I, Kaido, Cultivate Immortality!
Takamagahara… no, now he was Kaido.
As someone who had read countless web novels in his previous life, when he realized he had transmigrated into Kaido, his first reaction was naturally excitement.
After all, he had been a nobody at the bottom of society on Earth. To suddenly be reborn into a familiar fictional world, gain a second life, and directly become a top monster like Kaido of the Beasts no matter how you looked at it, it was something worth celebrating.
But that excitement did not last long.
Because after sorting through Kaido's memories and combining them with his knowledge of this world, he confirmed one terrifying truth.
The timeline he was in… was extremely close to the start of the great era that would shake the seas.
From intelligence gathered through underworld channels and the Beasts Pirates' information network, he could confirm that the Worst Generation had not yet fully risen, and the name Monkey D. Luffy had not yet shaken the New World.
This meant only one thing.
The era of the future Pirate King had not begun but it was about to.
In other words, at most a few short years remained before everything spiraled into the storm that would overturn the Yonko system.
And in that future…
He, Kaido, would become a stepping stone.
This was absolutely unacceptable.
Could it be changed?
Kaido thought about it for a long time but found no easy solution.
First of all, his future hostility with Luffy was almost inevitable. Even if they had never met yet, their collision was destined.
Because Kaido ruled over Wano Country a land tied deeply to the Void Century and Joy Boy.
And more importantly…
He possessed one of the Road Poneglyphs needed to reach Laugh Tale.
That alone guaranteed conflict with the future Pirate King.
So, did he have confidence in defeating Luffy head-on?
Honestly… no.
Even though he had fully fused with Kaido's body, inheriting his monstrous vitality, Mythical Zoan power, and supreme Haki, when he thought about the awakening of the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika that ridiculous ability that bent reality itself he couldn't help but feel uncertain.
That fruit wasn't just powerful.
It was unreasonable.
Ridiculous stamina, impossible recovery, cartoon-like freedom, and the will of a legend carried through centuries.
Facing something like that, even Kaido couldn't guarantee victory.
And what was worse…
Who knew if the world itself would begin favoring Luffy even more once the gears of fate began turning?
This was a world where inherited will, destiny, and miracles were real forces.
Trying to resist that head-on was like challenging the tide itself.
What about assassinating Luffy early?
The thought crossed his mind eliminate the threat before it bloomed.
But he quickly dismissed it.
Because if he did that, the enemies he would provoke would be far worse.
The Red-Haired Pirates led by Shanks.
The remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates.
The Revolutionary Army led by Dragon.
Legends like Garp and Rayleigh.
And perhaps even the will of the world itself.
More importantly, both his pride as a transmigrator and Kaido's own kingly arrogance rejected such a cowardly path.
A Yonko did not fear the future.
And then came the most suffocating realization.
Kaido was already standing at the ceiling of this world.
As the so-called Strongest Creature in the World, one of the Four Emperors, his body, Haki, and Devil Fruit had already reached the peak achievable through conventional means.
Advancing further through normal training?
Almost impossible.
This conclusion nearly drove him into despair.
Would he really only exist as the final boss who gets defeated to crown the Pirate King?
But just as that thought surfaced
A spark flashed in his mind.
If power within the rules of this world couldn't defeat the Child of Destiny…
Then what about power outside its rules?
That thought traced back to before his transmigration.
On Earth, he had been an ordinary office worker.
There was a time he believed money ruled everything.
That wealth could buy anything in life.
But after experiencing the fragility of life during difficult years, his values changed.
Health became more important than money.
However, reality was cruel.
No time, no energy, no discipline for proper fitness.
So he turned toward something easier quiet practices done at home.
Breathing methods.
Meditation.
And even those so-called mystical Taoist internal cultivation techniques floating around the internet.
Naturally, nothing came of it back then.
In a world without miracles, such things were just hobbies.
But now…
He was in a world where Devil Fruits existed.
Where willpower could split the sky.
