With overwhelming momentum, Kaido raised his colossal dragon head high, his razor-sharp horns pointing straight ahead as he smashed through layer after layer of dense cloud.
The heavy clouds burst apart like cotton ripped away by a hurricane, scattering in every direction and creating a spectacular yet ominous sight beneath the sunlight.
The Azure Dragon shot forward like an arrow of destruction released from the string, carrying enough force to make the very air scream around him as he raced straight toward Marine Headquarters—
Marineford.
The atmosphere compressed violently in his wake, producing repeated sonic booms while the surrounding space itself seemed to tremble beneath his speed.
"Worororororo—!"
Kaido's laughter was wild and arrogant, overflowing with the absolute confidence of a monster who feared nothing in the world.
"HAHAHAHAHA—!"
Bullet's laughter joined his, every bit as unrestrained and insane.
These were two men whose presence alone stood at the level of Emperors.
Their battle lust and hunger for destruction poured freely into the world around them, while their booming laughter mixed with the Azure Dragon's roar and the howling winds, echoing for a long time across the skies of the Eternal Divine Kingdom.
The sound tore through the clouds and carried across mountains and rivers, filling everyone who heard it with instinctive awe.
Down at the harbor, countless citizens and soldiers of the Divine Kingdom stood packed together, staring upward.
Their eyes followed the immense dragon silhouette as it rapidly vanished into the distance.
Some remained frozen in shock, mouths slightly open and unable to form a single word.
Others clenched their fists without realizing it, bodies trembling with excitement.
There were even those whose expressions carried something almost reverent, as though they had just witnessed a god ascend into the heavens.
Every one of them understood what kind of terrifying power that Azure Dragon represented.
And they also understood something else.
A world-shaking incident was about to begin.
The curtain was rising on another event destined to send enormous waves across the seas.
And they would be there to witness history unfold.
...
Far away, the turbulent ocean rolled beneath a darkening sky.
A strangely designed pirate ship floated amid the waves, its brutal metal-heavy appearance making it resemble an enormous sea beast forged from cold iron.
It belonged to the Kid Pirates.
The hull rocked gently with each passing swell, producing deep, rhythmic creaks as though recounting all the violent adventures it had survived.
The crew were scattered across the deck attending to their duties. Some cleaned weapons while others inspected equipment.
Then a sudden shout drew everyone's attention.
"Captain! Look at the sky!"
Killer's voice rang out across the ship.
There was urgency in it—
and a rare note of genuine astonishment.
He thrust one hand toward the distant horizon.
Even through his mask, the alarm in his posture was obvious.
Inside the cabin, Eustass "Captain" Kid had been leaning over a large sea chart spread across an entire table.
Islands, reefs, and possible routes had been marked across it while he considered their next move.
Killer's shout made Kid's already furrowed brow tighten with irritation.
Still, his instincts told him not to ignore it.
He raised his head.
The instant he looked outside, his expression changed.
His eyes widened.
Even his trademark spiky red hair somehow seemed to bristle more violently than usual.
Kid shoved open the cabin window without hesitation.
Strong sea wind immediately rushed inside, whipping at his clothes as he leaned halfway out and stared into the distance.
A gigantic shadow was cutting across the sky.
The oppressive silhouette seemed to cast a weight over the entire sea.
Kid's pupils contracted.
"That's…"
His voice actually wavered.
"Kaido?!"
Memories immediately flashed through his mind.
His previous confrontation with Kaido.
The crushing difference in power.
The bitter realization of what true hopelessness felt like.
There was no mistaking that enormous figure.
It was Kaido of the Beasts.
And right now, he was flying across the sky in his full Azure Dragon form, his massive body blotting out the light while dark blue scales gleamed coldly beneath the sun.
Each enormous scale seemed packed with ridiculous power.
But that was not what made Kid's eyelid twitch uncontrollably.
There was someone standing on Kaido's back.
A huge, broad-shouldered figure stood firmly atop the dragon as though riding a perfectly ordinary mount.
Douglas Bullet.
The man's terrifying aura mixed with Kaido's own, creating a suffocating pressure even from such a great distance.
"That bastard Bullet is up there too!"
Killer's voice became even more serious.
Fine beads of sweat had already appeared across his forehead as his grip tightened around his weapons.
He stared at the enormous dragon and the figure standing upon its back.
"Those two…"
Killer muttered in disbelief.
"How the hell did they end up together?"
The combination was horrifying.
Either one of them alone was enough to turn an ordinary battlefield into a disaster.
Together?
That was the kind of sight that made people start wondering which unfortunate island was about to disappear from the map.
The sails snapped violently in the wind.
Kid, who had been leaning out of the window, suddenly pulled himself back inside.
