Marineford, Marine Headquarters. A flash of golden blade light erupted beside Zoro, forcing him to raise his sword in a swift block. Gion, wielding the famed sword Konpira, observed his defense with a flicker of interest. She leapt back, creating distance, and spoke with a curious edge.
"Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro! I've heard tales of your reputation for years. Today, let's see if you live up to the legend."
Zoro's lips twitched in irritation. He cursed silently, thinking back to the countless enemies he'd somehow accumulated since entering the Grand Line. Even grudges from over a decade ago were being dredged up. What the hell had he done as a kid to deserve this?
Meanwhile, Sanji, cloaked in his black combat suit and rendered invisible, moved stealthily toward the execution platform. His mission was clear: rescue Ace. But his vision blurred unexpectedly.
Tokikake stood before him, cigarette dangling from his lips, eyes glowing red with Observation Haki. "Young man," he drawled, "this path is closed."
The Admiral candidate grinned, lifting his wooden clog-clad foot in a casual yet devastating kick. Sanji barely managed to raise his own leg to block. The impact was brutal—a surge of immense force and potent Armament Haki shot through Sanji's leg, bending the bone. He was hurled backward, crashing into the ground and leaving a crater as his invisibility faded.
"Damn it," Sanji muttered, pushing rubble off himself and standing shakily. He tapped his right leg twice, straightening the deformed exoskeleton. His eyes narrowed as he faced Tokikake, who eyed his combat suit with unexpected nostalgia.
"Germa Stealth Black," Tokikake mused, almost wistfully. "Back when I watched Sora, Warrior of the Sea, I used to dream of wearing that suit. Imagine sneaking into the women's bathhouse..." He caught himself and quickly corrected, "I mean, fighting for the cause of justice!"
Sanji snorted, dusting himself off. "Our hobbies might overlap, but I'm here to save someone. No time for chit-chat about dreams." He reactivated the suit's invisibility and launched into the air with its boot flight function, moving at blinding speed.
Tokikake merely smiled, leaping after him with ease. In a flash, he intercepted Sanji mid-air, forcing him into evasive maneuvers. Sanji, still smarting from their earlier clash, avoided direct confrontation, darting around his opponent instead.
On the battlefield below, Sabo leapt into the fray, his movements sharp and decisive. He extended his right hand, fingers mimicking the shape of dragon claws, and seized Vice Admiral Bastille's head. With a crushing grip, he shattered the man's mask, sending him collapsing to the ground, unconscious.
On the execution platform, Zephyr's eyes gleamed with interest as he watched Sabo's display. Black Armament Haki wrapped around his arms as he muttered, "This kid's martial arts are something else. Let's see how he handles an old man like me."
With a cannon-like burst of speed, Zephyr launched himself toward Sabo, the air crackling with anticipation.
On the execution platform, upon seeing Sabo instantly take down a Vice Admiral with a single move, Zephyr's eyes immediately shone brightly, and black Armament Haki wrapped around his arms. "This kid's martial arts are truly overbearing. Let this old man have a go at him!" As he spoke, Zephyr's entire figure shot out like a cannonball, heading straight for Sabo below. Boom-!
Their fists collided with bone-jarring force. As Armament Haki surged through their bodies in unison, a devastating shockwave erupted outward, centered on their clash. The air cracked with thunderous impacts—bang! bang! bang!—but Zephyr quickly shifted tactics, abandoning the wasteful Haki stalemate in favor of refined combat techniques.
Sabo matched his opponent's skill, countering with precision honed through years of training. Meanwhile, chaos reigned on the battlefield. King the Plague led a contingent of Beasts Pirates, carving a bloody path through the Marine ranks on the periphery. Their objective was clear: eliminate as many of the Marines' core officers and generals as possible. If the chance arose to take down an Admiral or even the Fleet Admiral, they wouldn't hesitate.
