At the break of dawn, the sun slowly rose on the horizon. Seagulls soared above the crimson clouds, gliding over the sea in search of early prey.
One hour.
It only took one hour—just two Admiral candidates and Garp's iron fist—and Kaido was down. Now, his massive frame lay on the ground, chest rising and falling with heavy breaths.
It didn't look like he had been defeated.
It looked like he had just dozed off from exhaustion after a good brawl.
Weiss turned to Jack and told him to bring over the Devil Fruit from the ship.
Since Kaido wanted it so badly, Weiss figured, Why not give it to him? After all, he liked to think of himself as a thoughtful and understanding guy.
But no matter how hard they tried, they just couldn't pry open Kaido's mouth while he was unconscious. In the end, they gave up on the idea. Better to keep the Devil Fruit. It was worth at least 100 million, after all.
"Gramps Garp, I'm heading off now!" Weiss called out, dragging his cracked sword as he walked back to his ship.
"Bwahahaha! Good work, brat!" Garp replied cheerfully, already helping himself to the donuts he had brought along.
---
Cleanup duties were left to the other Navy captains—neither Momousagi nor Chaton even needed to step in.
"What do you think of that Weiss kid?" Garp asked the two of them suddenly, watching Weiss's retreating back.
"Strong. Deadly serious in a fight. If I'd let my guard down for even a second, I might've been the one to die," Chaton replied after a moment of thought, though even he wasn't sure he believed it.
"Shameless!" Momousagi declared. "He actually tried to feed Kaido a Devil Fruit. Who thinks of that?!"
"Bwahahaha! I don't care what tricks he pulls," Garp said, taking another bite of his donut as he headed toward the warship. "As long as he doesn't turn evil, that kid's got justice in his heart."
---
Back aboard his ship, Weiss was greeted by Karina and Kadun.
"Kadun, you and Jack go catch some fish from the sea. Karina, prepare something to eat. I'm going to sleep, and when I wake up, I want food."
Without another word, he went straight to his cabin and collapsed. That clash with Kaido had taken a toll on him.
The three left behind stared at each other in silence. Karina held a note in her hand, wanting to give it to Weiss—but it was too late. He had already vanished inside.
"What are you waiting for? Get moving! The town on Flying Bird Island has been completely destroyed—we can't buy supplies anymore!" Jack barked at the stunned Kadun.
"Oh, right!" Kadun snapped out of it, took off his shirt, and jumped into the sea. Jack followed.
Karina rushed into the cabin, preparing the materials they'd need. Thankfully, they'd already scammed over ten million in supplies, so the ship had everything they needed.
---
Noon.
News of what happened on Flying Bird Island spread like wildfire. Newspapers were being delivered across the seas by flocks of News Coo.
"Extra! Extra!"
…Wait, no. Not an extra edition.
"Caw! Caw!"
"Hey, look! It's a News Coo! Something big must've happened!" a pirate on a ship shouted, pointing to the sky filled with birds.
They rarely saw this many.
One of the birds spotted their ship, veered off its path, and flew toward them.
"We didn't call for a paper. Why is it coming this way?"
The bird didn't stop. It flew right over their ship and dropped a newspaper onto the deck—for free.
"That's odd. Morgan's stingy old bird is giving out free papers? Must be some world government announcement," a pirate muttered, picking it up.
Then—
"No way!"
The pirate was speechless, frozen in shock. The others crowded around him.
"What's it say? I can't read!"
"Then why are you shocked?!"
"Gotta blend in!"
On the front page, bold headlines screamed:
"Shichibukai Donquixote Doflamingo Defeated by the Sword Demon, Chris Weiss!"
"Sword Demon Clashes with Yonko Kaido on Equal Ground!"
Dozens of photos from the battles backed up the story. No one could deny it—the Sword Demon's name echoed across the seas once more.
Some had dismissed his fight with Kizaru and King as mere trickery. But now? Two clear-cut victories. No tricks, no help.
He defeated Doflamingo—and then fought Kaido right after.
Unreal. The sea was shaken.
---
"Fufufufu…" Far from Flying Bird Island, Doflamingo looked at the newspaper. His arm still ached from the wound. Hidden behind his sunglasses, his eyes revealed nothing.
---
In Rainbase, Alabasta—Crocodile tossed the paper aside and walked to the window, gazing down at the rabid gamblers.
"Foolish Heavenly Demon…"
---
On Amazon Lily in the Calm Belt, Hancock sneered at the paper Elder Nyon handed her and flung it aside.
"What's this got to do with me?"
"Hancock, as the Empress of Amazon Lily, you need to be aware of rising powers in the world. You can't keep acting this way!"
"Are you lecturing me?" Hancock said arrogantly. "This island is under my rule. No matter what I do, I'll always be forgiven—because I'm just that beautiful."
She struck her signature pose.
"Hancock, you—!"
"Throw it out!"
---
Some otaku somewhere: …He never gets a newspaper.
---
In the New World, Big Mom munched on sweets as she glanced at the paper.
"That damn Kaido. Has he gotten so weak? He couldn't even beat some brat?!"
"Katakuri, didn't I tell you to bring him here to be my son-in-law? What happened?"
"Mother, we never made contact with him," Katakuri replied, frowning at the paper and holding a note in his hand. It simply said:
Devil Fruit
He thought back to what Weis had once said.
"It's just like a thin windowpane—once you break through, everyone sees what's behind it."
So the Devil Fruit… that was the windowpane. Once you figured out the trick, you'd know how to get Devil Fruits from others.
You really think Weiss would just write "Dark-Dark Fruit" on a note?
---
Whitebeard Pirates.
"Ace, your friend's insane! He went toe-to-toe with Kaido! Think we can recruit him into the crew?"
"Doubt it. I already asked him once. He rejected me flat out." Ace smiled, holding the paper, genuinely happy for Weiss.
"Well yeah, back then you were too weak! This time it's the Whitebeard Pirates asking!"
"Huh? Hahaha, maybe this time it'll work!" Ace laughed.
While everyone was focused on Ace, Whitebeard snuck a sip of sake, eyes on the paper. More specifically—Weiss's sword techniques.
Why do they look so familiar?
"Old man, sneaking drinks again? Watch your health!" Marco said, taking away the bottle.
"It's just one cup…"
---
Elsewhere, Red-Haired Shanks stared at the paper in silence, thinking:
Guess he doesn't need to come find me for a fight anymore.
He casually tossed the paper to the floor and went back to partying. Hangovers were his lifestyle.
---
Somewhere on the sea, a tiny wooden boat floated.
Behind it, a sunken ship.
Someone read the newspaper… then picked up an oar, changed direction—
—and rowed into the unknown.
---
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