"It's me."
Kaito's calm nod carried no fear, no hesitation. His eyes, steady as stone, regarded the so-called Fish-Man with cold indifference. To him, Arlong's crew were nothing but noisy insects. An elephant does not flinch before ants.
"Damn you! First Kuroobi, and now you dare storm our headquarters? Do you think the Arlong Pirates are powerless against you?"
Hatchan bellowed, six swords flashing in his webbed grip as he lunged with lethal speed.
But before the blades even fell, his body whipped through the air like a snapped bowstring.
Boom!
He smashed through a building, stone and timber collapsing around him. Dust billowed as he lay unconscious in the rubble, blood dripping from his lips, a deep fist-shaped dent carved into his stomach.
It happened too quickly. He never stood a chance.
Arlong's eyes narrowed. Hatchan—one of his strongest fighters—felled with a single blow. Even Arlong himself would have needed effort to subdue him. But this stranger? He had crushed him like nothing.
This man is dangerous.
Before Arlong could react, Kaito vanished.
Boom!
Another thud sounded behind him. Turning sharply, Arlong froze—Kaito held one of his men by the throat, expression unreadable. A twist, a lifeless body, and then those cold eyes fixed on Arlong himself.
"It's your turn."
"Damn you!" Arlong roared, fury igniting as the last of his officers fell. He surged forward like a living cannonball, maw gaping with rows of glinting teeth. His bite could shatter bone, rip flesh in an instant.
But Kaito was no ordinary man. He was something far beyond.
Time seemed to slow as he sidestepped and drove his fist into Arlong's gut.
Boom!
The shockwave rattled through Arlong's frame, eyes bulging as blood burst from his mouth. His massive body sailed backward, colliding with Hatchan's broken form.
The impact brought down the symbol of tyranny itself—Arlong Park. Its walls crumbled into ruin, dust rising over Cocoyasi Village.
"Look—it's Arlong's base!"
"Someone's fighting them… Could it be hope at last?"
Whispers surged among the villagers, their long-buried courage flickering back to life.
Genzo, scarred and resolute in his uniform, clenched his teeth and sprinted toward the chaos.
In the orange grove, Nami tended Luffy's wounds, smacking his head when his groans grew too dramatic.
"Shut up! You're lucky you're even alive!" she snapped.
Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp stood close by, tense and restless. Their reckless captain carried their dreams; seeing him hurt gnawed at them.
Then the earth shook.
Boom!
The orchard quivered. Nojiko froze, oranges tumbling from her basket, eyes widening at the pillar of dust. She dropped everything and ran.
"Nami! Come quick—it's bad!"
"What is it?" Nami demanded, alarmed.
"You'll see—hurry!"
Nami burst outside, her heart pounding. The sight rooted her where she stood—Arlong Park in ruins, the clash still raging.
She rubbed her eyes in disbelief before sprinting toward it.
Amid the wreckage, Arlong staggered from the dust, towering body trembling, blood dribbling from his mouth. For the first time, fear glimmered in his predator's eyes.
This strength… it could only come from the Grand Line.
"So what if you came from there?!" he snarled through the pain. "I'll tear you apart!"
But agony seized him mid-charge. His eyes fell in horror—Kaito's hand had driven straight through his chest, blood cascading in crimson sheets.
"Too much talking," Kaito muttered coldly.
Arlong's body crumpled, life draining as silence claimed him. His reign ended beneath the rubble he once ruled from.
Calmly, Kaito pulled back his bloodied hand, severed Arlong's head, and wrapped it without ceremony. His expression betrayed nothing. The surviving pirates cowered in the corners, praying he would overlook them. He did. They weren't worth the effort.
At the edge of the ruins, Genzo and Nami arrived with the villagers. Their breaths caught as they beheld the impossible: the fallen tyrant, and a lone man standing, unshaken, in the settling dust.
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