit still!"
...Wano Country, Onigashima.
Kaido's massive body slowly rose from the throne made of piled bones.
Rumble!
The entire cave trembled violently, and rubble fell rustling.
His enormous shadow enveloped "Fire Disaster" King and "Plague Disaster" Queen, who were kneeling below him.
"Uororororo..."
A muffled laugh rumbled from Kaido's throat.
He grabbed the massive, spiky club beside him, "Hassaikai."
Just the act of picking it up generated a terrifying wind pressure that made Queen's obese body sway.
"Prepare the ship!"
Kaido's voice boomed like thunder throughout the great hall!
"To East Blue!"
"Huh?"
Queen, standing to the side, his two exaggerated small mustaches twitched, and his huge face was filled with confusion.
"Kaido, are you not joking?"
"To East Blue? Just for a rumor that appeared out of nowhere?"
"What if it's fake? There's not even decent sake in that place!"
Bang!
Kaido didn't even glance at him.
The Hassaikai in his hand slammed down onto the ground!
A terrifying shockwave instantly spread, the entire ground cracked inch by inch, and Queen was sent stumbling by the force, almost falling, swallowing all his remaining words.
"Shut up."
Kaido's voice was filled with an indescribable weariness.
He had been the "Strongest Creature" for too long.
So strong that... there was nothing left in this world that could pique his interest.
So strong that... even death had become a luxury.
He needed a fight!
A real fight, one that could make him feel pain, one that could make his blood boil!
Or.
A decent death that could finally release him!
In Kaido's eyes, the golden pupils of a beast stared intently at King.
"A place that can kill an Admiral..."
His voice deepened, filled with a hoarse, twisted anticipation.
"Perhaps..."
"It can kill me too!"
Uorororororo!
He grinned, revealing a smile filled with destructive desire.
"If that's true, I'm going to get it!"
"If it's false..."
In Kaido's eyes, a madness that would burn everything to ashes ignited!
"I'll sink the entire East Blue to the bottom of the sea!"
...New World, a certain sea area.
The Red Hair Pirates' flagship, the Red Force.
The atmosphere was starkly different from the violence of Onigashima.
On the deck, the crew was having a feast, filled with laughter, joy, and the aroma of sake.
Only at the bow was the atmosphere somewhat solemn.
"Red Hair" Shanks was holding a recent newspaper, his brows tightly furrowed.
He didn't speak, just repeatedly looked at the short message deliberately placed in the corner, yet incredibly striking.
["Admiral Kizaru deployed urgently, fleet heading directly for East Blue, possibly related to recent 'Admiral's crushing defeat' rumors?"]
Benn Beckman, standing nearby, lit a cigar and slowly exhaled a thick puff of smoke.
"That bastard Doflamingo is stirring up trouble again behind the scenes."
His tone was calm, as if stating a fact.
"By leaking the news to the whole world, he's forcing the Marine to react. Now, all these restless monsters in the New World are going to be reeled in."
Lucky Roux gnawed on a chicken leg, saying indistinctly, "Who cares! Whoever goes to East Blue, we'll just send them flying!"
Yasopp leaned against the mast, cleaning his beloved rifle, and let out a whistle.
"To make an Admiral suffer, that sounds pretty explosive."
Shanks remained silent.
He put down the newspaper.
His single arm instinctively pressed against the famous sword "Gryphon" at his waist.
His gaze pierced through the noisy deck, through the endless waves, and cast towards that distant, all too familiar East.
East Blue.
Foosha Village.
There, he had entrusted the straw hat of the "new era."
There, he had the boy named Luffy, whom he regarded as his nephew.
Benn Beckman, seeing his Captain's unprecedentedly serious expression, also shed his last trace of ease.
He knew that what the Captain cared about wasn't some ridiculous power that could defeat an Admiral.
What he cared about was the terrifying storm that the appearance of that power would bring to that calmest of seas.
"Boss."
Beckman's voice deepened.
"Kizaru has indeed been deployed."
"And..."
"Golden Lion's Sky Island fleet has reappeared after twenty years."
"Kaido's ship has also left Wano Country."
One name after another came from Beckman's mouth, each representing a terrifying force capable of overturning a nation.
And now, their targets all pointed to the same place.
Shanks slowly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, his normally easygoing black eyes had become as sharp as an abyss.
"Turn the ship around."
His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached every crew member's ear.
"We're going too."