"Have you heard?"
"CP9's only survivor, Shi Hu Klin, just returned from the New World to the Grand Line!"
"That monster? When CP9 was wiped out at the South Blue entrance of the Grand Line, he was the only one who wasn't there."
"They say he's as strong as a demon. Why didn't the Marines send him to stop Sharn's crew in the first place?"
"Sharn Pirates? You mean that Dragon-something crew? The Navy's been avoiding using their name lately—they don't want his infamy to spread further."
The bar fell into hushed, uneasy murmurs. They were speaking about Klin, known as the Lion-Tiger Beast, the strongest member of CP9. He possessed the Cat–Cat Fruit, Ancient Model: Lion-Tiger Form, and his strength was said to rival monsters.
"What kind of mission could be so important?"
"Shut up! Talking about CP9 will get you killed!"
"But I heard they're escorting a Devil Fruit…"
"Yeah, a big one. The Marines are gathering forces, moving rare fruits to build an army."
At the mention of Devil Fruits, everyone's expressions changed. Those who had seen such powers before knew they weren't to be spoken of lightly.
Behind the bar, Sharn had been quietly listening. Finally, he spoke.
"Their Devil Fruit stockpile?" He smirked. "Don't joke. Everyone knows who the real owners are."
The chatter died instantly. Faces went pale.
Of course they knew. The only ones who treated Devil Fruits as playthings, forcing slaves to eat them for amusement, were the Celestial Dragons.
Sharn could say it. They couldn't.
He flicked a few perfect gold coins across the counter. "Check, please."
The bartender snatched them up without a word.
"A bunch of cowards," Sharn muttered. "Too scared to live, too weak to die. Dogs on a leash."
Kaido, half-asleep from drink, suddenly stirred and cracked his neck.
"Guhahaha… thought I heard something interesting. Turns out it's just a pack of clowns."
He picked up his kanabo. "Might as well put them out of their misery."
Before anyone could react—
BOOM!
Lightning flashed.
"Thunder Bagua!"
Kaido tore through the room like a storm, his blows echoing like cannon fire. In seconds, more than twenty agents lay broken across the floor. The bar fell silent but for the groans of the dying.
He slammed his kanabo down, glaring at the trembling bartender.
"Tell your boss this—we're not your pawns. Next time, send someone worth killing."
The man stammered, "Y-Yes! I'll tell him!" and turned to flee—
—but a bottle wreathed in Armament Haki smashed against his skull, knocking him out cold.
Sharn dusted his hands. "Why bother with messengers? Let their masters come find me. I'll be waiting."
Kaido clenched his teeth. He had seen through the trap first—yet Sharn had stolen his moment again.
"Damn it…"
The bar collapsed in flames as they walked out.
"Ready your gear," Sharn said. "We're taking a walk through the desert."
Outside, people scattered in terror.
"Is that… the Tyrant Sharn and Kaido? They just demolished the tavern after dinner!"
"They're as awful as the rumors say!"
Sharn ignored the whispers. He followed the markings on the ancient map toward their next destination.
Kaido stomped behind him, silent but fuming.
"What, you feel sorry for that bartender?" Sharn mocked. "You'd better start locking up all the pirates you defeat. One day they'll come back for you."
Kaido glared.
Sharn continued, his voice low but sharp. "Look at Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, Whitebeard, Roger—they defeated countless foes, but didn't kill most of them. And when those men escaped from Impel Down, when they came back for revenge… look what happened."
He remembered Zephyr's family's death.
He remembered how Kaido himself had once been captured, beaten, and imprisoned by the Marines.
Even Big Mom had fallen to pirates she once mocked.
Some people could never submit. They either bided their time—or died trying.
"Rocks understood that," Sharn said. "He didn't care. I understand it too. That's why I only keep the useful ones."
"You're insane," Kaido muttered, but he couldn't shake the truth in the words.
They trudged deeper into the desert. The sun blazed, but neither seemed to mind. For Sharn's crew—two Zoan users, both resistant to heat—it was nothing more than a stroll.
They rested at a few oases before continuing, until the third morning when Sharn suddenly broke into a run.
"There it is!"
He stopped before a half-buried monument, covered in ancient inscriptions and swallowed by sand.
Kaido's eyes widened. "He actually found it…"
He had begun to doubt his own suspicions. If Sharn were not Rocks, how could he possibly know the location of a site even the world government had erased from history?
Sharn brushed the sand away from the stone tablet. Behind it, a collapsed passage hinted at a royal tomb.
Olvia gasped as she traced the inscriptions.
"We are the ones who recorded history. If you have found this place, then perhaps you will believe our words… The treasure of eight hundred years—may it awaken the truth."
"What…?" Kaido's throat tightened. The message felt like fire in his chest.
Olvia quickly took a rubbing of the ancient text.
"Let me clear it," said Molly, gripping her massive trident. She thrust it into the sand.
The ground trembled as the dunes split apart, revealing a buried stairway leading into the depths below.
Everyone stood frozen in awe.
They had found it—
The resting place of an eight-hundred-year-old secret.
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