Ten minutes later, Ray, Yamato, Cavendish, Tama, and a group of the Beautiful Pirates members stood in a circle around the severely injured Jack.
Jack's once robust physique now looked pitiful, with chunks of flesh missing here and there from Chouchou's frenzy.
And around his massive neck, a glowing silvery-white collar had been fastened.
Then, something bizarre occurred.
Despite having little strength left, Jack suddenly stood up.
Even though his expression was one of extreme pain and confusion, his movements were eerily fluid.
He couldn't control his own body.
Next, Jack strode over to Cavendish, his face contorted in agony as if struggling against an invisible force.
Cavendish simply watched silently, knowing that Jack could no longer harm him.
THUD!
In the next instant, Jack suddenly knelt before Cavendish.
The 8-meter-tall brute slammed his head violently against the ground as he kowtowed with all his might.
CRACK!
Each impact cracked the earth beneath his forehead.
Even as his eyes rolled back and blood spilled from his mouth, Jack continued to "sincerely" apologize to Cavendish.
Ten times.
Twenty times.
Sixty times.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
After a full ninety-nine kowtows, Jack finally stopped moving and passed out completely from exhaustion and blood loss.
This series of actions was naturally triggered by Chouchou's newly acquired ability from the Pet Pet Fruit.
Because Chouchou had once been injected with Dr. Indigo's enhancement serum, his brain function was high enough to use brainwaves to control every action of anyone collared by him.
The controlled being had no means of resistance since their body simply obeyed.
For instance, just now, Chouchou had mentally ordered Jack to "Shut your mouth and kowtow to Cavendish ninety-nine times."
But Chouchou did not restrict Jack's mind.
Thus, Jack was forced to watch, fully conscious, as his own body humiliated itself before a man he considered weak.
It was undeniably cruel.
Moreover, as long as the ability user lives, the collar cannot be removed unless the head is severed.
…
Afterward, Ray informed Cavendish that the decision to kill Jack or keep him alive was his to make.
After all, Cavendish's crew members had died at Jack's hands, and Ray had no particular need for Jack personally.
At best, Jack was just a relatively tough "tank puppet" who might be of some help in the upcoming Summit War, but only marginally so.
Ray could find better meat shields somewhere anyway.
And since Ray already recognize Cavendish as his subbordinates , given Ray's protective nature toward his own, he would naturally side with whatever choice Cavendish made.
Cavendish stared at the unconscious Jack lying at his feet.
His heart was filled with mixed emotions.
His nightmare knelt defeated before him, all because he, Cavendish, had chosen to follow the right person.
That bastard Jack had nearly killed him ten months ago and had now slaughtered the companions who had followed him faithfully for years.
Cavendish wanted to end Jack's life with a single sword stroke right then and there.
But... this guy could still provide some assistance to his Boss.
Thinking of his fallen comrades and considering the massive challenges Ray would face next against the World Government, Cavendish lowered his head and fell into silence.
After several dozen seconds, Cavendish raised his head, his gaze firm as he looked at Ray.
"Boss... let him die in the future war against the Marines."
"Let him serve as a shield for us."
Hearing this response, Ray gave a slight nod.
"Agreed."
With that, Ray headed toward the seaside with Chouchou trotting beside him.
The others, under Cavendish's arrangements, began handling the aftermath.
...
One hour later.
The group had already finished a quick breakfast.
Cavendish and his subordinates shackled Page One, Ulti, and the unconscious Jack with Sea Prism Stone handcuffs they had found in the brig of Jack's ship.
They also bound the three with hundreds of chains and threw them into the interrogation and detention room on Jack's ship.
The reason was that Jack's ship, the Mammoth, was huge—large enough to hold more prisoners in the future.
Moreover, when heading to Kaido's territory later, traveling on Jack's ship would act as camouflage, likely allowing them to reach the center of Onigashima directly without being fired upon.
After completing the preparations, Ray and the others boarded the Mammoth.
Tama insisted on coming to help, and Ray allowed it.
Their course was set straight for Kaido's stronghold: Onigashima.
...
