“Kid, your Haki has improved again.
Rotting away in this godforsaken place is such a waste of talent.
Do you want to come with me?”
The cold wind blowing through the corridor stopped abruptly, and even the clamor from the distant slums seemed to be choked off by an invisible giant hand.
Lucas felt as if a giant dragon was watching him.
He slowly turned around.
Kaido was standing three steps behind him, his massive frame casting a huge shadow, and an invisible aura erupted from within him.
Lucas’s back was instantly soaked in cold sweat.
He straightened his back, met those eyes like an abyss, and said in a tone neither humble nor arrogant:
“Thank you for your kindness.
But being under the protection of a major power is not conducive to my growth, so please forgive me for declining.”
As he said this, his legs were already tensed to the limit, all his Haki was circulating wildly within his body, and Soru was ready to be unleashed.
He knew that all of this was in vain.
In front of Kaido, his speed was no different from a snail’s.
If Kaido really wanted to make a move, he wouldn’t even have a chance to react.
Even so, he would never sit and wait for death.
“Don’t hurt him!”
A crisp, urgent shout rang out, and Yamato rushed forward, using her petite body to firmly block in front of Lucas, who was two heads taller than her.
She tilted her little face up, her eyes firm, and the small red horns on her head trembled slightly with anger.
Kaido’s brows furrowed, and a trace of obvious displeasure flashed in the depths of his eyes.
His own daughter was actually siding with an outsider so thoroughly.
But in the end, he suppressed that surging murderous intent.
His gaze passed over Yamato and landed back on Lucas, who was on guard, with a bit more scrutiny in his eyes, and he withdrew his Conqueror’s Haki.
Users of Haoshoku infusion can smell the aura of their own kind, even if the other party hasn’t fully mastered this power yet.
The first time he saw this kid, he had sensed that unruly Haoshoku, that arrogance, that unyielding ruthlessness, which was exactly the same as himself when he was young.
Lucas’s special constitution made him feel a rare appreciation for talent.
Most importantly, he had deliberately targeted the other party with his Haoshoku, increasing the intensity each time, and the other party had managed to barely endure it every time.
Otherwise, just for the audacity of this kid daring to fool his daughter, he would have already smashed him into a pulp with one blow of his club.
Armament Haki and Observation Haki can always be trained if one is willing to put in the hard work.
But Haoshoku and a special constitution, if you don’t have it, you don’t have it.
This is a gift destined by heaven, and also an admission ticket for the strong.
“When choosing a Devil Fruit, keep your eyes peeled.
Don’t pick up those pieces of trash.”
Kaido’s voice still rumbled like muffled thunder, but with less killing intent and more of a warning.
“Work hard to get stronger.
I’ll be waiting for you in Wano Country.”
His body expanded rapidly, transforming into a blue giant dragon that blocked out the sky and sun.
With a gentle scoop of his dragon claw, he firmly grabbed Yamato in his palm.
“Dad!
I haven’t said goodbye to Brother Lucas yet!”
Yamato’s protests were swallowed by the whistling wind.
The blue dragon swung its massive tail, stepped on the blazing flame clouds, soared upwards, and disappeared into the thick clouds in the blink of an eye.
Not until that suffocating sense of oppression completely dissipated did Lucas let out a sharp breath, stagger back a step, and lean against the cold railing.
His palms were covered in cold sweat, and his heart was still beating wildly.
It is said among the people that Whitebeard, just by standing there, can make ninety-nine percent of pirates surrender without a fight.
But who would have known that the aura emanating from Kaido was equally impressive.
Compared to a monster of this level, he himself was indeed still a newbie who hadn’t even left the starter village.
Lucas took a deep breath, suppressing the waves in his heart.
He raised his head, his gaze cold as he looked at Kurozumi Higurashi, who was slowly walking out of the Japanese-style room.
“I’m going to kill Roberts.
You won’t interfere, will you?”
“Please do as you please.”
Kurozumi Higurashi bowed slightly, her smile full of undisguised snobbery,
“I am now a member of the Beasts Pirates.
The affairs of the Country of Wild have nothing to do with me.”
As for that Golden Lion Shiki who had once taken care of him back then?
Since breaking out of Impel Down, there had been no news of him, and no one knew whether he was dead or alive.
Only a fool would cling to a dead tree.
Those who recognize the times are wise; that is an unchanging truth in the underworld.
Lucas sneered, turned around, and strode towards the main hall of the Shogun’s mansion.
At the top of the Shogun’s mansion’s attic.
An old man with gray hair but a still-straight back was standing by the railing.
His name was Roberts, and he was sixty-two years old this year.
He was the acting leader of the Flying Group and the nominal ruler of the Country of Wild today.
The wind blew his gray hair, revealing the crisscrossing scars on his face.
Every scar witnessed the glory of his days following Golden Lion Shiki in battles across the seas.
He was once an elder of the Flying Group and an elder of the Flying Pirates, having witnessed with his own eyes how that man had single-handedly stirred up the entire ocean.
Unfortunately, the glory had long since passed.
Ever since Golden Lion had single-handedly stormed Marineford and was sent to Impel Down by Garp and Sengoku, the once arrogant Flying Pirates had met with a catastrophe.
Magnetism does not disappear.
Even Sky Island, far above the clouds, would still be accurately pointed to by a Log Pose.
The thing the World Government lacks the least is manpower and material resources.
The Flying Pirates, having lost the protection of their Captain, were crushed like ants under the encirclement and suppression of the World Government.
All high-ranking officers were publicly executed, and their blood stained the plaza of Marineford red.
Only Roberts, this old guy with mediocre aptitude who had only been a minor officer after decades in the crew, managed to survive by feigning death, and fled back to the Country of Wild like a stray dog.
This world is just so ironic.
Those gifted and battle-hardened elites all died on the battlefield one by one.
Instead, he, a mediocre person with no real ability who only knew how to live by clinging to life, ended up living to the end and, by some twist of fate, became the ruler of a country.
Armament Haki and Observation Haki can theoretically be cultivated by anyone.
But talent is something that has always been the most unfair.
Roberts had practiced Haki for fifty years, and in the end, he was only at the level of an ordinary officer in the Flying Pirates.
Yet even with this meager strength, in the current Country of Wild where talent is scarce, he was already an undisputed top-tier combatant.
He looked down at the dilapidated land beneath his feet, a flash of complex emotion in his murky eyes.
“What was meant to come has finally arrived.”