...…
After the brief black screen and the anomaly across the Four Seas, the light screen did not continue revealing the follow-up of Straw Hat Luffy confronting the two Emperors of the Sea as everyone had expected.
This time, it instead acted like a narrator who had finally recovered the main thread, steadily refocusing the picture on a familiar yet fate-laden figure — Monkey D. Luffy.
Since the interlude of the "Uta Incident" and the long, heavy future revelations of "God Valley, Elbaf" had come to an end, the light screen seemed to finally return to its original chronological flow, continuing to display that "future" whose general outline everyone already knew, yet which remained filled with details and shocks.
In the picture, atop the skull of Oni Island, the atmosphere was murderous to the extreme.
Outside the light screen, the young Kaido, shouldering his signature massive spiked club, frowned as he looked at the group of people in the future who appeared as small as ants before him, yet showed not a trace of fear —
Luffy wearing the straw hat, and behind him his allies with varying expressions.
Eustass "Captain" Kid, Trafalgar Law, and Zoro with three swords hanging at his waist.
This lineup and atmosphere looked nothing like a friendly visit no matter how you saw it.
"Hey... Linlin,"
Kaido turned his head and spoke curiously to Charlotte Linlin beside him, his tone carrying a hint of doubt and displeasure at being disturbed.
"What do this bunch of ignorant brats... want to do?"
Although the current Kaido had not yet become the future Hundred Beasts, it did not stop him from not putting these few "Supernovas" in his eyes.
"Mam-ma-ma-ma~ Kaido, has your brain still not turned the corner?"
Big Mom let out her signature laugh, her eyes sweeping over Luffy with a trace of playfulness and undisguised scrutiny.
"Didn't the light screen show it before? This straw hat brat even stormed through my 'Whole Cake Island', turned everything upside down, and still got out unscathed in the end! Now in this state, bringing people to charge straight into your future lair...
What else could it be for? Of course it's..."
She deliberately dragged out her tone, her smile growing even more dangerous: "To wreck the place!"
Big Mom's words woke Kaido up.
On the other side, Steel Bone Kong's gaze was locked dead on Luffy, especially the straw hat behind him that had once belonged to Roger.
This Marine Admiral's expression was extremely complicated. He turned toward Garp beside him, his voice low: "Garp... that's Dragon's son, your grandson, right?"
There was no question in Steel Bone Kong's tone, only a heavy statement.
Watching that youth who should have inherited the Marine hero's mantle and become the future pillar of the Marines now standing on the battlefield as a pirate, challenging the world's most vicious pirates.
An indescribable sense of regret and absurdity welled up in Steel Bone Kong's heart.
If Luffy had not taken this path... with his bloodline and the potential he had shown, what kind of monster-like new star would the Marines have gained?
Unfortunately, the world is unpredictable, and fate toys with people.
The light screen did not immediately show the great battle. Instead, like a patient slide master, it used the form of slides and pictures to clearly present the causes and consequences of the outbreak of the "Onigashima War":
The haze of Punk Hazard: On the forbidden island where ice and fire intertwined, the transaction between the former Celestial Dragon Doflamingo and Kaido's subordinates.
The dark production line of artificial Devil Fruits "SMILE", the tragic state of children being used as experimental subjects...
The truth of Dressrosa: The injustice suffered by the Riku royal family, the blood and tears of the Tontatta tribe, Doflamingo's puppet play manipulating the country, and the fierce battle in which Luffy and the others shattered it all. The elegy of Zou: The furry tribe kingdom atop the giant elephant's back, massacred by "Drought" Jack for protecting friends, a scene of devastation, the warriors' desperate resistance...
The isolation of Wano Country: This closed country that had been ruled by Kaido and Kurozumi Orochi for twenty years, the suffering of the people, the will of the Kozuki clan, the sparks of resistance burning arduously in the darkness...
The legend of Kozuki Oden: This legendary samurai who had boarded both Whitebeard's and Roger's pirate ships,
having witnessed the ultimate secrets of the world, his struggle after returning to Wano Country, the tragic "boiling alive" execution, and the founding dream entrusted at his death...
A massive flood of information surged forth, impacting every viewer's cognition.
People finally understood what kind of place "Wano Country" was, and learned of Kozuki Oden, this hero who connected the eras of Whitebeard and Roger.
They also saw that the original holder of the 2nd Division Commander position in the Whitebeard Pirates had been Oden. After he was "borrowed" by Roger and ultimately remained in Wano Country, that position was succeeded by Portgas D. Ace.
And the most excited person was none other than the young Kaido in reality!
