-Real World-
Devil's Triangle
Among all those watching the Sky Screen's revelations about Kozuki Momonosuke's future, none harbored deeper hatred than Kaido, the King of Beasts. His grudge against the Kozuki family ran soul-deep, carved into memory through fire and blood.
Kaido had personally participated in the deception and execution of Kozuki Oden, watching the samurai dance in boiling oil before finally succumbing to death. Afterward, he'd incinerated Oden Castle with a devastating heat blast, flames hot enough to melt stone. He'd believed—assumed with absolute certainty—that he'd burned the fool monarch's wife and children to ashes along with their ancestral home.
Yet Kozuki Momonosuke still lived.
The revelation struck Kaido like a physical blow. Although the boy appeared quite young in both age and physical appearance, the timeline not matching expected progression, the King of Beasts didn't care about such discrepancies. What mattered was simple, terrible truth: his momentary negligence had created a catastrophic threat for the future.
If he'd known then what the Sky Screen revealed now, he would have crushed the little bastard's skull personally, grinding bones to powder beneath his heel rather than assuming fire had finished the job.
The regret tasted bitter as bile.
Kaido sat within the ruins of Thriller Bark, the massive castle ship that Gekko Moriah called home now serving as the Yonko's temporary headquarters. He and King remained in the Devil's Triangle, waiting for enemies to arrive seeking confrontation while simultaneously watching the Sky Screen to gather intelligence on future events.
They'd demolished portions of Moriah's residence without permission or apology. Yet the former Shichibukai still provided good wine and quality food to entertain his uninvited guests, his hospitality stemming from pragmatic fear rather than genuine welcome. To protect his subordinates from suffering harm at the hands of these monsters, Moriah proved remarkably flexible—survival trumped pride.
In truth, Moriah had been scheming since the moment Kaido and King arrived. He desperately wanted to secretly sever their shadows, claiming those incredibly powerful reflections for his zombie army. If he hadn't calculated that attempting such theft would result in catastrophic casualties when the victims inevitably retaliated, he would have tried already. He'd coveted the shadows of such extraordinarily strong individuals for years.
Digging up graves and stealing corpses from graveyards provided useful resources in Paradise—the Grand Line's first half. But in the New World, zombies lacking Haki didn't even qualify as cannon fodder. They'd be obliterated by casual attacks from any competent fighter. To build a truly formidable undead army, Moriah needed shadows from the absolute strongest.
Unable to restrain his pettiness despite the danger, Moriah couldn't help offering sarcastic commentary on the broadcast. "It seems Kaido doesn't think very highly of you in the future. Kozuki Momonosuke stepping on you to reach the top—using your sealed body as a stepping stone to power. Being trapped for ten thousand years definitely won't be pleasant."
He didn't understand the specific mechanics of sealing techniques—Gekko Moriah dealt exclusively with corpses and shadows, methods too esoteric held no practical value for him. However, he harbored suspicions that such sealing arts might have originated from Wano Country itself. A nation closed to outsiders for hundreds of years could develop any manner of strange abilities without the wider world's knowledge.
"Cowards, all of them!" Kaido's voice thundered through Thriller Bark's damaged halls, making the structure groan. "If they can't defeat me in direct confrontation, they resort to underhanded tactics. Kozuki Momonosuke—I'll send you to join Kozuki Oden soon enough, reuniting father and son in the underworld where you both belong!"
Before Moriah could formulate a response to this declaration, Kaido's demeanor shifted abruptly. Tears began streaming down the Yonko's face, massive drops falling like rain as he started sobbing with theatrical intensity.
The sudden mood swing left Moriah utterly confused. What was happening? Why had the terrifying King of Beasts suddenly started crying? The emotional whiplash was genuinely disorienting.
This wasn't Kaido showing genuine weakness or sorrow over the Kozuki family—the man could cry about anything, his tears utterly worthless as emotional currency. King, standing at his captain's side, had grown completely accustomed to these displays over their decades together. His boss's terrible acting skills made King want to cringe internally, but he maintained perfect composure, pretending not to notice the performance.
If the Sky Screen had claimed that Kozuki Momonosuke would personally defeat Kaido in single combat through superior martial skill, the King of Beasts would have questioned the broadcast's legitimacy immediately. Kaido himself could barely defeat himself in his prime—how could some corner character who'd accomplished nothing overshadow the results of decades of relentless training and countless life-or-death battles
Kaido had been fighting since childhood. He'd experienced countless conflicts both large and small, participated in battles where death seemed certain, survived hardships that would have destroyed lesser beings entirely. After establishing himself as a Sea Emperor in recent years, challengers had become increasingly rare. This scarcity left him feeling restless, itching for conflict—finding opponents of comparable strength proved extremely difficult.
When Kozuki Oden still lived, the samurai had managed to severely injure Kaido through masterful application of Ryuo and supreme swordsmanship, leaving an indelible scar that still marked the Yonko's torso. Kaido admitted—privately, grudgingly—that he'd become a defeated warrior at Oden's hands during that encounter. When beaten, one should stand at attention and accept the lesson, then train twice as hard in response.
That's exactly what Kaido had done. The defeat made him stronger, driving him to heights he might never have reached otherwise.
