Novel Chapter
Mihawk stood alone on the empty seabed.
Watching Kai disappear into the sky.
And the full weight of it crashed down on him.
The three great powers.
Marines. Seven Warlords. Four Emperors.
All of them—
—controlled by one man.
His hand tightened on Yoru's hilt.
What kind of monster have I sworn myself to?
Kai let Zanka no Tachi dissolve.
The blade flickered—then vanished, motes of light scattering on the wind.
Can't keep it active too long.
In the Bleach world, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni had avoided using Bankai for precisely this reason. Zanka no Tachi didn't just destroy enemies.
It destroyed everything.
The Soul Society itself would crumble if the blade burned too long.
Same rules apply here.
"Alright." Kai turned toward the Baratie, now sitting awkwardly on the cracked seabed. "Nami! Time to go!"
His Rinne-Tensei eyes pulsed.
Nami lifted.
Her feet left the deck—no warning, no sensation of movement—just sudden weightlessness.
"Whoa—!" She flailed for a second, then steadied herself in midair. "This is so weird!"
Kai smiled.
Below them, Mihawk watched with undisguised envy.
Flight.
True flight.
Not Geppo—that clumsy, stamina-draining technique that barely kept you airborne.
Actual freedom.
He sighed.
Shouldered his coffin-boat.
And started walking.
The seabed stretched for miles. Dry. Cracked. Littered with the charred remains of Sea Kings.
No idea when the water's coming back.
Better start moving.
He aimed for Reverse Mountain.
Would be embarrassing to drown.
World's first great swordsman killed by the sea.
What a legacy that'd be.
"Brother Kai—" Nami's voice was soft. Shy. "—you're incredible."
Her face was flushed.
Not from the heat this time.
Kai glanced at her.
She's different.
Before, she'd been brash. Confident. A little reckless.
Now?
She's looking at me like I'm some kind of hero.
Every girl had that dream, he supposed. The knight in shining armor. The prince who saves the day.
He'd saved Cocoyasi Village.
He'd just evaporated an ocean.
Guess I fit the bill.
"Of course I am." He grinned. "Did you expect anything less?"
She laughed.
The flight back was fast.
Kai's repulsion field propelled them forward at speeds that would've torn a normal person apart. Wind screamed past. The ocean blurred beneath them.
Minutes later, they touched down at G-16 Branch.
The base was far enough from Baratie that the water hadn't evaporated—but the sea level had dropped. Docks that used to sit at water's edge now hung dozens of meters above the surface.
Ships sat awkwardly low in their berths.
"Sir!" A Lieutenant Commander sprinted across the deck, saluting sharply. "You've returned!"
Kai nodded.
"Sir—" The officer's face was pale. Sweating. "—we have a situation. The sea level dropped globally within minutes. I reported it to Headquarters immediately."
He swallowed.
"Their response: all Four Blues, the Grand Line, and the New World experienced drops. But the East Blue—" He gestured at the lowered waterline. "—was hit the hardest."
A pause.
"Should we begin an investigation?"
Kai waved a hand dismissively.
"No need." His tone was casual. "I got a little carried away earlier. That's all."
Silence.
The Lieutenant Commander's jaw dropped.
"You—" His voice cracked. "—you did this?"
"Mm."
"The entire world's sea level—"
"Yep."
"—dropped because you—"
"Got carried away. Yes." Kai's smile was apologetic. "My bad."
The officer stared.
This man—
This man just casually admitted to affecting the entire planet.
Like it's nothing.
Like he forgot to turn off a stove.
"I—" He shook himself. "—understood, sir."
Kai tilted his head. "Anything else happen while I was gone?"
"Ah—yes!" The Lieutenant Commander fumbled with his coat. "Two days ago, Dr. Vegapunk from G-1 Branch called. Said he needed to speak with you urgently."
Kai's eyebrows rose.
"Vegapunk?"
That was unusual.
In five years, the scientist had reached out maybe three times. And only when his research hit a wall he couldn't break through alone.
"Connect me."
"Yes, sir!"
The officer pulled out a Den Den Mushi—this one specially tuned to Vegapunk's lab—and dialed.
It rang twice.
Then—
"What!?" Vegapunk's voice was sharp. Irritated. "I'm in the middle of something! This better be—"
"It's me, Doctor."
Silence.
Then—
"White Dragon!" The irritation vanished, replaced by excitement. "Finally! I've been waiting for your call!"
No pleasantries. No small talk.
Straight to business.
"The Chakra Cannon research hit a snag. I need your help."
Kai frowned.
"I thought we already built the prototype?"
"We did." Vegapunk's voice crackled with energy. "But I had an idea."
A pause.
"I think I can recreate the Space-Time Chakra Cannon."
Kai froze.
"And make it stronger than the original."
What.
The Space-Time Chakra Cannon was a theoretical weapon from the Naruto world. It manipulated space itself—tearing holes in reality, bypassing defenses, ignoring distance.
In a world with space-time ninjutsu, it made sense.
But here?
One Piece doesn't have that kind of technology.
How could he possibly—
"Explain." Kai's voice was sharp. "What's your progress? What do you need?"
"Direct as always." Vegapunk chuckled. "Alright. Listen."
The Den Den Mushi's eyes gleamed.
"While building the second Chakra Cannon, I had a thought: What if we integrated a Devil Fruit's power into the weapon?"
Kai's eyes narrowed.
"I searched through the fruits the World Government provided me. And I found one that's perfect."
A pause.
"The Door-Door Fruit."
Kai's mind raced.
Door-Door Fruit.
The user can open doors in anything they touch.
Even open doors to other dimensions.
But—
"Wait." His voice was sharp. "Wasn't that eaten by CP9's Bruno?"
"Normally, yes." Vegapunk's tone was smug. "But five years ago, when I pledged myself to you, I... delayed returning certain research materials to the World Government."
A pause.
"Including a batch of Devil Fruits."
Kai's lips twitched.
You magnificent bastard.
"The Door-Door Fruit connects to a pocket dimension," Vegapunk continued. "According to the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, it creates spatial rifts—actual tears in space."
His voice rose with excitement.
"If we integrate that power into the Space-Time Chakra Cannon—fuse the fruit's spatial properties with the weapon's chakra output—we can recreate the original's dimensional-warping capabilities."
A pause.
"And exceed them."
Kai was silent for a long moment.
Processing.
A Devil Fruit-powered superweapon.
That manipulates space.
In a world where spatial manipulation barely exists.
This could change everything.
"What do you need from me?" His voice was quiet. Deadly serious.
"Resources. Rare materials. And—" Vegapunk hesitated. "—test subjects."
"Test subjects?"
"Devil Fruit users. Preferably ones with spatial or dimensional abilities. I need to study how their powers interact with the cannon's chakra matrix."
Kai's smile was cold.
"I can get you whatever you need, Doctor."
A pause.
"As long as it exists in this world—"
His eyes gleamed.
"—I'll bring it to you."
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