"Sorry, all I know is that I'm in a hurry! Fire Fist!!!"
With Wano Country drawing closer and closer, Sabo decided it was time to stop playing around with Jack in his mammoth form; he needed to take him down seriously.
The blazing flames of the Mera Mera no Mi burst forth from Sabo's body, forming a massive fire fist.
It smashed fiercely through the air toward Mammoth-form Jack.
"You damn brat, you don't know your place!"
Faced with the enormous fire fist in front of him, Jack in mammoth form didn't hesitate at all and charged straight at it.
His two tusks, worth 999,999,000 berries, were wrapped in Armament Haki.
He violently swung the two Haki-infused tusks
and unbelievably smacked Sabo's massive fire fist off to the side and into the sea.
Then, he charged straight at the stunned Sabo without holding back.
"I'm gonna ram you to the seafloor, you damn brat!!!"
"Sabo, get out of the way!!!"
Koala shouted out in worry.
As if waking from a dream, Sabo quickly turned to his elemental form and dodged to the side in a hurry.
Jack, heavy in mammoth form, couldn't turn in time and slammed headfirst into the ship's not-so-sturdy deck.
The front half of his mammoth body dangled out over the sea.
If he hadn't quickly leaned back into a crouch, he probably would've plunged into the ocean himself.
"Damn it! I'm gonna ram you to death, you little punk!!!"
Frustrated that Sabo had dodged his charge,
Jack clumsily turned around and charged at Sabo again, fuming with rage.
Meanwhile, Sabo found himself strangely enjoying the process of going elemental.
He turned into flowing flames, easily dodging Jack's furious charges.
This made Jack feel utterly humiliated.
Sabo was right in front of him, yet he couldn't hit him, no matter how hard he tried.
Just as Jack's rage reached its peak, he caught a glimpse of Koala, standing not too far away.
She had just shouted at Sabo to dodge. There was something special between the two of them.
A light bulb went off in Jack's mammoth brain, and he grinned maliciously. He turned and charged at Koala instead.
Sabo panicked and gave chase in his flame form.
"Jack the Drought, you despicable pirate!!!"
"Sabo, help me!!!"
Seeing the massive mammoth Jack charging straight at her, Koala's legs gave out, and she collapsed on the deck in fear.
To strong figures like Sabo, Celo, and Hancock, Jack the Drought might seem like a joke…
But to someone like Koala, an average fighter with modest strength, Jack was a terrifying monster she had no way of resisting.
Not far from Koala, Hancock prepared to step in to save this helpless girl.
But when she saw the overwhelming flames Sabo suddenly unleashed, she decided just to stand back and enjoy the show.
"Flame Dragon Claw Fist! Flame Dragon King!!!"
Faced with Jack about to endanger the one person he held dear, Sabo tapped into the full potential of his Mera Mera no Mi powers.
A massive, majestic Flame Dragon King coiled around his Dragon Claw Fist.
He unleashed it with all his might, smashing Jack's mammoth body violently.
It knocked Jack to the ground, crashing through multiple layers of deck, nearly breaking through the bottom of the ship, and dropping him into the sea.
"Huff…"
Seeing Koala saved at last, Sabo collapsed in exhaustion on the deck beside her.
That Flame Dragon Claw Fist had completely drained his strength.
It would take him a while to recover.
"Sabo, are you alright?!"
Koala worriedly helped him up.
Sabo didn't speak; he simply shook his head and gave her a warm smile.
"The moral of the story is: when fighting an enemy, don't pull a Kakarot, go all out from the start, and don't give them a chance."
Celo chuckled as he looked at the weakened Sabo.
Sabo, lying on the ground, very much agreed with Celo's words.
His earlier underestimation had nearly cost Koala her life.
Though… he still didn't know who this "Kakarot" guy was.
The name sounded like… a monkey.
"Hold on tight, everyone! We're about to crash into the waterfall!"
To be fair, the timing of Sabo taking down Jack couldn't have been better; they were just about to reach Wano's domain.
With Celo's warning, Jack's massive pirate ship charged straight into the waterfall.
And entered Wano's secret cave passage that outsiders knew nothing about.