King's blade flashed, cutting down a Marine Major General. His gaze instinctively flicked skyward, where Kaido and Sephiroth clashed in a ferocious aerial duel. Sephiroth's speed and Observation Haki gave him the upper hand, his butcher knife carving deep, bleeding wounds across Kaido's body. Several strikes had even pierced internal organs, steadily weakening the Beast Pirate captain. Kaido's frustration mounted with each blow, his attacks growing sloppier as he struggled to parry Sephiroth's relentless assault.
To any seasoned observer, Kaido's defeat seemed inevitable. King knew better than to interfere—Kaido despised uninvited meddling in his battles. But if Kaido fell, the Beasts Pirates would crumble. The thought spurred King into action. Gritting his teeth, he tightened his grip on his saber and surged forward, his black wings propelling him toward the aerial clash.
Before he could reach Kaido, Yamato intercepted him. In his hybrid form, wreathed in icy mist, Yamato swung his spiked club, crackling with purple lightning. King barely raised his saber in time to block the strike, but the force sent him plummeting downward. With a few frantic flaps of his wings, he managed to stabilize his landing. Frowning, he glared at Yamato blocking his path.
"Young Master Yamato," King growled, his voice low and urgent, "why side with the Marines? You're Kaido's child!"
Yamato snorted. "That ox-headed Masira? I cut ties with him long ago!" His figure blurred as he reappeared in front of King, swinging his club toward the pirate's face. Left with no choice, King countered, locking them in a fierce duel.
On the edge of the execution platform, among the trio of CP0 agents idly observing the chaos, a den den mushi in the pocket of a white-suited man with a scar over his right eye began to ring. The agent, Guernica, answered promptly. An aged voice crackled through the receiver.
"Guernica, the plan has changed. I order you to eliminate Straw Hat Luffy at all costs."
"Yes, I understand," Guernica replied crisply. The line went dead without further explanation. Turning to his companions—a man and woman standing beside him—Guernica issued a terse command.
"Stussy, keep broadcasting to the Gorosei using the den den mushi. Joseph and I will move in to assassinate Straw Hat..."
He paused briefly before adding, "If we fail, you'll take over the mission."
Stussy gave a slight nod. "Understood. Though I doubt it'll come to that—with your combined strength, this should be a straightforward task."
.........
Boom!
High above the clear sky, two figures—one purple, one red—collided like comets. The impact sent a visible shockwave rippling outward, the force centered on their clash. Below on Oris Plaza, Marines and pirates locked in fierce combat felt the sting of the powerful wind on their cheeks. Some were even knocked off their feet, tumbling like gourds.
Kaido, locked in a Haoshoku Haki clash with Sephiroth, suddenly withdrew the force from his spiked club. Using the momentum from Sephiroth's dual swords, he launched himself high into the air, leaving behind sonic boom clouds in his wake.
Once he reached a safe distance, Kaido's hybrid form began to shift. His body expanded and elongated, transforming into a colossal dragon over a thousand meters long, its purple scales gleaming. "Sephiroth," his voice boomed like thunder, echoing across Marineford and drawing the attention of countless onlookers, "it's time to end this!"
Fire Dragon Torch!
Kaido's dragon mouth opened wide, spewing streams of viscous, molten flames that quickly engulfed his massive body. Within moments, the thousand-meter dragon transformed into a ten-thousand-meter flame behemoth, radiating scorching heat. The tip of his flaming tail, solid as molten rock, brushed lightly against the Navy Headquarters Building below—and in an instant, the structure vaporized into nothingness.
The Marines and pirates on Oris Plaza froze, their hearts gripped by a sudden wave of dread. They stared upward at the flaming dragon, a force of nature descending upon them.
"Oh? Going all out, are you?" Sephiroth murmured, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "Perfect." He sheathed his twin sabers and placed his right hand on the hilt of his butcher knife. Closing his eyes, he seemed to merge with the surrounding space, his aura fading into nothingness.
Roar!
Kaido let out a deafening dragon cry, the sound reverberating across the sky. He began to circle high above, his massive fiery body churning the air into a terrifying hurricane of heat. The flames illuminated Marineford, casting an eerie glow over the island.
