Rumble...
The muffled roar of waves echoed across the sea, slowly fading into silence.
The Moby Dick sailed through the turbulent waters. In the distance, the small island had already been completely submerged beneath the rising sea—gone without a trace.
Such was the overwhelming power of Whitebeard, the "Strongest Man in the World."
A full-powered strike from the Gura Gura no Mi was enough to trigger a thousand-meter-high tsunami. Smaller islands didn't stand a chance against this cataclysmic force of nature.
Chaos engulfed the deck.
"Get the medicine!"
"Stop the bleeding!"
"Bandage him, now!"
...
Marco, the ship doctor of the Whitebeard Pirates, was frantically directing the crew as they tried to save Kozuki Oden, who lay gravely injured on the deck.
Blue flames of regeneration—his Phoenix Flame—poured from Marco's hands, wrapping around Oden's wounds to heal them.
But the more he examined the damage, the grimmer his expression became. His face paled, and cold sweat formed on his brow.
Severe internal bleeding. Massive blood loss. More than ten bones fractured. Crushed ribs. Blood pooling in the lungs. And that grotesque wound from the severed arm...
The Marine's physical combat style was ruthless and efficient—every blow aimed to kill. Not a shred of hesitation. Once he found an opening, he pursued it like a predator locked on its prey.
If Oden hadn't been blessed with a naturally strong body far beyond the average man's, he would never have survived injuries like these.
"How is he?"
Whitebeard approached, eyes still fierce but now filled with worry.
Marco's hands glowed with blue-green flames as he worked, voice hoarse and weary.
"He's out of immediate danger... but Oyaji, that Marine's close combat skills..."
Whitebeard clenched his fists, letting out a heavy sigh.
"That Marine brat comes from the chaos of the North Blue. He's a madman who clawed his way up from the bottom."
"I was surprised when someone like Byrnndi World was taken down by a kid from the Marines. But now... maybe it wasn't just luck."
His eyes fell on the battered form of Kozuki Oden.
"His technique carries the imprint of traditional Marine training—you can see traces of Zephyr's legacy. But it's twisted with brutal battlefield killing tactics. And what's worse, he's turned his body into a merciless killing machine."
Even from a distance, Whitebeard had seen it all with his sharp eyes and Observation Haki—the fight between Daren and Oden, nearly from start to finish.
Wounded, bleeding, yet still grinning wildly. In the midst of life-or-death chaos, Daren had relentlessly hunted for Oden's weaknesses, fighting like a starving beast until the very end.
"That kind of insane fighting style... it reminds me of someone."
Marco paused, then asked instinctively,
"Who?"
A shadow flickered across Whitebeard's eyes as he answered coldly,
"Shiki."
The entire deck went quiet.
Shiki—Golden Lion. A man who roared across the seas like a lion, one who once rivaled even Oyaji himself.
This legendary pirate possessed power on par with Whitebeard, and with his Fuwa Fuwa no Mi, his airborne pirate fleet was one of the most feared forces on the sea.
What made him truly terrifying, though, was the way he fought—like the beast he was named for. Tireless. Frenzied. Savage. Even Whitebeard had trouble dealing with him one-on-one.
Whitebeard let out a long breath as he looked down at Oden, now unconscious and murmuring incoherently.
"Oden is strong. In terms of Haki, he's actually above that Marine brat."
"But growing up in Wano, his life's been too easy. With his natural strength and sword talent, he probably earned the title of 'invincible' in that isolated land."
"But the samurai of Wano specialize in swordsmanship, not hand-to-hand combat."
"That means... he's never fought against the true monsters of this sea—especially not those who excel in close-quarters brawling."
"He lost because of inexperience."
"That brat Daren saw the gap—and exploited it."
Hearing this, the Whitebeard Pirates all nodded in realization.
They couldn't help but recall the first time they met Oden at Wano's port not long ago.
At first, relying on his masterful swordsmanship, Oden was barely able to keep up with Oyaji.
But the moment Whitebeard used his fists, Oden was sent flying over a thousand meters in a single blow—defeated in an instant.
"The Marines... really raised a monster..."
Marco muttered grimly.
Even so, every eye on the deck of the Moby Dick burned with anger.
Oden was their comrade. Their family.
And no one—no matter how gifted—was allowed to harm their family.
Not even a Marine prodigy.
Just then, a white seabird swooped over the Moby Dick and dropped a scroll from the sky.
"Oyaji, latest intel."
Vista of the Flower Swords caught the scroll and tore open the wax seal.
As one of the dominant powers in the New World, the Whitebeard Pirates commanded vast territories and influence. Beyond their flagship, the Moby Dick, dozens of subordinate pirate crews operated under their name.
This sprawling reach allowed them to establish a complex, far-reaching intelligence network.
And when something major happened across the seas, that network delivered intel in this old-fashioned way—through messenger birds.
After all, Den Den Mushi transmissions could be intercepted by the World Government or the Marines.
"What is it?" Whitebeard asked without even glancing up, eyes still fixed on the unconscious Oden with visible concern.
"O-Oyaji... it's about that Marine..."
Vista inhaled sharply, his voice laced with disbelief.
The others immediately turned to look at him.
His hand trembled as he held the parchment, and his expression darkened with growing shock.
"Eight days ago, Marine Commodore Rogers Daren was captured by Kaidou of the Beasts while carrying out a mission targeting Douglas Bullet."
"Seven days ago, Marine HQ dispatched Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, and Borsalino—four top-tier forces—to the New World on a rescue mission."
"One day ago, Rogers Daren escaped from the Beasts Pirates' hidden stronghold and destroyed most of their arsenal facilities."
"On the same day, the main Marine forces arrived at the Beasts Pirates' base and a massive battle broke out. Except for Kaidou, the two All-Stars, and a few dozen elite members who managed to escape the siege..."
Vista swallowed hard, his voice dry and strained.
"...the rest of the Beasts Pirates—several thousand of them—were completely wiped out."
The moment the words left his mouth, every member of the Whitebeard Pirates froze. A chill ran down their spines.