Once inside, Celo saw ships anchored on both sides.
Most of them flew the Beasts Pirates flag.
There were also a few scattered merchant vessels,
Probably ones used by Orochi's men to exit Wano.
"It's Lord Jack's Mammoth! Get the elevator ready!"
Just as Celo had expected,
They smoothly took Jack's massive pirate ship onto the elevator and entered Wano's sea territory.
Out in the wider world, Jack the Drought wasn't much to talk about.
But within the Beasts Pirates and on Wano's turf, he was a big name.
The bumbling guards at the elevator didn't even check the ship once they saw it was Jack's Mammoth.
They simply assumed no one could have hijacked it.
Unfortunately for them, the Mammoth had been hijacked.
"So this is Wano, huh? Even the air here feels mysterious!"
Hancock curiously observed the surroundings.
This was her first time stepping into the legendary land of Wano.
Compared to Amazon Lily, Wano was like an enigma.
Yet its legends were everywhere across the seas,
A land that produced samurai and seashells.
"We'll probably see lots and lots of samurai, right? But I bet none of their sword skills are even one ten-thousandth as good as Celo's! He's the best swordsman in the world!"
As she spoke, Hancock suddenly launched into a surprise praise of Celo.
So unexpectedly flattering that even Celo felt a bit embarrassed.
"Jeez, say it louder, why don't you…"
"I wonder where that little bird led King the Wildfire…"
Celo looked up into the night sky. All he saw were stars and moonlight.
There was no trace of the Vermilion Bird-form Little Sparrow or Pteranodon-form King.
Still, based on Little Sparrow's strength, Celo wasn't worried that King could hurt it.
He was more concerned that Little Sparrow might get carried away and roast King for fun.
After all, a Mythical Zoan Vermilion Bird and an Ancient Zoan Pteranodon weren't even on the same level.
Knowing Little Sparrow's lazy personality, Celo figured it'd just take King on a walk like a pet and come back to Ghost Island later.
"Sabo, go get Jack. I don't even know which direction Ghost Island is in!"
Lost in the endless sea, Celo realized he was…
Hopelessly lost.
Might as well ask the local expert, Drought Jack, for directions.
"On it!"
Sabo, having recovered some strength, responded eagerly and went down to the lower decks to drag up the unconscious Jack.
He also threw in a few big slaps to wake him up.
"Who?! Who the hell dared to attack me, Drought Jack?!"
Jack stirred groggily from his coma thanks to Sabo's heavy slaps.
Seeing unfamiliar faces around him, he was briefly stunned.
"Hey, Jack, which way to Ghost Island?"
Celo casually lifted the massive Jack with one hand and let him take a look around.
Still not fully awake, Jack dumbly pointed in a direction.
Only afterward did he finally come to his senses, looking at Celo and Sabo, the one who had knocked him out.
"Why the hell would I tell you little punks where Ghost Island is?!"
"Who knows? Sabo, bring two pairs of seastone cuffs. Let's shackle our 'famous' Drought Jack up, hands and feet."
Celo casually tossed Jack in front of Sabo.
After taking that Flame Dragon Claw Fist head-on, Jack didn't have much fight left in him.
All he could do was curse and struggle helplessly as Sabo calmly shackled his limbs with premium seastone cuffs, Wano's special supply for the Beasts Pirates.
Jack immediately fell into a state of complete helplessness.
"Who the hell are you punks?! Why are you going to Ghost Island?! Aren't you afraid Kaido will kill you all?!"
"Oh! So Kaido is home, huh!"
Hearing that, Celo was surprised to learn Kaido was on Ghost Island.
Now that they'd confirmed Kaido's location, they could plan accordingly.
Celo looked down at the now-handcuffed Jack,
Then, at the sack nearby that held the unconscious Katakuri.
He recalled Sabo's earlier joke about bringing Jack to Marineford to help rescue Ace.
He'd thought it was pointless at the time…
…but now, it seemed doable.
Just luring Kaido's dutiful son Yamato away might only draw out Kaido.
But if they also brought along this "genius" Jack,
…then maybe the entire Beasts Pirates crew would come looking.