Thud.
White Ghost finally couldn't hold it together. His body tilted and he dropped face-first toward the ice. In theory, sure, a Mythical Zoan could fight "for days and nights."
But not like that.
Not after a battle where both sides wrung out every last drop of strength—
No holding back.
No pacing.
Just a mutual gamble on who would awaken first.
Luckily, it had worked.
"White-bro!" Ain flashed forward and caught him before he fully hit the ground.
"Tsk, tsk…" Chaton clicked his tongue off to the side. "Mythical Zoans really are monsters… his wounds are already closing on their own."
Kuro and Jango didn't bother talking. They grabbed a stretcher, rolled White Ghost onto it, and started hauling him back toward the base at a jog.
Ain picked up the Great Treasure Sword and followed closely. A few Marines nearby couldn't help staring at the blade like hungry wolves.
"Put those thoughts away," Gion said coldly. "Even if you could steal it now… do you think you can deal with his revenge when he wakes up?"
She turned and walked off.
Garp dug in his nose with his pinky, glanced over the marines, and said nothing. After living this long, he knew better than anyone—there was no such thing as a truly "clean" person in this world.
Back at the base, the medical team surrounded White Ghost and checked him quickly and thoroughly.
Their conclusion:
Extreme overexertion.
All physical injuries were already healing under his own power.
Two bags of nutrient fluid and rest would be enough.
Ain finally let out a long breath. The others relaxed and scattered. The casualty list on the Marine side was… heavy. Anyone who could still move had work to do.
Morgans wrapped up the live broadcast, flapped his wings, and flew off.
He had papers to print.
"'Marines and Three Emperors Clash in New World' is too bland… tch tch tch…" He tapped his beak, then smacked the desk. "Got it!"
The headline hit the front page:
Duel of Two Dragons – Birth of the Strongest Creature! The Golden Dragon Emperor!
"Yahahahaha! This is going to sell like crazy!"
Doflamingo and Mihawk both turned away as well.
The Heavenly Demon was chewing on a different problem—namely, how the hell he was supposed to face that guy from now on.
"Damn it… how did he grow this fast…"
He remembered very clearly the day Kaido had one-shot him with a single swing.
As for Mihawk, he had zero interest in striking at an exhausted opponent. This war had already pushed that marine to his limit. Mihawk would wait until he'd recovered… then visit.
"Gurararara! Boys… looks like the Whitebeard Pirates have themselves a rival now!"
Whitebeard tipped his head back and drank, laughing.
"Not just Kaido. That brat too. Gurarara… this sea's about to get lively."
"You're still the strongest, Pops!" his sons shouted in unison.
On the other fleet, Big Mom was still ranting furiously about Kaido "embarrassing his big sis."
—
One day later.
"Urgh… Where… am I…?"
Kaido slowly came to.
"Kaido-nii! You're finally awake. We're almost back to Wano. Please rest a little longer," King said, unable to hide his relief.
Kaido's mind replayed the battle in flashes.
"Worororororo… So I actually lost."
He rubbed his chest, then grinned.
"But from here on… I won't lose again. I'm Kaido of the Beasts."
The moment he finished speaking, his Conqueror's Haki exploded outward, roaring into the sky.
Not a single crewmate was harmed.
"This is…!" King stared for a heartbeat, then his expression turned ecstatic."Kaido-nii, your Conqueror's Haki… it's gotten even stronger!"
"Yeah. And that marine's did too. I can feel it."
At those words, a cold killing intent leaked off King's body.
"Kaido-sama… do you want me to find a chance to get rid of him?"
"No need," Kaido snorted. "At our level, assassination doesn't work. And besides, Alber… from here on, I'm the one who can't lose."
DUANG.
He casually coated his arm in Haki.
King's pupils shrank.
"Top-grade… Armament Haki…"
If White Ghost had seen that, he would've cursed the man's entire bloodline on the spot.
He'd spent who-knew-how-long letting lightning blow him apart, hovering on the edge of death, just to break through.
Kaido? Kaido gets punched around once and—bam—new realm.
