After drifting at sea for several days, Dæmon was still doing fine, but Kaido was starving.
He grabbed bread and fruit from the dining table and stuffed them into his mouth, devouring everything like a whirlwind.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Kaido asked through a mouthful of food.
“I’m fine.” Dæmon peeled a banana and calmly took a bite.
“We’re incredibly lucky.
After only a few days, we managed to encounter someone willing to give us a ride.” The ocean was unimaginably vast.
Encountering a passing ship under such circumstances was almost like winning the lottery.
Kaido grinned.
“This is a World Government vessel.
It probably belongs to one of their intelligence agencies.” “Cipher Pol?
How do you know that?” Dæmon asked in surprise.
Cipher Pol—commonly abbreviated as CP—was the intelligence agency directly controlled by the World Government.
Its various divisions carried out espionage, assassination, and other secret operations.
At the mention of the organization, Kaido’s expression immediately darkened.
“I’ve been captured by the World Government before.
I’ve ridden on ships like this plenty of times.” Dæmon suddenly understood why Kaido had boarded the vessel so easily and led him straight to its dining hall.
Kaido had once been the strongest soldier of the Vodka Kingdom.
The king had handed him over to the World Government in exchange for the kingdom’s right to participate in the World Conference.
Kaido had escaped several times while being transported.
However, whenever he ran out of food, he would deliberately allow himself to be captured again so he could eat aboard their ships.
Eventually, he became a wanted criminal with an initial bounty of seventy million Berries.
“If this vessel belongs to Cipher Pol, could they be transporting some kind of treasure?” Dæmon’s heart stirred.
“You keep eating.
I’ll search the ship.” He rose from his seat and left the dining hall before openly wandering through the corridors in search of its cargo hold.
The moment Dæmon stepped outside, he encountered a man wearing a suit and tie.
The two stared at each other.
The suited man froze.
“Who are you?
I don’t recognize you.” “You don’t know me?” Dæmon asked.
“My name is Dæmon.” Dæmon?
Is there someone by that name aboard this ship?
The man frowned and searched his memory.
Then he recalled a recent news report, and his expression changed drastically.
“You’re Dæmon the Brew—” Before he could finish, Dæmon grabbed him by the throat and lifted him from the floor.
“Don’t panic.
Tell me who operates this ship.” “C-CP4…” “Are you carrying any treasure?” Dæmon asked.
“Devil Fruits, for example.” The agent’s face turned red as he struggled to answer.
“N-No…
Nothing like that.
We’re only…
escorting someone…” No Devil Fruits?
Dæmon was disappointed.
It appeared that even his good luck had limits.
Encountering a passing ship after drifting for only a few days was already an extraordinary stroke of fortune.
“Who are you escorting?” Dæmon asked.
“A slave belonging to the Celestial Dragons?” “No…
A child…” Dæmon immediately became interested.
Any child important enough to be escorted by Cipher Pol could not be ordinary.
He released the man and gave an order.
“Take me to the child.” The agent clutched his throat and panted heavily.
Fear filled his eyes as he stared at Dæmon.
Then his expression hardened.
“Soru!” The man vanished, using the burst-speed Rokushiki technique known as Shave to flee down the corridor.
“Hm?” Dæmon paused.
“He knows the Six Powers too.
He’s rather fast.” Dæmon had no desire to chase him.
They were in the middle of the ocean.
Where could the agent possibly escape?
Dæmon released his Observation Haki and focused on the unique “voices” of everyone aboard the ship.
He soon detected an unusually weak presence on one of the lower decks.
He immediately headed toward it.
Anyone who attempted to stop him was defeated with a single punch.
Dæmon moved through the ship without resistance.
After knocking down more than a dozen guards, he finally reached a prison cell.
A child was chained to the wall inside.
He had dark skin, silver hair, and a distinctive pattern across his forehead.
Most striking of all was the pair of black wings growing from his back.
“A Lunarian?” Surprise flashed through Dæmon’s eyes.
“Hey, kid.
What’s your name?” The child appeared extremely weak.
Hearing Dæmon’s voice, he slowly raised his head.
Through his blurred vision, he could barely make out the figure standing beyond the bars.
“Abel…” he murmured.
“Who…
are you?” Even his voice was faint.
As expected.
Dæmon instantly recognized him.
Isn’t he Kaido’s future right-hand man, King the Wildfire?
Abel appeared to be only eight or nine years old.
The World Government had captured him at such a young age.
Dæmon grabbed the iron bars with both hands and pulled.
Creaaak!
Under his overwhelming strength, the bars bent apart, creating a large opening.
Dæmon stepped through and stopped in front of Abel.
The child stared at him blankly.
“You tore those apart with your bare hands…
Are you some kind of monster?” “That’s a very rude thing to call your savior,” Dæmon replied.
“You should address me as Lord Dæmon.” He crouched and grabbed the chains restraining Abel.
Snap!
Snap!
Snap!
Dæmon broke them apart one after another.
After devouring three Sea Kings, his strength had reached a terrifying level.
Ordinary iron chains could no longer restrain him.
Abel stared in disbelief, unable to accept that someone had truly rescued him.
“What are you waiting for?” Dæmon asked.
“Come with me.” He gestured with his chin before rising and walking out of the cell.
Thud!
Abel suddenly dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead against the floor.
“Lord Dæmon, thank you for saving my life!” …
When Dæmon returned to the dining hall, Kaido was still eating.
Kaido turned around and saw a child following behind him.
Surprise crossed his face.
“Who’s this kid?” “He’s a Lunarian and my newly recruited subordinate.” Dæmon sat down, picked up an apple, and took a bite.
“Abel, this is Kaido.
We’re members of the Rocks Pirates.” Abel remained standing and politely lowered his head.
“Lord Kaido, my name is Abel.” Even a child like him had heard of the Rocks Pirates.
They were the most powerful pirate crew of the era, and almost everyone in the New World knew their name.
“A Lunarian…” Kaido examined the child.
“They’re a legendary race.
I heard they once lived on top of the Red Line.
Was this ship transporting him?” “I took pity on the boy and decided to help him,” Dæmon replied casually.
Just then— Bang!
The dining hall door was kicked open.
A group of heavily armed soldiers rushed inside, led by several CP4 agents.
Among them was the suited man Dæmon had nearly strangled earlier.
“That’s him!” the agent shouted.
“He’s Dæmon the Brewer from the Rocks Pirates!” Then he noticed the horned man sitting beside him.
His face turned pale.
“Kaido is here too?!” The agent gasped before shouting urgently.
“Open fire!” Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Gunfire erupted like a violent storm.
Hundreds of bullets tore through the dining hall within seconds.
Abel immediately folded his black wings around his body, using them as a shield.
Most of the bullets, however, were aimed at Dæmon and Kaido.
A moment later, the gunfire stopped.
“Trash,” Kaido muttered.
“Get out of my sight.” His gaze sharpened.
Zing— Conqueror’s Haki erupted from his body and swept through the dining hall like a powerful gust of wind.
One after another, the soldiers and CP4 agents collapsed.
Their eyes rolled back as they lost consciousness.
Abel stared at the scene in shock.
So this is the power of the legendary Rocks Pirates?
Dæmon looked around at the unconscious bodies and sighed helplessly.
“Why did you knock all of them out?” He gestured toward the fallen crew.
“Who’s going to steer the ship now?”