Whitebeard's expression froze in shock. He had truly not expected Kaito to want him to say those words.
He knew that once those words left his mouth, the impact on the entire pirate world would be nothing short of explosive. The Great Pirate Era Roger had begun would suffer a blow beyond imagination.
But when he thought of his sons, a pained look crossed Whitebeard's face.
Kaito didn't rush him. He simply stood there quietly, watching Whitebeard.
From Kaito's perspective, the pirate world already belonged to him. The fewer unruly scum roaming the seas, the better.
That was what he should do, standing from the Navy's position.
In the end, the lives of his sons outweighed everything else in Whitebeard's heart. Closing his eyes, trembling, he spoke.
"I agree!"
A smile spread across Kaito's face as he deliberately asked,
"Whitebeard… what exactly is the One Piece?"
The moment the words "One Piece" left his lips, pirates and marines alike in Marineford, as well as people all around the world, focused all their attention on Whitebeard.
Whitebeard took a deep breath, then snapped his eyes wide open, shouting with all the strength in his body,
"The One Piece is a lie! It doesn't exist at all!!!"
Whitebeard's voice echoed across every corner of the world, and at that moment, the entire pirate world fell into a deathly silence.
...
Foosha Village.
Luffy stared blankly at the image of Whitebeard on the screen, tears suddenly welling up in his eyes.
Makino, seeing this, quickly crouched down to wipe away his tears, asking with concern,
"Luffy, what's wrong?"
Luffy stiffly turned his neck, trembling as he said,
"Makino-san… what Whitebeard said… is it true?"
It was the first time Makino had seen Luffy like this, and she knew all too well how much Whitebeard's words would crush someone whose dream was to become the Pirate King.
But she truly didn't want Luffy to walk this path. If he ever crossed paths with Kaito, what would his fate be?
So Makino hardened her heart and said,
"Whitebeard was a powerhouse from Roger's era… so what he said is probably true."
Luffy clearly couldn't accept such a cruel reality. He shouted at the image of Whitebeard,
"No! That's not true! The One Piece is real!!!"
Buzz—!
A domineering aura exploded from Luffy's small body, knocking out everyone around him.
His body swayed, and then his eyes rolled back as he collapsed to the ground.
No one noticed the faint white ribbon-like strands coiling around Luffy's back for a brief moment before vanishing without a trace.
...
Back at Marineford.
The fighting between marines and pirates had stopped. They were still frozen in shock from Whitebeard's declaration.
Shanks's face twisted into a ferocious snarl, endless fury burning in his chest. He slammed a fist into Big Mom's massive face, sending her flying into the distant Marineford buildings, then charged at Whitebeard.
"Whitebeard! What the hell are you saying!?"
But Whitebeard lowered his gaze after speaking, saying nothing more.
Kaito, satisfied, nodded slightly. A single Almighty Push sent the charging redhead flying, and then blackness flickered in his left eye.
"It's over."
Pupupu—!
The sound of flesh being pierced came from within a black coffin. Whitebeard's facial muscles twitched. In his final moment, he looked past Kaito to the Whitebeard Pirates behind him, his gaze filled with longing.
"My beloved sons… this is the last thing your old man can do for you. Live on!"
Kaito sighed softly.
"Rest assured. I'll keep my word and let them live."
"Then I thank you… gurararara… I never thought a monster like you existed. To have fought you… I die without regrets!"
With that, Whitebeard closed his eyes forever. The world's strongest man had fallen.
The black coffin shrouding him dissolved into wisps of darkness, and under Kaito's control, his body slowly descended onto the frozen ground, still standing upright.
Kaito deliberately left Whitebeard his final dignity—completely different from Big Mom's fate.
He placed his hand on Whitebeard's body, and the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit was drawn into Kaito's left eye through the Preta Path, becoming the final tomoe.
The Whitebeard Pirates, seeing their father dead, collapsed to their knees, crying out in despair.
Several division commanders threw themselves at Akainu, ignoring the magma that seared deep, charred wounds into their bodies.
Kaito, having ended Whitebeard's life, stood quietly in place, his presence utterly out of sync with the battlefield around him.
Shanks arrived at that moment. His gaze instantly fell on Whitebeard's lifeless body, and rage consumed him. His hand turned completely white, his aura climbing to an entirely new level.
"Die!!!"
He slammed a fist into Kaito's back. This time, Kaito had neither Susanoo armor nor Haki active.
Shanks's lips curled into a victorious grin, thinking he had landed a decisive blow.
But when Kaito turned his head, Shanks saw a pair of Rinnegan brimming with twelve tomoe—and six floating black orbs behind him.
One of those orbs shifted into a sharp black spear, instantly impaling Shanks and pinning him to the ground.
The White Kama on Shanks's body began to dissipate from the severe wound. He fought desperately to preserve the White Kama on his abdomen—his powerful Observation Haki warning him that if that vanished, his body would face utter collapse.
And indeed, it was so. Those six orbs were Truth-Seeking Balls; without the protection of Six Paths-level power, any ordinary being touched by them would be erased instantly—even an immortal Edo Tensei body.
Kaito glanced at Shanks coldly, then turned to walk toward the rear battlefield.
But after only a few steps, he suddenly stopped. Strands of white substance appeared out of thin air, wrapping around his body, forming a pure white cocoon.
The phenomenon froze everyone in place. All eyes locked onto the cocoon at the center of the battlefield.
At that moment, the gaze of the entire world was also fixed upon it.
...
Mary Geoise, within the Room of Flowers.
Imu stared unblinkingly at the cocoon on the screen, bursting into a fit of sick, manic laughter.
"Hahahahaha! He's done it! I can feel it—that's the aura of my kind!"
A voice in his head echoed again, laced with mockery.
"That is not your kind… but mine."
Imu's mood was soaring. He paid no mind to the taunt, instead gazing in obsession at the flawless white cocoon and murmuring,
"Come… I've waited far, far too long for you!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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