"Haki. It's disgusting."
Hana stood firm, her dignified expression unmarred by fear. If anything, she looked down upon the distorted sky and earth-shattering wave of Conqueror's Haki with nothing but disgust.
Ever since Admiral Rosen had created her, she had trained relentlessly to master Haki. Yet as a product of the Arms-Arms Fruit, her Zanpakutō form was fundamentally incompatible with the technique. Just as Big Mom's Homies could never learn Haki, Hana was blocked from its power. That inability fueled a deep loathing—for a strength she could never possess, yet one capable of destroying her kind.
"So calm?"
Kaido sensed it. Hana's composure was unnatural for a Zanpakutō that had been struggling to stand moments ago.
"Does she have a final card to play?"
Shanks's eye glowed with Observation Haki, scanning for the future. He was wary of Hana's potential Bankai, but more so of Admiral Rosen himself. The Red-Haired Emperor feared the Marine officer might still be lurking within this base, hidden contingencies waiting to spring.
A heartbeat later, both Kaido and Shanks paled.
Their future sight had been blocked.
An unknown force severed their Observation Haki, leaving them blind to what came next. Panic flared—not at the enemy, but at the silence where futures should have been.
Then, a figure emerged from the shadows beneath Hana's feet.
"Vinsmoke Judge."
Kaido and Shanks's crimson eyes narrowed. The head of the Marine Headquarters Science Division stood there, gripping a long sword, his face twisted in anger and mockery.
Clang!
Judge thrust the blade into the floor of the Forbidden Zone's entrance. A surge of Armament Haki erupted from the steel, forming a massive arm—larger than a giant's—slamming down onto the oncoming shockwave of Haki from the two Emperors.
BOOM!
The collision sent a shockwave blasting outward, cracking the walls of the marine base and shattering the earth. Dust and debris filled the air as Armament Haki continued to pour from Judge's blade like magma from a volcano.
In an instant, the arm grew into a towering giant, its head nearly brushing the clouds, its feet planted on the ground like a mountain.
"Susanoo."
The word left Kaido and Shanks's lips in a whisper of horror.
If Zanpakutō were synonymous with Rosen's Devil Fruit, then Susanoo was synonymous with his Armament Haki. Both symbolized absolute power.
"Three hundred meters tall..."
Shanks's voice trembled as he measured the construct. The size directly correlated with the density and quality of the Armament Haki infused within it. A Susanoo of that magnitude—it meant Rosen's Haki had reached a level beyond imagination.
"Just a Susanoo..." Kaido muttered, but his eyes betrayed the fear clawing at his throat. "I've fought Rosen before."
As he spoke, the Susanoo slowly lowered its head, its massive eyes locking onto the two Emperors. The gaze was cold, calculated, and utterly crushing. Kaido's fighting spirit didn't die, but his arrogance—his domineering aura—shattered like glass.
"Get lost."
The voice boomed like thunder, shaking the heavens. The sonic wave stretched for kilometers, dissipating the sea of clouds that had gathered overhead.
Shanks and Kaido froze.
There was no hesitation.
Whether it was the Pirate King's equal or the Beast who had mastered Devil Fruit Awakening, both made the same choice. They ran.
Kaido unleashed a massive cloud of fire, enveloping the Red-Haired Pirates and their ship. The vessel launched into the sky like a rocket, fleeing the Judge Forbidden Zone without a backward glance.
If they lingered, they would be caught again. Imprisoned.
"Shanks!"
Yasopp, clinging to the fiery cloud, roared as the base shrank below. "Beckman and Rem Jones are still there! Their bodies—"
Rem Jones had died instantly to Suzumebachi's strike. Ben Beckman had traded his life for Katen's Bankai. Their corpses remained in the Forbidden Zone, left behind. Yasopp couldn't feel relief at his own survival—only rage.
"I can't take the risk," Shanks growled through clenched teeth, his voice low and pained. "Hawkeye told me once—when he first challenged Rosen, the Admiral was stationed in the North Blue, yet he projected his will across the sea into a Susanoo in the South Blue."
He looked at his crew. "If Rosen is in the New World, he can cross the gap between the seas. He can ride Susanoo into battle. A three-hundred-meter Susanoo piloted by Rosen is more than an Emperor can handle."
Silence fell over the pirates. Yasopp's anger dissolved into grief and helplessness.
"Wait..."
Yasopp's eyes widened as he looked back down. The Susanoo hadn't pursued. It remained rooted to the ground, watching them flee.
"Maybe Whitebeard and Big Mom are holding him back in the New World," Kaido muttered, his mind racing. "Garp is down. Hana's Zanpakuto reached its limit after killing Beckman. That means the last card here is the Armament Haki Rosen sealed into Judge's sword. Even with Rosen's will, the Haki is finite."
Kaido's fighting spirit flared again. His eyes burned with hunger. "If we turn back now... If we fight both Whitebeard and Big Mom against Lawson's true form, and we take on this Susanoo here... We could shake the foundation of the Marines."
Shanks's left hand moved toward Griffin's hilt.
But then—
Fsshh.
A faint sound of burning paper reached their ears.
Shanks froze. His face went pale, his body trembling. The same reaction he'd had when Beckman and Rem Jones died.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Vivre Card. It was burning away, reduced to only a few charred edges.
"Hawkeye's Vivre Card..."
Kaido's mouth shut. The embers of fighting spirit in his eyes died out completely.
The two Emperors and their crew fled into the horizon, tails tucked between their legs, as the voice of Admiral Rosen—cold and commanding—echoed from the Susanoo's mouth one last time.
"Run."
The strongest creatures of land and sea vanished into the sky, abandoning the dead to the cold embrace of the Judge Forbidden Zone.
—-
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