The sky was clear and pristine.
The sound of waves echoed in his ears. Silver Axe, with his potbelly, sat on a stone stool, his heavy armor laid out on the beach rocks to dry.
He frowned slightly, thought for a moment, then pulled a cloth strip from his pocket and carefully wiped the stains from his armor.
This set of armor had been with him for many years, and he had developed some affection for it.
After polishing his armor until it gleamed, Silver Axe nodded in satisfaction.
Stretching his limbs slightly, he picked up the axe in his hand, and with a flick of his wrist, several dazzling axe-lights flashed.
Lines appeared on the large anglerfish in front of him. As the lines of light scattered, the anglerfish transformed into uniformly thin slices of fish.
Silver Axe built a bonfire and placed the anglerfish on it to roast.
Before long, the fish slices, slightly curled and golden brown, glistening with golden oil, appeared before him, their aroma wafting to his nose.
Silver Axe stroked his beard and chewed the roasted meat heartily, his taste buds filled with a sense of happy fulfillment.
He glanced at the vast, boundless sea, and his mood instantly shifted from clear to gloomy.
It had been a year; he had been eating fish on this island for over a year... "Ah, when will I be able to leave this place... Hmm? A ship!"
Silver Axe's eyes narrowed, and he burst into laughter: "Dihahahahaha! Perfect timing!! Since I'm in a good mood today, I won't kill anyone!"
Silver Axe leaped up, donned his gleaming armor, grabbed his giant axe, and sprinted towards the shore.
Even though the opposing ship was more than two hundred meters from the beach, to Silver Axe, it was but a stone's throw away!
However, the ship's flag seemed somewhat familiar... but he couldn't worry about that now; the most important thing was to leave this desolate island!!
Upon reaching the coastal rocks, Silver Axe leaped high, his giant axe raised, its blade glinting coldly. A dark Armament Haki, as if charging, surged from his hands towards the axe handle, body, and blade!
With a clang, a cluster of fiercely burning black flames ignited on the axe blade!
Silver Axe grinned, the shadow of his helmet obscuring his forehead: "Axe Blade: Thunderous Ravine Slash!!"
Swish!!
Over a dozen dark, axe-shaped slashes fiercely swept across the sea, bringing up large amounts of blood and causing many large fish to float to the surface.
Those slashes clearly carved ravines into the sea, flying like lightning towards the large ship!!
Just as they were about to cut down the ship's mast, a figure on the large ship leaped into the air, drew a sharp sword, and deflected the incoming slashes.
The slashes plunged into the sea, splashing water tens of meters high!
"Hmm?!"
Silver Axe landed on the beach, his feet digging two large pits. Seeing that his slashes had failed, his eyes narrowed slightly: "Was that... I didn't see wrong, was it Kaido?"
Silver Axe straightened up, his face losing its casualness as he looked seriously at the approaching large ship.
Before it even docked, Kaido's eerie, mocking laughter drifted from the ship: "Long time no see, Silver Axe. I didn't expect you to be here. I thought the Marine had wiped you out."
Footsteps sounded on the ship, and Kaido appeared at the bow.
His snake-like eyes were full of derision and amusement, and his crimson tongue licked his lips.
"Hmph, if the Marine hadn't played tricks, would I have lost to them?"
Having his wound exposed in front of him, Silver Axe looked indignant.
Then he sized up Kaido, sneered, and retorted: "Speaking of which, I wonder who lost to that brat Kaido at God Valley."
"You... Hmph!!"
Kaido's smile froze, his eyebrows gradually furrowed, and his expression turned gloomy.
Seeing Kaido deflate, Silver Axe's lips unconsciously curved into a smile.
Kaido jumped down from the bow, looking at the faint traces of life left on the island: "So, ever since you were defeated by the Marine, you've been here?"
The mention of it made Silver Axe angry, and he snorted, two white streams shooting from his nostrils: "This is an uninhabited area. There's no one within two hundred nautical miles, and besides, you know I'm completely clueless about shipbuilding."
He had tried to swim away, but after swimming over two hundred nautical miles in one direction, he still hadn't seen a single ship or island. Helpless, Silver Axe could only return the way he came.
Later, he swam at least two hundred nautical miles in other directions, but the result was always nothing.
Kaido scoffed, a cunning glint in his narrow eyes: "Do you know what's happened in the outside world during your year on this uninhabited island?"
Silver Axe frowned tightly: "What happened?"
Kaido gave an eerie smile and said: "Roughly on the same day you lost to the Marine, John on Hachinosu Island was completely annihilated by Kaido and his crew... In this world now, the ones making waves are probably Shiki, Kaido, Linlin, and Newgate."
Kaido recounted the recent events one by one, leaving Silver Axe dumbfounded.
Especially Charlotte Linlin, who had changed 4 husbands in just a few years, two of whom were kings of certain countries.
Silver Axe sighed, looking out at the vast sea with a wistful expression.
Kaido said: "It's their era now. Who still remembers us old members of the Rocks Pirates? Silver Axe, I have a good suggestion: let's join forces!"
Silver Axe was startled: "Join forces?"
"Yes, join forces!"
Kaido nodded heavily, a dangerous, excited red light flashing in his eyes: "Although I hate to admit it, compared to Newgate and the others, we are both weaker in strength and influence. Only by joining forces can we make up for this imbalance... Do you want to be forgotten like this, spending your days reading their news?"
"No!"
The thought of that image made Silver Axe feel as sick as if he had eaten a dead cockroach, though he had never actually eaten one.
Kaido was uncontrollably excited: "So, we 'loser's bracket' members, who are less popular, should join forces and become active again... If you and I join forces, even against Shiki or Newgate, we'll have a fighting chance."
But Silver Axe brought up a very serious question: "Then, who will lead this so-called 'Loser's Bracket Alliance'?!"
"Ouch!"
Silver Axe's words made Kaido accidentally bite his tongue, and the smile on his face vanished.
He glared at Silver Axe with some displeasure: "Just because I appeared here, you should be the second-in-command, Silver Axe!"
Silver Axe was blunt and looked disgusted: "But I don't want to be beneath you... You bastard, you've always loved scheming against others. Who knows what conspiracies you're cooking up in your mind now!"
Kaido argued: "Don't always think the worst of people. We worked together for several years, after all!"
"In that case, let's do it the old-fashioned way!"
Silver Axe suggested, bringing up the pirate game from years ago: "Decide who leads this crew by force?"
"That's completely unfair to me, you idiot!"
Kaido complained: "I have a ship, crew, and funds, why would I play that stupid pirate game with you?!"