"Linlin! Quick, look!!"
Kaido watched his future "great achievements" on the light screen —
occupying Wano Country, establishing the massive Beast Pirates, mastering artificial Devil Fruit technology and the weapon processing chain,
becoming the "strongest creature on land, sea, and air" reigning over the New World.
He could not help but burst into loud laughter, his eyes flashing with almost fanatical excitement: "So that's how it is! Old man's future... is actually pretty fucking interesting!! Artificial Devil Fruits? Wano Country's weapon factories?
"Worororo! This is simply like a dream for the current old man!!"
Kaido, who already believed in absolute violence and the supremacy of power, seeing that in the future he could establish such a huge power empire,
gathering strong individuals under his command and ruling a region through fear and strength — this perfectly matched the most primitive ambition deep in his heart.
And it was precisely this madness of his that drew the focus of countless gazes present.
The Marine officers wore solemn expressions, assessing the potential threat of this future "Yonko".
The pirates showed various looks — reverence, jealousy, and calculation.
Even the Five Elders' gazes lingered on him for an extra moment, as if reassessing this "potential stock" who was currently only a member under Rocks.
Rocks looked at this subordinate of his who seemed to be "doing quite well" in the future, the corner of his mouth twitching as he revealed a complex smile, then helplessly shook his head.
If he himself had not fallen at God Valley and could have continued leading this era, his dream might have already been realized, and people like Kaido would have played different roles under his blueprint, right?
Unfortunately, there are no ifs.
"Mam-ma-ma-ma~ Kaido, don't get too carried away too early!"
Charlotte Linlin interrupted Kaido's wild laughter. She pointed at Luffy and his alliance on the light screen: "Haven't you seen it? This straw hat brat has actually gathered such a troublesome bunch of guys and specifically come to your Oni Island to kick the door down!
If you capsize in the gutter and get pulled down by this group of Worst Generation brats, that would be too funny~"
Big Mom's words were full of playfulness, yet also carried a hint of reminder and probing.
Kaido snorted coldly upon hearing this, a look of disdain appearing on his face.
He pointed at several scenes flashing across the light screen — Luffy's "Gear 4" form being easily crushed by him, various attacks withstood by his powerful physique and Haki, Luffy repeatedly beaten to the brink of death...
"Linlin, look clearly!"
Kaido's voice was rough. "This straw hat brat does have some substance. His tenacity is strong enough. But in the face of absolute power, no tricks are of any use! Old man has already beaten him down several times! If it weren't for seeing that he has some backbone and is a decent seedling, I would have smashed his head with one club long ago!
Just with them, want to pull me down? Still a hundred years too early!"
Kaido's confidence came from absolute trust in his future strength, and also from the "crushing" posture toward Luffy shown in the future scenes.
After all the background and setup finished playing, whether pirates or Marine soldiers, everyone felt a dazed sensation after information overload,
as if they had personally experienced a grand epic spanning several years.
The light screen picture refocused, returning to the top of Oni Island's skull.
Luffy completely ignored the pressure from the two Emperors of the Sea that was enough to freeze ordinary people's souls and walked straight through between them.
He walked over to Kin'emon, who had fallen to the ground. This samurai, one of the Nine Red Scabbards, had already been severely injured by Kaido in the previous battle — his face unrecognizable, his breath faint.
Luffy squatted down and carefully, gently lifted Kin'emon's scarred upper body. His movements were unusually soft, completely different from his usual carefree self.
"Sorry, Kin'emon..."
Luffy's voice was low, carrying sincere apology: "I came late."
The dying Kin'emon barely opened his swollen eyes. His vision was blurry, his lips trembled, yet he could not make any sound.
Luffy's gaze swept around. The other members of the Nine Red Scabbards — Denjiro, Ashura Doji, Kawamatsu, Raizo, Inuarashi, Nekomamushi...
All lying in pools of blood, their injuries severe.
They had fought with everything they had, at the cost of their lives, and had only managed to leave some wounds on Kaido's monster-like body. They had been unable to shake his foundation at all.
"Hey! You brat!!"
Luffy's complete disregard for the fatal threat behind him completely enraged Kaido!
He felt his dignity as an "Emperor" had been most severely provoked!
In his fury, he stopped wasting words. The giant spiked club "Hassaikai" was raised high above his head with both hands. Pitch-black Armament Haki instantly coiled around it!
The air around the club twisted, emitting an unbearable buzzing!
This strike condensed his rage and killing intent, enough to smash Luffy and Kin'emon into minced meat together!
"Are you... too impolite?! Answer the old man's question!!!"
