Mandrell could fly, and it was the jet-type variant—water jet-type flight.
Among the officers of Onigashima who can fly, Mandrell's speed had always been at the bottom.
This was only natural. He was originally a water-combat type officer; aerial battles weren't his strong suit. With King, Shayna, and Zeraora taking the lead, aerial battle would never come down to him anyway.
He wasn't fast, but Queen wasn't exactly a high-speed flier either.
The two of them were like the PE teachers at a sports meet, always running last in the race. They were not trained runners, so of course they weren't fast.
He thought the one flying beside him was a good brother, but it turned out Queen had been faking it all along.
Mandrell tried to catch up with Queen, but found that he couldn't; instead, Queen was pulling further and further ahead.
Queen had always been a modification maniac, to the point where outsiders think his brain wasn't screwed on right; after all, who else could come up with something as perverted as "snake form"?
On top of that, Queen had dabbled in all of Judge's research too, even installing jet boosters under his feet for acceleration.
"At this speed, even if the Boss didn't hold back, he might not catch up…"
By Mandrell's estimation, this speed had already surpassed Shayna's normal mode. If Shayna didn't switch modes, she might not be able to catch him.
"Brother Queen cares this much about other people's kids?"
Mandrell himself was doing this for his daughter, but those three kids over there had no direct connection to Queen at all. He couldn't understand how Queen erupted out with so much potential.
Even when Queen had been chased down by Shayna before, he'd never run this fast. For someone like Queen who cherishes his life, this kind of behavior didn't make any sense.
But that was exactly where Queen's clarity lay. It was impossible to escape from Shayna's pursuit, unless one of them died halfway, quit the Beasts Pirates, or the Beasts Pirates disbanded.
Otherwise, sooner or later, Shayna would catch him. Once it happened, the consequences were unavoidable. So the optimal solution is to get beaten up when Shayna's anger has mostly subsided, which will ensure he is temporarily safe.
Dealing with Kaido, on the other hand, required a different approach. After being beaten so many times, Queen had already developed flexible countermeasures.
But this time was different. The event hadn't happened yet, meaning everything could still be salvaged. He had to stop it before it happened, not try to fix things afterward.
A plump figure streaked across the sky, colliding into a recently returned Corviknight, making it stagger. A floating Jumpluff was blown aside by the wind.
"Jump~luff? (Didn't a big black rat just flew by?)"
"Corv~iknight! (Didn't see clearly. Looked like some weird ball. What's that a flare? Should we go check it out?)"
"Jump~luff. (Forget it. Some strong humans already went over. Let's just go sunbathe.)"
Some Pokémon flying in the sky were affected but quickly returned to their normal paths. If there were aerial traffic police here, Queen would definitely be guilty of speeding and illegal lane changes, and he'd have to deal with clearing those violations later.
Even so, Queen still felt he wasn't fast enough, and that time was passing too quickly. If only it could slow down a little.
However, for Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, time felt as if it was moving too slowly. They couldn't shake off Meowna and Wolff at all. The double team of Incineroar and Meowscarada was surprisingly effective, and since it was broad daylight, they couldn't even use Sulong and go all-out.
Thanks to their age advantage, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi could still hold on for a while, but retreating while bringing someone was completely impossible.
"Lord Momonosuke! Please escape on your own first! We'll hold the enemies back for you!"
"That's right. From here on, it all depends on you."
Fortunately, they could still buy some time. The only ones left before them were Bewear and Maylo. They had just miscalculated Meowna and Wolff's strength, but surely such a mistake wouldn't happen twice in a row.
Maylo looked even smaller, and the bear below her looked like a stuffed toy. If even a creature like this could unleash exaggerated strength, then there's no point in living anymore.
At this moment, however, Momonosuke did not run away. It wasn't that he wanted to fight side by side; it was because his legs had gone weak, and he couldn't even stand.
Lustful, cowardly—although Momonosuke occasionally showed a backbone, most of the time he was nothing but a timid child. Even when he mustered the courage to step onto the battlefield, his heart was always looking to retreat.
The shadow left by Kaido still lingered in his heart. Seeing Inuarashi and Nekomamushi confront the enemy, all he felt inside was fear.
At this moment, his mind was completely blank; he couldn't command his own limbs, nor did he hear Inuarashi's words.
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, though anxious, couldn't break free. But their anxiety didn't last long.
Boom!
With a deafening crash, a massive crater appeared in the forest, and Queen, drenched in sweat, emerged onto the scene.
"Where are they? What the hell happened here? Which b*stard dares stir up trouble here?!"
Queen's aura spread out in all directions. He didn't possess Conqueror's Haki; this was purely his rage and killing intent. Anyone who dared to threaten his way of life was his mortal enemy (the kind he can afford to provoke).
Whether someone was worth provoking or not, Queen had two completely different attitudes. He loved bullying the weak, but feared the strong; unless you touched his sweets, in which case Queen would temporarily lose all reason and dare challenge any foe.
As for now, these guys who were fighting evenly with Meowna and Wolff, even slightly at a disadvantage, Queen of course didn't take them seriously. In fact, he thought it absurd that any Minks would have the guts to fight with the royal offspring.
He could clearly tell whether this was just training or a real fight.
"You two b*stards sure have guts. Winch Queen!"
His left mechanical arm shot out, its inner structure whirring to life, and in an instant it had wound around the two and hoisted them into the air.
"Do you have any idea how anxious I've been?! Henry Queen!"
