The deck of the Moby Dick had fallen silent.
Toki stood before the high throne, her hands folded over her woolen shawl, her voice level and unhurried as she gave them the truth without softening any part of it. She spoke of the five long years Oden spent dancing naked in the streets of the Flower Capital, mocked before the people he bled to protect, bound by a secret bargain that promised the release of one hundred hostages for every weekly dance.
She told them how Oden fulfilled his end of that shameful bargain without complaint, enduring the mockery of an entire nation to keep innocent blood off the streets, only for Orochi and Kaido to discard the agreement when the five years passed. She spoke of the march from Kuri, the battle on the road to Onigashima, and the Hour of Legend. An iron cauldron of boiling oil suspended over roaring flames.
"He stood inside the boiling oil himself," Toki said, her voice clear across the quiet deck. "For sixty agonizing minutes, Oden bore the heat of that cauldron while holding all nine of his retainers on a wooden platform above his head. Kaido had agreed that if Oden endured the full hour, all ten men would walk free. But when the hour ended, Orochi broke the promise and ordered every condemned man shot. Oden threw his retainers clear of the cauldron before Kaido raised his pistol and ended his life."
Beside the mainmast, Izo's knees struck the deck with a dull thud. One hand covered his mouth, but it could not hold back the broken, ragged sound that followed.
"Oden-sama..." Izo choked out, his shoulders shaking as tears washed dark tracks through the makeup on his cheeks. In his mind, a bitter memory surfaced. Oden laughing through the sea spray as he clung to the heavy chain trailing behind Whitebeard's ship, while Izo chased after the impossible man who had dragged him into the wider world. That wild, invincible lord had been executed in the Flower Capital while Izo sailed half a world away beneath Whitebeard's flag, unaware that Wano was bleeding.
No one reached for him. Marco, Vista, and Jozu stood frozen, their eyes fixed on the deck boards. There was nothing on that ship capable of making the truth smaller.
Toki did not look away. She recounted the fire that consumed Oden Castle, and the desperate choice to separate her children. Using her Devil Fruit to fling Momonosuke, Kin'emon, Kanjuro, Raizo, and Kikunojo twenty years into the future to preserve the Kozuki line.
Throughout the account, Edward Newgate did not move. His massive hands rested on the carved armrests, his knuckles whitening as his fingers dug into the polished wood. Fine cracks began to spread along the polished armrests beneath his grip, yet he uttered no sound and asked no questions. Toki's plain truth had answered everything. Beside the throne, Marco's jaw tightened as he recognized the terrifying stillness that always preceded a storm.
Then, the air shattered.
Pressure crashed across the deck, making the wood creak as black lightning snapped along the railings and vanished over the waves. A wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted from Whitebeard's frame, rolling across the sea with devastating force. The sky above cleaved in two, the grey clouds splitting wide open to reveal a cold, stark blue. The massive timbers of the Moby Dick groaned beneath the immense pressure, the iron fittings along the bulwarks rattling violently as the ship shuddered.
This was a man learning that his little brother had died alone, betrayed and mocked, while his family was half a world away.
Whitebeard rose from his chair and took Murakumogiri in one hand, his massive frame towering over the gathered commanders.
"Marco!" Newgate's voice thundered, vibrating through the wood and making the brass lamps ring. "Signal the fleet! Call in every captain, every division, every soul that sails beneath my name! We make for Wano!"
A fierce cheer rose from the younger pirates. Vista's hands settled on his sword hilts while Jozu planted his feet, ready to move. The deck erupted into motion as deckhands shouted Oden's name and called for Kaido's blood. Yet Marco stayed beside the throne, his expression grave. His thoughts went to Wano's treacherous waterfalls, closed borders, and fortified armies. He knew a hasty invasion would cost endless blood. Around them, veteran commanders exchanged grim looks, each preparing for battle in his own way, while Izo remained on his knees, his shoulders shaking as he stared blankly at the wood.
Giovanni stood near the rail with fresh bandages crossing his torso beneath his coat, his right shoulder held lower than his left where the muscle had torn in Elbaf. His hand rested near Ace, but he made no move to draw it. He looked up at the towering pirate, his golden eyes cold and level.
"If taking Kaido's head would bring Oden back, I'd already have my sails set," Giovanni said, his voice carrying over the din. "I won't pretend I don't want Kaido dead too."
"Stop!"
Toki's voice cut through the rising clamor. She stepped directly into the path of the towering pirate, raising her chin to look up into his massive face.
"You cannot go to Wano," Toki declared, her voice ringing across the deck. "If you turn Wano into a battlefield now, what will be left for Momonosuke when he returns? He and the four retainers will emerge twenty years from that night expecting a country they can still save. If your fleet turns toward Wano the moment we reach you, Kaido will know survivors carried Oden's story beyond the country. If word spreads that Hiyori is aboard this ship, he will hunt her across the seas. And if he suspects Momonosuke escaped too, he will spend twenty years preparing for his return."
Near Toki's robes, Hiyori flinched at the thought of losing her brother for twenty years, her small shoulders trembling beneath her mother's shadow.
"My husband gave his life so Wano would have a future," Toki said, her voice steady and fierce. "Oden died believing Wano could still be saved. Do not turn that last hope into another battlefield."
Whitebeard's hand tightened around Murakumogiri. The thick timber shaft creaked beneath his grip, but he neither advanced nor withdrew the order, his gaze fixed on Toki as the entire crew held its breath.
Down by his boots, a small movement broke the stillness.
Hiyori stepped out from behind Toki's robes and walked directly to Whitebeard. She wrapped both hands around one scarred finger and looked up at him, tears gathering in her eyes.
"Please..." Hiyori whispered, clutching his finger tight. "Don't leave me too."
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