Kaido's chest heaved violently.
Every breath felt as though it were tearing at his heart and lungs.
Big Mom's words kept echoing in his mind.
They were like countless venomous ants gnawing at his heart. Harsh as they sounded, every word was true.
Within his blood-red dragon eyes, anger and unwillingness surged like a tide, as if they wanted to swallow the entire world.
Yet gradually, that anger and unwillingness were replaced by an even deeper pain.
That pain was like endless darkness, enveloping his entire body and soul.
"King…"
He growled his brother's name, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping together.
That rough, difficult sound echoed in the silent air, carrying an indescribable grief.
The final image of King appeared uncontrollably before his eyes.
Those eyes—Kaido knew them far too well.
In the final moment, what King had shown in his eyes was not fear for himself, but worry for Kaido, his captain.
"Even at the end, he was still thinking about me…"
Kaido's fist smashed heavily into the ground, shaking the entire coast.
Under that powerful blow, the solid earth cracked instantly. Fissures spread outward like ferocious giant pythons.
Blood seeped among the broken stones, mixing with the surrounding dust and forming a strange yet tragic color.
But at this moment, Kaido could not feel even the slightest pain.
Compared to the wounds on his body, the tearing pain in his heart was far more unbearable.
It was a pain that reached deep into his soul, as though the entire world had collapsed in that instant.
"If I die just like this…"
That thought coiled around his heart like a poisonous snake, making his breathing rapid and difficult.
"King will be in those white laboratories… suffering the worst torment!"
Uncontrollably, terrifying scenes from the World Government's laboratories surfaced in his mind.
Cold operating tables.
Needles that seemed to pierce into the bone.
The indifferent gazes of those madmen in white coats—eyes without pity or sympathy, only disregard for life and obsession with their experiments.
Kaido's fangs ground together loudly, as though he were trying to vent all his rage and pain through that action.
The dragon-scale tattoos on his body glowed with a strange red light because of his intense emotions.
That red glow flickered like flames, an outward sign of the struggle and pain deep within him.
No!
In the endless darkness and pain, a powerful force suddenly surged up in Kaido's heart.
He absolutely could not allow King to experience that kind of hell.
King was his brother, a loyal companion who had followed him for decades.
Together, they had endured countless storms and fought side by side in this cruel world.
For King's sake, he had to survive!
That belief was like a lamp, illuminating the path forward inside his darkened heart.
"I cannot die… Absolutely not!"
Kaido slowly raised his head.
The madness in his eyes gradually gave way to a firmer light.
That light was like dawn breaking through dark clouds.
Veins bulged on his thick arms, as if he wanted to carve this oath into his very bones and turn it into the force driving him onward.
"At least… not now…"
The sea breeze swept smoke and dust across Kaido's bloodstained face, leaving marks of hardship like the dust of passing years.
This once-arrogant governor-general of the Beasts no longer stood perfectly tall.
His body was slightly hunched, as though he were carrying the weight of the entire world.
Yet in this seemingly fragile moment, he let out a long roar that shook heaven and earth.
That roar carried too many complicated emotions.
Unwillingness—his struggle against fate, his anger at his own helplessness.
Rage—his hatred toward the world and toward those who had hurt him and King.
Regret—his reflection on his past actions and the mistakes he may have made.
But in the end, all of those emotions transformed into an iron-like resolve.
That resolve was like solid rock, unshaken by wind or rain.
When he stood again, his entire aura had changed.
"That old bastard… I'll make him pay!"
He was no longer merely the governor-general of the Beasts who only knew how to solve problems with violence and rage.
He was now an older brother carrying responsibility.
What burned in his dragon eyes was no longer brutal killing intent, but something deeper—a respect for life, a bond of brotherhood, and hope for the future.
His gaze turned into the distance, as if he could already see the road ahead, full of hardship yet filled with hope.
And he would step onto that road without hesitation.
For King.
For themselves.
For that unknown future.
Kaido stood quietly, his consciousness touched in that instant by some invisible force.
He understood deeply that from this moment onward, his life no longer belonged only to himself.
The belief that had once existed only for his own battles had now been replaced by something deeper and firmer.
His body was already covered in wounds.
Yet at this moment, Kaido had never felt so clearly that his life had been given such heavy meaning.
That meaning was no longer merely the glory of dominating a territory.
It concerned another person's freedom.
King's freedom.
'Wait for me… King…'
He repeated silently in his heart.
Every word seemed squeezed from the depths of his soul, carrying endless determination and persistence.
He slowly raised his head. In his gaze toward the distance, a blazing flame burned, as if it would pierce through the far and mysterious Red Line and reach the deepest hidden corner of those laboratories.
"This time… it's my turn to save you…"
His voice was low and hoarse, yet it contained unquestionable resolve.
That voice echoed across the silent battlefield like a powerful challenge to fate.
Dragging his battered body, Kaido moved forward with difficulty.
The dragon-scale tattoos on his body shone with a dark luster under the sunlight.
He did not walk toward the famous Whitebeard.
Instead, he went straight to Ron.
Every step he took left a deep, bloody footprint on the scorched earth.
The crimson blood slowly flowed along those footprints, like a silent oath to this promise.