It seems fate had intervened once again. Kaido still named his daughter Yamato.
Yamato, less than six months old, was incredibly energetic. At an age where ordinary infants struggled to even roll over, she could already run like the wind and play games with Roa. Even typical teenagers might not possess her strength. Kozuki Oden, soon after birth, could throw his wet nurse, and Yamato displayed no less talent than him.
Kaido was very satisfied with this. This was the successor he needed! Of course, she couldn't catch up to Roa, but if it was just about holding down Wano Country, she would definitely be sufficient.
"Eeyah! Eeeyee-yah!"
Yamato pouted, speaking in unintelligible baby talk, her two chubby hands constantly reaching out to Roa. She couldn't help it; although she had several nannies specifically for her, the one who played with Yamato the most was indeed Roa, who had nothing better to do every day.
"You ungrateful little brat!"
Kaido irritably grabbed the infant's right leg, hoisting her upside down to eye level. "I'm your dad!"
This rough handling made Roa frown. This was the result of a man raising a child. However, Yamato was indeed extraordinarily gifted. Instead of showing any discomfort from being held upside down, she unhappily tugged at her father's mustache.
"Respect the child's own wishes, Brother Kaido," Roa said meaningfully. "All beings are born free."
"Free?" Kaido sneered. "Since she's my daughter, she should naturally be under my command!"
"Do you know more than I do?" Kaido looked down at Roa, a mere brat himself, lecturing him on parenting? All right, all right, so he learned his parenting philosophy from Auntie Linlin, huh? One could only say that affection and filial piety were always reciprocal. Yamato wasn't the kind of person who would be dutiful if treated poorly. Rather, she was more likely to be rebellious.
Roa sighed and shook his head. Fine, just don't regret it later.
"By the way," Kaido casually placed Yamato on top of his head, where the lively infant immediately began to roll around. He didn't seem to mind. "I heard that Golden Lion and Wang Zhi's war has finally ended?" He knew Roa was well-informed.
"Indeed," Roa nodded slightly. "I don't know what agreement Uncle Shiki and Wang Zhi reached, but in any case, both sides have officially ceased hostilities."
The Flying Pirates and Wang Zhi and Silver Axe's allied forces had been fighting intermittently for over a year, clashing every now and then. Just a few days ago, Wang Zhi finally successfully returned to his loyal Hachinosu Island.
"What a shame," Roa sighed. "I thought, with no progress for so long, Uncle Shiki would hire me again."
Kaido's mouth twitched. Even Shiki couldn't possibly produce a second Mythical Zoan, could he?
Kaido frowned. On his head, the little infant had already nimbly gripped his long hair and climbed down like a small monkey, hopping to the ground and embracing Roa's leg.
"In that case," Roa flipped his right foot, sending little Yamato flying into the sky, "Uncle Shiki can free his hands to deal with Red."
"Eeyah! Eeeyee-yah!"
The sudden ascent made the infant overjoyed. Then Roa raised his hand and casually caught her.
"Wa-ee! Yah-yah!!"
The little infant's two chubby hands clutched Roa's thumb, her round eyes filled with excitement, clearly not having had enough fun.
Alright, I'll indulge you.
So, Kaido watched as Roa threw his daughter hundreds of meters into the sky, his mouth twitching, but he still sneered, "Hmph, wishful thinking. Does he really think he's Rocks, that he can make someone like Red willingly submit to him?"
"That's true." Roa waved his hand, and the wind in the sky suddenly rose, gently supporting Yamato as she slowly descended. "So, Red is probably going to have a bad time."
Wang Zhi and Silver Axe were, at least, old acquaintances of Uncle Shiki, and they were wealthy and powerful. It wasn't strange for them to reconcile with the Flying Pirates. But Red was different.
"Wah-ah! Eeyah-wah-ah!"
The infant's chubby face was covered in a flowery smile. She landed in Roa's hands like a plump little pig, happily reaching out to him, having had a great time.
While pinching Yamato's soft little cheek, Roa smiled and said, "How about it, Brother Kaido? Are you going to help Red? Maybe you could get him to join the Beast Pirates."
"I'm not interested," Kaido grunted again. He was just curious. At this stage, the Beast Pirates were still accumulating strength, and Kaido had no intention of participating in those New World wars. Besides, if Red wasn't willing to submit to Golden Lion, why would he submit to him?
"Forget it, enough of these pointless topics, Roa!" Kaido suddenly looked at Roa, who was teasing Yamato, his tone hardening. "How long are you going to keep refusing me?"
Roa paused, then turned back, somewhat helplessly. "Brother Kaido, isn't it good to just raise your child? As a parent, you have to set a good example. What if Yamato goes astray if you're always fighting?"
No, wait, isn't that exactly the kind of Yamato Brother Kaido is hoping for?
