Onigashima
Inside the great hall of the Skull Dome, Den Den Mushi calls rang out one after another, each more frantic than the last.
"Lord Kaido! Kuri is under attack! It's that eight-winged angel from the Curtain Call Adventurers—we can't hold her back!"
"Ringo is in danger! A powerful female swordsman is wiping out our strongholds!"
"The weapons factory in Udon is under attack by Marco the Phoenix! We need reinforcements!"
"Report! The former Marine Admiral has broken into the Shogun's palace in the Flower Capital!"
"A massive explosion just hit Hakumai! All ports are under control of a flying blind man! He's heading your way!"
As the reports piled up, King and Queen's faces turned paler and paler, cold sweat running down their backs.
It was over.
All their top fighters, including themselves and Kaido, were gathered here in this castle. The forces left behind could bully ordinary pirates, but against the seven top commanders of the Curtain Call Adventurers, they stood no chance.
Wano was already on the brink of collapse.
Silence fell.
Kaido's expression darkened. He tilted his head back, drained the last of his sake in one gulp, then crushed the gourd in his hand.
"Worororo!"
His laughter was fierce, almost feral.
"Good. Very good, Shane! Looks like you're done waiting. You've come to settle everything tonight!"
There was no longer any room for hesitation.
His body began to swell as azure scales spread across his skin.
"Then let's end this here, Shane!"
A deafening roar split the air.
In the next instant, a colossal blue dragon burst through the roof, coiling beneath the full moon.
Before he could strike, however, someone else moved first.
"Enough of your rambling, Kaido!"
Douglas Bullet shot forward like a cannonball, unable to hold back any longer.
"I've been waiting for this. Go deal with your subordinates if you want. This one's mine!"
His muscles bulged to their limit. Jet-black Armament Haki coated his entire body, dense and tangible.
The ground beneath him shattered as he launched himself forward.
"Brat, let me show you real power!"
He clenched his fist and brought it crashing down.
"Nation Breaker!"
The force behind the punch was so overwhelming it seemed to drain the air from the hall itself. Time felt as though it had frozen.
Onigashima trembled.
The ground surged like waves, and the massive hall was flattened in an instant.
"Heh. Didn't even dodge? That was easier than I thought!"
Bullet's grin widened.
Then the dust cleared.
His pupils shrank.
Shane stood exactly where he had been, unmoved.
One hand raised.
Palm out.
He had stopped the punch with a single hand.
"I'll admit," Shane said calmly, "you almost got me excited there."
His fingers tightened slightly.
"But this is… disappointing."
Crack.
The sound of bones twisting echoed sharply.
Bullet's entire arm was wrenched into a grotesque spiral. His face contorted as pain exploded through him.
"Gah!"
Shane remained expressionless. His right fist drew back, black-red lightning coiling around it.
Then he punched.
A simple, direct strike.
Boom.
Bullet spat blood and was sent flying hundreds of meters, crashing straight into Kaido's massive dragon form and forcing a grunt from the Emperor himself.
King stared upward, stunned.
The scene felt eerily familiar.
The same man who had just crushed them with overwhelming strength had been defeated just as easily.
"Cough…"
Bullet forced himself upright, clutching his mangled arm. Sweat dripped from his brow as he stared at Shane in disbelief.
How?
He was Douglas Bullet.
A monster who had dominated the seas twenty years ago.
A child soldier at eight. A national hero at thirteen. A one-man army who destroyed a country at fourteen. At fifteen, he challenged every member of Roger's crew, losing only to Roger himself and fighting Rayleigh to a standstill.
After twenty years in Impel Down, he had honed his body and Haki to the absolute peak.
And yet—
He couldn't even make this man take a single step.
Kaido narrowed his eyes, his dragon form hovering in the sky.
"You've gotten even stronger, Shane. This power… it's beyond the limits of the sea."
He paused, then growled.
"Are you Joy Boy?"
Shane frowned slightly.
"I already told you no."
His voice turned cold.
"If you spent less time chasing fate and more time acting, you wouldn't still be stuck here after twenty years. You'd have already started your grand war instead of playing pirate games in Wano with trash like Orochi."
For a moment, there was something almost reflective in his gaze.
Kaido had once been like many great men. He had risen from nothing, endured hardship, hated injustice, and dreamed of changing the world.
But time had worn him down.
Shane's voice cut through the silence.
"I'll change the world. In fact, that change has already begun. So let's keep this simple, Kaido. This is about battle. Nothing else."
He looked at both Kaido and Bullet.
"I'm strong. Strong enough that neither of you can beat me alone. If you want a real fight…"
He smiled faintly.
"Then come at me together."
"Together?" Kaido froze for a moment, then his eyes flared with fury.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Shane! I'm Kaido of the Beasts! I don't need anyone's help!"
In war, alliances were acceptable.
In a duel, they were not.
With a violent flick of his tail, he sent Bullet flying away.
"This fight is mine! Everyone else, stay out of it!"
"You bastard, Kaido!"
Bullet steadied himself midair, seething.
"You promised he was mine!"
Kaido laughed wildly.
"My word still stands. But there's an order to things. Let me enjoy this first. You'll get your turn."
Bullet clenched his teeth.
Join forces?
Impossible.
He was Douglas Bullet.
Others teamed up to fight him, not the other way around.
Still…
He grinned.
That crushing pressure, that overwhelming strength—it only made his blood burn hotter.
Defeating someone like this was what he lived for.
"Fine. Then don't take too long."
He grabbed his twisted arm and began forcing it back into place with sheer brute strength.
"I'll give you some face since I drank your sake. But if you're not done by the time I'm healed…"
His grin widened.
"I'll beat both of you."
Kaido didn't even bother responding. His massive form coiled through the sky as fire gathered in his throat.
"Boro Breath!"
A blazing torrent tore through the night.
Shane didn't move.
He simply raised a hand and closed his fingers.
The inferno compressed.
Condensed.
In an instant, it shrank into a small, blazing sphere in his palm, bound by a net of black-red Haki.
"Here. Take it back."
He tossed it lightly.
The sphere shot back faster than before.
Kaido's eyes widened.
He had never seen such control, even in the days of Rocks.
"Don't joke with me!"
Roaring, he swallowed the attack whole.
Flames erupted inside his body, lighting up his scales from within.
Yet he only looked more savage.
"I'm Kaido! Fire just fuels me!"
He dove downward, claws crackling with black lightning.
Then—
Shane vanished.
Kaido's eyes snapped upward.
"There!"
A streak tore through the sky, trailing a sonic boom.
"Boro Breath!"
A far more massive blast surged upward.
Shane pierced straight through it.
Untouched.
In the next instant, his fist slammed into Kaido's jaw, lightning exploding outward.
Kaido roared as he was sent flying.
Shane hovered in the air, flexing his hand.
"Much better than Sengoku or Garling. But still not enough."
Kaido lashed out with his tail.
Shane caught it.
Effortlessly.
Then the world spun.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
With one hand in his pocket, Shane swung the massive dragon like a whip, smashing him into the ground again and again.
The island shook violently. Buildings collapsed. The land itself cracked open.
"Boss!"
King and Queen could no longer stand by.
Even if they were outmatched, they couldn't just watch.
"We move together!"
They transformed instantly.
One into a brachiosaurus, the other into a pterosaur. King even extinguished his flames, trading defense for speed and power.
Against Shane, there was no room for error.
They struck from both sides at once, perfectly coordinated.
Their long-standing rivalry vanished in the face of a common enemy.
Their teamwork was flawless.
And they closed in.