"Damn it! This is insane! Absolutely insane! Everyone's gone crazy! I can't win this fight, but I'm not about to just sit here and die! You bastard Kid, I'll give you this round—but next time, I'll make sure to get back everything with interest!"
Covered in blood and panting heavily, Apoo staggered while cursing loudly.
His words were fierce and full of bravado, but his actions told a very different story.
Wind rushed beneath his feet as he bolted, kicking up a cloud of dust behind him.
In the blink of an eye, he had dashed over a hundred meters away—leaving everyone, who had held out hope for him, completely stunned.
But...
Just one second later—
"Ah?!"
While fleeing, Apoo suddenly felt weightless, his body floating midair.
It was as if some invisible gravitational force had grabbed hold of him and pulled him up.
"What the hell is happening—?!"
He hadn't even finished screaming when...
His eyes widened in shock as he saw a mechanical giant approaching fast, growing larger by the second.
All his fear and disbelief condensed into pure horror.
"Where do you think you're going, Apoo?!"
Captain Eustass Kid grinned.
Under his command, countless metal fragments converged and formed into a massive mechanical giant.
"Punk Rotten — Bowstring!"
"AAAAAHHHHHH!"
Apoo screamed in terror.
With a brutal swing, Kid's mechanical arm smashed into Apoo's body, sending him flying through the air.
He crashed violently into one of the giant Mangrove trees nearby—Mangrove No. 13, to be exact.
BOOM!
The massive tree shuddered.
CRACK!
Its thick trunk exploded with a thunderous crack.
As Kid's metal arm retracted, deep within the cratered impact site, Apoo lay crumpled like a rag doll—his body mangled, bloodied, and unconscious from the severe injuries.
Meanwhile...
"Oh ho ho ho ho! Ahhh!"
Killer, now upgraded into a "Massacre Soldier", had completely overwhelmed Magician Hawkins, claiming a clean and decisive victory.
With all his voodoo straw dolls exhausted, Hawkins—covered in blood—fell in defeat.
Unconscious.
Even as he faded out, Hawkins, known as the "Magician", couldn't understand why he'd become a target in the first place.
But...
He knew one thing:
He wasn't going to die today.
And that, at least, was a small blessing in misfortune.
"Let's go, Killer," Kid said, waving him over.
The two walked away, leaving behind a crowd filled with fear and awe, heading toward a location from memory.
The scuffle with traitors? Just a warm-up.
The real show was just getting started.
---
At the Same Time
Sabaody Archipelago — Mangrove No. 21 — Pirate Tavern
Due to the approaching Summit War, the usually lively bar was unusually quiet.
Suddenly—
BANG!
"Captain Kid! Something big just happened!"
"We just received word—something's gone down at the central plaza!"
Two pirates from Kid's crew burst in, panting and wide-eyed, their faces full of disbelief.
"Calm down. What's going on exactly?"
Wearing his signature spiked mask, Killer crossed his arms and questioned them with a low, serious voice.
"Captain, just moments ago, a major battle between Supernovas broke out in the plaza! Roar of the Sea Scratchmen Apoo and Magician Basil Hawkins were defeated!"
"What?!"
"Apoo, that damned loudmouth, got beaten?!"
"Hahaha, now that's good news!"
"Serves him right!"
Kid's crew broke into laughter.
"Who beat them down?" asked Heat, a crew member with a zombie-like appearance, frowning.
"It was… it was…"
The two messengers were shaking even more now.
"According to confirmed reports from the scene… it was Captain Kid and Vice-Captain Killer who defeated them!"
"Apoo was crushed by Captain Kid, and Hawkins was taken out by Vice-Captain Killer!"
They shouted in unison.
As their words landed, the entire bar fell into stunned silence.
The same pirates who had just been gloating froze in place.
Everyone was utterly dumbfounded.
Then—
"Hey, what kind of joke is this?!"
"You're saying our Captain Kid and Vice-Captain Killer? Don't be ridiculous!"
"The captain's been here this whole time! He hasn't gone anywhere!"
"You newbies better remember—our captain doesn't like people messing around like this!"
But the two insisted.
"No, it's true! Mangrove No. 32's central plaza was packed—everyone saw it!"
"Yeah, the news is spreading fast, and—"
They never finished their sentence.
The room suddenly grew heavy, filled with an oppressive aura.
The two pirates at the door nervously turned to look.
Before they could make out who was approaching—
A large hand grabbed their faces and shoved them aside.
Two tall figures stepped into the tavern, and everyone's eyes locked onto them.
CLANG!
CRASH!
The sound of shattered glasses echoed through the room.
The bar plunged into another moment of deathly silence.
Everyone stared at the entrance.
Their jaws dropped.
Even Captain Kid—the one known for his pride and swagger—was frozen in disbelief.
Because no matter how you looked at it...
The two people standing there...
---
No one knew how much time passed.
"Ah… AAAAHH!"
Someone finally screamed, shattering the silence.
Chaos erupted.
"IT'S KID—CAPTAIN KID!!"
"AND KILLER! VICE-CAPTAIN KILLER!!"
"What the hell is going on?!"
"It's real! They're really here!"
"There's… another pair of Captain Kid and Killer on this island?!"
"So the ones who beat down Apoo and Hawkins were them?!"
"Oh shit—Captain Kid! What the hell is happening?!"
---
The Kid Pirates turned to look at their usual captain and then back at the new arrivals—clearly more mature versions, as if from two years into the future.
Everyone was stunned.
"Kid…"
"Killer…"
Even Heat and Wire, the two who knew Kid best, looked at each other in total confusion.
"Oh ho ho ho ho…"
Seeing his younger self and old friends, the older Killer smiled fondly—then burst out laughing.
SWOOSH!
A sharp sound tore through the air.
Triggered by the laughter, the younger Killer lunged like lightning.
Without hesitation, he swung his scythe at the older version.
At the same time, the younger Kid rose from his seat.
He stretched out his hand.
Purple electric sparks crackled.
Under magnetic force, countless metal fragments flew toward him, forming a mechanical arm that struck at his future self.
"Hahaha!"
But the older Kid was thrilled, not angry.
"That's more like it!"
Purple sparks flared once more.
In an instant, the younger Kid's mechanical arm disintegrated.
All the metal was pulled toward the stronger magnetic field of the future Kid.
"This can't be… You're not just copying our appearance—you have our powers too?! Bastard! Who the hell ARE you?!"
The younger Kid's face changed dramatically, yelling furiously.
"Who am I? You seriously haven't figured it out yet? Are you stupid?"
The future Kid sneered.
Then—
WHAM!
He smacked his past self hard, knocking him to the ground.
BOOM!
CRASH!