"Meteor Volcano."
[BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.]
With each thunderous blast, a blazing glob of molten magma was fired from Sakazuki—each one launched at an astonishing speed. In just over ten seconds, more than a hundred shots had already been fired.
"What… what is that…?"
A pirate captain, who had just been shouting at his crew to pick up the pace, stood frozen. His mouth hung open as he stared in stunned silence at the swarm of magma meteors raining from the sky—each one as large as a house, drawing ever closer.
But while he stood paralyzed, others did not.
Some pirates with high bounties relied on their strength and leapt into the air to intercept the incoming magma. Everyone resorted to their best abilities in a desperate attempt to shield their ships from the barrage.
"Go!"
"Block it!"
"All hands—attack together!"
Pirates from dozens of ships had been driven to the edge. Their eyes burned red, their teeth clenched. In a frenzy of desperation, they unleashed their strongest techniques, bracing together against what looked like an apocalyptic meteor storm from the heavens.
[WHOOSH———]
But someone seemed to think they hadn't yet experienced true despair.
Borsalino suddenly scattered into particles of light again—and in a flash, reappeared more than 100 meters in the air.
He was glowing again.
Golden rhombus-shaped flashes radiated from him.
The next moment, an overwhelming number of laser beams, denser than even Meteor Volcano, rained down over a vast swath of sea.
Flames roared, illusions blurred.
Massive magma orbs plummeting from the sky, joined by an all-consuming barrage of laser blasts, together formed the most terrifying web of firepower the world had ever seen.
"Waaaaah———!"
Seeing such a horrific and awe-inspiring display, the millions watching the projection screens around the world erupted into chaos.
Especially on Fish-Man Island, both fish-men and merfolk alike had fallen into total silence.
At that moment, any trace of arrogance they had once held toward the strength of humans was utterly shattered—crushed to dust by the twin forces of magma and light.
They were afraid.
The prestige of the World Government and the Marines was now surging uncontrollably in the hearts of all peoples.
Once all the magma meteors and blinding flashes had settled, and the tormented sea had finally begun to calm, people started to notice—there were barely any pirate ships left on the water.
Aside from those that had been too close to the Marine warships to escape in time, the rest had been reduced to flaming, shattered wreckage—floating chunks of charred timber slowly drifting with the tide.
The battlefield... had been cleared.
"ROAAAAAR———!"
Just as everyone was quietly soaking in the sudden stillness, a piercing, sorrowful dragon's roar shattered the silence and drew thousands of eyes once more.
Kaido had transformed again—soaring into the sky as a massive azure divine dragon. But it was obvious to everyone that he had no way out now.
That golden Great Buddha clad in the cloak of justice, and Vice Admiral Garp—one above, one below—had sealed off all paths of escape. Unless he could break through at least one of them, his fate was already sealed.
And Kaido knew it too.
He was well aware this was the end for him.
But even so, he refused to let the Marines walk away unscathed. They would pay—he would make sure of it.
His eyes locked onto the two massive cargo ships that carried the ONE PIECE.
Then, blood pouring from his mouth, the dragon opened his jaws and began to gather a blinding flame within.
[BOOOOOM————]
A mighty dragon's breath erupted from his maw—a blazing, cylindrical torrent of flame surged forth, instantly vaporizing the surrounding atmosphere into thick white mist under its intense heat. It shot straight toward the cargo ship at the center of the fleet.
"You said you wanted to protect them? Then I'll just destroy them!!"
Kaido's dragon eyes blazed with furious rage as he stared wide-eyed, waiting for a massive explosion to send all the treasure to the bottom of the sea.
He wanted to see Garp and Sengoku's faces twisted in shock and fury!
But Kaido failed to notice—neither Garp nor Sengoku made the slightest move to intercept. They didn't even flinch. Instead, they pressed on with clenched fists and raised palms, attacking without hesitation.
In that instant, one of the large cargo ships suddenly burst forth with a crimson glow. The seawater around it rapidly turned blood-red, visible even to the naked eye.
Just as the torrent of flame came crashing down, a wave of crimson seawater surged upward—forming a massive, blood-red 'bowl' that enveloped the two cargo ships and clashed head-on with the scorching fire pillar.
[BOOM!!!]
The breath and the blood shield locked in a fierce midair standoff. The former scorched the blood with its searing heat, producing thick clouds of foul-smelling, crimson steam, while the latter drew endlessly from the vast ocean, replenishing the shield's thickness and integrity every second.
