The air froze.
Kaido, still in his massive dragon-man form, remained kneeling amid the shattered earth. His feral eyes shifted between the two figures on the warship… and the indescribable black behemoth before him.
The last traces of alcohol had vanished from his system.
He could clearly feel the presence of the two old men.
There was only one reason both would arrive at such terrifying speed.
They regarded this young man as their—
successor.
Troublesome.
Extremely troublesome.
But even more troubling…
was the monster in front of him.
Its power system was chaotic. Alien. A pure destructive force unlike anything Kaido had encountered in decades upon the seas.
It felt no pain.
It knew no exhaustion.
It existed only to destroy.
"Hehehehehe…"
Kaido's hoarse laughter rattled the broken stones at his feet.
He slowly stood upright, resting the fractured kanabo across his shoulder. His gaze swept past Rover and settled upon his two ancient enemies.
"Garp. Sengoku."
"You two fossils practically in your coffins had to come personally?"
"Has Marine Headquarters run out of men?"
Garp grinned, baring his white teeth as he cracked his knuckles.
Pop.
"No choice," he said. "Somebody had to deal with a blind idiot."
Sengoku did not answer.
He merely adjusted his round glasses.
The lenses flashed white.
Golden light began to radiate from his body — quiet, restrained, yet unmistakably ready to erupt at any moment.
Kaido's grin widened.
But his eyes remained razor-clear.
Garp and Sengoku together could pin him here for days.
And beside them stood a monster capable of blasting him into the ground with a single beam.
One against three.
Kaido was insane.
But he was not stupid.
A fight now would gain him nothing but a meaningless death.
This was not the grand ending he sought.
"…How boring."
"Hehehehe!"
His laughter returned — but now edged with cold judgment.
"I'm not in the mood to play house with you today."
He cast one last glance toward the crater that had swallowed King… then toward the six-eyed beast.
"That kid with the interesting heartbeat… I'll remember him."
"And you…"
He smirked at Rover.
"Interesting watchdog."
"You won't be so lucky next time."
BOOM!!!
Before the words faded, the ground beneath his feet shattered.
Kaido launched skyward.
Azure scales spread across his body.
His form elongated, expanding as he rose.
In an instant—
a colossal azure dragon stretched across the sky.
Thousands of meters long.
"ROOOOAR—!!!"
The dragon's roar tore apart the clouds for miles.
Winds screamed.
The sea churned.
Without another glance, the dragon twisted and surged toward the New World.
Leaving only fading Conqueror's Haki reverberating above the island.
Kaido…
had withdrawn.
The Marines aboard the warship stared upward in stunned silence.
That was Kaido.
The Strongest Creature.
And he chose retreat.
As his presence vanished…
the ten-meter behemoth trembled violently.
The chaotic aura receded like a draining tide.
Its massive body shrank rapidly.
Bones contracted with sickening creaks.
Muscles withered.
Claws withdrew.
The six scarlet compound eyes sealed shut and disappeared.
Three seconds later—
the dust settled.
Only a massive claw imprint remained.
At the crater's center lay a palm-sized black puppy.
Fur soaked in cold sweat.
Eyes rolled back.
Tongue limp.
Thump.
Unconscious.
Silence consumed the island.
Two figures dropped from the sky and landed amid vitrified earth.
Garp and Sengoku did not spare the melted stone a glance.
Their attention was fixed entirely on the crater.
Sengoku approached and knelt.
As Fleet Admiral, he had seen countless Devil Fruit users.
Countless monsters.
But never anything like this.
He carefully lifted the unconscious puppy.
It was light.
Fragile.
Its heart beat weakly and rapidly — like an exhausted newborn.
Sengoku glanced at the steaming crater over a hundred meters wide.
Then back at the tiny creature in his palm.
This thing…
had endured Kaido's Thunder Bagua.
And nearly blasted a Yonko off the island.
"…Garp," Sengoku said hoarsely.
No reply.
He turned.
Garp was not looking at him.
The old hero stood at a distant cliff face.
Rigid.
Silent.
A human-shaped cavity marred the rock.
Without a word, Garp drove his hand into the stone.
The cliff crumbled like tofu.
Rock collapsed.
He caught the falling body.
King.
The man who treated Admirals with lazy indifference was now barely recognizable.
His hoodie was shredded.
Both arms bent at unnatural angles.
A deep dent marked the center of his chest.
Blood soaked his body.
Most terrifying of all—
the legendary Emperor Engine was silent.
No thunderous heartbeat.
No war-drum rhythm.
It had stopped.
Garp's face hardened.
He pressed two fingers to King's neck.
Seconds passed.
At last—
a faint pulse.
Another.
"…Not dead."
He exhaled slowly, though relief did not follow.
"If not for that abnormal constitution…"
"He'd be paste."
"That brat…"
Garp removed his Justice Coat and wrapped King carefully, lifting him in one arm.
"Sengoku," he said quietly.
"You felt it too."
Sengoku adjusted his glasses.
"…Yes."
Not just felt.
Understood the danger.
A Marine Vice Admiral with monstrous physical strength… yet no mastery of advanced Haki.
A small dog capable of transforming into an indescribable destructive entity able to injure a Yonko.
Together, they had reshaped an island.
If this became public knowledge—
the world order would tremble.
Sengoku surveyed the island.
The coastline had receded hundreds of meters.
Mountains had collapsed into basins.
It resembled the aftermath of a natural disaster.
"Take them back," Sengoku said at last.
"Classify this incident as Top Secret."
"Seal the area."
"Even if CP0 arrives… they are to receive nothing."
He paused.
His voice grew heavy.
"We must plan carefully."
Above the ruined island, the clouds slowly began to close.
But the sea itself seemed to remember.
And somewhere between legend and catastrophe—
a new variable had entered the age of pirates.