Near Hachinosu Island, on a certain island.
The island was verdant, with ancient trees reaching the sky.
Giant vines, like chain suspension bridges, connected the peaks, and waterfalls cascaded from the narrow passes, plunging into deep pools with thunderous roars.
A rainbow bridge hung before the mountain gorge.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The earth trembled as Kaido, like a humanoid beast, rampaged across the island, ruthlessly destroying trees and Rocks that stood in his way.
Seeing herds of wild beasts fleeing ahead, he suddenly leapt up, raising his club over his head and swinging it in a wide arc.
His eyes gleamed with a cold light as he brought his club down with all his might!
"Descent of the Three Worlds: Infernal Slash!!"
Boom!
Crimson-black lightning tore through the sky, striking the ground with immense force, and a massive explosion created a tangible soundwave that spread out, toppling trees and earth within a hundred-meter radius.
Kaido stood before the scorched crater, the Haoshoku wrapped around his club crackling with a zapping sound.
Before him lay a swath of beast corpses.
He glanced at the nearly thousand-meter-tall mountain rock wall several kilometers away, his eyes suddenly turning cold, then quickly began to run, the scenery around him blurring past.
In a moment, he arrived within a few meters of the rock wall, swung his club, and violently ruptured the air!
"Thunder Bagua!!"
Unparalleled power, like a breached dam, surged forth. Haoshoku, transforming into lightning, instantly shattered and indented the rock wall. The destructive force, like a blade of death, violently tore through the mountain!
Boom!!
The mountain collapsed, countless boulders crashed down, and the earth trembled.
"No matter how you look at it, the destructive power brought by Haoshoku coating is truly so pleasing to the eye."
Kaido smiled proudly, unhooked the sake gourd from his waist, and took two gulps.
Suddenly, he seemed to sense something, his expression becoming serious as he looked towards the distant forest.
The dense trees obscured his vision, but it didn't prevent his Observation Haki from detecting a special aura.
"Linlin? Is she here to summon me? It seems the God Valley War is about to begin!"
A hint of madness flashed in Kaido's eyes. In his previous life, during the God Valley War, powerful individuals from various factions gathered to fight in God Valley.
That was an incredibly brutal war.
The God's Knights, the Rocks Pirates, the Roger Pirates, and Garp the Fist.
During that great melee, Linlin seized the opportunity to steal the fish-fish fruit and gave it to Kaido. She had originally intended to rebuild a new force with Kaido after the Rocks Pirates disbanded, but Kaido left without a word.
The next time they heard news of each other, both had become renowned powerhouses.
Later, the New Onigashima project had just been implemented when it was destroyed by the Straw Hat Pirates alliance.
"Linlin is truly becoming more muddled with age."
Thinking of the Onigashima War, the weaknesses Linlin exposed were too obvious.
At the same time, a pirate ship outside the island was sailing towards them.
Standing at the bow of the ship was a young woman wearing a light pink dress and a white sun hat.
The woman had delicate features, a perfect oval face, a tall and slender figure, and pink curly hair.
Charlotte Linlin, a true natural monster.
Streusen put down his telescope and said, "Linlin, that's Water Island ahead."
Next to Linlin floated two masses of gas with human faces. These were the strongest Homies she created by imbuing clouds and flames with life using her Soul-Soul Fruit ability.
The white cloud mass was named Zeus, capable of releasing lightning. Due to his cowardly nature, he needed Linlin's "stimulation" to increase his lightning power.
The fiery human face was Prometheus, capable of releasing flames. He had a capricious temperament, and his hobbies included stirring up trouble and bullying Zeus.
"Mama, Kaido, that brat, actually made you come all this way to meet him personally. He doesn't show any respect for his seniors."
Prometheus spoke up for Linlin.
"Mama Mama!"
Linlin let out her peculiar laugh, stepping onto the bow of the ship with a heroic posture: "Kaido is my dear younger brother, I won't allow you to speak ill of him in front of me."
Linlin always remembered the teachings of Sister Carmel: to build a world where all races could coexist peacefully.
When Kaido first joined the Rocks Pirates, Linlin already had a good impression of him and took great care of him daily.
Perhaps it was the solidarity between "the weak," or perhaps it was because Kaido's physique was similar to hers, but their relationship was very harmonious. They even developed a combined ultimate technique that only battle-hardened Giant Race members could use.
The large ship approached the coast, and to Linlin's surprise, Kaido was already waiting for her on the shore.
Linlin looked at Kaido with astonishment, noticing that he seemed even more muscular. She smiled and said, "Long time no see, Kaido, you seem to have gotten stronger."
Three months had passed since Kaido left Hachinosu Island.
Kaido's face was grim: "Enough small talk. For you to come personally, something must have happened on the island, right?"
"Such a boring man."
Linlin wasn't annoyed: "The several Devil Fruits we stole earlier were taken by the World Government. I don't know how they got the intelligence, but the Celestial Dragons' hunting game has chosen God Valley in the West Blue, and these Devil Fruits will be awarded as major prizes to the winners."
The six Devil Fruits were the fish-fish fruit, the Paw-Paw Fruit, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, the Float-Float Fruit, the Blood-Blood Fruit, and the Dog-Dog Fruit.
The future owners of these Devil Fruits all became monsters dominating their respective regions.
The Zoan fish-fish fruit, Mythical Zoan Azure Dragon form—Kaido was determined to acquire it, and if possible, he would also try to snatch the other fruits.
"Let's go."
Kaido jumped onto the large ship and walked directly to the center of the deck to sit down. Streusen waved his hand, telling someone to bring over a cart laden with food and drinks.
Kaido immediately began to feast.
Linlin saw the dessert among the food and immediately stopped him: "Hey, Kaido, that's mine!"
Although she had eaten a full meal before coming, the aroma of the dessert still stirred her appetite.
Several hours later, when Linlin and Kaido arrived at Hachinosu Island, the port of Hachinosu Island was already packed with various pirate ships.
Rocks, Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Silver Axe, Kaiodo... countless pirate ships stretched as far as the eye could see, flags fluttering in the wind, a vast and mighty sight!
Whitebeard narrowed his eyes: "Have they arrived?"
Golden Lion crossed his arms, puffing on a cigar: "To make us wait, they have no manners."
John chugged from a bottle of sake: "Two more competitors."
Kaido sneered mockingly: "This isn't a war for brats to participate in!"
"Hahahahaha!"
A wave of Haoshoku swept out like a tsunami, causing the sea to churn violently, raising colossal waves, and making the ships sway precariously.
Golden Lion and the others' expressions changed drastically as they looked warily at the darkest ship in the very center.
Golden Lion's voice was hoarse: "Rocks..."
"My subordinates! The World Government dared to openly steal my treasures. Whichever of you gets them, the Devil Fruits will belong to them!"
Rocks laughed arrogantly, and the sea seemed to boil violently with his laughter!
"Hey!? Who are your subordinates?!"
Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Silver Axe, Kaido, John, Linlin, and Kaido were almost simultaneously displeased with Rocks for unilaterally categorizing them as "subordinates."
But their protests were quickly drowned out by the surging cheers of the underlings!