Dark red lightning crackled around the dragon's head, amplifying its already terrifying presence. Ascending Dragon: Flame Bagua!
With a roar, Kaido dove downward, the full force of his flaming body aimed squarely at Sephiroth—and the tens of thousands of Marines and pirates scattered across Marineford. His intent was clear: annihilation. Whether it was Sephiroth, the Marines, or the pirates, Kaido was prepared to obliterate them all in one devastating strike.
The fire dragon carried an explosive payload; upon impact, it would unleash a cataclysmic blast, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake.
The secondary damage from the fire dragon's explosion would obliterate more than half of Marineford island, wiping out anyone too weak to shield themselves with Armament Haki. It didn't matter to Kaido—his Beasts Pirates had already lost over half their forces. A few more casualties wouldn't change much.
Sephiroth's relentless pursuit had cornered Kaido, leaving him no room to retreat. If escape wasn't an option, then he'd fight with everything he had. Victory would mean triumph; failure, annihilation.
"Wait! Is Kaido insane?!" Doflamingo shouted mid-clash with Aokiji, his face darkening as he glanced skyward. "He's targeting his own people! Something's wrong—stop fighting! Run!"
"Get out of here!"
"Kaido's lost his mind!"
On Oris Plaza, the sight of Kaido's colossal fire dragon descending sent tens of thousands of Marines and Pirates scrambling. The chaos of battle froze as everyone fled, desperate to avoid becoming collateral damage.
Sephiroth leisurely unsheathed the butcher knife at his waist. As the blade slid free, ripples of distorted space shimmered along its surface, exuding an ominous, chilling aura.
"Nothing in this world is beyond cutting... Secret Technique: Dimensional Rupture Slash!"
The fire dragon loomed just twenty meters away when Sephiroth finally drew the blade. With a swift motion, a pitch-black arc of sword energy surged forth, crackling with dark red lightning. It streaked toward the dragon with blinding speed.
High above, the black slash tore through the air, leaving behind jagged cracks in space itself. Kaido, his draconic form wreathed in flames, felt his pupils narrow as a surge of dread gripped him. His Observation Haki flashed a grim premonition—his body and the fire dragon would be cleaved cleanly in two.
Instinctively, Kaido twisted his head to evade the strike.
Rip!
The black slash tore through the dragon's head with brutal force, carving into Kaido's body. His right front claw and chunks of flesh were severed before he could react. The attack continued its trajectory for over a hundred meters before dissipating into nothingness.
Sephiroth's "Dimensional Rupture Slash" was a unique technique born from the synergy of the Amplify-Amplify Fruit and the Door-Door Fruit, wielded through the butcher knife. Its power was absolute, capable of bypassing all defenses.
Through his research, Sephiroth had discovered that every time the butcher knife opened a spatial door, it created a fleeting fluctuation connecting the door's interior to the real world. If this fluctuation intersected with others before fading, it could generate a temporary spatial disturbance. With enough force, it could even rend space itself.
Long ago, he'd wondered—could this disturbance be harnessed as a weapon?
If this spatial fluctuation collided with other spatial fluctuations, it could create a ripple effect powerful enough to tear through reality itself.
Earlier, the Door-Door Fruit's limitation on door-opening speed had prevented him from generating a powerful enough spatial disturbance. The breakthrough only came after acquiring the Amplify-Amplify Fruit, allowing him to amplify the speed a hundredfold. The resulting turbulence tore through space itself, enabling him to develop the Dimensional Rupture Slash—a technique that bypassed all defenses.
But he'd only perfected the move yesterday. It was still raw, with glaring flaws. The release speed was sluggish, and the sword energy struggled to maintain its form over distance. Against a fast-moving, evasive opponent, it would be useless. Only someone like Kaido—charging headlong into battle with his massive fire dragon—would make himself an easy target.
