Chapter 168: Ochoku: Shiki, You Son of a Bitch!
Dark clouds blotted out the sky, reducing visibility over the sea to a minimum. A fierce wind raged, kicking up monstrous waves and causing the sailing ship to sway constantly.
A four-horned dragon head, covered in hard scales, descended from the sky, landing directly above the ship. Its massive dragon eyes were locked on the vessel, which was rocking in the fierce wind.
THUD, THUD—
A series of heavy footsteps sounded on the deck, and a dark figure, about five meters tall and carrying a scythe and a chain mace, slowly materialized.
The dark figure looked up at the Azure Dragon, which was suspended in the dark clouds, with only sections of its hard-scaled body and its giant, lowered head visible.
"You've come, Kaido."
"I heard you found another Ancient Zoan, so I came over," Kaido's deep voice replied from his cavernous mouth, which was filled with sharp fangs.
The tall, dark figure slowly nodded. "That's right. This time, I got the Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Ancient Model: Triceratops. There was another unknown fruit, but it was snatched by a guy who used to be with the Whitebeard Pirates. I injured him, but I couldn't get the fruit back."
Kaido heard this, and a strange light flashed in his eyes. "One of that muscle-head's people? Was it one of his division commanders?"
"No, it was a guy named Gamenio. He's only as strong as one of the later division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates," the tall, dark figure said, his tone remarkably calm.
After hearing this, Kaido paid it no more mind. Such a minor character was not worthy of his attention. He then cut straight to the point. "Where's the fruit? After I get it, I should go back and educate my son! That brat Yamato... even with my guidance, she's still weaker than her sister!"
The tall, dark figure was taken aback. "When did you have another—sister?!" He gradually realized something was wrong, and his voice couldn't help but rise a few pitches. "How did you give Yamato an older sister?"
To this, a hint of a smile appeared on Kaido's ferocious dragon face. "Worororo! It was the child born from that woman who ran to the prison ship to save me and died for nothing! I only found out about it not long ago."
"That woman?" The dark figure was thoughtful, as if he had a basic impression of her. Then he added, "So, did you bring her back? Why not bring my daughter and son back with you too? It's not convenient for me to collect Devil Fruits with them anyway. I might as well just give them to you."
"She's under that Archangel Louis. Seems to be in Dressrosa?" a ferocious smile appeared on Kaido's twisted face. "When I have time, I'll go and beat her and that Archangel, then bring them back to Onigashima to work for me! But—if you want to give me your kids, that's fine too. I'm sure your children could become executives in the future."
The man with the scythe and chain mace was stunned, then subconsciously stroked his chin. "Dressrosa... isn't that nearby? And it seems that guy, Golden Lion Shiki, is also there. The newspapers are all speculating that he wants to use the Archangel's power to return to his peak."
"Nearby? Shiki?" Kaido was taken aback, his entire dragon-self utterly bewildered.
To this, the dark figure shook his head helplessly. "You used my Vivre Card to fly here again, didn't you? Honestly, you didn't even stop at an island to catch up on the latest news!"
Hearing this, Kaido's entire being became visibly excited, and his voice couldn't help but grow louder. "Hey! Bring the fruit and your brats over here! I'm going to rush over to Dressrosa and take a look! Maybe I can even catch Shiki and that brat Louis and his crew all in one go!"
The tall, dark figure heard him and clapped his hands, instructing the subordinates hiding in the cabin to do as Kaido said. Soon, a Devil Fruit in a wooden box and two sleeping children were sent out together.
Seeing this, Kaido controlled a piece of the flame cloud from under his dragon claws to separate, wrapping up the children and the Devil Fruit. Then, he spoke to the dark figure again. "Hey! The Eternal Pose for Dressrosa!"
The dark figure heard him and raised an eyebrow, then had someone take out an Eternal Pose and toss it up to Kaido in mid-air.
Kaido caught the pose and, without looking back, disappeared into the dark clouds.
...
Just then, on the deck, a pirate grunt, after some hesitation, mustered his courage and said, "Captain, is it really okay to let Kaido of the Beasts take the young masters to such a dangerous place?"
...
"!!"
"Oh no!" Cold sweat dripped from the dark figure's face. Then, realizing what a stupid thing he had just done, he turned to look at the group of grunts. "Quick! To Dressrosa!"
Dressrosa - King's Plateau.
Louis crossed his arms and stood quietly at the edge of the operating table, watching with great interest the scene of the Golden Lion's head being opened up.
Not far away, Ochoku sat upright, his gaze constantly on Louis and the doctors. Due to some unknown agreement he had made with the Golden Lion, and having made a considerable investment, he did not want Shiki to die here.
As time passed, the ship's wheel on Shiki's head was removed bit by bit.
Louis's eyes, combined with his "Transparent World"-like Observation Haki, unabashedly observed the wound on Shiki's abdomen. Under his investigation, he finally got a clear picture of Shiki's secret.
Shiki's abdomen had been cut open and then sutured in the most rudimentary way possible. Deeper inside, in his stomach, several rock-like objects, sealed in small glass vials, had been stuffed inside. Along with them was an empty but bulging polymer bag.
