Next Bonus, 100!!
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BOOM!
A foul wind howled, and a storm of shattered rock blasted toward Ochoku.
He threw up his hands, his palms hardened with Armament Haki, and blocked the debris. "Kaido?" he roared. "Are you trying to pick a fight??"
THUD!
Kaido's kanabo, Hassaikai, slammed into the floor, cracking it open like an earthquake.
He ignored Ochoku completely.
He grabbed the food and wine from the table and began to wolf it down, replenishing his spent energy.
Only then, as the dust began to settle, did Ochoku see the wounds covering Kaido's body, the blood streaming down his skin. He looked like he'd just come from a brutal, desperate battle.
Ochoku was stunned. It was unbelievable.
"Hey!" he said, his long, lizard-like tongue flicking out, his eyes wide. "Who was it? Who could have done this to you?"
After the battle at God Valley, the Rocks Pirates had been scattered. The members had all gone their separate ways, building their own empires.
Kaido was one of the rising stars among them. With the Azure Dragon fruit gifted to him by Charlotte Linlin, he had taken control of Wano, carved out a massive territory for himself, and earned the title of "World's Strongest Creature." His fame was immense.
Although Ochoku had long since lost his own ambitions, he still felt a surge of emotion whenever he saw news about his former crewmates.
He never thought their reunion would be like this.
Kaido still ignored him.
He turned, opened his mouth, and with a single, powerful inhale, he sucked up all the water from the swimming pool, draining it in one go.
The concubines, who had been lying on the floor, all gasped in horror.
This man... he was a monster.
"Governor!"
"Father!"
Hearing the commotion, Ochoku's subordinates and sons rushed in from all sides.
When they saw Kaido, they all froze.
His blood-soaked body was massive, his powerful aura suppressing everything around him.
A single glance from his eyes, and Ochoku's clamoring subordinates were silenced.
The atmosphere was strange, tense.
CRACK!
A bolt of lightning split the sky and struck the balcony. The force of the impact blasted a deep crater in the ground.
Jin materialized from the lightning. He glanced at the stunned Ochoku and his men, then his gaze fell on Kaido, who was now holding Hassaikai.
Without a word, Kaido attacked.
He swung the massive club, shattering everything in his path, unleashing a powerful wave of Haki that shot toward Jin.
Jin was fearless. He met the attack with a flurry of his own punches, his movements broad and powerful, as if he could sweep away the world itself.
His fists were wreathed in a brilliant Haki.
Through his constant battles with powerful enemies, he had forged his own style, a fist that incorporated different principles and techniques, a style that was uniquely his.
BOOM!
CLANG!
Fist met iron, and the sound was like the clash of steel on steel.
His fist... it was no longer flesh and blood. It was as hard as refined steel.
"An iron fist??" Ochoku was stunned by the man's Haki. "No... it's also mixed with the secret techniques of the various martial arts schools of the Kano Country."
Ochoku was from the Kano Country in the West Blue. He wasn't a master martial artist, but he could still see the nuances of the style.
Jin and Kaido's battle was a storm of unleashed power. Every clash sent out a shockwave that whipped up a fierce wind and shattered the ground.
Ochoku's concubines had long since fled in terror. His men swallowed hard, their faces pale with fear, and they all began to back away.
"Hey... that guy is... one of the Seven Warlords! The 'King of Paradise,' Jin!" Ochoku's son exclaimed.
"Him??" Ochoku was surprised.
The battle had moved from the small balcony down to the lawn below. The sound of their clashes was incessant.
Their speed was incredible. They were just a blur of motion, leaving a trail of afterimages as they moved.
It was a fierce, evenly matched battle.
Jin had a slight advantage, but it wasn't enough to secure a decisive victory.
Every time they met, a violent explosion would rip through the air, devastating the surrounding area, shattering buildings, and splintering trees.
Kaido's strength was immense. Every time he swung his club, the very sky seemed to tremble, as if it were about to crack open.
Jin's fighting spirit was soaring. Every strike was like a bolt of lightning, a devastating blow.
The sound of their battle, the constant explosions, alerted everyone on the island. They all began to rush toward the scene.
"Damn... Kaido is so strong! As expected of the World's Strongest Creature! A single swing of his club can create a hundred-meter crater."
"Shit! But that king is a monster, too! Is he a Logia user? He's a freak! He can actually go head-to-head with Kaido!"
Ochoku watched for a while, and then he froze.
Wait a minute.
Son of a bitch!
They were destroying his house!
'You two want to fight, fine! But why are you doing it here?? Am I a joke to you??'
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Another clash, and a jade fountain was shattered into a thousand pieces.
Ochoku couldn't take it anymore.
"STOP FIGHTING!" he roared, his beard trembling with rage. "Dammit! Someone, stop them! They're going to tear my whole house down!"
"Yes, Governor!"
"But... Father... who do we help?"
"Do you even have to ask?"
"Kaido??"
SMACK!
"You idiot! Of course we take out the king! I hear he has a lot of businesses! We can squeeze him for all he's worth! We might even be able to take over the Gran Tesoro! Kaido? He's all muscle, a broke bastard with no business sense. We'd be lucky if he didn't try to get money from us."
Ochoku and Kaido had been on the same ship. He knew him well.
After confirming Jin's identity, Ochoku had no intention of staying on the sidelines. A greedy glint entered his eyes.
After one of their clashes, as Jin and Kaido separated, Ochoku's men charged forward, firing their guns and cannons, their swords drawn.
"CHARGE!"
"KILL HIM!"
A horde of pirates swarmed toward Jin.
Kaido saw this and didn't intervene. He fell back, catching his breath, recovering his strength.
Jin glanced at Kaido. He was also being attacked by the nearby pirates. It seemed they were in the same boat. But Jin was facing a much larger force. Kaido, on the other hand, was just swatting away a few grunts who were trying to steal his food.
Ochoku knew Kaido.
And Kaido knew him.
A treacherous, greedy bastard.
So Kaido had deliberately come here, to use the pirates of Hachinosu to tie Jin down, to buy himself time to win.
Cowardly?
Kaido wouldn't do that, would he?
It wasn't that Jin was trying to belittle Kaido. But many people were still deceived by his outward appearance. He was... honorable... when he was facing someone weaker than him. Like when he was trying to recruit Luffy. Or earlier, when he had mercilessly killed the old woman who had interfered in his fight with Oden.
He seemed "just," honorable.
But...
Kaido had tricked Oden, had boiled him alive, had worn him down, and then had shot him. There was nothing honorable about that.
When he was facing a strong opponent, someone he wanted to recruit, he would show his more... charming... side. A trick he had probably learned from Whitebeard.
But when he was facing an enemy... Kaido would use any and every trick in the book to achieve his goal. He could be... treacherous.
A lesson he had most likely learned from Rocks and Shiki. After all, Kaido had grown up on Rocks' ship. He had been influenced by the other legends on board.
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