As for Heraclesun, he didn't mind at all. Life on the Amplification Islands was dull anyway, so he figured he might as well teach that kid, Usopp, a thing or two.
When Luffy first saw Heraclesun, his eyes sparkled like a child's. Without hesitation, he invited the man to join their crew.
To Luffy, a rhinoceros beetle was nearly as sacred as the title of Pirate King itself.
In fact, in the original story, when Usopp once asked Luffy which was more important—the rhinoceros beetle or becoming the Pirate King—Luffy actually hesitated.
That alone spoke volumes about the beetle's status in Luffy's heart.
But Heraclesun refused the offer instantly, not even giving it a second thought.
"I'm not interested in being a pirate," he said flatly.
Luffy froze, mouth open, processing the rejection. It took him a good few moments before his brain caught up.
Kaoru Tsubasa, meanwhile, instructed everyone on how to use the virtual space properly, then withdrew from it himself.
"Time to settle some unfinished business," he muttered.
Kaoru stood atop a floating cliff, his gaze fixed on the distance.
Beyond the clouds and mist rose the scarlet expanse of the Red Earth Continent—and on it, the Holy Land of Mariejois.
He wasn't looking there without reason. A faint red dot blinked on the tracker bracelet around his wrist—one he'd secretly placed on Gado during their last encounter in Redoria.
His tracking ability didn't rely on any physical beacon; with a single thought, he could mark his target. And now, that glowing mark pulsed inside Mariejois itself.
"So… you're hiding there, huh?"
Kaoru adjusted his cloak and mask, both pure white—the attire he used whenever acting as the system's silent executor.
This mission wasn't about the Celestial Dragons, Imu, or the Five Elders. Those enemies were for Luffy to face in due time.
Kaoru's goal tonight was clear: deal with the Ten Commandments and the Demon King pulling their strings.
He activated his flight module and streaked toward the Holy Land like a streak of silver light cutting across the clouds.
Upon arrival, he summoned the Shadow Legion, commanding them to infiltrate Mariejois through the portals of the Kingdom of Shadows.
"The next member of the Ten Commandments should be arriving soon…"
Crouched between blooming flowerbeds, Gado muttered under his breath.
The reason he hadn't gone after Kaoru these past few days was because the summoning of the next Commandment was imminent. His duty was to guard this location until the arrival was complete.
"I see. So the next Commandment is about to descend, huh?"
A voice whispered directly into Gado's ear.
"Who's there?!"
He shot to his feet instantly, heart pounding, scanning the area. For a moment, he suspected that Imu had made a move against him. But no—the voice was male, steady, and unfamiliar.
Nothing moved around him.
What Gado didn't notice, however, was the shadow beneath his feet shifting unnaturally—rippling, like dark water disturbed by wind.
Then a head emerged silently from within the blackness.
Before he could react, shadow soldiers surged upward like a tide, dragging him down.
"What—?! What is this place?!"
When Gado regained his senses, he found himself surrounded by countless dark figures, each radiating a strange, monstrous aura.
For a fleeting moment, he realized with irony that he might be considered the monster here.
"Long time no see, Gado," a voice echoed.
Kaoru Tsubasa stepped forward, pulling off his mask. His expression was calm, but his eyes glinted sharply. "Well… it hasn't been that long, has it?"
"You…" Gado's eyes narrowed. "You actually dared to show yourself here? Aren't you afraid of the Demon King finding out?"
His initial fear faded the moment he recognized Kaoru. After all, he had already seen Kaoru's peak power before—barely a Dou Level 100,000. In contrast, with his critical breakthrough, Gado could reach Dou Level 130,000.
He felt confident.
"I didn't come here to chat," Kaoru said flatly. "Just tell me—where is the Demon King?"
His tone carried no warmth. He wanted to finish this quickly, to resolve the threat while Luffy and the others were still in training.
Even with Kaido's guidance, their strength would peak around Level Four—the limit of this world's power. Unless Kaoru forcibly enhanced them using system energy, they couldn't surpass that boundary.
"Ha! You think you can meet the Demon King?" Gado sneered. "Keep dreaming."
Without hesitation, he activated critical breakthrough, his energy flaring violently as his fighting level spiked to 130,000.
Kaoru glanced at his system panel.
[Target Combat Power: Level 5.3]
A faint smile tugged at his lips. "Refuse a toast, and you'll drink punishment instead."
With a flick of his wrist, a shimmering card materialized in his hand.
[Nascent Soul Cultivation — One-Hour Trial Card]
"Use," Kaoru commanded.
The card dissolved into a stream of golden light, merging into his body.
A suffocating pressure exploded outward. The air warped. The Shadow Kingdom trembled.
"What… what is this power?!" Gado staggered back, face pale. "Impossible! No human should have this kind of energy!"
Kaoru said nothing. He merely checked his status again.
[Current Level: 8.8]
The very fabric of the Shadow Kingdom began to crack around them, unable to withstand the overwhelming spiritual force radiating from Kaoru.
With a sharp sound—crack… crack…—the darkness shattered like glass.
Realizing the realm was collapsing, Kaoru seized Gado by the throat and tore open a rift in space.
In the blink of an eye, they vanished.
When the distortion faded, they were standing in a vast, endless void filled with distant stars.
Gado's body trembled. "W-Where… is this place?"
Kaoru looked around slowly, his eyes reflecting the starlight. "So this is the space beyond the world…"
This wasn't anywhere within the One Piece world.
It was the expanse outside it — a boundless cosmic ocean connecting countless other realities.
Each world floated like a bubble. Yet, as Kaoru noticed, almost every world was shrouded in dead, ashen gray—lifeless and hollow.
Only one remained vibrant and alive: the One Piece world.
He understood instantly.
Those gray worlds were the ones conquered by demons. Once taken, their World Cores—the sources of their life energy—were stolen away.
Kaoru had read about it in a forbidden tome called the Encyclopedia of Other Dimensions.
The World Core was the foundation of every realm, the source that sustained all existence. Living beings drew energy from it while alive, and upon death, their essence returned to the Core—keeping the cycle of life intact.
Without the Core, that energy scattered into the void. The world would wither, unable to sustain itself.
And if the energy drifted into another realm, it could even feed that world's Core instead.
But here, Kaoru could sense no such transference.
Every gray world around him was silent—its energy lost forever, dissolved into the endless emptiness of the void.