Many years after Kozuki Oden's death, Ryuo—that advanced Armament Haki technique unique to Wano—could still penetrate Kaido's defenses. But the minor injuries such strikes caused couldn't truly harm him anymore. The Uo Uo no Mi (Fish-Fish Fruit), Model: Seiryu (Azure Dragon) granted abnormal regenerative capabilities to its user. Even if the admired samurai somehow returned from death, he definitely wouldn't match Kaido's current power level.
The Sky Screen claimed Momonosuke would gain the Sealing abilities in the future. Perhaps sealing represented the only viable method of containment. Did Wano Country's ninja clans develop such techniques?
Regardless of the specific mechanisms, one truth remained absolute: the Kozuki family represented a plague upon the Beast Pirates' ambitions. Leaving Wano Country's precious resources undeveloped would constitute a crime against efficiency itself. The virtuous—meaning the strong—should naturally occupy and exploit such valuable territory. Kaido genuinely loved Wano Country as a location and industrial base.
He just despised the people living there.
Especially one particular person who kept shouting about being "Kozuki Oden." That declaration from his own child broke Kaido's heart repeatedly. He'd used his kanabo to educate Yamato countless times, beatings that should have corrected such foolish thinking. Yet Yamato persisted stubbornly, refusing to accept the Beast Pirates' culture and philosophy while caring deeply about Wano's samurai. The child was truly an ungrateful beast, rejecting the parent's path.
The Sky Screen's revelations ignited Kaido's murderous intent toward the entire Kozuki bloodline. He wanted to slaughter every last one of them now, eliminating the threat before it could manifest. The rational approach was extermination—complete, thorough, leaving no survivors to cause future problems.
Yet the broadcast also showed him attempting to recruit Kozuki Momonosuke in that future timeline. This contradiction confused Kaido genuinely. Why would he try bringing the Kozuki heir into his crew rather than crushing him immediately? Had he somehow been manipulated? Was he the one being deceived in that scenario?
As for the heavily promoted Uo Uo no Mi (Fish-Fish Fruit), Model: Seiryu (Red Dragon)—even if Kaido wanted to steal it, he had no idea of its current location. And honestly, he wasn't certain which member of the Beast Pirates deserved such a magnificent fruit.
In truth, the Red Dragon Fruit suited Yamato perfectly. Unfortunately, his child had already consumed a Mythical Zoan—the Inu Inu no Mi (Dog-Dog Fruit), Model: Okuchi no Makami. If two dragons could circle in the skies above Onigashima simultaneously, the visual spectacle would be absolutely magnificent. The Beast Pirates desperately needed more Mythical Zoan users to match their aesthetic and power structure.
Thinking along these lines, Kaido's gaze shifted to his top officer. "King, it was somewhat premature for you to consume that Ancient Zoan fruit. It doesn't add much to your fundamental combat capabilities. Mythical Zoan-types remain far too rare on these seas."
King's Lunarian racial characteristics already granted him flight capability naturally. He'd eaten the Ryu Ryu no Mi (Dragon-Dragon Fruit), Ancient Species, Model: Pteranodon. The greatest practical value this fruit provided was flight—an ability King already possessed through biology. The Devil Fruit had essentially wasted its primary advantage on someone who didn't need it. A Paramecia-type fruit would likely have enhanced his combat effectiveness far more substantially.
The Pteranodon form only provided bonuses to recovery speed and physical resilience. King's actual combat power came entirely from personal training and natural talent. Eating a Devil Fruit had merely added an exploitable weakness—vulnerability to seawater and Seastone—without proportional benefits.
But the Beast Pirates maintained unified aesthetic standards. Kaido had transformed the organization into a veritable zoo of Zoan users. King simply followed that trend, integrating himself into the crew's established style through conformity.
As one of the strongest first mates sailing the seas, King's power didn't derive from the Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Pteranodon—he was formidable because of his inherent capabilities, his Lunarian heritage, his relentless self-improvement. In some ways, this man resembled another version of Roronoa Zoro: one heart oriented toward light, the other toward darkness, but both sharing absolute dedication to their chosen paths.
"Captain," King responded, his voice carrying quiet conviction despite the mask concealing his expression, "I am very satisfied with the Devil Fruit residing in my body. I will not abandon myself like certain others, relying on external advantages to become stronger. That approach isn't me. I will continue following in your footsteps through my own power."
Although King didn't indulge in flattery as shamelessly as Queen, his sincerity ran deeper, loyalty proven through time. He'd spent the longest continuous period at Kaido's side among all the Calamities. When he and Kaido escaped that government laboratory to conquer the world together, the other two Disasters didn't exist yet—neither did the current Beast Pirates organization.
Moriah felt that King's words carried pointed edges, as though mocking him specifically—the Shichibukai who'd lost everything and now relied on others' shadows rather than personal strength. His eyes kept scanning King's imposing figure, cataloging details, imagining that shadow powering his strongest zombie.
Unfortunately, he didn't dare voice such thoughts. He knew his own limitations with painful clarity—he genuinely couldn't defeat Flame Disaster King in combat, not even close.
But this didn't stop him from wanting that shadow desperately. How could he convince the Lunarian to surrender it willingly? What possible argument or incentive could work on someone so dedicated to personal power?
The question haunted Moriah's thoughts even as he maintained his nervous hospitality, serving drinks to monsters while dreaming of stealing what made them strong.