"How is this possible?!"
Kaido was completely dumbfounded. He hadn't expected another powerful expert to be hiding among the Marines. His heart sank into the abyss.
Meanwhile—
Charlotte Linlin twitched at the corners of her mouth as she watched the projection, secretly relieved she hadn't gone back to save anyone. Otherwise, she would've ended up in Impel Down right alongside Kaido.
"Mamamam… That power looks like a Paramecia awakening, but I haven't heard of any strong Paramecia users in the Navy?"
What followed was entirely expected: before the eyes of tens of thousands of spectators, Kaido was beaten down by a fearsome two-man combo from Sengoku and Garp.
"GYAAAAAAHHHHHHHH—!!"
His anguished howls echoed endlessly. The mighty captain of the Beasts Pirates, a world-renowned powerhouse—was now reduced to such a pitiful state.
Back in Onigashima, the likes of King, Queen, and the others were frozen in shock as they watched the scene unfold. They just stood there blankly, completely at a loss for what to do or say.
Kaido had lost battles before, sure—but those hadn't been broadcast to the entire world!
"Uh… should we go help the Captain?" one Zoan-type Devil Fruit user in a leather jacket asked timidly.
But all the crew members lowered their heads in silence, intensely studying the patterns on their shoes.
Go save him?
With Sengoku and Garp there—plus that mysterious Paramecia powerhouse—how the hell were they supposed to do that? What were they supposed to say?
At that moment, King, the second-in-command, finally spoke up.
"Are the people on the island watching this live broadcast too?"
Queen took a deep drag of his cigarette and replied in a heavy tone, "No. This country is basically cut off from the outside world. Not even News Coo can get in. We're the only ones who bother paying attention to what's going on out there."
"Good."
King stepped forward, his icy gaze sweeping over the assembled crew. He spoke coldly, "From this moment on, no one is to speak of this incident. And no one is allowed to leak anything outside. If I catch even a whisper, don't blame me for being ruthless. Got it?"
"Uh—y-yes, understood!"
"Loud and clear!!"
All the Zoan-type Devil Fruit users nodded furiously, scrambling to make their promises. No one dared challenge King's order.
"So, what do we do next?" Queen exhaled a puff of white smoke as he asked.
"We wait."
King walked over and crushed the poor Den-Den Mushi in his hand.
"Kaido will find a way out. All we need to do is wait for the Captain's return. Until then, we seal off Wano even tighter than before. No contact with the outside world, period."
"Especially make sure that Kōzuki Oden doesn't hear about this. If he finds out… we're all dead." As he spoke, his gaze shifted toward the direction of Wano Country.
The others tensed up at those words. They instantly grasped how vital secrecy was. That Oden might be dancing around naked like a fool, but his strength was no joke.
Even with King and Queen teaming up, they wouldn't stand a chance against him!
...
On the Navy's side, Kaido had already been shackled with seastone handcuffs and ankle restraints, and was now locked inside the brig of a military vessel. Garp sat outside on a chair, munching on senbei while reading the newspaper.
Seeing this, Kaido gave up completely.
To the global audience, with the conclusion of this earth-shattering naval battle, the live broadcast had temporarily ended. It would take several days for the fleet to return to G-1 Base.
However, an official from the Ministry of Public Information assured the public that another world broadcast would go live when the time came—so everyone could witness the treasure chests being transported to the Holy Land Mary Geoise, where all the treasure would be piled up for public viewing, as proof that the Pirate King's legendary treasure, ONE PIECE, had truly fallen into the hands of the World Government!
Even though the broadcast feed had gone dark, the impact of the event continued to ripple outward. As the audience dispersed, chatter erupted everywhere.
From royal palaces to ports, taverns, schools, plazas—even inside the cramped quarters of ships—people were wildly discussing the Navy, ONE PIECE, 'Whitebeard,' Big Mom, and, of course, Kaido.
At this point, almost no one questioned the authenticity of the treasure anymore. Didn't you see how so many pirates had gone all out for it?
This left the former members of the Roger Pirates scattered across the world wearing bitter, helpless expressions—forced to watch their captain's final plan crumble before their eyes. One by one, they tilted back their heads and downed their golden liquor in a single gulp.
Truly… drowning your sorrows only makes them worse.