The celebratory banquet in Wano Country was never something that would end in just a day or two.
Meanwhile, in Udon—behind Tokage Port—lay the former prisoner quarry.
Once, this place had echoed with the anguished cries of forced laborers and the sharp crack of overseers' whips. Now, it was steeped in a suffocating, desolate silence.
Rough stone. Abandoned mine carts. Rusted shackles scattered everywhere.
The remnants of the Beasts Pirates huddled behind crumbling ruins, barely holding themselves together.
Most of them were wounded. Their eyes were hollow. The ferocity they once carried—the brutality of pillaging and slaughter—had completely vanished. All that remained was numb survival after catastrophe… and a directionless dread of what lay ahead.
The news of Kaido's defeat—his fall into the magma—had extinguished the final flicker of resistance in their hearts.
At the center of the quarry—
The "All-Stars," King and Queen—once infamous figures who had struck terror across the New World—now leaned against a cold stone wall, sitting side by side.
Their bodies were wrapped in crude bandages, stained with dried blood, clearly hastily applied with no real treatment behind them.
King's remaining half-wing hung limply, its black feathers disheveled.
Queen's massive frame was scorched in multiple places. His mechanical arm sparked erratically, flickering with unstable electricity. Even his signature sunglasses had one lens shattered.
Despair. Exhaustion. Frustration. Rage…
All of it fermented thickly in the stagnant air.
"King…"
Queen's hoarse voice broke the suffocating silence. The fingers of his mechanical arm absentmindedly scraped against the rocky ground.
"Captain… Kaido… he… is he really…"
He couldn't finish the sentence—but the meaning was painfully clear.
Deep within the magma… there had been no sign. Not even a trace of that blazing, overwhelming Haki remained.
"Shut up, Queen!!!"
King suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot as he snapped.
"Kaido-san may lose—but he will never die!"
"He's the 'strongest creature in the world'! The strongest!! A monster who has crawled back from the brink of death countless times!"
"Back then, even Whitebeard's quakes and Oden's slashes couldn't kill him!"
"And now you're telling me… some brat who just awakened—Straw Hat—could… could actually…"
His words were sharp, resolute—like iron.
But by the end, even he could hear it—the faint tremor in his own conviction.
Queen clenched his teeth, the fat on his face twitching.
"But… King! I can't feel the captain's Haki anymore!"
"Not even a trace! And look at this place—no proper doctors, no medicine!"
"Those brats outside are still celebrating who knows how long—what if they suddenly decide to clean us up next?!"
"If we slip out quietly through Tokage Port now… we might still make it!"
"The New World is huge—if it's us, we can—"
"Impossible!"
King growled low, struggling to stand—only to wrench his wounds and grunt in pain.
"I will never abandon Kaido-san and run!"
"This land—this country—it was conquered by him!"
"If you want to leave, then go alone—"
Before he could finish—
Both their bodies jerked violently.
Not from any physical impact—
But from the frenzied warning of Observation Haki at the highest level.
A presence—indescribable.
Cold. Heavy. Boundless… and filled with overwhelming authority.
It was approaching… slowly… from the quarry entrance.
This aura…
It surpassed even Kaido in his wounded state.
No—
It was deeper, more dangerous—even compared to Kaido at his peak.
King and Queen snapped their heads toward the dim entrance almost simultaneously, their gazes locking onto it.
Dust stirred faintly.
A figure emerged, backlit by the faint light spilling in from outside.
A tall frame.
A long blade wrapped at the waist in white cloth.
A face so calm… it sent chills down the spine.
And—
In his hands…
He was dragging two people.
The moment King saw clearly who those barely-breathing figures were—figures he could never mistake—
His pupils shrank to pinpoints.
Queen's mouth fell open, his entire body freezing stiff.
"Th-that man…" King's voice was dry, like sand scraping against stone. "How is this… possible…"
"Hey—King!!!"
Queen's voice shot up uncontrollably, cracking with terror and disbelief.
"Th-that's Red Hair, right?! It's him, isn't it?!"
"And… the one next to him… dressed in green… could that be…"
What they were witnessing—
Was even more soul-shaking than Kaido's defeat and fall into magma.
It shattered their very understanding of the world.
Fleet Admiral—"Heavenquake"—Gern Reginald Sigmar.
Dragging—
In one hand, one of the Four Emperors—Red-Haired Shanks.
In the other, the leader of the Revolutionary Army—Monkey D. Dragon.
Like prey.
Like captured beasts.
And he had brought them here—
To the final hiding place of the Beasts Pirates.
The impact of that sight was far more direct… far more horrifying than hearing of Kaido's loss.
Those were the pinnacle of power on this sea.
And yet—
Reduced to this?!
Gern paid no attention to the ghost-stricken expressions of the two All-Stars, nor to the suffocating silence that had swallowed the quarry, broken only by suppressed gasps and trembling breaths.
He simply dragged the two figures forward and stopped at a measured distance from King and Queen.
His calm gaze swept across the ruined quarry… the terrified pirates cowering within it.
Then—
A "gentle" smile appeared on his face.
"Sorry to bother you," Gern said casually. "Could you tell me how to get to the Flower Capital from here?"
He paused, then added with mild helplessness:
"I finally made it up from Tokage Port, but the people around here…"
"…don't seem to recognize Marines very well. Asking for directions has been… difficult."
The words nearly caused King and Queen's minds to crash.
Directions?
To the Flower Capital?
At a time like this?
In this situation?!
Before they could even process the absurdity—
Gern seemed to recall something.
He shifted slightly, gesturing toward the two people he was dragging.
His smile deepened, his tone light—like he was heading to meet old friends.
"Oh, right. I almost forgot to mention."
"I'm here to celebrate Straw Hat."
"See? I even brought a 'gift.'"
...
At that moment, something flashed through King's mind.
Ignoring Queen's desperate tugging, he slowly stood up, staring straight at Gern.
"I'll take you there."
His voice echoed through the dead-silent quarry.
Calm.
Resigned.
Yet more powerful than any roar.
Queen grabbed at his tattered clothing, his voice trembling.
"King! Have you lost your mind?!"
But King didn't respond.
Gern's smile didn't change in the slightest. He merely tilted his head.
"Oh?"
"You'll guide me? Interesting."
His gaze swept over King's crude bandages and broken wing.
"But in your condition… can you still walk?"
"To the Flower Capital… it's enough."
King shook off Queen's grip and staggered forward. His body swayed—but he managed to steady himself.
He knew—
This was a road leading to the end.
Whether that end came at the hands of the unfathomable Fleet Admiral before him…
Or at the celebration in the Flower Capital—a place that no longer belonged to them.
But just as he had said—
Rather than waiting here in despair like a stray dog…
Or being effortlessly captured—
He would rather end things this way.
For the Beasts Pirates.
For the years he had followed Kaido.
To bring it all to a close.
Queen collapsed back onto the ground, staring at King's back. His mouth opened—
But no words came out.
"…King…"
"Queen. Let's go."
"…After all, the moment that man appeared here…"
"…Wano Country was destined to belong to the Marines."