Tenma landed soundlessly on the eaves, looking down at the two future powerhouses who hadn't yet grown up. A playful curve lifted the corner of his mouth.
Jack's alertness was pretty sharp. Hearing the disturbance, he bristled instantly, baring his saw-like teeth as he demanded to know who Tenma was.
By contrast, Yamato looked timid and adorably nervous, cautiously asking whether samurai had come to kill them.
Both of them stared at the sword at Tenma's waist—after all, Onigashima often attracted suicidal samurai looking to die.
Jack's short temper didn't wait for answers. He swung his fist straight at Tenma, that reckless ferocity already etched into his bones from childhood.
Facing such a childish attack, Tenma couldn't even be bothered to draw his blade. He casually caught the punch with one hand.
An invisible burst of Armament Haki exploded outward, slamming Jack straight into the ground and embedding him there, stone fragments flying everywhere.
Tenma dusted off his hand and smiled at the terrified Yamato, saying he wasn't a samurai and had no interest in bullying kids.
Yamato screamed while staring at the unconscious Jack, accusing Tenma of lying—after all, he'd just one-shot someone.
Tenma shrugged, saying the little fatty struck first, so it counted as self-defense.
Then he got straight to the point. Locking eyes with Yamato, he said he wanted to borrow Kaido's Den Den Mushi.
Yamato jolted at that gaze. Though frightened, she bit her lip, unwilling to betray her dad.
Tenma keenly caught the shift in her emotions and immediately switched tactics, claiming he was a mysterious visitor from overseas who just wanted to have a heart-to-heart with Kaido.
The word "overseas" hit Yamato like a critical strike.
The fear in her eyes instantly turned into starry-eyed excitement as she eagerly asked if he really came from beyond the seas.
Having been trapped on Onigashima since childhood, Yamato's yearning for freedom and the ocean had long reached obsession.
Like a big bad wolf luring Little Red Riding Hood, Tenma smiled warmly and said he knew many interesting stories about the sea—but first, he needed that Den Den Mushi.
The temptation was overwhelming. Without a second thought, Yamato scampered into the room to fetch it.
…
At the same time, far away on the battlefield of Udon, a brutal slaughter had just come to an end.
The Beasts Pirates paid minimal cost to completely annihilate the Nine Red Scabbards, and Kozuki Oden was knocked unconscious by Kaido's club.
Kaido sat in the center of the battlefield, clutching his wound, his face dark enough to drip water—there was not a shred of a victor's joy.
That old hag's interference at the critical moment made the victory disgraceful. This wasn't the hot-blooded battle Kaido craved.
The angrier he got, the more furious he became. Walking up to Kurozumi Higurashi, Kaido smashed her into meat paste with a single blow as she stared in terror.
The surrounding pirates trembled, afraid that Kaido's rage would spill over onto them.
Just then, the sudden ringing of a Den Den Mushi shattered the dead silence.
A subordinate hurriedly answered and nervously reported—it was Lady Yamato calling.
Kaido took the Den Den Mushi, warning Yamato in a chilling voice not to mess with his things.
But what came through the line was an unfamiliar young man's voice, casually remarking that this place was no longer Kaido's territory.
Every face present changed color.
That could only mean one thing—their home had been infiltrated, and even the boss's kid had been taken!
Suppressing his fury, Kaido demanded to know who the caller was.
Tenma calmly replied that identities weren't important—what mattered was that he had business to discuss.
Kaido was so enraged by the arrogance that he laughed instead, roaring that anyone daring to run wild on his turf was courting death.
Tenma remained unhurried, even a bit teasing, asking whether Kaido didn't want to know what kind of business it was.
Kaido didn't bother with words. He crushed the Den Den Mushi in his grip, terrifying lightning erupting from his body.
Transforming into a blue dragon, he shot into the sky, roaring orders for everyone to return to defend Onigashima—his speed like lightning tearing through the night.
King the Conflagration quickly directed the cleanup. Queen the Plague was still shouting noisily nearby, asking whether the prisoners should be sent to the Flower Capital.
King coldly cursed him as an idiot—home base was about to be taken, who cared about prisoners? Then he transformed into a pteranodon and gave chase.
Queen watched King fly off, hopping mad as he complained about that freak leaving without taking him along.
…
Back on Onigashima, Yamato stared at the disconnected Den Den Mushi, spinning in circles in panic, muttering that it was over.
Tenma found her cowardly panic amusing and asked why she'd cooperated if she was so afraid of dying.
Yamato looked aggrieved, saying the temptation he offered was just too great—her desire to hear sea stories had overcome her fear.
Tenma reassured her that it was fine. In a moment, all of Kaido's aggro would be on him.
No sooner had he finished speaking than dark clouds rolled in, thunder booming, a terrifying pressure descending from the heavens.
A massive dragon head emerged from the clouds, crimson eyes locking onto Tenma below.
Kaido gave no chance for explanations. His body rapidly shrank back into human form midair, using the momentum of his fall as he swung his kanabo straight down.
Dark-red arcs of Haki lightning wrapped around the club, ripping the air apart with shrill screams.
Facing the world-shattering blow—Thunder Bagua—Tenma didn't dare be careless. The famed blade Shidarezura in his hand was instantly coated in blood-red Haki.
The two forces collided violently in midair, erupting in an earth-shaking explosion.
A terrifying shockwave blasted outward, the ground shattering like brittle biscuits, buildings collapsing into ruins in an instant.
Poor Yamato was blown straight off her feet, tumbling away like a rolling gourd.
Black-and-red lightning shot into the clouds. All of Onigashima trembled violently, as if it might collapse the next second.
The arriving King stared in shock, his jaw nearly hitting the ground—
This was a top-tier clash of Conqueror's Haki!
After a brief stalemate, Tenma ultimately lost out in raw power and was blasted away by Kaido's strike.
He adjusted his posture midair, landed steadily, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and praised how vicious Conqueror's coating really was.
Kaido grinned savagely, saying that knowing this technique and still daring to challenge a Yonko took guts.
Another jet-black bolt of lightning exploded as Kaido charged again, his kanabo carrying annihilating intent.
This time Tenma didn't meet it head-on. His figure flashed, retreating at near-teleportation speed, then counterattacked by activating his Devil Fruit ability.
The ground surged upward, transforming into a massive stone-and-earth dragon. Wrapped in Armament Haki, it roared as it charged Kaido.
Kaido let out a furious bellow, cursing Tenma for wrecking his castle. Transforming once more into a blue dragon, he unleashed a torrent of scorching dragon breath.
The two energies collided, blasting out a gigantic crater like a fallen meteor. The entire island of Onigashima wailed in protest.
The sea below churned violently. Queen, who had just arrived, nearly popped his eyes out—
because he saw something utterly horrifying.
The enormous island of Onigashima had broken free from the sea—
and was slowly rising into the sky.