"Less talk!" Kaido's gaze was sharp as a blade. "Make your move. Let me see what kind of power you possess now!"
Because their strengths were already close, he and Roa often sparred. However, starting sometime two months ago, Roa began refusing to fight him. This made anger begin to build in Kaido's heart.
What does this brat mean? Does he think fighting him is already boring?
Roa sighed. His loving life with Brother Kaido seemed to be ending today.
"Alright." Roa nodded slightly. Then let's do it. It was also a good chance for him to gauge his current level.
So, soon, Yamato, who was reluctant to leave Roa's embrace, was forcibly carried away by a strong nanny. On the vast plaza, Roa and Kaido stood opposite each other.
At the edge of the plaza, Roa's subordinates—a slightly older Bullet, King, Doflamingo, and Dylan, who had a few more wrinkles—were all present to watch the battle. Besides them, there were also several Beast Pirates executives, mostly characters not seen in the original story, including a few local Wano Country samurai.
"Brother Kaido, make your move." Roa slowly drew the twin blades from his waist, his posture slightly casual. "Roa, I won't hold back!"
On the pitch-black iron club, overflowing Haki condensed into black lightning, leaping up to a dozen meters into the sky. Kaido sneered as he stepped forward, "So,"
"You better show me your true power too!"
Boom!
The sturdy stone slab ground instantly shattered, sending rubble flying. The colossal figure, over seven meters tall, transformed into an afterimage.
"Understood!" Roa nodded heavily.
Clang!
On the twin blades in his hands, streaks of crimson lightning leapt forth. And at this moment, Roa was even faster than the lightning! His figure blurred, transforming into a red streak, the crimson lightning trailing behind him.
"Thunder Bagua!" Kaido raised his iron club high.
"Calamity Two-Sword Style!" Roa crossed his twin blades.
"Eight Trigrams!"
"Rai-Mei!"
Boom!
The crashing iron club and the crossing twin blades collided violently at a certain point. The air solidified at that instant. The next moment, the clashing Haki exploded into streaks of lightning. The ground instantly shattered, and a violent wind swept away everything on the plaza. Amidst the earth-shattering roar, the little infant watching from afar joyfully babbled. Though still very young, she already displayed the traits of a bloodthirsty spectator.
Two figures suddenly recoiled.
"As always, impressive Haki!" Roa flipped in the air, and the moment he landed, he immediately entered his Hybrid Form. He pushed off with his legs and leapt, then flapped his wings, soaring directly into the sky.
"This Armament Haki is...?" Kaido, covered in dragon scales and riding flame clouds, closely pursued Roa. He was quite surprised. It was a technique he didn't know.
"A truly advanced form of Armament Haki. I only mastered it two months ago. Not bad, right?" Roa flew higher and higher. "However, it still can't surpass your Haki, Brother Kaido."
The value of Haki coating was still high. Kaido's eyes began to burn fiercely with anger, erupting from his heart. "So you think, after mastering this Haki, you can surpass me?"
Was this why Roa was unwilling to fight him anymore?
"How could that be!" After reaching a sufficient height, Roa suddenly turned back, shooting downwards. "Just with a more advanced Armament Haki, I can at most fight you to a stalemate!"
"Calamity Two-Sword Style: Fiery Calamity!"
Blazing crimson flames erupted from his twin blades.
"Roaring Thunder Bagua!"
Haki lightning exploded, and Kaido's arm muscles swelled.
Boom!
In the sky, crimson flames and pitch-black lightning partitioned the space, scattering behind Roa and Kaido respectively. After the fierce collision, both were once again shaken backward.
Kaido's eyes were grim. "Brat, what's with this power?"
If Roa was just relying on evolved Armament Haki and the Conqueror's Haki released by Enma, he would still be slightly weaker than Kaido's Haki. But, Roa's physical strength had completely surpassed his! When they last clashed two months ago, it wasn't like this! Was it because the more advanced Armament Haki compensated for some of the Haki gap, allowing his physical advantage to show?
"Don't underestimate the growth rate of a boy in puberty!" Roa laughed, flapping his wings and once again turning into a scarlet comet.
Compared to Haki, which required arduous training, the ability to level up while lying down naturally gave him a greater boost. The disadvantage in Haki had been completely filled by his physical advantage.
So, now it was truly a stalemate!
"You brat!" Kaido roared.
The two constantly clashed in the sky. Each exchange between the twin blades and the iron club brought forth surging elements and Haki lightning spreading like a spiderweb.
"As expected of Boss!" Below, Dylan looked up at the sky. "He can already contend with Kaido completely!" In this past year, Kaido had also been getting stronger. It was just that his pace of strengthening was much slower compared to Roa.
"That's a given," Bullet said matter-of-factly. "No one in the world can be compared to Boss."
