Akainu searched every corner of the island, but still found nothing.
Meanwhile, the Marine fleet in the distance finally arrived.
As twenty warships landed directly on the shore, Marines disembarked in an orderly formation.
Once all the soldiers were on land, two neat aisles naturally formed on either side.
Kaos and Esdeath stepped forward, walking calmly through the path formed by the troops.
Just as they descended, Akainu approached from a distance, holding Kaido's severed head in his hand. He dropped to one knee and presented the head.
"Your Highness Kaos, I have fulfilled your expectations. Kaido is dead, along with one of his Three Calamities, Jack."
Akainu's eyes were filled with anticipation as he reported.
However, Esdeath and Stussy, standing to the side, gave him a cold look.
If Esdeath hadn't gravely wounded Kaido beforehand, there was no way Akainu could've killed him alone. Now he had the nerve to shamelessly show up and claim credit.
Kaos, of course, understood all of this, but he cared more about the outcome than the process.
"Well done."
In front of so many Marines, Kaos gave Akainu some praise. After all, he needed to win hearts and minds. On this kind of occasion, a few kind words were necessary.
Sure enough, Akainu beamed with pride, and the surrounding Marines nodded in approval.
To them, Kaos was a leader who rewarded merit and punished failure fairly.
"Have you found the Fish-Fish Fruit yet?"
Kaos asked about the Devil Fruit. Under normal circumstances, when a Devil Fruit user dies, the power will reincarnate into a nearby fruit—usually one in the same area.
Akainu visibly hesitated when Kaos mentioned the Devil Fruit. He answered honestly: "I hadn't found it. Clearly, the fruit hadn't respawned on this island—it must have reappeared elsewhere."
Akainu quickly added that the Devil Fruit most likely resurfaced on a nearby island. If they expanded their search, there was a high chance of recovering it.
Kaos nodded in satisfaction and gave an order to the Ghost Spider.
Ghost Spider immediately assigned 30 men to accompany Kaos, while the rest of the forces fanned out in all directions.
Soon, everyone began searching the surrounding islands for any sign of the Devil Fruit.
Ten hours later, they finally found both Kaido's and Jack's Devil Fruits.
The two fruits were brought directly to Kaos. He glanced at Jack's fruit—it had decent power, but nothing particularly impressive. Kaido's Devil Fruit, on the other hand, was exceptional.
Unfortunately, Kaos didn't yet have a suitable candidate to use it.
He chose to store the Devil Fruit for now, intending to use it when the time was right.
"Stussy, in the entire New World, Charlotte Linlin, among the Four Emperors, has ambitions for expansion and will devour the region and bring it under her family's control."
"This is not the outcome I want."
Kaos understood just how vital the power of belief in the New World was to him.
To harvest that power, the existence of the Four Emperors was essential. If Kaido hadn't provoked him, Kaos would've kept him alive to sow chaos and disrupt the world order. Then, at the right moment, he'd eliminate him.
That method would've granted him a far greater harvest of faith.
Unfortunately, Kaido hadn't played by the rules. Driven by his own delusions, he wanted to challenge the World Government. How foolish.
Still, the situation gave Kaos a chance to send a warning to the rest of the New World—especially to those who secretly plotted against him.
Now that Kaos had acquired the Devil Fruits, he was preparing to leave when Akainu suddenly returned.
Seeing him again, Kaos looked puzzled. Why had he come back?
Was he here to ask for a reward?
Kaos's expression darkened slightly, but he still allowed Akainu inside.
Akainu entered the room, but froze when he saw Kaos's stern face.
Panicking, he assumed he had done something wrong and quickly wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Your Highness Kaos…"
"Sakazuki, what is it?"
Kaos fixed him with a calm but cold stare. Seeing Kaos's poor mood, Akainu became even more cautious.
Taking a deep breath, he said, "Your Highness, we've located some of Kaido's surviving subordinates on the island. Among them is Queen, one of the Three Calamities. Shall we execute him to recover the Devil Fruit he possesses?"
When Kaos heard that Akainu had come to report this matter to him, his expression softened a lot.
"Queen?"
Kaos touched his chin, but Stussy who was beside him thought that Kaos would want the Devil Fruit, then she said: "Don't bother His Highness with these trivial matters."
"Just go down and kill him right now!"
Stussy's personality at this moment was not gentle, and her tone was condescending.
Akainu is a Marine Admiral. At this moment, he was actually being ordered by a woman. He felt a little uncomfortable. However, he also knew that this woman's strength was very powerful — she was also at the Admiral level and directly under the top of the CP department.
He could only swallow the displeasure in his heart and was about to nod his head, and when he was about to go out to deal with Queen's affairs, Kaos suddenly stopped him from the side.
"What's Queen's current condition?"
Kaos stopped Stussy with a gesture and asked calmly.
Akainu was a little confused by the question, but answered truthfully, "Physically, he's fine. But after learning that Kaido and Jack are dead, he lost the will to fight. That's why we were able to capture him so easily."