Fine. Whitebeard had originally come purely to watch the fun, even thinking about how he would laugh at Kaido later when the brat realized he had been tricked.
In the end, at this moment, he had become the biggest clown.
"Newgate?"
Golden Lion glanced at Whitebeard, wanting to ask what was going on. But seeing the shocked expression on his face, the smile at the corner of Golden Lion's mouth deepened. This guy probably did not know what was happening either.
"What?" Whitebeard regained some calm and glanced at Golden Lion beside him.
"Jihahaha." Golden Lion sneered twice and crossed his arms. "Nothing. Looking at your shocked face, you probably don't know anything either. But... looking at Kaido, it seems he really did learn something incredible from Ron."
Whitebeard did not answer. He did not need Golden Lion to say it. With perception alone, he could feel the enormous power now surging from Kaido.
Whoosh!
At the same time, Kaido bent his body slightly, and the deck beneath his feet instantly cracked.
Immediately afterward, his whole body shot straight into the air. After adjusting his center of gravity slightly, he suddenly punched toward the sea.
Whoosh!
With one punch, an invisible shockwave fell straight onto the sea.
In that instant, the seawater seemed pressed down by a giant invisible hand, then rebounded violently. Huge waves shot into the sky.
"Hahahahaha!"
"I did it!"
"I did it!"
Kaido's voice exploded in midair, filled with almost overflowing ecstasy.
He lowered his head and shouted excitedly toward Ron on the deck, "Did you see that, Ron? I learned ultimate taijutsu! I'm simply a genius!"
Ron frowned slightly, his gaze falling on the section of deck Kaido had crushed. He said faintly, "Maybe. But... damaging the deck means even a genius won't avoid getting beaten by Rocks."
"Tch." Kaido curled his lip, but the smile on his face did not shrink in the slightest.
In any case, he was happy because he had learned ultimate taijutsu.
If Rocks wanted to beat him, let him beat him.
Even when he did not damage the deck, Rocks never held back when it was time to hit him.
"Hahahaha, amazing! So good! Too good! I feel like my whole body is filled with power now!"
In the air, Kaido was so excited he looked like he might explode on the spot.
He kept stepping on the air, jumping through the sky, throwing a punch with every step.
Boom.
Boom.
Explosions sounded one after another across the sea.
"Jihahaha. Great. There's another lunatic on the ship." Golden Lion laughed and mocked him. Then he stretched lazily and walked into the ship.
On the deck, Annika was still sitting where she was.
She quietly opened one eye and peeked toward Ron, only to discover that Ron was watching her.
She simply stopped pretending and grinned as she explained, "Sorry, Ron-sama. I embarrassed you. When I closed my eyes, everything was dark. I couldn't sense anything."
Ron waved his hand, indicating that it did not matter. For someone like her, who had never trained, it was normal that she could not feel her own strength. There was simply no power in her body to sense.
"That idiot..." Whitebeard had arrived beside Ron at some unknown point, his gaze falling on the distant figure jumping around and punching everywhere. He clicked his tongue and shook his head. "This is the first time I've seen him that happy."
"Heh." Ron showed a faint smile. "How could he not be happy? He learned a secret technique."
"Speaking of that," Whitebeard turned his head, his gaze falling on Ron's face. "Is it really ultimate taijutsu?"
Ron did not answer immediately. He looked at Kaido's nearly out-of-control excitement, remained silent for two seconds, then slowly spoke.
"When the final gate opens, it can slay a god."
"Tch." Whitebeard rolled his eyes without any politeness. "You can only fool an idiot like Kaido with that."
"You don't believe it?" Ron turned his head and met Whitebeard's gaze, the corner of his mouth carrying a faint smile. "Sooner or later, I'll show you."
Whitebeard waved his hand and turned toward the inside of the ship. "Then I'll wait for you to open that final gate and slay a god for me."
The next morning, the sea mist had not completely dispersed. Sunlight was blocked by heavy clouds, and the entire sky showed a oppressive gray-white color.
In the New World, on a certain island.
The church at the center of the island had become a living hell.
All the stained-glass windows were shattered, fragments scattered across the ground and gleaming with eerie colors under the dim light.
Benches lay overturned. The candlesticks on the altar had fallen, wax flowing across the floor and hardening into white clumps, mixed with dark-red pools of blood.
Bodies lay everywhere. Blood wound across the floor, gathering into small streams that spread through the gaps between tiles and slowly dripped down to the next step.
At that moment, outside the church doors, three mysterious people wearing black cloaks slowly walked in.
The leading man was tall, his shoulders and back straight. A section of long, slender fingers was visible beneath the cloak.
He stopped before a tilted bench, reached out to straighten it, then sat down calmly.
He slowly raised the Den Den Mushi in his hand and spoke into the receiver. "Have you completed your side?"
"Commander-sama," a respectful voice came from the Den Den Mushi, "it has been completed."
Saint Garling nodded in satisfaction. "The surrounding area has been cleaned?"
"Rest assured, Commander-sama. All the insects around have been cleaned out."
"Mm."
Saint Garling answered blandly. Once satisfied, he hung up the Den Den Mushi and put it back inside his cloak. Then he tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the two people standing behind him.
"What about the Marines? Has the bait been thrown out?"
"Yes, Commander-sama." One of the mysterious figures bowed slightly, his voice humble and respectful. "The Marines are ready and awaiting our orders at any time."
Saint Garling slowly stood. He took two steps forward, but the tip of his boot suddenly touched something. It was a corpse lying before him, blocking his path.
Saint Garling lowered his head and glanced at it. His gaze then narrowed slightly. Then he raised his foot and stepped down.
Splurt.
A dull cracking sound echoed through the church. The corpse's head was directly crushed underfoot.
"The Rocks Pirates, is it..."
"Those useless Marines are so incompetent that we have to personally take action against them."