Inside the shattered palace, the clash between monsters had already begun.
A massive crater split the marble floor, the aftermath of Kaido's dive. From within it, the Beast himself emerged. Nearly eight meters tall, body like a mountain of muscle, each heavy step sent tremors crawling across the ground as he closed in on King Brady.
"This monster…" Brady muttered, face dark. He'd heard of Kaido before, of course, rumors and whispers from the seas.
But when Brady had returned from his own voyage years ago, Kaido had been little more than a rising pirate. Now, standing before him in flesh, Kaido wasn't a man. He was a beast in human form.
But Brady sneered, unwilling to let fear show. "Monster or not, since you dared provoke me, this will be your grave."
Around him, the earth quaked as giant beasts gathered at his call.
Elephants towering over ten meters tall, snakes thicker than houses, apes broad as fortresses, and even ancient beasts from forgotten islands. Nearly a hundred of these colossal monsters stood behind Brady, their roars shaking the heavens.
And beyond them, tens of thousands of lesser beasts, wolves, tigers, predators of every kind, swarmed in from the island's vast wilderness, summoned by their king.
Pet Island had always been half-civilization, half-wild domain. The central royal city and a ring of coastal towns were where people lived, but the rest of the island was endless forest. To avoid disrupting the kingdom, Brady had herded his tamed armies into those deep woods. Now, at his command, they poured out like a tidal wave.
Kaido stared at the endless beasts. Instead of fear, his lips curled into a savage grin. His voice boomed like thunder. "Good! Yes, this is what I've been waiting for. War! Hahaha!" He swung his massive kanabo from his back, its spiked head crackling faintly with lightning, and charged.
"Kaido, die here! I'll hang your head from my gates!" Brady bellowed, raising his arm. "Go! Tear him apart!"
"Boom!" A giant ape the size of a fortress lunged forward, its massive fist descending on Kaido.
"Thunder Bagua!" Kaido roared, his kanabo whistling through the air.
The lightning-coated club collided with the ape's knuckles in a detonation that split the air.
The ape's arm bent back grotesquely, its body flung down with earthshaking force. It crashed onto its back, flattening smaller beasts beneath its weight. One strike. That was all it took.
The watching soldiers and princes sucked in their breath. Even the might of Brady's prized beasts crumbled before Kaido's raw strength.
But more came, wave after wave of claws, fangs, and fury. Kaido met them all with disdain. Every swing of his club shattered skulls, sent bodies flying, crushed dozens at once.
The battlefield shook with carnage.
From a distant rooftop, Teach observed the battle. His keen eye caught something the others missed. "Mobius. Did you notice? Kaido didn't even touch that ape directly, and yet…"
Mobius squinted. "Yeah… it's like… something invisible struck it. What is that?"
Teach's grin widened, but there was a weight to his voice. "That, boy, is the second stage of Armament Haki. Emission Haki. If hardening the skin is the first step, then this is like invisible armor that seeps outward. In Wano, they call it Ryou."
Mobius's eyes burned. "Then there's a third stage, right? A higher level?"
"Of course there is. But it's too early for you. Focus on mastering the basics first," Teach cut him off sharply. He had no intention of feeding the boy ambition beyond what he could handle.
Mobius scratched his head awkwardly.
Teach suddenly stood, his coat shifting with the motion. His voice dropped into a growl. "You stay. I have work to do."
Mobius frowned. "Work? What are you..."
Teach's eyes glinted with murder. "The nobles. Every last one of them."
The killing intent that bled from him was suffocating.
"I'll go too!" Mobius said at once, eyes bright. He had been restless this whole time. The nobles' grotesque practice of keeping human pets made his blood boil. If Teach was moving, he wouldn't stay behind.
Teach looked at him, testing. "This won't be a handful of bodies. We're talking hundreds… thousands. You sure your stomach can take it?"
Mobius clenched his fists. "If I'm to be a pirate, killing is something I'll face sooner or later. If I can't do it now, I'll never amount to anything."
Teach's grin widened. "Good. Let's go."
Pito, ever silent, slipped back under Teach's coat as he and Mobius slipped into the noble district.
The western quarter of the city was their target, grand villas, high walls, decadent gardens. The residences of the kingdom's elite. Behind those gilded gates was the heart of the rot; the ones who had created and nurtured the kingdom's human pet industry for over a century.
The commoners outside had no idea. They only knew beasts roamed free. But the nobles, they were the ones who had trained and broken humans, raised them like dogs, and passed the practice to their royal family.
Teach's Observation Haki swept over the district.
None would escape.
The battle between Brady and Kaido raged in the distance, but here, the nobles lounged in comfort. They didn't flee. Why would they? They trusted their king. They trusted their walls. Some even laughed, drinking wine, believing the commotion outside had nothing to do with them.
They were wrong.
Teach entered the first manor.
"Who goes there!?" a guard shouted, sword raised.
"Crack." Teach's hand closed around his throat, bones snapping like twigs. The guard collapsed.
The others trembled. One tried to scream, his head rolled before sound left his lips.
The courtyard was filled with laughter. Teach turned and froze.
A young noble boy was tossing a bone across the garden. On all fours, a naked youth scrambled after it, drool spilling, barking like a dog. He picked up the bone in his mouth and crawled back obediently.
"Haha! Good boy! Fetch again!" the noble child laughed, preparing to throw. "I'll ask my brother for more of you. I'll raise a whole pack!"
The murderous aura that surged from Teach was suffocating.
The child finally noticed him. "Who are you!? How dare you—"
The 'pet' lunged at Teach with a bark, fangs bared.
Teach's eyes darkened. "Beyond saving."
One swing. The head flew. Blood painted the marble floor, splattering across the child's face. For the first time, he felt fear.
"W-Wait..."
Another swing. Another head rolled.
The massacre began.
Teach didn't even unsheathe his own blade. He picked up a random sword lying around, he wouldn't sully his true weapon with this filth. His strikes were fast, merciless. Each house fell in less than half a minute.
But what he saw sickened him. Every household kept 'pets', dozens of humans broken into beasts. Some were made to crawl like dogs, others trained to screech like birds or roar like lions. Most were beyond saving. Better to end them swiftly.
Mobius fought alongside him. His swings were slower, less efficient, and his pale face showed he had vomited more than once. But he pressed on.
Dozens fell to his blade. His disgust at the nobles kept him moving.
The district's blood pooled in the streets.
The nobles began to realize something was wrong but it was too late.
Teach's Observation Haki hunted down every straggler. Even the beasts some nobles had kept as status symbols turned feral at the scent of blood, ripping their own masters apart.
Screams echoed through the gilded district. But one by one, they fell silent.
The air grew heavy with the iron stench of blood.
The noble district once a symbol of decadence was becoming a graveyard.
And this was only the beginning.
The beginning of the Destruction.
The slaughter started by Teach.