Where souls and destiny had weight.
If transmigration itself was possible
Then trying those old cultivation methods again didn't seem so absurd.
At first, it was just a desperate attempt.
A last struggle against a predetermined future.
But unexpectedly…
It worked.
He actually succeeded.
The method he practiced was something he once dismissed as fantasy:
The Greater and Lesser Heavenly Circulation Method.
It was one of the most widely shared foundational internal cultivation techniques he had found online in his previous life. Because it was considered "basic," the instructions were extremely detailed and easy to follow.
Unlike the exaggerated realms in xianxia novels Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core this method didn't rely on absorbing external spiritual energy.
It was a system built entirely on the human body itself.
And perhaps precisely because the world of pirates had no concept of spiritual qi…
This method worked.
The cultivation was divided into three stages:
Refining Essence into Qi.
Refining Qi into Spirit.
Refining Spirit returning to Emptiness.
The "Essence" here wasn't something mystical, but the total biological energy within a living body nutrients, vitality, breath, sunlight, metabolism.
The "Qi" wasn't spiritual energy either.
It was closer to life force the fundamental vitality that sustained existence.
As for "Spirit," it wasn't a floating soul like myths described, but something closer to willpower, consciousness, and mental force.
Refining Essence into Qi meant circulating internal energy through the Lesser Cycle, condensing bodily vitality into a purer life force. This strengthened the body, eliminated hidden damage, and reinforced one's foundation.
Refining Qi into Spirit involved the Greater Cycle, merging life force with consciousness, strengthening willpower and spiritual intensity something strikingly similar to the principles behind Haki.
Finally, Refining Spirit returning to Emptiness represented harmony of body, energy, and will a perfect cycle where everything operated naturally, reaching a state of unity often described as transcendence.
Of course, Takamagahara had no interest in becoming an immortal.
What he wanted was simple.
Power.
Enough power to shatter destiny.
Enough to stand above the so-called chosen one.
So for the past three months, he remained on this thunder-wrapped island, mastering Kaido's monstrous body while secretly cultivating this internal method.
The results shocked even him.
Perhaps it was due to the fusion of two souls.
Perhaps Kaido's body was already beyond human limits.
Or perhaps Haki and Devil Fruit powers were already forms of life energy.
Whatever the reason
The moment he began cultivating, he smoothly entered the first stage.
He felt it clearly.
Qi.
A tangible flow of life force circulating within him.
And the effects were immediate.
First, while his human form showed only subtle changes, his Azure Dragon form grew stronger at an astonishing rate. Its size increased, scales hardened, and destructive power rose dramatically.
Second, under the nourishment of Qi, he felt himself growing younger.
Kaido was already in his late fifties, and even monsters couldn't escape time forever.
But now, the erosion of age was reversing.
Old battle scars accumulated from decades at sea began healing.
The most obvious was the deep scar across his abdomen the wound left by Kozuki Oden's Paradise Totsuka.
The lingering pain was fading.
Finally, his Haki began changing.
Observation Haki became sharper.
But more strangely, his overall Haki lost some of its previous violent explosiveness.
Instead, it became deeper.
More controlled.
More refined.
Like a blade returned to its sheath.
It felt calmer yet more terrifying.
And it seemed to exert a stronger suppressive effect on Devil Fruit users.
These transformations gave Takamagahara something he hadn't felt since arriving in this world.
Hope.
Real hope.
"Hmph… I don't care if you're the Child of Destiny, the man of prophecy, or Joy Boy reborn…"
His eyes burned with ferocious confidence.
"Since I am Kaido now… and I possess power beyond this world's logic…"
"Then this era can only have one true ruler."
"And that will be me."
"Worororororo…!!!"
His laughter rolled like thunder.
The next moment, flames erupted beneath his feet.
His body twisted and expanded, transforming once more into the colossal Azure Dragon.
Riding blazing flame clouds, the King of the Beasts soared toward Wano Country
Toward the stage where destiny itself awaited.