Grand Line.
Luffy and the others were enjoying a banquet on the Thousand Sunny.
Thanks to the Straw Hat Pirates' victory, the pirates whose shadows had been stolen by Moria had regained their freedom.
At that moment, they were all expressing their gratitude to Luffy and his crew with cheers and booze.
A typical example was Brook.
Because of Luffy, he had regained his long-lost freedom and shadow.
He could finally leave this dark, foggy area to fulfill his past promise.
After being saved by Brook during the fight, Zoro, Sanji, Robin, Nami, and Franky had also accepted this strange, perverted skeleton.
Especially after learning about Brook's tragic past and his connection to Laboon.
It turned out that Laboon had been crashing his head into the Red Line all these years just to find Brook and his crew.
Fate truly works in mysterious ways.
But in the middle of the banquet, an unfamiliar, imposing figure appeared near the group.
The newcomer was burly, wearing a white hat with two bear ears on the sides.
He had black curly hair, an expressionless face, and held a bible in his hand.
Zoro and Robin immediately recognized the person's identity upon seeing him.
"Shichibukai... Tyrant, Bartholomew Kuma."
Everyone in the Straw Hat crew except Luffy immediately became cautious as they drew their weapons.
Because this man known as the Tyrant was the most mysterious among the Shichibukai.
Almost no one knew his abilities or exact strength.
Thus, the Straw Hat Pirates and Kuma faced off.
Interestingly, after a brief confrontation, Kuma actually entered the banquet hall peacefully.
What happened afterward remained unknown to anyone outside.
Only a melodious singing could be heard drifting from the ship.
"Yohohoho, yohohoho~"
"Binks' Sake~"
…
10 hours later, Wano Country.
Ray, Yamato, and the others had arrived at the inland sea in the southern part of Wano Country.
20 nautical miles ahead of them lay a massive skull-shaped island with two giant horns.
It was visually estimated to be about 1 kilometer tall and roughly 10 kilometers wide.
It was roughly equivalent to the size of a small city.
Behind Onigashima stretched an endless, lifeless red earth plain—the wasteland of Wano.
As for the master of this Onigashima... it was naturally the Yonko, Kaido.
As the Mammoth drew closer to the skull island, a heavy sense of oppression settled over everyone except Ray.
Ray's heart pounded not with fear, but with a mix of excitement and nervousness.
The atmosphere and color palette around Onigashima were far too eerie, completely different from the fairy-tale feeling they had experienced at Big Mom's Whole Cake Island.
For someone like Cavendish, who enjoyed beautiful ambiance, Onigashima was undoubtedly a nightmare!
But for Ray, eerie and bright held no distinction.
Only his target mattered.
…
At that moment on Onigashima.
The sounds of clinking glasses, howls, and drunken shouts were incessant.
Because today was the annual Fire Festival, a joint celebration day agreed upon by Kaido and Wano Country's current shogun, Kurozumi Orochi.
With Orochi's political help, Kaido had established a world-class weapons factory in Wano Country.
Orochi, in turn, needed Kaido's formidable combat power to suppress domestic rebels and the samurai who still loyal to the Kozuki clan.
The two colluded for their mutual benefit, each getting what they needed.
Through their cooperation, both had profited handsomely.
So, some superficial formalities still had to be held.
Like today's joint celebration banquet.
"Kaido! Hehehe! You worked hard last year. Let me toast you. I'll still need your help next year to defeat those traitors!"
The lecherous-looking Orochi raised his oversized sake cup, his big head wobbling as he clinked glasses with Kaido.
During the toast, Kaido flashed a contemptuous smile that went unnoticed by the drunk shogun.
To Kaido, Orochi was nothing more than a useful dog he kept to guard the yard.
If Kaido didn't still need Orochi to supply test subjects and cheap labor, he would have long since killed this weak old man.
But for the sake of his grand plan to conquer the world, continuing to cooperate with Orochi maximized his benefits for now.
After putting on a show for their subordinates, Kaido and Orochi both left the banquet venue.
They each had their own "entertainment activities" planned for the night.