The New World.
The Beasts Pirates.
After receiving a fresh stack of intelligence reports, Kaido held the documents in his hand, his eyes deep and solemn.
"Ghost Back Kai?"
"Fist Demon Kai?"
"A five-year-old Marine brat captured a pirate who was said to have the same strength Whitebeard had in his youth?"
"So the Marines have produced a truly troublesome monster."
Kaido's expression remained blank.
Whitebeard's "son"?
He didn't care about the man himself.
But the phrase possessing Whitebeard's youthful strength—
that was not something Kaido could ignore.
He lowered his gaze to his own chest, where a scar remained, one that had never fully healed.
Whitebeard had left that scar on him.
Kaido was immensely proud of his nearly indestructible body—
and yet even he had suffered repeatedly at Whitebeard's hands.
So when Whitebeard's name was involved, Kaido naturally paid attention.
And now—
a pirate bearing the title of "Whitebeard the Second" had appeared…
only to be crushed by a five-year-old Marine monster.
Kaido slowly exhaled, his face growing darker and darker.
Then, with terrifying force gathering in his hand—
he crushed the report into powder.
Under the sunlight, Kaido's massive body looked overwhelming.
Huge.
Muscular.
Covered with scale-like markings.
Savage.
Terrifying.
This was the bearing of a monster worth billions.
One of the strongest pirates in the New World.
And on this very day, Kaido began paying attention to the name Ghost Back Kai.
At the same time—
on the other side of the New World—
Cake Island.
The seat of the Big Mom Pirates.
The territory of Charlotte Linlin herself.
Charlotte Linlin—
a monster whose power, at this point in time, was arguably even more frightening than Kaido's.
Second only to Whitebeard.
In the New World, her notoriety was even more eye-catching than that of Kaido or Whitebeard.
"Fist Demon Kai?"
"I really didn't expect this…"
"The Marines actually gave birth to a monster like that."
"A five-year-old with strength no weaker than a Marine Vice Admiral."
"Even across the entire history of this sea, there has probably never been a prodigy like this."
After hearing the report from one of her sons, Charlotte Linlin couldn't stop expressing her astonishment.
Across centuries of the sea—
nothing like this had ever happened before.
A five-year-old with Vice Admiral-level power.
Even she herself had not reached that kind of frightening level at such a young age.
At seven or eight, she had already shown terrifying power.
But compared with a child who reached Vice Admiral-tier at five—
she still fell short.
"Mother…"
"The Marines have given birth to something truly dangerous."
"In the future…"
"the territories we rule may face serious upheaval because of it."
One of her sons spoke carefully.
"It doesn't matter."
"On the contrary…"
"I'm actually looking forward to seeing this child called Fist Demon Kai grow even faster."
Charlotte Linlin grinned.
Her eyes landed on the photo attached to the report—
the image of Kai with his savage Ghost Back, his terrifyingly sculpted upper body, every muscle line almost unnaturally perfect.
A glint flashed in her eyes.
The New World was likely about to witness the rise of a truly unprecedented monster.
A five-year-old child—
already chasing down the giants of the old era.
Even a monster standing at the very top of the New World, like Charlotte Linlin herself, felt a faint pressure from a child like Kai.
"It seems I can't afford to relax either."
"A monster like that…"
"in just a few years, could catch up to us."
"In the future…"
"the Marines are going to produce a terrifying enemy."
"And the most frightening part is…"
"he may not even be ten years old by then."
The moment those words fell, all the members of the Charlotte Family around her drew in cold breaths.
For the first time, they had heard their invincible mother place such value on someone else.
"A five-year-old brat…"
"and Mother already treats him as an enemy worth watching?"
"He really is a terrifying monster."
"To be taken that seriously at the age of five…"
"That's never happened before."
Every member of the Charlotte Family was visibly shaken.
…
Elsewhere in the New World—
the Red Force.
This was the ship of the Red-Haired Pirates.
At that moment, on the deck of the Red Force, Red-Haired Shanks stood with Benn Beckman, Yasopp, Lucky Roux, and the rest of his elite crew.
And the topic they were discussing—
was, naturally, Kai.
"Boss, the Marines have produced something ridiculous."
