Queen slowly opened his dazed eyes, finally regaining consciousness.
"My God... it hurts... Every bone in my body feels shattered..."
His whole body ached terribly, and as his vision cleared, the first thing he saw was Kaos's face.
In an instant, Queen panicked. He quickly scrambled around and dropped to his knees.
"Your Highness! Your Highness! I swear I didn't do anything wrong! I followed your instructions completely! Please don't punish me!"
His voice quivered, almost on the verge of tears. But to his surprise, Kaos simply reached out a hand and gently lifted him up.
"Punish you? Why would I punish you? You did perfectly this time—exactly what I expected from you."
Queen froze, utterly confused. Sure, he had done a lot of things recently... but surely nothing worthy of this much praise?
Kaos smiled, then pointed to the newspaper on the table.
"You did a great job. Take a look at the newspaper from three days ago."
Queen picked it up. The bold headline took up nearly half the front page:
—The Strongest Yonko! Challenges Three Admirals and Destroys Marineford with an Invincible Blow!
The title was massive and dramatic. Below it was a photo... of Queen himself.
That plump, round face still had a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth, captured mid-action. No matter how ugly he usually looked, at this moment… Queen felt like he had never looked more handsome.
He was the very image of dominance—like a true Yonko at the peak of his power.
Queen continued reading the article. It spoke of him as the "legendary powerhouse under the Emperor of the Sea," a warrior who, out of gratitude to his captain, had risked everything in a desperate, earth-shattering battle.
Then there was a special highlight: his strongest attack during the assault on Marineford.
In reality, Queen had barely managed a shout before being pinned down by a CPO agent... but Morgans, the news king, was a genius at spinning stories.
Morgans had edited the photos meticulously. In the published shot, only Queen appeared—huge and imposing.
The three Marine Admirals were deliberately photoshopped to look absurdly short, all shown in frantic mid-dodge poses.
It was, of course, complete nonsense. The three Admirals were all Logia Devil Fruit users, and even the strongest shockwave couldn't kill them.
But judging from the photo... it looked like the three Admirals had faced a nightmare opponent.
The image showed them fleeing in panic while Marineford burned in the background.
A massive, horrifying crack split Marineford's central plaza in half—a terrifying, apocalyptic scene.
Queen's jaw dropped. His eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"I... I did that?! Incredible! I never imagined I was that powerful!"
Excitement surged through him. He trembled with pride.
Kaos chuckled. "From today onward... you're officially a new Emperor of the Sea. Of course, there are still important matters to handle in the pirate world. You can continue recruiting men, but... I'd personally recommend we leave here first."
Queen blinked, still dizzy from all this sudden glory.
"Your Highness... Where exactly do you want me to go?"
His tone was filled with unease. "It wouldn't be good if I left and something bad happened to my territory... I just became a Yonko after all these years!"
Kaos smiled. "Of course I'm taking you away for your own good. Right now, the Marines are going crazy looking for you. They've already issued the highest-level arrest warrant."
Kaos held up another paper. "Your bounty is now... 5 billion berries."
Queen gasped.
"Whitebeard's was 5 billion 46 million!"
Kaos nodded. "Before this... your bounty was only 1.32 billion."
"It's like riding a roller coaster. Overnight, it's skyrocketed to 5 billion. Shouldn't you be happy?"
Kaos's smile deepened. "After what you did at Marineford, you've become a top-priority target. The three Admirals are now searching for you across the entire world. I doubt you'd want to stick around here and wait for them."
Queen nodded, almost instinctively. Going head-to-head with any one of the Admirals would mean certain death.
Sure, he had some powerful moves up his sleeve... but the idea of actually fighting and beating one of them? Impossible.
Kaos stood up.
"Coincidentally, I happen to have a new destination in mind. You'll come with me. There, you'll learn something... and in the future, you'll become a true, undisputed Emperor of the Sea."
Kaos possessed his own Gate of the Worlds, and he had traveled to other worlds before—most notably the world of Esdeath.
The wars and conflicts he waged there brought him tremendous energy and several Teigu.
Teigu are powerful artifacts, essentially super cheats, that grant users immense combat strength.
Now, Kaos could open even more gates. As his missions progressed, his ability to capture and conquer different worlds continued to grow.
The second gate seemed to activate a mysterious function whose true meaning was not yet fully understood.
Kaos brought Queen directly to the Red Line, the holiest and most sacred place in this world.
Queen had never been to this part of the world before. His eyes were filled with curiosity and amazement as he looked around constantly, taking in the view.
But to avoid drawing attention, he was forced to pretend he was unfazed.
Along with them was a group of pirates—Queen's subordinates—some of whom were also modified soldiers.
Additionally, there was a large group of artificial Devil Fruit users. Their combat ability was passable at best.
However, most of them were physical failures—odd-looking with crooked appearances and deformities. Their combat power was generally weak.
Eventually, everyone gathered at the innermost tower. Inside stood another gate—a portal leading to yet another world.
Kaos hadn't informed the Marines about this because most of his elite forces were still stationed in the previous world.
He decided to investigate first before making any decisive moves.
The world he was about to conquer was far more dangerous than Esdeath's world.
This time, it was the Naruto World—a world where, in terms of raw combat power, even surpassed the Pirate World.
Some of the strongest individuals there possessed abilities capable of destroying entire world. They were truly monsters among men—beings of unimaginable power.
Esdeath was already waiting by the gate, having made her preparations long ago.
She kept a constant watch on the portal, unsure where exactly it would lead, but certain that whatever was beyond it would be worth conquering.
"Your Highness, you've finally arrived. I've been waiting for you," Esdeath greeted him with her trademark smile—genuine, eager, and filled with anticipation.
"Of course, I'm here. I planned to head to the Naruto World once I finished dealing with matters in the other worlds. Looks like the time has come," Kaos replied with a grin.
He was especially fond of this portal system. Another world was about to open its doors to him. By now, Esdeath had already stepped through without hesitation.
"We'll enter this gate. The situation on the other side is unknown. Once inside, you'll take your subordinates and establish a foothold in that world.
"But you'll need to disguise yourselves. The Naruto World is always looking for capable fighters. You can try to learn some of their so-called ninjutsu."
Queen was completely dumbfounded.
Kaos thought for a moment. Honestly, even if they went there, it was unlikely they could actually learn ninjutsu.
After all, it was an entirely different system of power. Their physical structures weren't suited for channeling chakra. Even sensing it would be nearly impossible for them.
What they could take advantage of, however, was the firearm technology that also existed in that world.
Despite being dominated by ninjas, the Naruto World had surprisingly advanced technology: trains, films, broadcasting, and various modern developments that coexisted with its traditional ninja society.
Kaos issued his orders—Queen and the others were to continue preparations and be ready for the unknown.
Then, stepping into the portal himself, Kaos joined Esdeath. Amid swirling, radiant light, the two arrived in a land full of lush greenery, singing birds, and blooming flowers.
But despite its beauty, the night was eerily silent, broken only by the haunting sound of a howling wind.
In the distance, there are two people fighting with loud voices and infinite power. .