Seeing this, an unsurprised look appeared in Louis's eyes. He already knew what these things were. Dyna Stones, also known as explosion rocks. It was said that once these things came into contact with air, they would react, creating a massive explosion with power comparable to that of an Ancient Weapon.
"Golden Lion - Shiki... what a ruthless man—"
If he wasn't mistaken, the purpose of Shiki cutting open his own abdomen and stuffing in several Dyna Stones and a bag of air was to prepare to take Louis with him in case he went back on his word.
Although Louis had already guessed this outcome, when he truly witnessed it, he couldn't help but be amazed.
Ever since Shiki's first arrival and before his negotiation with Louis, he had seen in the news that a dangerous item had been stolen from the World Government. From then on, Louis had kept a watchful eye, raised his guard, and had Daz Bonez investigate what the World Government had lost and who had done it. And Daz Bonez had smoothly obtained the answer Louis wanted.
"What was lost were the dangerous Dyna Stones."
"The culprit was the Golden Lion."
After getting the answer, Louis had a guess as to Shiki's thoughts, so he had everyone in the castle leave to avoid them being blown to smithereens. And now, his thoughts were confirmed.
Then, Louis glanced at the seemingly sleeping Golden Lion, not doubting for a second that he had secretly retained a considerable part of his consciousness. As long as he was about to die, he would at any moment reach into his stomach and crush the Dyna Stones and the bag of air. Or use the Marines' Life Return to squeeze those things out with his stomach and send everything here to kingdom come.
Of course, Louis believed that this did not include himself. Since birth, Louis, who had never shed a single drop of blood, was extremely confident in his own defense. Wasn't the reason he had defeated Aokiji and Kizaru so quickly due to his invincible defense and world-class speed? If it were a flesh-and-blood body like Shanks's or the Golden Lion's facing the two's coordinated attack, they would have had to shed a layer of skin even if they didn't die.
After a brief moment of thought, Louis looked with some pity at Ochoku, who seemed to be unaware of this. Poor Ochoku. He gave away a precious Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit, and was still kept in the dark and brought into the blast radius of the Dyna Stones.
Ochoku, noticing Louis's gaze, felt deeply uncomfortable and frowned. "What's with that look?"
To this, Louis fell into thought. He was considering whether to tell Ochoku the cruel truth. But in the end, he decided to say it, because he felt there was some fun to be had.
Soon, Louis met Ochoku's gaze with great interest. "Did Shiki tell you that he has several Dyna Stones stuffed in his stomach?"
...
Ochoku was stunned, his face full of disbelief.
Then, he subconsciously looked at the bloody wound on Shiki's abdomen, recalled his strange behavior, and the way he seemed completely unconcerned about Louis killing him.
The next moment, Ochoku was so angry he laughed.
"SHIKI!!"
"You dog that can't be taught new tricks! You son of a bitch!" At this moment, the entire operating room echoed with Ochoku's furious voice.
He had never thought that not only had he agreed to Shiki's request for an alliance and had given up two Ancient Zoan Devil Fruits as payment for his medical treatment to restore him to his peak state, but that this bastard Shiki, as if nothing had happened, had brought him into the radius of his self-destruction, and a point-blank one at that.
This made Ochoku extremely furious. He directly pushed aside the several doctors, grabbed Shiki by the collar and, without any regard for the fact that his head was wide open, lifted him up.
Nearby, the several doctors were extremely anxious. Seeing the data on the monitor plummeting, they were covered in sweat. They all rushed forward, trying to persuade Ochoku.
"Lord Ochoku, please calm down! If you keep shaking him like this, Lord Shiki will definitely die!"
"This heartless son of a bitch! If he dies, he dies!" Ochoku roared furiously.
Nearby, the several doctors were also very helpless. They had never thought that Lord Shiki would pull such a stunt and not even inform Ochoku. If they weren't loyal enough and willing to die for him, even they would have wanted to stab him a few times with their scalpels.
In the end, all the doctors could say was, "After Lord Shiki is healed, we'll help you hold him down and let you beat him up, Lord Ochoku."
The entire operating room was in a state of chaos.
The Golden Lion, who still retained a part of his consciousness, didn't dare to let out a single peep.
As for Louis himself, he was quietly enjoying the show, with no intention of interfering.
After a while, the head surgeon, on his own initiative, took out the Dyna Stones from Shiki's stomach and sutured the wound. Then, the head surgeon handed the Dyna Stones to Louis and Ochoku for safekeeping. Only then did Ochoku temporarily rein in his emotions, glaring fiercely at Shiki.
The skill of the doctors the Golden Lion had brought was beyond Louis's imagination. With Louis using his ability to keep Shiki's life hanging by a thread, they had completed the surgery much earlier than they themselves had estimated. He even took the time to help Shiki reattach the two swords that had replaced his legs, and with Louis's cooperation, attached the legs that had been cultivated from Shiki's own cells.
When the surgery to remove the wheel and reattach his legs was completely finished, Louis infused his body with life force, completely finishing the treatment.
And the Golden Lion had successfully recovered to the peak state he should have at his age. Of course, the recovery of his Haki could not be accomplished in an instant. First, he had to think about how to get past the furious Ochoku.
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