ONE PIECE: KAIDO'S SON

"How is that possible?"

If King's words had sparked doubt, then Kaido's public and unreserved admission sent a seismic wave of disbelief through the Beasts Pirates.

Kings are proud.

Especially the strongest creature in the world — a Yonko who has singlehandedly challenged Marine Headquarters and the other Four Emperors without fear.

For such a monster to admit defeat — even indirectly — was unimaginable.

"Kaido-san, that's not funny at all!" Queen stammered, trying to recover from his shock, forcing a nervous grin.

"There's no one stronger than you, Kaido-san! That's absurd!"

"That's right!" Jack barked in defiance, rage flaring in his eyes. "Even if I questioned Ragnar's qualifications just now, I never doubted you!"

Jack was fiercely loyal — a man who had assaulted Zou and defied Marine Admirals under Kaido's orders. The kind of subordinate who would throw himself at an enemy fleet without hesitation.

"Why not?" Kaido's deep voice rolled out like thunder from atop the skull dome of Onigashima. His gaze swept across the shocked faces below.

"My son, Ragnar, has the potential to surpass me. He has the potential… to become Pirate King."

His voice echoed through the floating island.

The words crashed over the crowd like a shockwave of Conqueror's Haki.

Pirate King?!

King's pupils contracted. The idea hit him like a bolt of lightning. He had once believed Kaido was Joy Boy, the chosen one.

He opened his mouth to refute it—

But then his mind replayed the scenes he had just witnessed.

Ragnar's Advanced Conqueror's Haki — something even most Yonko had not mastered.

His armored skin, tougher than Kaido's famed durability.

And his youth… he was still a boy.

All of it left King speechless. He lowered his eyes.

"Where in the world… did Kaido-sama bring this monster from?" Queen muttered, staring at Ragnar — the black-haired youth who now stood at the center of the battlefield, unconsciously becoming the axis of the Beast Pirates.

Queen's mind began racing. He hadn't been serious about fatherhood before — but now, having such a son seemed like a miracle.

"Impossible… this is impossible!" Jack roared. "Only Kaido-sama can become Pirate King!"

His anger was real. Sincere. Burning.

"I accept Ragnar… as the True Lord of the Beasts. But as Pirate King?" Jack growled, drawing two curved Shotel-style blades from his sides, the glint of steel flashing in the moonlight.

"That title belongs to Kaido-sama, and I'll prove it right now!"

With a burst of enhanced Zoan speed, Jack lunged forward, his blades aiming directly for Ragnar's throat.

He didn't just want to test him — he wanted to prove the world wrong.

"Jack! Stand down!" a sharp voice snapped.

Ulti, staggering from the earlier clash, her forehead still bleeding, stood with shaky legs and a fiery gaze.

"This is my fight! Don't interfere!"

She wasn't aiming for promotion like Who's Who or Sasaki — but she wasn't about to be overshadowed by Jack, either. Especially not the least refined of the All-Stars.

"Back off, brute!"

If words could drive Jack off, he wouldn't be Jack the Drought.

He had no time or patience for subordinate squabbles. As far as he was concerned, Ulti was already an obstacle.

"Move aside!" he barked, stepping forward, ignoring her completely.

"You bastard—!"

Ulti's furious retort was cut off by a sudden rumble behind her — not of footsteps, but something more primal.

A thunderclap.

"What...?!"

Ulti's face twisted in alarm as she abruptly turned her head. What she saw left her breathless: Ragnar's eyes sparked with electric ferocity, arcs of radiant blue lightning slithering like serpents around his outstretched fingers.

"Palm Thunder!"

The moment she turned, Ragnar thrust his right hand forward.

BOOM!!

Five colossal bolts of white lightning exploded outward like divine spears thrown by Enel himself, tearing into Ulti's back with blinding force. Their sheer voltage contorted her body in midair. The strikes coalesced, fusing into a singular, roaring pillar of lightning that blasted into the sky.

A deafening crack tore through the dark clouds that had loomed over Onigashima since the beginning of the war.

The skies split—sunlight streamed through the rent heavens once more.

Bathed in golden light, Ulti's dinosaur form involuntarily dispelled, reverting her to her base human state. Her body, scorched and twitching, slammed into the battlefield below.

Next to her, Page One lay unconscious, still devastated from the earlier encounter. Now, both of the Tobiroppo siblings were out of commission.

"He can manipulate lightning?!"

"Is it the Goro Goro no Mi? Another Rumble-Rumble Fruit user?!"

"Doubt it. Kaido's obsessed with Mythical Zoans, not Logias. There's no way he'd let his own son eat a fruit that doesn't toughen the body."

The murmurs spread like wildfire across the Beasts Pirates' ranks. Confusion, awe, and fear danced across their faces as they tried to make sense of the raw, elemental destruction they'd just witnessed.

Ragnar stood tall, unbothered, his hand still crackling with residual arcs of thunder. His gaze swept across the crowd—and then jumped.

Straight to the Three Calamities.

Specifically… to Jack the Drought, who was already stomping forward.

"Next," Ragnar said coldly.

The word crashed like a hammer across the battlefield.

"You bastard!"

Fukurokuju gritted his teeth in the shadows while Fukurokuju's ally, Who's-Who, snarled in frustration.

"You're just going to ignore the rest of us Tobi Roppo?!"

"You think only the Three Calamities matter?!"

Who's-Who had always despised the hierarchy in the crew. In his eyes, being passed over for promotion while the younger, brutish Jack became one of the Calamities was nothing more than Kaido playing favorites.

But even as he seethed with jealousy, his anger gave way to fear.

Ulti and Page One—both renowned for their resilience, both Zoan users—had been effortlessly dismantled.

He gulped.

Ragnar wasn't just some spoiled heir—he was a monster worthy of the title Beast Prince.