Next door to Carlo, in Kaido's yard.
In the pavilion, Kaido sprawled against a pillar, hugging a huge wine jar and guzzling gulp after gulp.
Amber liquor spilled from the corners of his mouth and trickled over his muscular, sinewy chest.
Kaido lowered his head, staring blankly at two faint sunken scars in the center of his chest.
They were burns left by the laser Carlo had shot from his eyes that day at Rocky Port.
Because even the muscle tissue had been charred, even his monstrous regeneration couldn't erase the marks.
These past few days he'd been restless.
The reason: he'd suddenly realized that the strength he'd always prided himself on was… actually nothing special.
Whether on Hachinosu Island
or out on the open sea beyond it,
his power was far weaker than he'd believed.
Not to mention the overlord of Hachinosu he'd always wanted to challenge—Rocks.
Even several of the Rocks Pirates' Division Captains seemed out of his reach.
No—forget Division Captains;
even those Senior Combatants weren't easy pickings.
Maron, the mafia godfather.
Gan Sui, the smuggling kingpin.
Stussy, the intel Captain.
Gloriosa, former Captain of the Kuja Pirates.
And that bastard Carlo!
Among them, aside from the two women who'd never shown their strength,
the rest were no pushovers.
Maron was manageable;
true, he'd lost to him last time,
but Kaido refused to accept it.
He'd been badly injured, far from peak condition.
Losing to Maron had simply been bad luck.
Kaido had already decided to find time for a rematch, to regain his pride and raise his standing in the Rocks Pirates—
at least to Senior Combatant level,
no lower than Carlo.
As for Gan Sui… trash!
A loser beaten by Carlo didn't deserve to be Kaido's opponent!
Finally, there was Carlo… The thought of him made Kaido's gloom spill over.
Ever since meeting him at Rocky Port, life had been one misery after another.
Chased around Rocky Port by him,
beaten by Maron on Hachinosu,
then, after leaving, clobbered by some king whose name started with Ira.
The more Kaido thought, the angrier he got.
So all he'd done lately was get thrashed wherever he went.
Where was the promised rampage, the meteoric rise, the crushing of Rocks to become Hachinosu's new king?
Why wasn't anything going as planned?
And the root of this misery was Carlo!
That bastard… Kaido itched to drive his kanabo straight through Carlo into the ground!
Yet he had to admit—right now he couldn't beat him!
Carlo had joined the Rocks Pirates at the same time,
but Carlo was a Senior Combatant
while he remained a junior.
In the raid a few days ago,
he'd gone in together with Carlo,
only to take a punch and be blasted into the sea.
By the time he swam back, seething, the fight was over—
the king who'd floored him had been sent flying into the ocean by Carlo.
The gap between them couldn't be clearer.
In a few days
Carlo would fight Wang Zhi again
for the post of Fourth Division Captain.
Having seen Carlo beat Wang Zhi once, Kaido didn't doubt the outcome.
But it still pissed him off—
royally pissed him off!
While he kept getting trounced,
Carlo's success grated on him even more.
They'd arrived together—why should Carlo climb to Captain already
while he stayed an unnoticed junior?
Glug-glug-glug.
The more he thought, the madder he got;
he lifted the jar and drank like a fish.
With a hiccup he glanced at the wall.
Today the yard next door was eerily quiet;
he couldn't hear Carlo's training.
Kaido hopped onto the wall, eyes darting as he peeked over.
The yard was empty—
not a soul in sight.
Carlo wasn't there.
"That guy's not working out today?"
"I get it—he must be out having fun, maybe hitting the Pleasure District or getting wasted in a bar."
"Hmph, slacking off. He thinks he's stronger than me and's gotten cocky."
Realizing this, Kaido perked up; even the wine lost its taste.
Perfect!
If Carlo wasn't training, this was his chance to catch up.
He hurled the jar aside, strode into the yard, grabbed a boulder the size of a house, and started lifting like mad.
"Just wait, Carlo—I'll overtake you!"
"Uh… no! Why chase him? My goal's always been the top—surpassing Rocks! That bastard Carlo's nothing!"
So where was Carlo right now?
On the other side of Hachinosu, in a mansion covering tens of thousands of square meters.
Carlo sat at a stone table—
a colossal slab over three meters tall, taller than he was.
The bench was equally huge, big enough for Carlo to lie on like a bed.
Simple side dishes were laid out, plus two place settings—one large, one small.
The small one was naturally for Carlo.
As for the large… "Mamamama, Carlo, you've surprised Mama. It's been less than ten days since you joined the Rocks Pirates, hasn't it?"
"And you're already challenging Wang Zhi for his Fourth Division Captain spot?"
"Honestly, I misjudged you. Before, I thought Kaido would reach that milestone first."
A languid, syrupy voice sounded across from him.
On the opposite bench sat an eight-meter-tall woman, chin propped on one hand, leaning lazily over the table and smiling at him.
She had striking pink curls.
Though towering, her face was exquisite, skin smooth and fair.
She wore a loose white-striped shirt,
top two buttons undone, hinting at ample curves beneath.
Tight jeans hugged her full yet graceful hips and long straight legs.
Beneath the table, pale feet with pink-polished toes toyed in white sandals.
"Linlin, did you drag me here just to praise me? We're not that close, are we?"