Chapter 10: The Judgment of Onigashima
The battle for Wano Country had ascended to a mythological scale. On the ravaged rooftop of Onigashima, Monkey D. Luffy and Kaidou, the strongest creature alive, were exchanging blows that ripped the very clouds apart. Luffy, pushed beyond his physical limits, was fighting with a joyous, desperate tenacity, his Haki blazing like a supernova.
Kaidou, in his majestic, serpentine form, roared, bringing down a thunderous, Haki-infused club strike. Luffy met it with a Gear Fourth punch, the shockwave lighting up the night sky in a brilliant display of willpower.
Then, everything stopped.
Not because of exhaustion, but because of a presence so profound, so utterly ancient, that the very act of fighting seemed absurd.
A shadow fell over the floating island, blotting out the stars and even the fiery glow from the burning skull beneath them. The air, already thick with the weight of two Emperors' Haki, suddenly solidified, becoming utterly silent.
Kaidou, mid-roar, felt a searing, paralyzing pain course through his magnificent dragon body. It was an internal pressure, a violation of his biological sanctity that made his scales, his ultimate defense, feel utterly useless. He crashed down onto the stone, writhing, his monstrous power temporarily rendered inert.
Luffy, suspended in the air ready to attack, suddenly felt his rubber body go limp. His Haki, which moments before had felt like a limitless inferno, was suppressed, not by negation, but by pure, unadulterated authority.
Looking up, both combatants saw it: the Crimson Monolith, Kelean's self-made vessel, had punched through the atmospheric defenses of Wano and hovered directly above Onigashima. It was a looming, black monument of solidified iron, bleeding a gentle, cold red light.
Standing on the deck, outlined against the terrifying shadow, was Monkey D. Kelean. He descended slowly, suspended on a pillar of condensed, crimson air, landing softly between the defeated Kaidou and the paralyzed Luffy.
"The distractions have gathered," Kelean announced, his voice carrying no echo, yet reaching every ear in Wano. He did not look at the chaos, the armies fighting below, or the crippled Emperor. His full, devastating focus was entirely on the straw hat boy.
Kaidou managed a guttural, panicked noise. "Who… who are you? What kind of Devil Fruit… I can't move my blood!"
Kelean glanced down at the Emperor of the Sea, treating him like an annoying insect. "You are merely a tool, forged in this weak era to enforce the chaos that distracts the world. You are strong, but your strength is meaningless against the original law."
Kelean then turned to Luffy. The boy was lying on the ground, struggling to move, his eyes wide, yet still burning with an unbroken fire.
"You are Monkey D. Luffy," Kelean stated. "You are the great-grandson of Garp, the son of Dragon, and the heir to the boundless Will of D. I have come from eight centuries of silence to judge your claim."
Luffy, though crushed by the presence, managed to snarl. "Who… are you to judge me? Get out of the way! I have to kick his ass!"
The defiance was immediate, pure, and utterly lacking in fear. Kelean's face, which had been set in ancient disappointment, suddenly flickered with a strange, fierce pride.
"Your father, Dragon, called your freedom 'ridiculous,'" Kelean said. "Your great-grandfather, Garp, called your path 'chaotic.' They sought to limit the Dawn with strategy and compromise. I sought to understand if the lineage had been rendered permanently weak by the world's suppression."
He stepped over Kaidou, who whimpered softly as the Ancestor's shadow passed over him. Kelean towered over Luffy, whose small, struggling frame was a stark contrast to the ancient power above him.
Kelean raised his hand. The massive, swirling, red Haki that coated his fist was not an offensive weapon; it was a demonstration, a concentrated pillar of the original power.
"Your Haki is thin, boy," Kelean stated, his voice ringing with judgment. "You barely scratch the surface of the world's original strength. But your will…"
Kelean paused, his amber eyes seeing not just Luffy, but the long, unbroken line of D.'s who had kept the flame alive.
"Your will is the only thing I have seen in eight hundred years that is truly boundless. You do not fight for territory, for revenge, or even for history. You fight for the simple, absolute right to move freely."
Kelean dropped his hand. The crushing pressure on Luffy and Kaidou immediately dissipated. Kaidou lay gasping, utterly defeated without a single aggressive action taken against him.
Luffy immediately shot to his feet, ignoring the agony of his previous injuries, and pointed a quivering finger at Kelean. "Don't mess up my fight! If you're going to help, help. If not, get lost! I'm going to be the King of the Pirates!"
Kelean gave a small, genuine smile—the first true softening of his expression since his awakening.
"The King of the Pirates," Kelean mused. "A title invented by a man who refused the final burden. You will not be King, descendant. You will be the Dawn. Now, finish your distraction. I will ensure no other interference reaches you. Show me the quality of the life you intend to save."
Kelean turned his back on the final fight and walked to the edge of the rooftop. He raised his hands, and the Crimson Monolith above him began to glow. He was now the ultimate barrier, using the raw, overwhelming force of his Blood-Blood Fruit to suppress every Marine, World Government agent, and secondary Yonko power that might attempt to intervene in Luffy's final, sacred battle.
The Founder had made his judgment: the current champion was worthy.
This moment changes everything. Kelean has not only defeated Kaidou passively but has officially sanctioned Luffy as the true heir.