In any normal fight, attempting this move would be suicide. Before he could even finish charging, Kaido would have crushed his skull with those monstrous swings of his wolf club.
On the other side, the black sword energy struck Kaido's body like a scythe. A searing pain erupted along his right side, and his vision blurred. Consciousness flickered as he reverted to human form, the fire dragon dissipating into the air. His body slammed into the ground with a thunderous crash, carving a crater into the earth. Cracks spiderwebbed out from the impact.
Kaido's right arm, along with chunks of flesh from his torso, lay severed nearby. Blood poured from the wound as he struggled to sit up in the crater, gasping for breath. His eyes fell on the damage—his right arm, shoulder blade, collarbone, and lung cleaved clean off, the gash running all the way down to his waist. For anyone else, such injuries would mean instant death. But Kaido's monstrous vitality kept him clinging to life.
Above, Sephiroth hovered, his butcher knife gleaming. His cold, indifferent gaze settled on Kaido's mangled form. He made no move to finish him off, content to watch from above.
"Brother Kaido!" King's voice rang out, filled with panic. Engaged in his own battle with Yamato, he saw Kaido fall. With a desperate swing of his wolf club, he parried Yamato's strike and surged forward, black wings beating furiously as he raced toward Kaido.
But someone else reached him first.
Akainu appeared at the crater's edge, his body glowing crimson. His eyes, cold and sharp as blades, locked onto Kaido. Just moments ago, he'd been nursing his own wounds, planning to hunt down Whitebeard. Now, a perfect opportunity had fallen into his lap. Maybe his luck wasn't so terrible after all.
"Kaido of the Beasts," Akainu growled, his voice dripping with venom. "Go to hell. Hell Dog!"
He didn't wait for a reply. He violently swung his right arm, now encased in Armament Haki. Molten magma surged from his limb, extending it in a deadly arc aimed straight at Kaido's head. His clawed hand slammed into Kaido's forehead, blasting through it with brutal force.
Kaido's body crumpled to the ground, a gaping hole where his skull had been. His lifeless form lay still, unmistakably dead.
Kaido of the Beasts, the fearsome Captain of the Beasts Pirates and one of the Four Emperors who ruled the New World, had fallen. "Brother Kaido!!!" King's face twisted with fury, his eyes bulging as he clenched his teeth. His gaze locked onto Akainu, and a storm of rage surged within him.
Without hesitation, King beat his black wings twice, propelling himself downward in a furious dive. His sword flashed as he swung it toward Akainu with all his might.
Meanwhile, Sephiroth hovered in the sky, his Observation Haki confirming what he had already foreseen: Kaido's death at Akainu's hands. Slowly, he descended to the ground, folding his black wings behind him. With a detached air, he began cutting down members of the Beasts Pirates scattered across the battlefield.
Strangely, despite witnessing Kaido's demise—the very future he had glimpsed through his Observation Haki—Sephiroth felt no profound satisfaction. If anything, a faint emptiness lingered within him. The thrill he had experienced when he killed Queen, that overwhelming exhilaration, was nowhere to be found now.
He paused to reflect, and the realization brought him a strange sense of relief. If he were to rank his grudges, the top spot would belong to the nameless grunt from the Beasts Pirates who had killed his father all those years ago. But that man had long since vanished, his fate unknown. Second was Queen, the one who had ordered the attack on the tourist merchant ship. If not for Queen's command, Sephiroth's father might still be alive. Kaido, for all his power, only ranked third in Sephiroth's list of enemies.
His grudge against Kaido was secondary, not the driving force behind his quest for vengeance. That was why Kaido's death failed to bring him the fulfillment he had expected.
Feeling somewhat listless, Sephiroth turned his attention to the battlefield, cutting down one Beasts Pirate after another in an attempt to fill the odd void within him. Of course, if Kaido were to somehow return to life, Sephiroth wouldn't hesitate to draw his sword and finish the job himself.
The tangled web of grudges and conflicts between them could only be resolved through death. There was no other way.