Then—
CLANG!
He drove his clenched fist into the metal railing with all his frustration.
The reinforced steel bent beneath the blow, twisting out of shape with a tortured groan.
Kid's usual arrogant confidence was nowhere to be seen.
Normally, he carried himself as though there were nothing on the seas he could not challenge.
But at this moment, staring at Kaido and Bullet traveling together through the sky—
even Eustass Kid was completely dumbfounded.
...
But Kid's usual arrogance was nowhere to be seen now.
In its place was raw irritation.
His brows drew together so tightly that veins bulged across his forehead, while anger and unease flickered in his widened eyes.
"Those two idiots have nothing in their heads except muscles and destruction…"
Kid ground the words out through clenched teeth.
"And they came straight out of the Divine Kingdom."
His temple throbbed.
"Just look at them! They're the final form of brainless meatheads. No plans, no subtlety, no strategy—just charge straight ahead and smash everything until the problem goes away."
He sucked in a deep breath and tried to calm himself.
It did absolutely nothing.
The irritation burning in his chest only grew hotter.
"You don't need a damn brain to know they're up to something huge! What, are they planning to punch a hole through the sky somewhere?!"
Kid's shout rolled across the sea hard enough to startle a flock of seabirds into flight.
He ran an agitated hand through his red hair, consumed by the unbearable feeling that something enormous was about to happen—
and he had absolutely no fucking idea what it was.
His eyes remained fixed on the distant silhouettes representing two of the most destructive forces on the sea as they disappeared over the horizon.
Kid spat over the side.
"Damn it…"
His expression twisted.
"Something this big is happening, and nobody invited me?!"
BANG!
Kid drove his fist into the already warped railing.
Metal fragments showered onto the wet deck.
His chest rose and fell heavily as he stared toward the direction Kaido and Bullet had vanished, unwillingness and indecision burning behind his sunglasses.
"Captain?"
Killer cautiously approached.
"Shut up. Let me think!"
Kid's voice came out low and hoarse.
His mind was already racing through the recent headlines.
Marine Headquarters had launched a full-scale assault on the Eternal Divine Kingdom—
and suffered a catastrophic defeat.
Multiple Admirals had been captured.
The Revolutionary Army's main evacuation forces had then been ambushed by the God's Knights and nearly wiped out.
The World Government had announced a public execution.
And now Kaido and Douglas Bullet—two monsters who could each turn an island into a disaster zone on their own—had suddenly left the Divine Kingdom together.
Kid's jaw tightened.
"This sea…"
He forced the words through his teeth.
"…has completely lost its damn mind."
The wind howled over the darkening ocean.
Waves rolled like savage beasts against the battered hull of the Kid Pirates' ship, while Kid stood on deck surrounded by an oppressive aura of frustration and anger.
His scarlet coat snapped violently behind him.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then, with his temper still boiling, he struck the damaged railing once more.
CLANG!
The reinforced metal buckled even further beneath his fist, scattering another spray of cold fragments across the deck.
Kid kept staring toward the distant horizon as though sheer force of will might drag Kaido and Bullet back into view.
His breaths were heavy.
The eyes hidden behind his sunglasses burned with frustration.
"Captain?"
Killer approached again, more carefully this time.
Concern was obvious in his posture.
"Shut up. I said I'm thinking!"
Kid snapped.
The crew immediately fell silent.
And Kid thought.
Marine Headquarters—the place that had once embodied the overwhelming authority of the Marines—had been crushed in its attack on the Eternal Divine Kingdom, with several of its most famous Admirals taken prisoner.
The Revolutionary Army, which had spent years fighting for the oppressed, had nearly been decapitated by a precisely timed ambush from the God's Knights.
Now the World Government was preparing to publicly execute captured revolutionaries, turning their deaths into a spectacle meant to restore its battered authority.
And on top of everything else, Kaido and Bullet had just taken off from the Divine Kingdom with expressions suggesting they were about to have the time of their lives.
Wherever those two were going, there would be blood.
Kid suddenly pulled off his sunglasses.
His eyes underneath were badly bloodshot from agitation.
"We were planning to take advantage of the chaos."
His voice was quieter now.
"Figured we could slip between the big powers while they were tearing each other apart and grab something for ourselves. Same way pirates always do."
He stared out across the violent sea.
"But now…"
His fingers tightened around the glasses in his hand.
"This isn't an opportunity."
Kid's expression darkened.
"This is fucking suicide."
Killer said nothing.
Neither did anyone else.
The rest of the crew stood frozen around them, barely daring to breathe as the weight of the situation settled over the ship.
No one knew what would happen next.
And for once, even Eustass Kid understood that charging blindly into the center of this particular storm might not make him fearless.
It might just make him dead.