The New World — Wano Country — Onigashima
Inside the colossal skull-shaped fortress, the air was thick with the stench of alcohol and the raucous atmosphere of revelry.
Kaido of the Beasts sprawled lazily upon the massive throne at the center of the hall, his enormous body slumped without restraint. In one hand, he gripped an oversized gourd of liquor, tilting his head back as he gulped it down in loud, unrestrained swallows.
Ever since he had completely eradicated the Kozuki clan and solidified his dominion over Wano Country, an indescribable emptiness—and a restless agitation—had begun to fester within him instead.
Especially now that Kaido had come to fully accept the truth: he was not the prophesied "Joy Boy."
That realization rendered some of his former dreams almost laughable.
And so he sank deeper into confusion… and into drink.
It was during this period that his infamous "suicidal tendencies" truly took shape—
Not a desire for death in the conventional sense, but an obsessive compulsion to seek out powerful opponents, to throw himself into battles of life and death in pursuit of ultimate stimulation… or total annihilation.
Yet among the names on his mental list of challengers, one figure was conspicuously and deliberately avoided:
Edward Newgate—Whitebeard—the man hailed as the "Strongest Man in the World."
Perhaps it was due to some complicated sense of wariness.Perhaps a lingering, unspoken bond left over from their days as crewmates under Rocks D. Xebec.Or perhaps…
It was because Kaido had slain Kozuki Oden—and Oden had been Whitebeard's family.
A sin he could not quite bring himself to face head-on.
Thus, after excluding the still-rampaging, chaos-spreading "BIG MOM," among the scant few true powerhouses left in the New World, only one name remained.
A man of terrifying renown.A man with whom Kaido shared no deep personal grudges.
The Marine Admiral known as "Heaven-Shaker."
Gern Reginald Sigmar.
"Wororororo…" Kaido lowered the gourd, his eyes bleary with drink as he belched loudly. "Boring… This is too damn boring!"
"Looks like it's time to find some fun. That Marine… 'Heaven-Shaker' Gern."
"Heh… I hear he's been making quite a name for himself in the New World lately? Wororo… I'll try him out."
The moment Kaido's drunken words fell, excitement lit up the faces of Queen and Jack—two of the Three Calamities—almost instantly.
For their Governor-General to challenge a monster of that caliber—and a Marine Admiral, no less—
It was the perfect opportunity to prove the might of the Beasts Pirates to the world.
"Oh?! Boss Kaido's finally getting serious?!""Let those Marines taste what the Beasts Pirates are made of!""The Marines have gotten a bit too comfortable in the New World—this sea belongs to pirates!"
Queen wiggled his bloated body with manic enthusiasm, while Jack let out a deep, rumbling roar. The two of them eagerly fanned the flames, and the atmosphere in the hall quickly grew feverish.
Yet among the three, only King the Wildfire remained silent.
He sat there calmly, mask removed, his handsome face tightly knit in a deep frown.
Unlike the others, he did not share their excitement. Instead, once Kaido finished speaking, King coolly lifted his own cup, took a measured sip, and finally spoke.
"Kaido-sama… the strength of 'Heaven-Shaker' Gern—"
He paused briefly.
"—is extraordinary."
That single, ice-cold statement fell like a bucket of water over the room.
The lively noise froze instantly.
"Hm…?"
Kaido's drinking motion halted mid-sip, his bloodshot eyes drifting toward King.
Queen and Jack stared at him as well, confusion written across their faces. This was the man who was always the calmest, the most level-headed among them.
King appeared completely unconcerned about killing the mood. Setting his cup down, he continued in the same even tone, simply laying out facts.
"After Kozuki Oden went out to sea, the only opponent who ever defeated him decisively in a one-on-one battle was 'Heaven-Shaker' Gern."
"And the previous Pirate King, Gol D. Roger—was personally captured and sent to prison by that same man."
"There are others as well. The internal Marine power struggles… his first arrival in the New World, where he repeatedly restrained the Whitebeard Pirates and Whitebeard himself—engaging in no fewer than fifty clashes every year…"
"Based on these feats alone, he is not someone to be taken lightly. Choosing him as a target is… not a wise decision."
"Hey! King! What's that supposed to mean?!" Queen immediately snapped. "Are you trying to boost someone else's morale and crush our own?!"
"Yeah!" Jack growled in agreement. "Kaido-sama is known as the 'Strongest Creature Alive'—land, sea, and air!"
"But you still have to analyze the enemy!" King shot back sharply. "You two idiots only know how to stir trouble and dance!"
In an instant, a small but heated dispute erupted among the Three Calamities.
Yet Kaido, seated upon the throne, did not explode in rage.
Instead, his massive hand slowly rubbed against the cool surface of the liquor gourd. The drunken haze in his eyes seemed to clear—just a little—as he fell into brief silence.
King's words had pierced something deep within him.
They stirred memories Kaido had long tried to bury.
Memories of that earth-shaking duel on Onigashima years ago—his battle against Kozuki Oden.
At the very end, when Oden was utterly exhausted and finally struck down, the expression on his face had not been one of pure despair.
Instead, it had carried something else.
Regret.
Frustration.
And above all, those words—muttered almost absentmindedly in Kaido's presence—now echoed once more like a ghost whispering in his ears.
"What a shame… I never got to fight that man again at full strength… Kaido… you are far inferior to him…"
That man.
There was no doubt who Oden had meant.
The very man who had once defeated him.
Gern.
And Kaido knew it.
Deep down, he knew his duel with Oden had not been perfect.
The despicable interference of Kurozumi Higurashi had stained that victory.
It was a blemish—a scar—upon his long record of triumph.
And now, the obsession buried within him—the craving for a perfect victory—along with Oden's dying words, had been reignited by King's warning.
Challenging "Heaven-Shaker" Gern…
Would it truly prove that he was the strongest?
Or would it only validate Oden's final judgment?
Suddenly—
"WORORORORO…!!!"
Kaido burst into thunderous laughter, its meaning impossible to discern. The sound was heavy, suppressed—and in the next instant, his colossal body surged upright from the throne.
BOOM!
A terrifying surge of dark crimson Conqueror's Haki erupted violently from him like an out-of-control tsunami!
The air inside the hall thickened instantly, becoming almost viscous. The sheer, tangible pressure forced even monsters like Queen and Jack to choke for breath, instinctively stepping back half a pace as their argument was crushed into silence.
Only King remained seated.
Even so, his expression had grown exceedingly grave.
Kaido's eyes were bloodshot.
He no longer cared about Oden's last words.About perfect victories.About wise decisions.
At this moment, ruled by alcohol and an instinctive hunger for battle, only a single thought remained—
Verification.
To verify everything… through combat!
Throwing his head back, Kaido roared toward the ceiling of Onigashima's skull dome.
The roar carried his overwhelming Haki and boundless fighting spirit, reverberating through every corner of the island.
"HEAVEN—SHAKER—!!!"
Just speaking that name—combined with his boiling Conqueror's Haki—made the entirety of Onigashima tremble.
This roar was both an outburst… and a declaration.
With the most direct method imaginable, Kaido had made his choice clear.
He would personally weigh the worth of the man Oden could never forget.
The man King had warned him about with such gravity.
The Marine Admiral known as "Heaven-Shaker" Gern.
As the echo of the roar faded, Kaido breathed heavily, sweeping his gaze across his subordinates who stood frozen beneath his pressure.
At last, his eyes locked onto King.
His voice rang with undisguised madness and absolute authority.
"King! I'm going to meet that Marine Admiral myself!"
"Worororororo… strongest, huh?"
"We'll see who's strongest… after we fight!!"