A single night passed in silence, and Teach was still deep in training. Suddenly, he froze mid-motion and lifted his head toward the sky outside.
"It's here," he muttered.
"Huh? What's here, Boss Teach?" Mobius had woken up and rubbed his eyes, confused.
"Mm!" Pitou, who had been curled up asleep on the bed, suddenly stiffened. Her small body trembled, as if sensing something vast and terrifying. She jolted awake, her red eyes wide with fear. "Sc… scary!" she whimpered. She scrambled from the bed and rushed to Teach's side, only calming down once she clutched at him.
Teach's hand rested gently on her head, stroking her soft, pale hair. "It's alright. It's not here for us."
Mobius blinked, unsettled. "Boss… what's going on? How come I'm the only one who doesn't know?" Even Pitou had sensed it.
Teach didn't answer directly. His grin widened instead. "Wait and watch the window. You'll know soon enough."
Outside, the sky darkened unnaturally. Winds whipped through the capital as thunderclouds rolled together, black and heavy. Lightning flashed in jagged bursts, vanishing and reappearing in the swirling storm.
People across the city stopped what they were doing. Some rushed out into the streets to stare upward. Most froze in fear, dread churning in their guts. The capital had never seen weather like this.
Then...
"Ahhh!" Screams erupted in unison as a presence pressed down on the entire city, raw and suffocating.
Mobius staggered, jaw dropping. "Th… this is…?" He turned to Teach, desperate for confirmation.
"That's right," Teach said with a toothy grin. "Kaido. Kaido of the Beasts."
The storm clouds split. A massive dragon's head, scales gleaming azure, thrust through the dark canopy. Its golden eyes burned as it surveyed the city below.
And then the rest of it came.
The colossal body coiled out of the clouds, stretching hundreds, nearly a thousand, meters long. An azure divine dragon, fangs bared, glared down upon the Kate Kingdom's capital.
The citizens were paralyzed. Some wailed, others collapsed to their knees. The capital fell into chaos without a single blow being struck.
Mobius swallowed hard, forcing down his terror. "What kind of… monster…?"
"Zehahahaha!" Teach's laugh rattled the inn's walls. "Scared stiff, aren't you? This is the Mythical Zoan, Fish-Fish Fruit, Azure Dragon Form. One of the rarest Devil Fruits in the world."
Mobius shivered, awe mixed with envy. "A creature from myth…"
All across the city, beasts howled in terror. Tamed pets turned rabid, breaking free from their handlers. Snakes struck blindly, wolves and lions snapped their chains, and once-docile creatures tore through crowds.
The primal fear of the dragon above drove them into frenzy.
In the royal palace, the Third Prince Lemor gritted his teeth. He could feel it, the oppressive presence of Kaido was overwhelming even the beasts his father had tamed. "So this… is a true dragon," he muttered bitterly.
His own title of Dragon King suddenly felt like a child's joke.
Above, Kaido's slitted gaze locked on the palace. From his vantage, he saw King Brady standing tall, the aura of the strongest man in the capital unmistakable. He also saw the Beast Paradise, a sprawling menagerie of thousands of tamed creatures.
The dragon's eyes narrowed. Beasts naturally quailed before him, yet these ones snarled with courage. They obeyed Brady from the heart, not through fear. Kaido's wariness deepened. If this man could truly tame Zoan users as the rumors said… then he was dangerous.
Kaido made no speech. His decision was already made. His jaws opened.
"Dragon's Breath!"
The divine roar split the heavens. Kaido inhaled, the air distorting as power condensed within him. Crimson-gold light gathered in his throat like molten fire.
"Run!" The palace shook with panic. Servants and guards scrambled. The beasts shrieked and scattered, instincts screaming death.
Too late.
The Dragon's Breath roared down like a falling star, obliterating everything in its path. The impact lit the capital sky as palaces crumbled, firestorms spread, and stone melted into slag. One-third of the royal palace vanished in an instant.
The city fell silent.
Then rubble exploded upward. King Brady rose from the wreckage, battered but unbowed, his clothes scorched, his face twisted with rage. "Kaido! You dare attack without a word?! Do you seek war with my Kate Kingdom?!"
Kaido's voice boomed from the heavens, rolling across the city like thunder. "So you're the King. I don't care for your name, your titles, or your tricks. Your ability disgusts me. Your existence disgusts me. And so… you will die."
With that, the dragon dived. His massive body plummeted like a mountain from the sky, aimed straight at the heart of the palace.
"Evacuate! The royal palace isn't safe!" The First Prince fled with his guards, while his brothers did the same. None dared approach the battlefield; even the shockwaves alone could crush them.
The city spiraled into chaos. People fled for the outer gates. Guards scrambled to maintain order, herding civilians out before they were caught in the carnage.
Brady leapt clear of Kaido's descent, face grim, his Haki-clad body flickering with power. He barked commands into the air, his voice laced with ability. The ground trembled as monstrous roars answered him, beasts from the Beast Paradise charging to his aid.
In the distance, wings fluttered. A News Bird swooped high overhead, its visual Den Den Mushi capturing every second. The feed transmitted straight to the World Economy News Paper headquarters.
Morgans, still young but already a rising star, jolted upright as the footage came in. "Big news! War between beast kings!" His feathers bristled with excitement.
He burst into the President's office, only to be lectured on composure. Yet when the old man saw the footage, even he leapt to his feet, roaring, "This is tomorrow's headline! Everyone, mobilize! Write it like the end of the world itself!"
And in the capital of the Kate Kingdom, the end of the world was exactly what it felt like.
The azure dragon descended. The beast army charged. And a war between kings had begun.