The island of God Valley wasn't just breaking; it was screaming.
Ren covered his ears as the screeching sound of bending metal and fracturing tectonic plates drowned out even the thunder. To his left, a mountain peak simply slid off its base, crashing into the ocean below.
"Move your legs, brat!" Kaido roared, not even looking back.
Ren gritted his teeth, forcing his unconditioned body to sprint. His lungs burned like they were filled with acid. He was running behind a twenty-foot giant and an immortal psychopath through a literal apocalypse.
"I'm... trying!" Ren wheezed.
Hidan, running alongside Ren, looked completely unbothered. He was actually skipping over corpses. "Man, this place has great energy. So much death. Jashin-sama is feasting today! Hey, big guy, can we stop to pray?"
"If you stop, I leave you," Kaido rumbled. "The Marines have surrounded the coast. Roger and Garp are crushing the Captain at the center. If we don't get to a ship now, we sink with the island."
Ren's mind raced as he ran. He's right. Xebec is fighting Garp and Roger right now. Whitebeard already defected or left. Shiki is somewhere else. The crew is done.
They burst through a line of burning trees and skidded to a halt.
Blocking their path to the western cliffs was a woman.
She was massive, standing nearly thirty feet tall, dwarfing even Kaido. She wore a pink captain's hat and a dress that hugged a figure that was surprisingly athletic compared to the monstrous form Ren knew from the anime. She held a sword that hummed with a soul of its own—Napoleon.
Charlotte Linlin. Big Mom.
Ren froze. She looks... different. Younger. sharper.
"Ma~mamama!" Her laugh was high and piercing. She looked down at Kaido, ignoring Ren and Hidan completely. "Kaido! Where do you think you're going, little brother?"
Kaido gripped his iron club tight, his expression unreadable. "Linlin. I'm leaving. The crew is finished."
"I can see that," she grinned, her eyes glowing with chaotic energy. "Xebec was a fool. But you... I have high hopes for you, little brother."
She reached into the folds of her dress and pulled out a chest. With a flick of her thumb, she popped the latch. Inside sat a Devil Fruit. It was unlike any Ren had seen—shaped like a pineapple, but covered in azure scales that seemed to shimmer with wet, blue light.
Ren's breath hitched. The Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu. The Fish-Fish Fruit.
"Take it," Linlin said, tossing the fruit through the air.
Kaido caught it in one hand. He looked at the fruit, then back at her.
"Why?" Kaido asked.
"Because I want you to live," Linlin said, her voice dropping an octave, becoming dangerous. "And now... you owe me a lifetime debt. Don't you ever forget that, Kaido."
Kaido stared at her for a long second, then shoved the fruit into his sash. "I won't."
"Good. Now get lost. Garp is coming this way."
She turned and leaped back into the chaos, disappearing into the smoke.
"Who was the hot giant lady?" Hidan asked, scratching his chin with the dull side of his scythe.
"Shut up," Kaido and Ren said in unison.
"Let's go," Kaido commanded. "The cliffs are ahead."
They reached the edge of the island. The port was gone, destroyed by the shockwaves. The only way down was a jagged cliff leading to a rocky cove where a single, medium-sized Marine battleship was trying to undock.
"That's our ride," Kaido said, pointing his club at the ship.
"There's a platoon of Marines guarding the gangway," Ren pointed out, his eyes scanning the fifty or so soldiers forming a defensive line. They were pointing muskets up at the cliff.
"Fire!" a Marine Captain shouted.
A volley of lead whistled through the air.
Ren flinched, instinctively raising his arms, but a shadow blocked the sun.
Hidan stepped in front of Ren, yawning.
Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
Seven bullets slammed into Hidan's chest and stomach. Blood blossomed on his pale skin.
"Is that it?" Hidan looked down at his torso. "You guys have terrible aim. None of these hit a vital organ. Well, except the heart, but who needs that?"
The Marines below stopped reloading. They stared in horror as the man on the cliff pulled a bullet out of his sternum and flicked it at them.
"Kaido," Ren said, his voice trembling but his mind sharp. "Throw him."
Kaido looked at Ren. "What?"
"Throw Hidan," Ren ordered, pointing at the ship. "He can't die from the fall. Use him as a cannonball to clear the deck."
Hidan turned his head 180 degrees to glare at Ren. "Excuse me? I am not a projectile, you little—"
Kaido grinned. It was a vicious sight. "I like how you think, Ren."
