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"Beast Pirates' Tobiroppo—Sasaki?"
A tall, lean man with a waxed mustache and a cigar clamped between his teeth grinned cruelly. Behind him, eight spider-like appendages twitched, itching for a fight. This was Vice Admiral Onigumo.
"Your luck just ran out!"
"Save it!" Sasaki spat out a mouthful of blood, glaring murderously at the three men surrounding him. "You three nobodies think you can take me down? Keep dreaming!"
With a furious roar, he gripped his spiral blade in both hands and charged straight at the closest one—Vice Admiral Doberman!
"Arrogant fool!" Doberman's eyes flashed dangerously as he drew the sword at his hip and met Sasaki head-on.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The ear-splitting clash of steel rang out again and again, sparks flying in all directions.
One man against three. Sasaki was being pushed to the absolute limit.
Vice Admiral Momonga's swordsmanship was precise and relentless, Onigumo's eight-sword style was nearly impossible to defend against, and Doberman's strikes came down with bone-crushing force.
The three worked together with deadly precision, leaving Sasaki reeling.
His Armament Haki was burning out fast, and his movements were getting slower and slower.
PCHHK!
Too slow—Doberman caught an opening and struck! His finger pistol jabbed straight through Sasaki's left shoulder.
Blood gushed out like a fountain.
"Ugh—!"
Pain shot through him like fire, his body stumbling uncontrollably and leaving him wide open!
"This is the end!"
Onigumo seized the moment. His foot slammed against the ground, vanishing from sight as he used Soru, appearing right at Sasaki's flank.
A razor-sharp Rankyaku, coated in Armament Haki, sliced through the air with a shriek and came for Sasaki's unguarded neck!
If that kick landed, he'd be lucky to survive—more likely, he'd never stand again.
Sasaki's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
He wanted to dodge.
He wanted to block.
But his body, wracked with pain and drained of Haki, just wouldn't move fast enough.
It was over.
And then—
WHOOOM—!!!
An indescribable, crushing pressure slammed down from above.
It was like a dam breaking. Like a volcano erupting. Like the heavens themselves descending on the battlefield.
In an instant, it blanketed the entire island of G-58.
The world seemed to stop.
The air froze.
The wind vanished.
Even the roar of cannons and the clash of weapons fell silent.
Marines and Beast Pirates alike—anyone too weak to withstand that monstrous aura—collapsed like wheat under a scythe, eyes rolling back, foam at their mouths.
Even the three Vice Admirals—mid-swing, mid-strike—froze in place.
Onigumo's lethal kick stopped dead in the air.
For a fraction of a second, their movements just… halted.
Their minds went blank.
Their very souls shuddered.
"Wha—what the hell…"
Onigumo's cruel grin turned to stone. The cigar fell from his mouth and hit the ground, forgotten. Sheer horror filled his eyes.
"Con… Conqueror's Haki?!"
Doberman's voice cracked as he shouted, his sword-hand trembling violently.
"S-So strong! This level of Conqueror's Haki—don't tell me Kaido's here?!"
Momonga's face went pale, for the first time showing fear. His head snapped toward the sky.
This kind of Haki—so pure, so overwhelming—was rare even in the New World.
And the only person they could imagine unleashing such a thing here, right now, was Kaido himself.
Sasaki was stunned. Relief at his narrow escape hadn't even had time to hit him before he was struck by the sheer power of that all-too-familiar, yet terrifyingly stronger Conqueror's Haki.
This wasn't Kaido's.
This was—
His face changed.
He whipped his head up toward the sky.
And there it was.
No massive blue dragon blotting out the sun.
Instead, a tiny black speck plummeted from the clouds at incredible speed.
Closer… closer…
Until they could see—
A kid.
A little kid, wearing a mini-sized Beast Pirates uniform that looked comically too big on him.
Tiny body. Soft, baby-like cheeks.
He couldn't be more than two years old.
The three Vice Admirals: "???"
Every single conscious Marine and Beast Pirate on the battlefield stared, wide-eyed, jaws practically unhinging.
Their minds could only scream one thing:
That soul-crushing, world-stopping, god-tier Conqueror's Haki…
Came from THIS baby?!
What kind of sick joke was this?!
There's no way a toddler could have that kind of Haki!
"Y-Young Master Dan?!"
Sasaki, bloodied and barely standing, was the first to recover enough to shout in shock.
Sure, he'd known the kid was a genius, born with insane talent and freakishly strong Haki—but feeling it firsthand, in a life-or-death moment like this? The impact hit him like a cannonball.
Young master?
At those words, the three Vice Admirals jolted back to their senses, as if struck by lightning.
They exchanged quick, sharp looks, and what they saw in each other's eyes was the same—pure shock and dread.
Kaido's son.
A monster with this kind of terrifying Conqueror's Haki…
Was Kaido's heir?!
"..."
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