And in the sky, the battle began to escalate.
"Don't think you're the only one who's gotten stronger, Roa!" Amidst the fierce fighting, Kaido suddenly grabbed his sake gourd and took several large gulps.
"Oh?" Roa raised an eyebrow.
Drunk Bagua? Has he developed it already?
"Hiccup~" Kaido burped, a strange flush appearing on his face. "Ro...Roa, let's start the...second round!"
"Okay." Roa nodded cheerfully.
He crossed his twin blades in front of his chest. As the blades separated, various elements adhered to them. "Triple Annihilation!!"
Thunder, strong winds, and scorching flames—three different elements, harmonized by blood energy, merged into a single crimson.
"Drunkard's Wheel Thunder!" Kaido rode his flame clouds, moving at a speed far greater than before.
"Infernal Pull!"
The pitch-black iron club trailed a long streak of black lightning, smashing down towards Roa's head.
"Calamity Two-Sword Style: Tiger's Roar!"
The moment Roa swung his blades, the elements wrapped around the blades surged, like two rocket thrusters, crashing violently onto Kaido's iron club. The sky trembled. Thunder and flames, strong winds and black lightning, four forces swept across the heavens. Ring after ring of massive shockwaves spread, kicking up dust and stones on the plaza below.
"Eeyah! Eeeyee-yah!!"
Yamato struggled vigorously in the nanny's arms, reaching out to the sky as if she also wanted to fly up.
In the sky, the fierce battle continued.
"You—you brat! Have you grown so, so strong already?" Kaido's voice was intermittent, then immediately, "Wahahahahaha! Damn it! To be caught up by you already!!"
Roa clicked his tongue. Drunk Bagua was strong, but it was just too embarrassing. However, thankfully, even though he was crying and laughing, and occasionally even whining at Roa, Kaido's attacks were as powerful as before, fighting Roa to a standstill.
"Ugorororo!"
Suddenly, accompanied by a chilling laugh, Kaido's upper body muscles swelled, his eyebrows turned into cloud shapes, his claws and teeth became sharper, and the color of his scales deepened.
"Drunkard's Rampage!"
Crack!
The black lightning on the Hassaikai (Eight Trigrams) club crackled wildly, almost emitting a terrifying glow.
The strongest killing mode?
Roa slowly exhaled. "Then, I'll go all out too!"
The crimson on his twin blades suddenly receded. Then, his left blade, Enma, was covered in ice and swirling wind, while his right blade, Tohko, was wrapped in flames and lightning. This time, four elements were combined in pairs. However, unlike Triple Annihilation, blood energy and Haki were merely subordinates now, completely reduced to catalysts for his abilities. After all, compared to Haki and blood energy, Qiongqi's Calamity Power was Roa's true strongest force! This resulted in an elemental chaotic flow far more intense than Triple Annihilation!
"Great Full Impact!"
Kaido had already arrived like a meteor, his iron club shining with starlike brilliance.
"Calamity Two-Sword Style!"
Roa unflinchingly flapped his wings to meet the attack, raising his twin blades. The surging elemental chaotic flow erupted backward, forming two colossal elemental vortices, hundreds of meters across.
"Thunder Bagua!"
"Four Directions Annihilation!"
Boom!
The ground below suddenly began to shake, and Onigashima Castle itself swayed precariously under the fierce impact. Further away in the Flower Capital, the raging shockwaves transformed into winds that directly toppled many civilian houses. Flames, lightning, ice, wind blades—these things rained down from the sky, bringing even more destruction to this land already trembling in the monster's battle.
"What a joke!"
Amidst an angry roar, a colossal flame dragon suddenly appeared, spanning the sky. "You brat! Again!"
Even the strongest Drunkard's Bagua could only fight Roa to a draw! Kaido was furious. How could he be caught up to so quickly? How could he accept this? He unhesitatingly unleashed his ultimate move.
Roa clicked his tongue, looking at the thousand-meter-long behemoth before him. Has he forgotten the battle when we first met last year? Using such elemental attacks against me, isn't that just asking for trouble?
But never mind, it would be a buzzkill to interrupt Brother Kaido now.
Roa showed a resolute gaze. "Why shouldn't I, Roa, also want to be a Gundam pilot?"
Gundam, huh? I'll pilot one too!
Flames!
Scorching flames instantly surged forth, transforming into an endless sea of fire, instantly filling half the sky with intense heat. Then, the surging flames began to contract, quickly condensing into a form, then outlining concrete lines and details. Finally, a few seconds later, a fire-god, hundreds of meters tall, with two wings on its back, two horns on its head, and bare hands, appeared in the sky.
"Come on, Brother Kaido," Roa floated within the fire-god's forehead, slightly excited. "My right hand glows with an incandescent crimson!"
"It's shouting for me to grasp victory!"