The devices within his mechanical arm released a massive surge of electricity. Azure currents instantly engulfed the forest, and then Queen powerfully smashed his mechanical arm down, smashing half of Inuarashi's and Nekomamushi's bodies deep into the earth.
"It's Queen… damn it, did we take too long?"
"Damn it, how can he be this fast, this strong…"
With Winch Green's brute strength combined with Dengeki Blue's electric currents, Queen effortlessly crushed the troublesome people before him.
No matter who it is, if they've endured beatings for 20 years by Shayna, King, Kaido, and occasionally Setsuna and Yamato, yet still survived intact, they'd make the relics from 20 years ago realize that times have changed.
After Meowna and Wolff's attacks, they could still get up and fight again. But against Queen, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi were far too weak.
The only reason he hadn't finished them off was because they were Minks. In Wano Country there were special rules. Minks counted as a minority race, and if they created trouble, it had to be handled by Setsuna and Zeraora.
After eliminating the potential threat, Queen paid no attention to Momonosuke. He wasn't blind, he had already noticed the cowardly brat. After all, even as Inuarashi and Nekomamushi lay collapsed, their eyes still anxiously darted towards him.
However, to Queen, Meowna and Wolff were the more important ones.
Queen's mechanical arm transformed into a makeshift X-ray scanner, sweeping up and down Meowna and Wolff's bodies. He needed to make sure these two little ones hadn't suffered any injuries.
Even after scanning, he wasn't completely reassured. Turning his head, he picked up a Den Den Mushi.
"Pokémon Center? Arrange two…no, three physical checkups. I'll be sending three kids over shortly."
Glancing at Maylo, who was being brought over by Bewear, Queen decided to have all three of them undergo a checkup together, so there wouldn't be any problem later.
In fact, Bewear could have chosen to join the battle, but it judged that Wolff and Meowna were capable enough to handle the situation. So it carried out its mission of protecting Maylo, only coming over once the fight was finished.
Queen also gave Maylo, who hadn't participated in the battle, a quick check-up, and then asked Meowna and Wolff.
"What the hell is going on here? These two trying to rebel? Even you Minks are getting restless now?"
"Of course not! Uncle Queen, don't talk nonsense. It's these two who are the problem."
"Yeah, nobody's questioning Mom's Duchess position. If anyone did, Grandpa Hitsugisukan would lose it."
This was one of the strange dynamics of Zou Island.
Because of Setsuna, Zou Island had undergone such big changes that her prestige was too high. If she ever stopped leading, it would be impossible to find a successor in the short term.
But Zou Island couldn't go without a ruler forever. If no new one could be found, then the old one would have to return.
Hitsugisukan had gone to great lengths to finally retire. If anyone forced him back to work, he would show them what "old but still vigorous" really meant. So across Zou Island, Hitsugisukan was actually Setsuna's staunchest supporter.
To say Setsuna wasn't fit to rule would be the same as saying he had misjudged her in the first place.
"That fat cat is called Nekomamushi. He's the annoying guy from 20 years ago mentioned in Mom's diary."
"Yeah, annoying just like Uncle Queen. That's what Mom wrote."
Wolff and Meowna stated their opinions one after the other, leaving Queen thoroughly embarrassed.
"Alright, no need to say the second half. Your mom sure holds a grudge. But people from twenty years ago….. looks like the prophecy that woman left behind wasn't a joke. You really did travel to the future just to seek your own doom."
So this little brat must be Oden's son, right? Doesn't look like it at all. What do you think, Mandrell?"
"Doesn't look like it. Oden wouldn't be this weak. At the very least, he wouldn't piss himself."
By now, Mandrell had also arrived, landing directly beside Momonosuke. For a small child to inexplicably appear in the middle of nowhere was not normal.
The moment he landed, he heard Queen's words. Then he immediately picked up Momonosuke by the scruff, only to nearly get peed on his leg.
Mandrell's face was full of disgust. This wasn't his child. Even if it had been a friend's kid, he could accept it, but this was just some stranger, even an enemy, and not the least bit likable.
Momonosuke was already timid by nature. In the original timeline, after getting stranded outside and then experiencing so much alongside Luffy, he had gradually changed. But in this timeline, he was even more cowardly than in the original timeline.
Not to mention, Mandrell was currently in his transformed state. His nickname "Little Kaido" hadn't come for nothing. Beyond the similarities in their abilities, even the design of his scales was somewhat alike.
However, Mandrell's scales were larger, and the shape of the horns on his head was different. But Momonosuke, already terrified, couldn't tell the difference. From his perspective, Mandrell descending from the sky looked exactly like Kaido.
His eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.
"Lord Momonosuke!"
"Damn you, Kaido! What did you do to Lord Momonosuke, you ba*tard?!"
No one would want to accept such a cruel reality. How could their young master be this useless? It had to be because Mandrell did something bad to him.
"Muhahaha! Mandrell, someone else has been fooled by your appearance again. Why don't you just get a paternity test with Boss Kaido already? You don't even know your own origins, and who knows, maybe you are related to Boss Kaido, who was such a womanizer back then."
"Brother Queen, I advise you to stop saying things like that. How can you never remember that trouble comes from loose tongue?"
"No worries, who here would…."
Just as Queen was about to say that who here would sell him out, he caught sight of Meowna and Wolff's stares. At once, he had a sinking feeling.
"You two… you wouldn't go blabbing, right?"
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