"What the hell happened!?"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three figures landed simultaneously on Momonga's warship—it was the other Vice Admirals assigned to this mission.
Yamakaji and Onigumo's eyes narrowed as they saw "Kaido". They instantly knew this was bad news.
Only Tsuru wore a thoughtful expression. Something didn't add up. She had just left Kaito's room not long ago, where he mentioned he would be entering a deep sleep. And now Kaido just so happened to appear?
At that moment, the Kaido created from a Wood Clone didn't waste a word. His fist, clad in Armament Haki, slammed toward the closest target—Momonga.
Faced with "Kaido's" sudden strike, Momonga didn't dare be careless. He immediately drew the katana from his waist and held it horizontally in front of him, trying to block the blow.
However, the strength enhanced by the Asura Fruit was not something he could withstand. The moment his sword made contact with "Kaido's" fist, it couldn't hold up. The impact sent Momonga crashing into the warship's railings.
Seeing their comrade get wrecked in one move, Yamakaji and Onigumo exchanged glances and used Soru, charging at "Kaido" together.
"Kaido" laughed heartily. His right arm flexed as muscle bulged, then he slammed it to the side with a thunderous force.
Boom! Yamakaji, who had appeared on "Kaido's" flank, was sent flying, meeting the same fate as Momonga.
Onigumo, attacking from the other side, saw an opening. In Seimei Kikan mode, his hair gripped six swords, adding to the two in his hands, and he slashed all eight blades at "Kaido's" back with everything he had.
Clang! A metallic ring echoed. Onigumo broke into a cold sweat as all eight swords halted on "Kaido's" back without leaving the slightest scratch.
In truth, the Wood Clone version of Kaido didn't take the blow as easily as it looked—he only had half the strength of the original body. The reason he was able to block the strike so effortlessly was due to a combination of the Asura Fruit's physical enhancement.
"Kaido" narrowed his eyes and grabbed one of Onigumo's sword-wielding arms like he was snatching a chick, yanking the Vice Admiral toward him.
Onigumo's eyes widened in terror. In the next second, "Kaido" violently pulled his arm and smashed him into the ground with a deafening crash.
Another crater, shaped like a humanoid with eight arms, appeared on the deck of Momonga's warship.
"Kaido" yanked the semi-conscious Onigumo from the crater and held him up, examining him.
Onigumo looked absolutely wrecked—his nose had been smashed into something like a rotten pear, blood streamed from his head, and the arm "Kaido" had yanked now hung limp. It was probably broken, but he still seemed to be faintly conscious.
"Damn… did I go too hard?"
The Wood Clone-Kaido's eye twitched, and a bead of sweat ran down his forehead. As much of a jerk as this guy was, he was still a Vice Admiral. Beating him to a pulp like this was a bit much.
Still, while Onigumo's mind was fuzzy, "Kaido" placed a massive hand on his head and used the Human Path to read his memories—finally acquiring the location of the Ope Ope no Mi.
Meanwhile, Momonga and Yamakaji, having briefly recovered, rushed forward again. Even Tsuru had crossed her arms before her chest, ready to activate her Wash-Wash Fruit ability.
At this point, if they didn't go all in, Onigumo really might die.
"Kaido" didn't want to keep going either. Even with only half his original power, he could still cause serious injuries to Momonga and Yamakaji.
He had no clue how strong Tsuru really was, but no matter what, Kaito absolutely couldn't afford to hurt her.
With that in mind, "Kaido" roared,
"Too weak! Get lost!"
With a swing of his arm, he flung Onigumo back onto his own warship, then followed by leaping over himself.
Momonga and Yamakaji trembled as they watched "Kaido" move. They knew the Ope Ope no Mi was still on Onigumo's ship.
But under the current circumstances, their fighting power was severely lacking. Stopping Kaido was out of the question. The only choice left… was to head to...—no, to Vice Admiral Kaito's warship and wake him up.
With that decision, Momonga quickly voiced the idea to Tsuru, and Yamakaji nodded seriously beside him.
Tsuru frowned. Truth be told, this only reinforced her suspicion that this "Kaido" was Kaito's doing.
She didn't know what method he used to make such a realistic Kaido, but considering his arsenal of bizarre abilities, creating a transformation wasn't beyond him.
Also… did this "Kaido" have a personal grudge against Onigumo?
Sure, Momonga and Yamakaji had taken some hits too, but they were still standing.
And her? This "Kaido" hadn't even made a move against her. What, had Kaido suddenly grown a sense of honor, learned to respect his elders, or decided he wouldn't hit women?
If "Kaido" really was Kaito in disguise… that would mean he wasn't on his warship anymore. Which meant—wasn't the whole act about to fall apart?
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, what's wrong? There's no time to think—Vice Admiral Kaito may be in a bad state, but right now, only he can stop this Kaido monster!"
"But…"
"I'm fine! Leave it to me!"
Just as Tsuru was about to respond, a shout rang out. She, Momonga, and Yamakaji all turned to look in the direction of Kaito's warship.
It was right beside Momonga's, not far away.
When they saw Kaito's current state, Momonga and Yamakaji broke into a cold sweat. He looked ridiculously weak—about as frail as anyone could get.
At the bow of Kaito's ship, Kalifa and Ain were supporting him on either side. His complexion was worse than ever. Momonga guessed he had shouted earlier and used up his strength.
Ain had a strange expression on her face, like she was trying not to laugh.
When she first saw Kaito's "weakened" condition, she had been scared out of her mind—so much so that she forgot he had an ability to instantly recover. Purple flames had already risen from her hands, ready to press against his body.
Kaito had quickly stopped her, terrified that Ain might get emotionally worked up and awaken her ability or something—turning him into a literal baby in a single touch.
After much patient explaining, he finally convinced her he was only pretending.
So now, knowing he was fine, watching him put on this whole act again… Ain couldn't help but feel amused.
Kaito gave her a subtle glare. Ain pouted and shut up.
Sigh, Kalifa is still the more reliable one, Kaito thought with relief as he glanced at her.
Kalifa's face was expressionless. As Kaito's secretary, she knew exactly what kind of person her boss was.
Even if she hadn't known the truth, she would have found it suspicious. Kaito was too much of a macho man—he'd never let himself be seen looking this pathetic.
Tsuru said nothing, simply narrowing her eyes and scanning Kalifa and Ain before settling her gaze on Kaito with a cold look.
Noticing her stare, Kaito felt confused.
What now? Was my acting not convincing enough? Was Tsuru disappointed in my performance?
No way—my acting's at least as good as Kizaru's, right?
What he didn't realize was that Tsuru was glaring at him because she was mentally standing up for her little sister. He'd already misunderstood her completely.
Still, now that he was out here, he had to finish the act.
Kaito let go of Kalifa and Ain's shoulders. Activating his Deva Path ability, he floated slowly toward Tsuru's ship.
Watching him wobble in midair, Momonga and Yamakaji nearly leapt up using Geppo to catch him—they were afraid he'd fall into the sea any second.
Looking at Kaito in this ridiculous state, Momonga covered his face and muttered helplessly,
"Maybe… we should just hand over the Ope Ope no Mi. Kaido's involved now. This is way beyond the scope of our original mission."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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