Kaido’s offer was undeniably tempting.
He treated his subordinates well and gave them plenty of room to grow.
Arthur hesitated for a brief moment before answering with a cold expression.
“I’m afraid I have to refuse.”
“You tried to kill my eagle.”
“What a shame.”
Receiving his answer, Kaido lowered the kanabo in his hand.
Purple lightning began crackling around the weapon.
Arthur’s brows knitted together.
The strange phenomenon wasn’t coming from the sky—
It was erupting directly from Kaido himself, affecting the surrounding atmosphere.
“Haki…”
“It has to be.”
Arthur had no intention of dodging.
Judging from the aura of the attack, it was still within the limits of what he believed he could handle.
The lightning dancing around Kaido’s club intensified.
His charge-up was complete.
His legs exploded with power.
In an instant, he appeared directly in front of Arthur and swung down with the full intent to kill.
“Thunder Bagua!”
Arthur had already raised his sword before him.
He intended to deflect the attack head-on.
BOOM!!
Blade and kanabo collided.
A terrifying shockwave erupted from the point of impact, twisting and tearing apart the surrounding terrain in an instant.
“The world has no place for the weak!”
Seeing Arthur actually block Thunder Bagua, Kaido became even more determined to recruit him.
Arthur’s face remained expressionless.
The muscles in his slender arms bulged to their limits under the tremendous strain, yet his voice stayed calm.
“You’re right.”
The next instant—
Arthur’s monstrous strength surged to a level even Kaido found unbelievable.
BOOM!
Arthur’s sword violently knocked Kaido’s kanabo off It’s trajectory.
“What…?”
“I’ve lost my balance?”
Kaido’s eyes widened.
His body tilted backward exactly as Alber’s had moments earlier.
By the time he looked forward again—
Arthur was already in front of him.
Leaping high into the air, Arthur brought his blade crashing down.
“That’s exactly why I left home to seek greater strength.”
The slash carved diagonally across Kaido’s chest.
Arthur landed lightly, but his eyes immediately filled with astonishment.
It didn’t cut him…
His body is even tougher than Alber’s.
Kaido slid backward from the force of the slash, kanabo still resting in his hand.
His face was equally filled with disbelief.
Arthur was utterly stunned by these monsters.
It was as if they could stand completely naked and let someone slash at them without suffering so much as a scratch.
Their durability was simply absurd.
“Hey, Kaido-san.”
Alber’s face darkened.
“Don’t steal my fight.”
“Even if he’d coated his sword in Haki, his current level isn’t enough to injure me.”
His confidence in the durability of the Lunarian race was absolute.
And so far…
Reality supported that confidence.
Kaido scratched his head.
“The moment he hit you…”
“I was reminded of a few people who nearly killed me.”
Whether it had been instinct or not, Kaido had felt compelled to interfere.
Yet now…
Even he had underestimated the terrifying durability of the Lunarian race.
If anything, Alber’s body seemed even tougher than his own.
“You got slashed too.”
Alber snorted.
“Stay out of it.”
“I’ll handle him myself.”
With sword in hand, Alber charged Arthur again.
This time, however, he noticed something.
Arthur’s breathing had become noticeably heavier.
Kaido’s Thunder Bagua had drained an enormous amount of his stamina.
Arthur sighed helplessly.
“I’ve only been at sea for a few days.”
“So why do I keep running into monsters like you?”
Steeling himself, he raised his sword once more.
The two clashed again.
Without relying on special techniques, neither side could gain the upper hand.
Their blades rang continuously through the battlefield.
“Looks like another troublesome one has arrived…”
Kaido casually sat down to watch the duel.
Then he turned toward the distance.
Cooper was flying back with several hundred Marines rushing behind him.
“So…”
Dragon stood at the head of the approaching force.
“You’re Kaido?”
“Heh.”
Kaido grinned.
“That’s right.”
Without another word, he unleashed Conqueror’s Haki once again.
In a single instant—
All the Marine Headquarters soldiers behind Dragon collapsed unconscious.
Dragon merely looked at his fallen men without showing much surprise.
“So…”
“The experimental subjects we were sent to transport were the two of you.”
He glanced toward the burning ruins of the PH-006 Laboratory.
“No wonder Headquarters refused to tell me the details.”
“That’s right.”
Kaido nodded.
“We also made a little deal.”
He pointed toward Arthur, who was still dueling Alber.
“That boy…”
“Is he one of your Marines, Dragon?”
“I’ll allow you to leave.”
Dragon met Kaido’s gaze calmly.
“But this fight ends here.”
As the commanding officer, he had to prioritize the safety of his subordinates.
If he and Kaido fought now…
The ones who would suffer would be the unconscious Marines lying behind him.
Kaido only had two people with him.
Yet both were powerful enough to match Dragon himself.
If the soldiers got involved…
They wouldn’t earn glory.
They wouldn’t receive promotions.
And whether victory was even possible remained uncertain.
“No.”
Kaido refused immediately.
“We’re both leaders.”
“So let’s watch the duel to the end.”
“I want to see whether this legendary race…
or that boy…
comes out on top.”
Dragon’s attention finally shifted toward Alber.
The white-haired youth’s black wings…
And the flames burning behind them…
Immediately revealed his identity.
A Lunarian.
Long ago, the Lunarians had lived atop the Red Line.
Now they were nearly extinct.
Their bloodline allowed them to generate flames from their bodies.
While their flames burned, their defensive power became nearly unmatched.
When the flames disappeared, however, their speed increased dramatically at the cost of durability.
They could survive in virtually any natural environment.
Legends even referred to them as—
“Gods.”
“What are you trying to do, Kaido?”
Dragon frowned.
“The Rocks Pirates are gone.”
“Wouldn’t it be better for all of you to disappear and live quietly?”
“Waorororo!”
Kaido burst into laughter.
“And what about the hatred I feel toward the World Government?”
Dragon understood.
Some hatred simply couldn’t be talked away.
He knew Kaido’s past.
About fifteen years earlier, when Kaido was only fourteen years old, the World Government had taken notice of his overwhelming talent.
They demanded that the Vodka Kingdom hand Kaido over as the price for becoming an affiliated nation.
Unwilling to become a political tool, Kaido escaped after being captured and became a pirate.
From that day onward…
His hatred for the Government had only grown deeper.
“If you don’t want your men to die for nothing…”
Kaido’s voice turned cold.
“Then stay quiet, Dragon.”
“Watch.”
Dragon answered not with words.
He raised one hand.
BOOM!
A violent gale swept across Punk Hazard.
The roaring winds extinguished the burning laboratory in moments.
Dark storm clouds gathered overhead.
Rain poured from the sky.
“Hmph.”
Kaido wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
“So you ate one of Colonel Rocks’ treasures.”
Back then, he knew better than almost anyone how terrifying the cache of Devil Fruits collected by Rocks D.
Xebec had been.
Power capable of overturning the rule of the Celestial Dragons.
Unfortunately…
Those treasures had ultimately been seized, scattering among the world’s various powers.
Dragon quietly watched Arthur continue fighting.
“Wasn’t drawing that sword supposed to be his self-imposed restraint?”