So what, was White his master now?
Kaido reached out, grabbed the newspaper on the table, and looked at the front page.
Duel of Two Dragons – The Birth of the Strongest Creature, the Golden Dragon Emperor White Ghost!
"Worororororo… 'Strongest creature,' huh? Golden Dragon Emperor…"
He crushed the paper in his fist.
"I'm the strongest creature. Next time, I'm taking that title back."
Seeing that their captain hadn't lost heart at all, King finally relaxed.
—
Grand Line, Boin Archipelago.
"Hahahaha! Captain, there's so much food here! It's like it never runs out!" The Red Hair Pirates were busy hauling mountains of strange fruits and plants back to the ship.
"Eat whatever you want once we're back aboard," Shanks said. "But not on the island. Lucky Roo—especially you."
"I got it, Captain," Lucky replied dutifully… while taking an enormous bite of something unknown.
Ben Beckman watched, cigarette dangling from his lips.
"Heh. Forget it. It's not like it'll kill him. Just means more training later."
A News Coo glided past overhead.
Ben waved it down and bought a paper.
"Tsk, tsk… Shanks. The big war in the New World's over."
"Oh? Who won?"
"See for yourself." Ben handed over the paper.
Shanks unfolded it.
There wasn't much written detail about the actual clash between Marines and Emperors. Most of the front page was taken up by a photograph:
Two dragons.
One blue-green.
One golden, with enormous wings.
"What the hell… 'Duel of Two Dragons – The Birth of the Strongest Creature, the Golden Dragon Emperor'?"
Below that was another photo: the moment Kaido was blasted away by a pitch-black slash. In the foreground, a man stood tall and relaxed, greatsword resting on his shoulder.
"…That's White Ghost?"
"Yeah," Ben said. "The intel's out now.
"After he killed Golden Lion Shiki in East Blue, he picked up a Mythical Zoan from the loot. He never transformed before—always just showed the wings—but looking at this, there's no doubt. The face is a perfect match."
Shanks threw his head back and laughed.
"Didn't think he'd actually beat that monster Kaido. Have to admit… that guy's really something."
His one remaining hand rested on the hilt at his hip.
"…Not that I'm falling behind."
Ben exhaled a puff of smoke.
"With this, it's about time we enter the New World for real. Since Kaido just ate a loss, he probably won't jump us like last time.
"As long as you can fight Big Mom to a draw—just a draw—we'll have our foothold."
Shanks grinned.
"Relax, Ben. I'm not the same man I was a few years ago. This time… heh."
"That's what I like about you," Ben said. "Free-spirited, never backs down.
"Once we're in the New World, we need to gather up every pirate who doesn't want to serve under the Emperors. Our top combat power's already grown up. But we still need numbers—expendable ones."
He looked toward the horizon.
"Big Mom will definitely come for you again. So why wait? Let's grab territory ourselves and pull in allied crews."
Shanks nodded and turned toward the beach.
"Alright, boys! Pack it up. Once the food's aboard, we set sail for the New World!
"We're going to get back the face we lost last time!"
"Hahahahaha! Captain, did you ever have any face to begin with?" The crew exploded with laughter.
"Shut it, you brats! Who slanders their own captain like that?!"
The laughter only got louder.
Yasopp walked over with his rifle slung across his back.
"Ben… you really think we'll pull it off this time?"
"We have to," Ben said simply. "The Red Hair Pirates can't afford a second failure. And besides—"
He looked back at Shanks, now wrestling and joking with his men.
"You know Shanks' strength better than anyone."
Yasopp smiled faintly.
"Yeah… I believe it too.
"When he first rowed up in that tiny boat to recruit me, something in my gut told me following him was the right choice.
So I went. Walked away from my wife… Even the one time I snuck back to see her, I still felt guilty."
Ben shrugged.
"Hey. Isn't a true man supposed to yearn for the sea?"
"You're right. The sea is a man's romance! Hahahahaha!" Yasopp laughed, the guilt shoved back down—for now.
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