One Piece: New Order

North Blue, Evening.

Ten massive warships from Marine Headquarters had gathered around an island near the entrance to Reverse Mountain. The local North Blue branch ships had already begun returning to their respective bases.

At the harbor, Sakazuki glanced at the darkening sky, then turned to Bullet and Enel beside him.

"Two days' rest," he said calmly. "We've been on the move for months. Let the soldiers relax for once."

Enel stretched his arms lazily. "Nice~ just what I needed. I've got something to take care of anyway."

Bullet immediately barked out orders to relay the command. Cheers erupted across the harbor, loud and unrestrained.

Amid the roaring celebration, Sakazuki asked, "Oh? Where are you going?"

Enel grinned mischievously. "Uncle, remember the first time we met with Teacher Vegapunk? He mentioned a few scientists had fled. That's why we didn't catch all of them back then."

Understanding what he meant, Sakazuki murmured, "Vinsmoke Judge, huh."

With a confirming nod, Enel continued, "Yeah. During the campaign, I saw him, then snuck off to observe a bit. He's been working on gene factor replication and modification. His entire country is made up of clones; ninety-nine percent of them men, all clone soldiers. The tech's pretty much matured."

Sakazuki raised an eyebrow. "You're thinking…"

Enel responded, "Exactly. Teacher's research has hit a bottleneck. If we could incorporate some outside technology to spark new ideas, that'd be ideal."

"True." Sakazuki nodded slightly. "But even now, you're still stuck on LIneage Factor research?"

Enel sighed. "Yeah. The government's run a ton of experiments over the years, but those fools before were all useless. Wasted a pile of resources. Now that they finally have teacher, there's no way they're letting him go.

"They sent him everything: Lunarian, Giant, Mink, and all kinds of rare cells, even the ones that couldn't be named properly. He's been analyzing them all, but for the past six months, he's been stuck. No progress.

"Just happened to stumble upon Vinsmoke Judge's clone cyborgs. His research takes a different approach from teacher's. Might be something worth learning from."

Sakazuki agreed. "Alright, go. If anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility."

Enel smiled. "Relax. I've already got a bounty ready. That guy's done more than enough to justify it. We'll have reason and evidence to bring him in."

"I'm afraid not." Sakazuki shook his head. "Judge wiped out the four North Blue kingdoms in a single war using clone soldiers. He's infamous. They call it the 'Conquest of Four Nations.' Now his group is a World Government affiliate. No territory, but they're allowed to attend the Reverie."

Enel froze. "Huh? Then what now?"

Sakazuki chuckled lightly. "Steal it. Why do you think I said I'll take the blame?"

Enel still looked hesitant. "Isn't… isn't that a bit too much?"

Even if he planned to pressure or coerce Judge, outright robbery felt a little…

Sakazuki replied, "That kind of tech is too dangerous. They can't control it. It's safer in the government's hands. You understand?"

Using the government as a pretext, but then he shook his head and added, "Forget it. Bullet, go with him. Don't kill the guy. He is a king, after all."

A savage grin spread across Bullet's face. "Got it."

Every single one of them is a villain...

* * *

The New World, Wano Country.

The sun had just set, leaving behind the final traces of twilight.

A group of nine warriors, each with a long sword at their side, walked forward as if cloaked in flames, heading toward the island of Onigashima.

"To defeat Kaido…"

* * *

Wano Country, Onigashima.

Bright moonlight illuminated the land. By the time the group, now surging with momentum, arrived at their destination, it was already deep into the night.

The moment they stepped onto Onigashima, dark clouds started gathering from nowhere, spreading across the sky above the island.

Rumble...

The low growl of thunder echoed from afar. Through the mist, countless figures emerged, their eyes glowing red.

On a massive peak in the distance, a colossal figure loomed.

BOOM!

The clouds were blown away, revealing a gigantic dragon wrapped around the mountain and a sea of pirates covering the entire landscape.

Behind Oden, the samurai stood frozen in shock as they took in the sight.

"This... this is way beyond what we expected."

"All of these people... are Kaido's subordinates?"

Whoosh!

Two red beams of light shot past overhead, scattering the mist. Then Kaido, in his azure dragon form, emerged before them.

"Worororororo!"

Seeing the towering beast and the mountain teeming with pirates, Oden spoke in a deep, calm voice, "I didn't expect you'd have troops left to defend with. Very thorough of you. How did you know we were coming?"

Kaido's thundering voice shook the air. "Maybe there's a traitor in your castle, Worororo! I just didn't want my new house turned into a battlefield, so I came out to welcome you."

Oden's expression darkened as he clenched his fists. "That promise we made... five years ago. Was all of it just a lie, Kaido?!"

Coiled atop the mountain, Kaido answered in his dragon form, "That's right. All of it was a lie. Wororororo! Back then, the situation was shaky. If you'd returned and joined forces with Hyogoro, we'd have been up against every samurai in Wano.

"My forces were still too small at the time. If you had truly been the madman people claimed you were, willing to sacrifice anything, it would've been a brutal fight. But instead, you believed Orochi's words. You chose the path where no one would get hurt. Such unexpected stupidity. Wororororo!

"Still, I can't blame you too much. Whitebeard and Roger were the same kind of men. Strong, but always a little too idealistic. And you... you're a fool too. You danced naked in the streets and lost all your dignity."

The sound of mocking laughter echoed throughout the battlefield, carrying all the way to the nine retainers behind Oden.

He kept his eyes shut, silent, until suddenly he opened them wide. "What's done is done. Let's talk about the future, Kaido!!!"

He raised his sword and deep crimson Haki swirled around his body, coating him entirely.

A burning figure shot toward the dragon.

Kaido roared and lunged forward to meet Oden, a fire of anticipation flaring in his heart.

'Are you the one I've been waiting for…? The one who will defeat me, Joy Boy?'

ROAR!

* * *

Several days later...

Inside a burning tower where Oden once lived, Kaido gripped the neck of a sobbing Momonosuke and asked coldly, "What's your name?"

Momonosuke trembled in terror. "M-Momo... Momo… aaaahhhhhh!!! Father! Please save me!!!"

As he looked at the weeping child, the son of that bold and fearless Oden reduced to this pitiful state, Kaido lost all interest.

He casually tossed Momonosuke into the flames. Then turned and leapt from the burning tower, taking to the skies in his dragon form, vanishing into the night.

"So that's Oden's son... Pathetic. Let the castle burn with him."

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