The image on the Den Den Mushi screen froze on the smug grin of the Marine Vice Admiral.
In that instant, the entire world was plunged into a suffocating silence.
...
New World, Wano Country.
Kuri District, military factory zone.
Inside a Japanese-style council hall.
The Beasts Pirates stared, dumbfounded, at the frozen Den Den Mushi screen before them.
No one dared to breathe.
Queen, the Plague, looked completely bewildered. His jaw nearly hit the floor, and he didn't even notice the cigar scorching his lips.
"This... this..."
His voice trembled as he stammered, clearly shaken.
Beside him, King, the Conflagration, wore a grave expression unlike anything seen before.
Even the flames on his black wings seemed to have dimmed.
Kaidou, who had been drinking heavily, now sat upright, stone-cold sober, staring ahead in silence.
The tension in the room was unbearable.
"Uh... Kaidou-sama, that brat Daren... he doesn't know we're in Wano Country, does he?"
Queen suddenly turned to look at Kaidou's dark expression, his own face twitching in nervous panic as he asked, almost whispering.
At those words, every senior officer of the Beasts Pirates present turned pale.
A cold chill surged up their spines, making their skin crawl and their scalps prickle.
Right!
Their boss, Kaidou-sama, had been one of the main instigators behind the Marineford invasion. Given that Marine's notorious thirst for vengeance, if he found out that the Beasts Pirates had relocated their base to Wano Country, he'd definitely come knocking for revenge!
And what kind of revenge?
Come on—any idiot could figure that out.
With that Marine's terrifying mobility, flying speed, and the sheer destructive power of that cursed blade of his... he wouldn't even need to confront them head-on. A single swing, launched from the sky...
He could obliterate the weapons factory they'd spent so much effort building—turn it all to ashes!
Just look at what happened to Yakigashi Island of Totto Land, home of the Big Mom Pirates. What they had just witnessed was a real-life example, right in front of their eyes!
Kaidou-sama and his two top officers might not fear such a sudden "air raid," but the rest of them? The small fry? They were terrified!
Besides those three, who else in the Beasts Pirates could possibly survive an attack on that scale—a calamity straight from the heavens?
The worst part?
With that Marine's insane flight speed, ambush tactics, and devious nature, they had no way to guard against him.
For all they knew, one day while they were eating hot pot and singing songs, a black sword hundreds of meters long would suddenly come crashing down from the sky—wiping them out before vanishing without a trace!
At that thought, a chorus of nervous gulps echoed through the council hall. The pirates swallowed hard, their eyes flicking nervously upward, as if something monstrous was lurking just above.
Everyone cautiously turned their eyes to their boss.
Kaidou's face grew increasingly pale. He gritted his teeth and said,
"That brat, um... he shouldn't know."
Hey, hey, hey, your tone is a little too indecisive...
Queen's mouth twitched, and he looked like he was about to cry.
With the strength that the Marine had displayed, Queen felt he was no longer a match for him.
If he really came for revenge and remembered how he'd been tortured, Queen was certain he'd be the first to suffer!
After all, Queen was very confident in his torture methods...
King's expression wasn't much better, though his mask conveniently hid his face.
"Damn it!!"
At that moment, Kaidou suddenly seemed to remember something. He let out a furious roar and slammed his fist into the floor, shattering it into pieces.
A violent aura burst out along with his rising fury. His Conqueror's Haki erupted like a wave, forcing the surrounding pirates to their knees—many of them fainted on the spot, eyes rolling back.
"That bastard Shiki, he tricked me!!"
Kaidou's face flushed red with rage, his chest heaving with rapid breaths.
The attack on Marineford had been a satisfying bloodbath, but now they were facing the insane retaliation of that little bastard Daren!
They had to stay constantly alert, always guarding against Daren's lightning-fast raids...
The worst part? Shiki had been the real mastermind—the one who killed the most Marines at HQ—yet somehow, it was he and Linlin who ended up taking the blame!
Kaidou clenched his teeth, seething with the urge to find Shiki and tear him apart.
The thing was, that sly bastard Shiki didn't have any fixed territory or established power!
Even with the vast intelligence networks of the Marines and the World Government, tracking him down was nearly impossible.
Right now, Linlin's Totto Land was the first to suffer. Once word about Wano Country got out, the next time that sword might really be hanging over their heads!
"Inform that Orochi guy, we're moving our plan ahead!"
Kaidou's eyes suddenly turned bloodshot. He twisted around to glare at King and growled,
"Strengthen the blockade of Wano Country. Make sure not a single piece of information leaks! If anyone dares to go to sea—kill them on the spot!!"
Hearing this, King froze for a second, then dropped to one knee.
"Yes, Kaidou-san."
Beneath his mask, his eyes flickered with a mix of doubt and unease.
Kaidou-san had always been unmatched in power and ambition. Even when facing monsters like Whitebeard, Shiki, or Roger, he'd respond with bold laughter and face them without fear.
He had never seen Kaidou-san look so wary of anyone.
'Could it be that the weapons factory we worked so hard to build in Wano Country is going to be reduced to rubble again?'
At that moment, a deeply unsettling thought flashed through King's mind.
...
New World, somewhere at sea.
The Whitebeard Pirates' flagship, the Moby Dick.
The crew stood frozen in shock, barely able to believe what they had just seen.
Kozuki Oden leaned against the railing, his face drained of color. He stared blankly at the frozen image on the Den Den Mushi screen.
Even Whitebeard wore a grim expression, his eyes fixed darkly on the screen.
"What a... madman."
Marco murmured, his face slightly pale.
The Vice Admiral's vow to "invade the New World" had finally come true.
He hadn't even officially taken command of G5 yet, and this sudden, devastating strike had already sounded their death knell.
While the core members on the main ship weren't afraid of Daren's surprise attack, the Whitebeard Pirates ruled over a vast domain!
Even if Oyaji was the "strongest man in the world," there was no way he could defend all those territories and lands by himself!
With that thought, a creeping sense of dread and crisis began to take hold of their hearts.
That black cursed sword, the one that tore through the skies, now loomed over them like the legendary "Sword of Damocles"...
You didn't know when it would fall—but you knew it could fall.
That terrifying, unpredictable fear—just like the Marines' sense of "justice"—was full of mystery, randomness, and dangerously personal bias. It made their nerves tighten like a drawn bowstring.
These madmen, who acted solely based on personal whim... this "justice of doing whatever they want"—
That was the most terrifying kind of justice of all.