Kaido grabbed Hidan by the face.
"WAIT! YOU BASTARDS! I'LL CURSE YOU! I'LL—"
"WORORORO!"
Kaido wound up and hurled the immortal Akatsuki member off the cliff.
Hidan screamed all the way down—a long, Doppler-effect profanity—before crashing onto the deck of the Marine battleship with the force of a meteor.
CRASH.
Wood splintered. Dust flew. Marines were sent flying by the impact.
Kaido didn't wait. He grabbed Ren by the back of his shirt like a kitten. "Hold on."
Kaido jumped.
Ren screamed as the wind tore at his face. They plummeted three hundred feet down, landing on the ship's deck with a heavy thud that shook the vessel.
Kaido straightened up, releasing Ren.
The deck was chaos. Hidan was in the center of a crater, pulling himself out of the wood. His left leg was broken, bent sideways at the knee.
"OW!" Hidan yelled, snapping the leg back into place with a crunch. He stood up, red scythe in hand, and looked at the terrified Marines surrounding him. "Alright. Who wants to die first?"
"M-Monster!" The Marine Captain drew his sword. "Kill them!"
"Ren," Kaido said, not moving. He rested his club on his shoulder. "Handle the small fry. If you can't survive this, you're not joining my crew."
Ren's heart hammered against his ribs. A test. Of course.
He had no combat skills. No Haki. But he had the System. And he had a controller.
Ren focused his mind. He could feel a chakra thread connecting him to Hidan. It wasn't just a summon; it was a puppet. He could give mental commands.
Hidan! Pattern B! Spin and slaughter!
Hidan rolled his eyes, hearing the voice in his head. "Don't boss me around, kid." But his body moved.
The immortal dashed forward. He didn't block. He didn't dodge. He let a Marine stab him through the gut just so he could get closer. He hooked his scythe around the Marine's neck and pulled.
Blood sprayed across the white sails.
Ren watched, forcing himself not to look away. This is One Piece, he told himself. This is the pirate world. Kill or be killed.
"Behind you!" Kaido barked.
Ren spun around. A Marine had flanked them, thrusting a bayonet toward Ren's throat.
Ren froze. He couldn't dodge in time.
Clang.
A black hand stopped the blade.
It wasn't Hidan.
Ren looked down. His own hand was coated in a faint, wavering black energy. It wasn't Armament Haki. It was... something else.
[System Alert: Adrenaline Spike Detected.]
[Emergency Skill Unlocked: Chakra Reinforcement (Level 1).]
Ren shoved his hand forward. The chakra-enhanced palm struck the Marine's chest. It wasn't a master strike, but it had enough force to knock the air out of the soldier, sending him stumbling back.
Ren didn't hesitate. He grabbed a discarded flintlock from the deck and fired.
The Marine fell.
Ren panted, staring at the gun in his hand. His hands were shaking, but he was alive.
"Hmph," Kaido grunted. "Sloppy. But you have guts."
Kaido stepped forward, swinging his Kanabo. A single swing generated a shockwave that blew the remaining twenty Marines off the ship and into the churning sea.
"Cut the lines!" Kaido ordered. "We're leaving!"
Ren scrambled to the ropes, slicing them with a discarded sword. The ship groaned, lurching away from the dock just as the cliffside above them collapsed into the water.
As the ship drifted into the open sea, away from the hell of God Valley, the sky began to clear.
Ren slumped against the railing, sliding down until he hit the deck. He looked at Hidan, who was currently licking blood off his scythe, and Kaido, who was staring back at the dying island with a contemplative look.
[Quest Complete: Survive God Valley.]
[Reward: System Access Level 2.]
[New Summon Slot Available.]
[Chakra Capacity Increased.]
Ren closed his eyes, a small smile playing on his lips.
He was alive. He had an Emperor as a captain and an immortal as a bodyguard.
"Hey, Ren," Kaido said, turning away from the island. The massive pirate sat on a crate, pulling the azure Devil Fruit from his sash. "What do you know about Devil Fruits?"
Ren opened his eyes. "I know that one is special. Mythical Zoan."
Kaido grinned, taking a massive bite out of the fruit. He didn't even wince at the taste.
"Good," Kaido chewed, swallowing the power that would one day make him the Strongest Creature. "Because we're going to Wano."