Accompanied by Kaido's deafening roar, the spiked club wrapped in terrifying Haki smashed down toward Luffy and Kin'emon with the force of thunder!
Before the club arrived, the violent wind pressure had already cracked the ground!
"Torao!" Luffy didn't even turn his head and simply shouted.
"Really no choice with you... ROOM·Slaughterhouse!"
Not far away, Law raised his hand in tacit understanding. A hemispherical transparent space instantly unfolded, enveloping the fallen Red Scabbards.
In the next moment, the figures inside the space flashed and disappeared into thin air, transferred to the relatively safe interior of Oni Island.
Almost at the exact same instant Law completed the transfer —
"Boom——!!!!!!"
Kaido's spiked club solidly struck the position where Luffy and Kin'emon had originally been!
The entire Oni Island seemed to shake violently!
The ground atop the skull was smashed into a huge deep pit dozens of meters in diameter. Rubble shot into the sky like a volcanic eruption!
The violent shockwave spread outward in a ring, blowing away some of the Beast Pirates' small fries inside the banquet hall!
Luffy easily dodged Kaido's attack, then his gaze became like a torch, locking firmly onto Kaido below.
Without any nonsense, without any probing.
Taking a deep breath, Luffy's right arm suddenly stretched backward to the limit!
The muscles of his arm rapidly expanded and deformed, the skin taking on a strange texture like an inflating balloon. It was clearly "Gear 3·Bone Balloon"!
But this time, it was different from any previous Gear 3!
Rich, liquid-like Armament Haki instantly covered his enormous fist!
The color of that Armament Haki was incomparably deep, faintly glowing with a metallic strange luster — even... as if extremely fine halos were flowing across the surface of the Haki!
This "quality" and "quantity" of Armament Haki was completely different from any Armament Haki Luffy had previously displayed in the light screen!
Above the sky, black clouds madly rolled and gathered due to the invisible clash of the two top-tier Conqueror's Haki.
Lightning snakes danced wildly. Heaven and earth changed color!
Luffy poured all his strength, all his anger, all his resolve into this one punch!
"Gomu Gomu no..."
His voice was not loud, yet it carried an unwavering determination that pierced through the howling gale and the explosions of thunder: "Hellfire Fist Gun!!!"
Boom!!!
The enormous red fist, like a destructive meteor, tore through the air with unstoppable violent momentum and fiercely smashed toward Kaido's face!
Kaido's pupils suddenly contracted!
The speed, power, and especially the strangely textured Armament Haki attached to this punch completely exceeded his previous expectations!
"Thud!!!"
A solid hit!
Not a dull impact, but a huge sound like a bomb exploding!
Haki lightning wildly splashed at the point of impact!
Kaido's ferocious face, known as the "strongest creature" and never truly injured through countless battles, was actually struck hard to the side by this punch!
The burly body as large as a mountain lost its balance for the first time. His body actually fell straight down. A trace of glaring bright red slowly seeped from the corner of his mouth and dripped down his chin.
Silence.
A death-like silence enveloped Oni Island and also enveloped the space inside and outside the light screen.
Charlotte Linlin's huge eyes were wide open. The sweet smile on her face completely froze for the first time, replaced by incredulous shock: "Kai... Kaido?! What... what are you doing?! How could you... how could you get injured?!!"
She had fought Luffy before and admitted the brat had potential, but he was definitely not strong enough to injure Kaido with one hit!
This sudden turn of events made her feel that things were completely getting out of control.
Outside the light screen, at the God Valley site, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Outsiders watch the excitement; insiders watch the technique.
All the true powerhouses — Rocks, Roger, Garp, Sengoku, Whitebeard, Rayleigh, Gaban, everyone...
At the instant Luffy threw that punch, their eyes all became incomparably sharp!
"That Armament Haki... something's wrong!" Rayleigh muttered.
"The way it's wrapped... the flowing feeling..." Gaban pushed up his glasses.
...
This seemingly simple punch from Luffy contained far more than what appeared on the surface.
And the young Kaido himself, watching the scene of his future self being punched until he bled by Luffy, had his face instantly turn as black as the bottom of a pot.
The previously smug smile disappeared without a trace, replaced by humiliated anger and a trace of imperceptible... gravity.
He stared dead at the straw hat youth on the light screen who had landed back on the ground, assuming a stance, eyes burning with unyielding flames. His huge palm slowly clenched into a fist.
This brat... in the future, really became a... tremendous trouble!
The battle had only just begun.
And the roar of the new era had already resounded at the peak of Oni Island!
...