Strange demonic clouds spread across the sky over Onigashima.
Everyone on the island felt as if a heavy weight were pressing down on their chests. Breathing became somewhat difficult, like the air itself had thickened.
This suffocating feeling severely dampened Kaido and Orochi's holiday mood.
Orochi cursed and grumbled in his room while terrified.
Kaido and Black Maria, however, were the first to sense an aura far surpassing that of ordinary wild beasts.
Kaido was initially annoyed when his mood was disrupted.
But upon sensing Ray's distinct presence, he quickly revealed an excited savage grin.
THUMP.
He shoved Black Maria off of him.
"Wororororo! We have a guest!"
Black Maria wasn't angry about being pushed off the bed by Kaido.
She admired strong men like him who prioritized battle over pleasure!
'Only Kaido-sama is worthy of my loyalty.'
Her gaze at Kaido was filled with infatuation, subtly mixed with a thirst for power.
But Black Maria was, after all, one of the Tobi Roppo with a bounty of 480 Million Berries.
She could roughly sense that the person arriving on the island was no ordinary powerhouse.
If she could sense it, Kaido certainly could.
Known as the "World's Strongest Creature," Kaido possessed an extremely sharp combat intuition.
The visitor's strength .... was on par with his own.
And the visitor's purpose was undoubtedly hostile.
This strange aura permeating Onigashima was clearly not a friendly gesture.
Thus, after throwing on his coat, Kaido slid open the paper door and strode toward the rooftop terrace.
He wanted to see who this powerful, unfamiliar presence belonged to.
Black Maria followed closely behind, equally curious about who dared to challenge Kaido in his own home.
'It must be that mysterious person who forcibly entered yesterday.'
'If that's the case, Jack is probably in grave danger. Does that mean I have a chance to become an All-Star now?'
...
On the rooftop.
A burly man, six meters tall, stood clad head-to-toe in black form-fitting armor and wearing a mask. Wings sprouted from his back, wreathed in flames.
Beside him was an equally tall but considerably rounder man with a long mechanical braid.
The two were none other than the remaining All-Stars: King the Conflagration and Queen the Plague.
They had already arrived at the top platform of Onigashima's skull dome, as it offered a clear view of the situation below.
They both knew that with the visitor's ability to seemingly alter the natural climate, the rooftop was the best battlefield if a fight broke out.
Otherwise, the castle structures below would surely be destroyed in the crossfire.
"Hey, King... do you see that white-haired guy? Who the hell is he?"
Queen voiced his confusion to King, squinting through a telescope.
King was somewhat exasperated, but he understood.
Queen had been engrossed in his virus research for the past six months and had only emerged from his lab two days ago.
He paid little attention to world affairs when he was in "science mode."
Thus, King calmly explained, "Ray... The Demon God Ray."
"Demon God? What an arrogant name. What's his bounty?"
"Three Billion."
Queen: (＃°Д°) "WHATTTTT~?!"
"What did he do to get such a high bounty?!"
King cleared his throat twice, "He killed Big Mom one-on-one in Whole Cake Island."
As he spoke, King had already covered his ears in anticipation.
"NAAAAAAAANIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~?!!!!!!!!"
Queen screamed so loud his eyes nearly popped out of his goggles.
"H-h-how did he do it?!"
King sighed, adjusting his mask. "How should I know? Hurry up and prepare for battle. This guy means serious trouble."
At that moment, Queen, holding his damn telescope again, saw something else that shocked him.
"King! Isn't that Young Master Yamato next to the white-haired guy?"
"Yeah."
"And you're not reacting at all?!"
"Yamato-sama has long wanted to betray us. It's within my expectations."
Queen: (￣_,￣) "That's true... you're right. She's having a rebellious phase and all that."
...
Below Onigashima.
Ray and Yamato walked side by side toward the main gate of Kaido's stronghold.
The reason Ray openly released his demonic energy and approached so conspicuously was mainly to cover for Cavendish and Tama.
Although those guys had already changed into Beast Pirates outfits for disguise, just in case, it was better for Ray to attract all the strong fighters' attention to himself.
Ray slightly sensed his surroundings with Haki.
He found that Cavendish and Tama had already successfully infiltrated the main hall and were blending in noisily with the drunk pirates.
'Good... no need to stall for time then.'
When Yamato noticed Ray stopping, she immediately understood his intention.
"Ray-san... shall we fly up?"
Ray nodded lightly in agreement.
But he couldn't shake the feeling that Yamato's form of address wasn't quite right...
'Why did it seem like my seniority had been downgraded?'
When she used to call him "Ray," it sounded fine, like how friends would address each other.
But now calling him just "Ray-san"... felt more.... familial.
However... Ray wouldn't make a big deal out of this.
He guessed the reason Yamato changed how she addressed him was because of the Dog Demon aura he had released earlier.
The same origin aura had influenced her instincts.
And Yamato hadn't realized the problem yet.
She had just called him that casually, without thinking.
But she did indeed feel an affinity toward the demonic energy Ray was releasing.
"Ray-san, this aura of yours feels quite warm."
Just as they were about to ascend to the top, Yamato suddenly said this with a smile.
Ray thought, 'Just as expected.'
The dog demon aura had connected with Yamato's Devil Fruit Ability.
Though they were from different worlds, it seemed canines from anywhere could resonate with each other.
Just like back on earth, when a Tibetan Mastiff and a Poodle could play together upon first meeting.
Even a Husky could become the alpha in a wolf pack if it was strong enough.
This might be the innate advantage of canines—if needed, they could form packs anytime.
ZOOM!
Then, Yamato activated her ability, transforming into that white wolf-dog deity with a 2-meter shoulder height.
Using her four legs to move quickly, she ran up the clouds and scaled the towering cliff face straight toward Onigashima's summit.
Ray, meanwhile, elegantly flew into the air, his white fluff trailing behind him.
That flying ability made Yamato quite jealous.
She wondered if there was some way to obtain Ray's flight ability, thinking maybe she just hadn't developed her fruit properly.
'Awakening?' Yamato sighed internally, feeling she was close to awakening but always missing something.
...
1 minute later, Onigashima summit.
Queen and King stood on either side of Kaido.
Behind them stood Black Maria and another Tobi Roppo who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion—Who's-Who.
Facing the five of them were two white-haired figures.
Naturally, Ray and Yamato.
Kaido and Ray had arrived on the rooftop almost simultaneously.
Kaido immediately recognized who Ray was from the bounty posters.
He grinned, hefting his kanabo, "So... you're the brat who killed Linlin?"
Ray offered no verbal response to Kaido's question.
Such boring opening lines were meaningless to him.
Therefore, Ray's response was naturally—FIGHT!
CRACKLE!
Without another word, he went straight into action.
Red-black lightning materialized around Ray's right hand.
Accompanied by surging electrical sparks, a silver figure shot toward Kaido like a bullet.
His speed was so fast that King and Queen had no time to react.
They could see the blur of movement, but their bodies couldn't keep up.
Kaido, however, was different.
He curled his lips, revealing a row of sharp white teeth as he laughed.
He swung his massive spiked club, Hassaikai, clashing directly with Ray's attack.
"THUNDER BAGUA!"
BOOM!
A tyrant's thunder instantly erupted atop Onigashima, shaking the entire island to its core!