Future Alliance of Two Emperors · The Navy Is Shaken

Wano Country · Offshore Waters.

Night had fallen.

The sea churned, waves battering the hull with dull thuds.

The air still carried the lingering stench of scorched flesh and blood as a pirate ship struggled onward through the wind and waves.

"Huff..."

On the deck, Moria, who had escaped amid the chaos, braced his hands on his knees and gasped for breath.

"Still alive..."

"Guess I really am hard to kill..."

His voice was hoarse.

It sounded like laughter, yet more like self-mockery.

The shadow beneath his feet wriggled faintly.

Rather than its usual nimbleness, it seemed sluggish and exhausted.

Behind him, the surviving crew lay sprawled in all directions.

Some had lost consciousness, while others clutched their wounds and groaned softly.

Some simply sat there blankly, their eyes hollow.

In a corner, Perona hugged a battered doll. Her little face was pale, yet she stared fixedly at Moria.

Moria bared his teeth in a smile, but it looked uglier than crying.

The sea wind swept past as his gaze slowly shifted toward the depths of the cabin.

A corpse lay quietly there.

The Sword God—Shimotsuki Ryuma.

Though the body was dead, it still carried an indescribable sense of "oppression."

Beside him, Shusui's blade was black as night.

Moria's eyes flickered.

"Kaido..."

His voice was so low it was nearly inaudible, yet it carried bone-deep hatred.

"This debt..."

"I'll settle it with you sooner or later."

Inside Onigashima's great hall, the atmosphere was oppressive.

Kaido was wrapped in bandages, and the bloodstains had yet to dry.

Yet his presence had become even deeper, even more dangerous.

"Gulp—!"

He raised the sake gourd and drained it in one swallow, his throat rumbling low.

On the other side.

"Crunch, crunch—!"

The sharp, frantic sounds rang out without pause.

Charlotte Linlin was