The New World, on Expedition Island, erupted with confusion and disbelief.
A sudden transmission from Wano Kuni had shaken everyone present.
The moment the crew realized the voice on the other end of the Den Den Mushi belonged to Ace, the entire Whitebeard Pirates fleet—and every major power secretly monitoring the broadcast—fell silent in shock.
Then, one by one, people began to grasp what his words might mean.
The world's most daring thought flashed through their minds.
Maybe Fairy Tail hadn't gone silent out of arrogance.
Maybe they hadn't "stood up" their Whitebeard allies.
The truth was far more unthinkable—
They hadn't come to Expedition Island because they'd gone straight to Wano Kuni itself!
Could Fairy Tail—the so-called Fifth Imperial Guild, barely a dozen members strong—
really have launched a direct assault on the stronghold of Kaido of the Beasts, one of the Four Emperors?
The idea was ridiculous. Impossible.
People instinctively wanted to deny it.
But then—
Ace's next words shattered every doubt.
The world froze.
Expedition Island fell into absolute silence.
No one spoke. No one moved.
Even the waves seemed to pause, as if the sea itself were holding its breath.
Finally—
"W-wait a second, Ace!" shouted Diamond Jozu, captain of the Third Division. "Are you serious right now? Are you really in Wano Kuni?!"
"Yeah," Ace answered without hesitation. "We're really in Wano!"
"What the hell, Ace! We were supposed to meet on Expedition Island!" barked Vista, captain of the Fifth Division.
Ace rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "About that… President Sugisawa Yuuto said he wasn't forming an alliance with us—he was just accepting my personal request. So we went ahead straight to Wano Kuni!"
"You idiot!" roared Thatch, the Fourth Division captain. "You should've told us first!"
"I'm sorry! Really, I am!" Ace apologized quickly. "I just knew if I said anything, everyone would've stopped me, and things would've gotten complicated!"
The entire crew of the Whitebeard Pirates fell silent again.
"…Hey. Wait. Everyone—don't get stuck on that!"
It was Blackbeard Teach, grinning strangely, his tone suddenly sharp.
"What's with you, Teach?" asked Deuce, Ace's deputy.
"What's with me? Are you all deaf?!" Teach's eyes gleamed. "Didn't you hear what Ace just said? He said the Beasts Pirates—the entire crew of Kaido—has been defeated by Fairy Tail!"
The words slammed through the air like cannon fire.
For the second time, Expedition Island fell into stunned silence.
Then—
"That's impossible!" a Whitebeard pirate shouted. "We must've misheard!"
"No," Ace's voice came calmly through the line. "You heard me right."
"Ace," Marco said seriously, "you can't be joking about this. That's the Beasts Pirates! We've got intelligence that says Kaido's base alone has tens of thousands of soldiers!"
"The numbers aren't the real problem," said Rakyo, the Seventh Division captain. "Kaido's three All-Stars and six Flying Six are the real threat. And don't forget—Warlord Doflamingo allied with him, too!"
Ace chuckled lightly. "I wouldn't joke about this. I can't explain everything through the Den Den Mushi, but Fairy Tail… they're unbelievably strong. They crushed the Beasts Pirates' army without even breaking a sweat. The Flying Six and the Calamities were all defeated—Miss Erza and the others took them down one after another."
He paused briefly, and then his tone deepened.
"And finally, Kaido of the Beasts himself—was completely defeated, one-on-one, by President Sugisawa Yuuto."
"Dad… everyone… Wano Kuni is free now. You can all rest easy."
The line went silent again.
For the third time, Expedition Island was swallowed by a deathly stillness.
Then—
Boom.
Cheers, shouts, disbelief, and roars erupted like thunder across the island.
The news tore through the air, echoing across the New World.
The World Reacts
New World — Totto Land, Big Mom's Territory.
"Hey, what kind of joke is this?!"
"The Beasts Pirates… defeated?!"
"Impossible! That's the Four Emperors we're talking about!"
"In just three days?!"
"That's Kaido's crew! They're as strong as we are!"
"Fairy Tail only has a handful of people—how could they possibly bring down that monster?"
All around the Big Mom Pirates' grand hall, ministers and commanders shouted in disbelief.
"Is this information confirmed, Mondor?" someone demanded. "Could it be fake?!"
The nineteenth son, Mondor, slammed his book shut. "Absolutely confirmed! This came straight from Expedition Island's observers—and from earlier intelligence reports. It's official: the Beasts Pirates have fallen!"
"Worororororo… serves you right, Kaido!" Charlotte Linlin, Big Mom herself, cackled coldly. "If you'd just allied with me when you had the chance, maybe you'd still be alive!"
"Mom…" murmured Smoothie, hesitant.
She didn't say it aloud, but even she knew—the alliance wouldn't have saved him.
Fairy Tail had arrived too fast, too decisively.
No one—not even the Big Mom Pirates—could have reached Wano Kuni in time to intervene.
New World — Pirate Island, Hive City
The infamous den of criminals was swarming with ships. Pirates from every corner of the sea had gathered, drawn by a single goal: the massive underground bounty placed on Fairy Tail's heads.
But suddenly—
A wave of panic swept the city.
"Oi! You've gotta be joking!"
"Fairy Tail defeated the Beasts Pirates?!"
"That's impossible!"
"If they'd fought with Whitebeard, maybe! But alone?!"
"They're just a dozen people! Kaido ruled the seas for decades!"
"Are you saying Fairy Tail is stronger than the Beasts Pirates themselves?!"
The uproar grew into chaos as word spread from port to port.
The same pirates who had come to hunt Fairy Tail now looked at one another in fear.
If even Kaido had fallen, what chance did they have?
"Shut your mouths!"
A deafening roar silenced the streets.
It came from Captain Ochoku, leader of the Five Peaks.
"You cowards! What are you panicking for?! You really believe such ridiculous rumors?!"
He slammed his sword into the ground, glaring around.
"Fairy Tail's just a small guild of a few freaks—how could they possibly defeat tens of thousands of Beasts Pirates?!"
"And Kaido—the so-called strongest creature on land, sea, and air—doesn't fall that easily!"
"This is fake news, obviously! Stop trembling like fools!"
His words steadied the mob a little.
The leaders of the dark underworld followed his lead, trying to calm their shaken men.
But before the tension could settle—
A blood-curdling scream tore through the streets.
"AAAHHHHH!"
"W-what the hell—?!"
Two figures stepped calmly into view—a man and a woman, their presence crushing.
"Who are you?!" Ochoku barked.
The man smiled faintly. "So you're the ones plotting against Fairy Tail?"
It was Gildarts, Fairy Tail's top S-Class mage.
"So what if we are?" Ochoku growled. "You came here for them too, didn't you?"
"Oh, I did come for Fairy Tail," Gildarts said softly—then planted one hand on the ground.
The air around him crackled. The earth itself began to tremble.
"This lawless island… even if it disappears, that's fine by me."
Super-Advanced Destruction Magic: SMASH!!!
The explosion tore through Hive City, shaking the New World once more—
and announcing to the seas that the age of the Beasts Pirates was truly over.