Yasopp sighed.
"A five-year-old with Vice Admiral-level combat power. And he single-handedly captured Whitebeard's 'son.'"
"A monster like that is hard to even imagine."
Benn Beckman nodded in agreement.
Clearly, they had already learned the news.
Whitebeard's "son" had been defeated and captured by a five-year-old Marine.
Every single member of the Red-Haired Pirates showed some form of shock or amazement.
"Ghost Back Kai…"
"Fist Demon Kai…"
"A monster who's also the grandson of the Hero of the Marines."
"That really is terrifyingly monstrous."
Shanks sighed.
On this day, he firmly remembered Kai's name.
Still—
the Red-Haired Pirates would not let themselves be overly distracted by news like this.
Their current priority was still the same:
claiming a seat among the Four Emperors.
That goal could not wait.
They didn't have the luxury of getting bogged down in every major event happening elsewhere on the seas.
The throne of Emperor—
was something the Red-Haired Pirates absolutely intended to seize.
"But before we claim that throne…"
"there's something we need to handle first."
"So…"
"we need to find the right opportunity and head to the East Blue."
"To Roger's hometown."
"And we need to do it without drawing too much Marine attention."
"We have to complete that task first."
"I'm going to place my bet…"
"on this brand-new era."
Shanks' eyes flashed.
His right hand rose unconsciously to press down the straw hat on his head.
The plan in his heart was already beginning to take shape.
This era, as it stood now…
was still missing a true hope.
In that case—
he would create that hope himself.
…
At the same time, far away in the first half of the Grand Line, the Donquixote Family also received intelligence on Kai.
The emergence of a five-year-old monster threw the entire family into turmoil.
Under their young master's orders, every member of the Donquixote Family was strictly forbidden from provoking Fist Demon Kai.
A monster with strength no weaker than a Vice Admiral—
even Doflamingo himself treated that with deep caution.
"Young Master…"
"now that the Marines have produced something like that…"
"are we really still going ahead with sending Vergo in as a spy?"
One of the officers asked nervously.
Vergo—the Donquixote Family's top executive, and one of Doflamingo's most trusted men.
Very soon, Doflamingo intended to send him into the Marines to act as the family's eyes and ears—a deep-cover infiltrator.
"Fist Demon Kai…"
"He really is a frightening monster."
"But that doesn't change our plan."
"As long as we don't actively provoke someone like him, our plans can still proceed smoothly."
Doflamingo's eyes flickered, filled with unmistakable caution.
A monster who could personally capture Whitebeard's "son"—
even Doflamingo had no confidence he could take someone like that head-on.
And the most terrifying part—
was that Kai was only five years old.
That was what made him truly frightening.
At five, he was already this strong.
So if he were given just a few more years to grow—
what kind of absurd realm would he reach?
Even Doflamingo, who was usually calm and composed, didn't want to imagine it too deeply.
"Even now, I have no certainty I could deal with that monster."
"So killing him in the cradle is out of the question."
"The future of the Marines…"
"is probably going to gain another Admiral-tier powerhouse."
"And not just any Admiral."
"Quite possibly the strongest Admiral in history."
"And the youngest Admiral Marine Headquarters has ever seen."
Doflamingo took a deep breath, but his shaken mood still wouldn't settle.
A five-year-old already at Vice Admiral-tier.
With talent like that, within just a few more years, he might very well step into the realm of an Admiral.
Thinking of that, Doflamingo couldn't help feeling a deep tremor in his heart.
"An Admiral before the age of ten?"
"Is that even possible?"
He sucked in a cold breath.
After a while, he forced down the shock and turned to the top officers he trusted most.
His tone became utterly serious.
"Vergo must still enter the Marines."
"He must become the Donquixote Family's mole inside Marine Headquarters."
"And more importantly…"
"I want him to keep a close watch on that monster, Fist Demon Kai."
"I have a very strong feeling…"
"that within the next few years, Fist Demon Kai is going to soar to the very top of the sea."
At those words, even the Donquixote Family's highest-ranking officers couldn't hide their shock.
On this day—
the name Fist Demon Kai carved itself into their minds.
A name they would never forget for the rest of their lives.
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