The benefits Dæmon gained from devouring a Sea King were far greater than what he had received from devouring “Dismemberer” Munro.
His muscles burned as his physical strength increased at an astonishing rate.
“This feels incredible!” The Sea King’s immense life force nearly forced Dæmon to awaken Armament Haki on the spot.
The newly awakened power overflowed uncontrollably from within him.
Following his instincts, Dæmon tried to concentrate the Haki around his right fist.
When he looked up, Kaido had already charged into the swarm of Sea Kings and was fighting more than ten of them at once.
No, there were far more than ten.
One enormous creature after another emerged from beneath the sea.
Every Sea King was gigantic.
In comparison, Kaido appeared no larger than an ant.
Surrounded by the flesh and blood of those colossal creatures, Dæmon grinned as excitement surged through him.
“I’m coming to help!” He roared and leaped into the air.
The force of his jump caused a massive wave to erupt beneath his feet.
Dæmon shot forward like a cannonball and appeared in front of another Sea King’s head.
He threw a single punch.
His newly awakened Armament Haki struck the creature directly, but most of the force came from Dæmon’s raw physical strength.
Boom!
The tremendous impact left the Sea King dazed and seeing stars.
Its enormous body arched backward before crashing heavily into another creature.
Kaido turned and stared at the scene in disbelief.
“Didn’t you say you were an ordinary person?” What kind of ordinary person could knock down a Sea King with a single punch?
Dæmon’s Armament Haki was still weak.
That meant he had relied almost entirely on physical strength.
Such monstrous power was comparable to Charlotte Linlin’s natural strength.
“Don’t worry about the details!” Dæmon laughed heartily.
This was what it felt like to possess overwhelming power!
He had devoured a pirate the previous night and a Sea King today.
At this point, Dæmon felt almost overfed and desperately needed to release the excess energy surging through his body.
“Worororo!
Let’s have a competition, Dæmon!” Kaido stood atop a Sea King’s back and clenched his fists.
Powerful Armament Haki surged around his body like burning flames.
The two divided the battlefield between them before charging into the swarm from opposite directions.
Dæmon had no time to pay attention to Kaido.
He felt that he could still devour several more creatures.
Taking advantage of the chaos, he punched another Sea King unconscious.
He then injected the creature with the Elixir of Immortality and activated his devouring ability.
Devour.
The second Sea King disintegrated and disappeared into his palm.
Another surge of immense life force poured into Dæmon’s body, making him feel as though he might explode.
“Still not enough!” Dæmon’s eyes burned with excitement.
“There’s plenty more to eat!” …
One hour later, a small wooden boat raced across the ocean.
Kaido gripped both oars and rowed so quickly that his arms left countless afterimages.
“Faster!
Row faster!
They’re catching up!” Dæmon lay near the stern and repeatedly urged him onward.
Even with Kaido’s monstrous physique, sweat covered his body, and his breathing had become heavy.
“Why don’t you row?” Kaido snapped.
“I’m guarding the rear.” Dæmon shrugged helplessly.
There was no end to the Sea Kings.
At first, only a dozen had appeared.
However, the more they fought, the more creatures were attracted by the commotion.
Before they realized it, dozens of Sea Kings had surrounded them.
After devouring three, Dæmon could no longer absorb another.
This time, he genuinely needed time to digest the tremendous amount of power he had gained.
Looking behind them, Dæmon saw a massive swarm of Sea Kings in pursuit.
They bared their teeth and stretched out their claws, ready to swallow both men and their boat at any moment.
Only Kaido’s furious rowing allowed the little boat to skim across the sea.
At an ordinary speed, they could never have escaped the creatures’ hunting range.
“Faster,” Dæmon continued urging him.
“You don’t want to be eaten, do you?
We may be immortal, but spending several days inside a Sea King’s stomach can’t be pleasant.” “Stop rushing me!
Why don’t you do it?” “Fine.
You guard the rear.” The two quickly exchanged positions.
Another hour passed before the pursuing Sea Kings finally disappeared from view.
Dæmon released a sigh of relief and wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead.
“At times like this, I envy Shiki.
Being able to fly is incredibly convenient.” “Worororo…
I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” Kaido grinned.
“If one of us loses an arm, will it grow back?” “Yes.
The severed arm will disintegrate, and a new one will grow from the stump,” Dæmon explained.
“Unless one particular condition is met.” “What condition?” “If your physical strength and energy are completely exhausted, you’ll fall unconscious.
Your body will still regenerate, but the process will become extremely slow.” Kaido considered the explanation.
“That sounds even more troublesome than the elemental transformation of a Logia user.” Dæmon looked around before raising one hand and feeling the passing breeze.
By devouring Munro, he had obtained all the pirate’s sailing and navigational experience.
Determining their general situation was not difficult.
“There’s wind here, which means we’ve left the Calm Belt.” Dæmon examined the empty horizon.
“The question is, where are we now?” They had clearly exited from a different part of the Calm Belt.
The Hell Pirates’ ship was nowhere in sight.
“We don’t have a Log Pose,” Kaido said calmly.
“What do we do now?” “Without one, we can only rely on luck.” Dæmon spread his hands.
“Perhaps we’ll encounter some kindhearted travelers willing to help us.” He curled his fingers like claws.
Black lightning crackled between them, and a bottle of wine appeared in his hand.
It was not a full bottle.
Less than half remained.
This was the wine left after Dæmon had drawn several doses with his syringes the previous night.
Its supernatural power had already faded, leaving behind only its exceptional flavor.
Kaido stared at the bottle in surprise.
“What kind of ability is that?
Did you eat a Devil Fruit?” “It’s my secret technique.” Dæmon chuckled and poured the remaining wine into two glasses, dividing it evenly.
One glass for each of them.
Kaido had no interest in questioning him further.
The moment he saw the wine, he eagerly accepted his serving and emptied it in one gulp.
“What excellent wine!” As long as alcohol was available, nothing else mattered.
The two drifted across the ocean, enjoying their wine while waiting for their destined rescuer to appear.
…
Several days later, Kaido lay asleep inside the small boat.
Dæmon leaned against the stern and stared at the blue sky with a bored expression.
“Hm?” His ears suddenly twitched.
Using Observation Haki, he sensed several presences ahead and slightly to the right.
“Wake up, Kaido.
Something’s approaching.” …
About a kilometer away, a large vessel flying the flag of the World Government sailed steadily across the ocean.
The lookout stationed at the top of the mast rubbed his eyes.
He had caught a glimpse of a small boat in the distance, and there seemed to be two people aboard it.
However, when he looked again, both figures had disappeared.
Was I imagining things?
The lookout frowned.
Why would a tiny boat be drifting around in a place like this?
At that moment, the sailor assigned to the next shift climbed up the mast.
“It’s lunchtime.
You can go eat.” “Finally!” The lookout immediately handed over his duties.
As he began climbing down, he remembered what he had seen.
“By the way, I spotted a small boat at the two o’clock position.
Keep an eye on it.” “Understood.
I’ll be careful.” After giving the warning, the young lookout descended from the mast.
He first visited the washroom and took a quick shower.
Feeling refreshed, he made his way toward the dining hall.
Only two people were inside.
One was an enormous man with two horns protruding from his head.
The other looked strangely familiar.
Who are they?
The lookout slowly approached.
As he drew closer, recognition dawned on him, and his face filled with terror.
“R-Rocks Pirates!” Smack!
Dæmon struck him beneath the chin, knocking him unconscious.
“What are you shouting for?” Dæmon returned to his seat as though nothing had happened and continued eating his long-awaited meal.
“Can’t a man eat in peace?”