"Rahu, with the strength we have now, there's really no need to fear those Admirals from the Navy Headquarters!"
Kaido's grin was wild, his voice booming across the deck. "Besides, with your freakish learning speed, even if an Admiral showed up, you'd probably end up learning their techniques and coming out stronger!"
He swung his massive club over his shoulder, eyes burning with excitement. After all, he was never one to shy away from chaos. And now that he was sailing alongside Rahu someone who could rival monsters Kaido felt the familiar hunger for battle ignite once again.
Rahu merely glanced at him, calm but resolute. "Then we'll head to Demon Island next. If there really are Celestial Nobles there, we'll confirm it for ourselves. Once that's done, we'll move on to the Rocks Pirates and I'll join them as a senior officer."
The words rolled off his tongue like a quiet storm. His goal was clear from the beginning: to strike down the so-called gods who ruled from the Holy Land, Mary Geoise. He would drag the "Celestial Dragons" those who called themselves world nobles from their golden thrones and hang them by their own arrogance.
Anything less would make his life meaningless.
"Before that," Rahu said, his tone soft but deliberate, "let's take a look at what treasures these ships are hiding. The Celestial Tribute should be worth quite a fortune. Who knows? Maybe we'll even find a Devil Fruit among them."
Kaido's laughter echoed across the sea.
Rahu led the way down into the ship's lower decks. The floorboards creaked beneath their boots, and the air grew thick with the scent of salt, metal, and something faintly sweet the smell of wealth.
He had read enough stories to know that the Celestial Tributes were never just gold. They often contained artifacts, legendary blades, or even Devil Fruits the most coveted treasures in the world. Despite how common they seemed in tales, Rahu knew that in reality, such fruits were exceedingly rare.
Take Alabasta, for example a desert kingdom with tens of millions of people. Out of all those lives, only a handful possessed Devil Fruit powers. And even then, most were soldiers or agents gathered under one ambitious man's plan. The truth was simple: in a world of millions, to find even a single Devil Fruit user was a miracle.
"Kaido," Rahu said, breaking his train of thought. "If you could choose, what kind of fruit would you want?"
"Ha! Animal-type, without question!" Kaido roared proudly. "The other kinds are flashy, sure but they've got limits. True strength comes from within, from Haki! No matter how powerful your fruit, if your will isn't strong enough, you'll never stand at the top. But the Animal-type it enhances the body, strengthens your spirit. It pushes your Haki even further. That's the kind of power that lasts."
Rahu nodded thoughtfully. "You make a good point. But who's to say I can't use more than one fruit?"
Kaido blinked, momentarily stunned. "You mean… multiple fruits? That's impossible! Even the strongest would die the moment they tried to eat another one."
Rahu didn't answer. A faint, knowing smile flickered across his lips as he descended the final steps into the treasure hold.
The door creaked open, revealing a mountain of gold. Piles upon piles of glittering coins and gemstones shimmered in the lantern light, reflecting across the chamber like a thousand miniature suns. Even Rahu squinted for a moment, momentarily blinded by the sheer brilliance.
"Twenty billion Berries, at least," Kaido muttered, running his massive hand through the golden heap. "So this is what my life was worth, huh?"
Rahu glanced at him, eyebrow raised. "You were sold?"
Kaido chuckled darkly. "Yeah. My king sold me to the government to pay tribute to become a member of their precious alliance. Guess I was worth a good portion of their gold."
His laughter echoed, but there was no joy in it only bitterness.
Rahu smirked faintly. "Well, look on the bright side. You're free now."
Kaido blinked, then laughed for real this time a deep, booming sound that shook the chamber.
While Kaido reveled in his regained freedom, Rahu began to gather the treasures, storing every bar of gold, every gemstone, into his system inventory. To him, wealth meant nothing. But taking the Celestials' riches and turning them into his own victory? That felt right.
Money, after all, was only useful in the hands of the living.
When the last coin was packed away, Rahu turned to the next cabin. If experience served him right, the gold was only part of the tribute. There were always rarer offerings ancient relics, blades, or even Devil Fruits used to pay the "protection fee" to the World Government.
The next door creaked open, revealing racks of weapons lining the walls swords, spears, and guns of every shape and make. Yet Rahu's eyes were drawn immediately to the glass case at the center of the room. Inside sat a single, strange fruit wrinkled, ugly, and pulsating faintly, as if alive.
"Ha! I've seen that one before!" Kaido bellowed, pointing excitedly. "That's the Strength-Strength Fruit, a Paramecia-type. Grants the user power far beyond any normal man twice, maybe three times as strong! Some say if you awaken it, you could rip a mountain from its roots!"
"Interesting."
Without hesitation, Rahu shattered the glass with a single punch. The fruit landed neatly in his palm, its surface cold and unnervingly rough. The moment his fingers brushed it, a familiar chime echoed in his mind.
System Notification:
Paramecia-type Devil Fruit Strength-Strength Fruit successfully absorbed.
Sea's Curse effect has been automatically nullified.
A faint grin spread across Rahu's face.
Kaido stared in disbelief. "You… absorbed it? Without eating it?"
Rahu said nothing. His eyes glowed faintly crimson for a brief moment before fading back to black.
"I told you," Rahu said quietly, "I'm not bound by the rules of this world."
Kaido let out a long, low whistle. "Rahu, my friend… you might just be the most terrifying man alive."
The two exchanged a glance one wild with excitement, the other calm and cold as the deep sea.
Outside, thunder rolled in the distance, and the ship creaked under the weight of their growing power.
Rahu turned toward the horizon, where the faint outline of an island loomed beneath the storm clouds.
"Demon Island," he murmured. "Let's see if the Celestials really have the courage to play gods there."
Kaido grinned, hefting his massive club onto his shoulder. "Heh, then what are we waiting for? Let's go show them what real monsters look like."
The storm swallowed their laughter as the ship turned toward the dark horizon, carrying two living forces of destruction toward their next hunt.
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