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"Kaido! Die! Only by killing you can I forge my legend!"
A dull, furious roar echoed like a storm, followed immediately by two distinct forces colliding like raging rivers.
Dozens of terrifying, half-beast figures charged forward like tanks, smashing into the opposing pirate crew of several hundred men. They tore through the enemy formation like sharp knives through cloth, splitting them down the middle. In an instant, blood flowed like a river.
A pirate crew that had fought its way from the first half of the Grand Line into the New World was challenging Kaido... and the battle was tragically one-sided.
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The Territory of the Beasts Pirates.
On a large island teeming with wild beasts, a war of provocation was underway. A rookie was challenging an Emperor.
This was a microcosm of the New World's future. More and more people would flood into these waters to challenge the Four Emperors.
In reality, the war for supremacy had already begun!
"Challenging me? Why don't I see anyone going after Whitebeard, the Thunder Emperor, or Big Mom? Why do you all come for me??" Kaido's rage was explosive. Something had clearly struck a nerve. His massive body stood up, casting a shadow that weighed heavily on the challenger's heart like a boulder.
"Are you looking down on me, you bastard?? Huh? Answer me!!"
The challenger—a man nearly ten meters tall, draped in beast hides with a rugged, savage face—was so intimidated by Kaido's overwhelming aura that he froze, completely forgetting how to speak.
The trials of the first half of the Grand Line were nothing compared to the cruelty of the New World. Anyone who survived that journey had grown, no doubt.
Every pirate who entered these waters was an elite in their own right. But without witnessing the true horror of a "monster" firsthand, imagination alone was useless.
This ten-meter giant hadn't targeted the other three Emperors. He chose Kaido solely because, according to the newspapers, Kaido had been defeated the most.
Whitebeard had never been defeated in a head-on confrontation in his life; he was hailed as the Strongest Man in the World.
The Thunder Emperor had risen through constant battle, becoming stronger with every appearance. He was the Uncrowned King of the New Era, involved in every major event, leading some to call this the "Age of the Thunder Emperor."
Big Mom's Totland was heavily fortified, and she had once fought the Thunder Emperor to a standstill...
But Kaido? Whitebeard had hammered him into the ocean floor. The Navy had captured him dozens of times. The Thunder Emperor had beaten him unconscious and dragged him to Marineford like a sack of potatoes.
With so many losses on his record, if you weren't going to challenge Kaido, who would you challenge?
Strongest Creature on Land, Sea, and Air?
Kaido who cannot die?
Who knew if that was just hype?
Everyone dies eventually, right?
Holding onto that naive belief, the moment he entered the New World, he led his men straight into the heart of the Beasts Pirates' territory.
"Why aren't you talking? Are you still looking down on me??" Kaido's giant eyes bulged with fury. His palm, the size of a small mountain, slammed down.
SPLAT!
The majestic, ten-meter-tall warrior was instantly reduced to a puddle of meat paste.
His crew of several hundred was subsequently slaughtered to the last man by the berserk members of the Beast Army.
"ROAAAAR!!"
Countless beasts howled at the sky, transforming the island into a scene from a primordial era. Towering peaks, massive trees, and savage creatures everywhere.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! They all look down on me! It's all the Thunder Emperor's fault!"
After the slaughter, Kaido slumped to the ground, leaning his back against a massive tree and wailing like a child. The three All-Stars and the Beast Army soldiers standing nearby didn't even blink. They were used to this.
The crying lasted for a moment before stopping abruptly. Kaido wiped his tears and stood up suddenly, smearing the blood on his hands all over his face, making him look unspeakably terrifying.
"It's all because of the Thunder Emperor that I have to suffer this humiliation! No! I'm going to kill him!!"
BOOOOM—
He leaped into the sea, kicking up a massive tsunami, and began swimming toward Raijin Island.
"Lord Kaido!!"
"Lord Kaido, wait..."
His subordinates looked on, utterly helpless.
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The explosive power of the plasma cannon was theoretically enough to wipe Punk Hazard off the map and obliterate any target it hit.
Currently, Arthur's strongest attack—Raigo (Thunder Greeting)—was simply a massive condensation of electricity. Its efficiency was too low. It consumed vast amounts of stamina, yet its destructive power was unsatisfactory compared to the terrifying efficiency of a plasma cannon.
Arthur didn't know the upper limit of Armament Haki's defense, but there was no doubt in his mind that it couldn't withstand this kind of power.
If he wanted to know exactly how strong his new technique was, he had to go find the most durable punching bag on the sea: Kaido.
Without notifying anyone, Arthur launched himself into the sky, leaving Punk Hazard and flying straight toward the Beasts Pirates' territory.
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Totland, The New World.
The annual Tea Party was approaching.
Countless bizarre Tart Ships and cadre vessels set sail from Totland, carrying invitations to the leaders of the underground world—the rats surviving in the cracks between the Four Emperors' territories.
"MOM~ MOM"
"SHIP~ SHIP"
The Queen Mama Chanter, a massive ship imbued with a soul, opened its mouth at the bow and continuously hummed an awful tune.
Standing on the deck as the giant ship cut through the waves were the Charlotte Family's eldest son Perospero, second son Katakuri, fourth son Oven, and eighth daughter Brûlée.
"Big brother Katakuri, do we really have to deliver these invitations?" Brûlée asked. As a fanatic admirer of Katakuri, she valued his opinion above all else.
Charlotte Katakuri, the masterpiece of the Charlotte Family, was the only person besides Big Mom whose word was law.
All his siblings subconsciously obeyed his commands, even his older brother Perospero.
In their hands were two gold-stamped invitations. The names written clearly on them were "Thunder Emperor" and "Kaido of the Beasts."
Big Mom held a Tea Party every year, and the theme was almost always a "wedding." Eating sweets and having children were her only real hobbies, and weddings were just an excuse for cake.
Originally, invitations were only sent to underground kingpins who wanted to suck up to Big Mom.
But ever since Arthur established the Thunder God Pirates, Big Mom had insisted on sending an invitation to both Arthur and Kaido, even though they rarely, if ever, reached them.
After all, "parties" held zero appeal for men like Arthur and Kaido.
Food was great, sure. But ever since Jessica joined the Thunder God Pirates, Arthur only ate her cooking. He couldn't care less about sweets.
"We don't need to go specifically to their territories," Katakuri said, his cold eyes flashing red. He saw a vision of the sky cracking and the earth shattering, followed by an abrupt silence...
He closed his eyes. "Just wait ahead. Those two will come to us naturally."
A few nautical miles away from the Queen Mama Chanter lay a desolate island. Katakuri had foreseen a cataclysmic battle taking place there.
A few seconds later...
SPLASH—
A massive figure erupted from the ocean, driving a wave dozens of meters high before him like a moving mountain. Simultaneously, a streak of purple-red lightning tore through the clouds in the sky.
Two gazes—one from the sky, one from the sea—locked onto each other with explosive force.
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