After the banquet ended, the lingering aroma of exotic spices and roasted meats still hung in the air as Kai finally revealed the main purpose of this trip.
"I heard there's an island near Amazon Lily that's inhabited by numerous fierce giant beasts?"
"Hmm?"
Gloriosa paused slightly, her weathered fingers tightening around her snake staff. She nodded slowly, her cloudy eyes sharpening with curiosity. "That's right, it's to our northeast, called Rusukaina Island. But Kai-sama, how do you know about this place?"
Her voice carried genuine bewilderment, the question hanging in the air like incense smoke.
This was deep in the Calm Belt, a place where even the wind seemed to hold its breath. Aside from Amazon Lily's generational navigation records, passed down through centuries of careful exploration, outsiders would almost never know of its existence.
"I have my information sources."
Kai brushed off the topic lightly, his tone as casual as discussing the weather. "I need the fierce beasts on that island. You won't object, will you?"
The question was polite, but there was an underlying certainty in his voice that suggested he already knew the answer.
"Please go ahead."
Gloriosa didn't hesitate, relief washing over her features like sunrise breaking through storm clouds. "Even if you emptied that entire island, it wouldn't matter to us."
Or rather, she couldn't ask for more.
If Kai could clear out those beasts, Amazon Lily would essentially gain a fertile new territory with greatly reduced danger. The thought made her old heart flutter with possibilities.
After all, Rusukaina Island was a dangerous area that even seasoned Kuja warriors didn't dare enter lightly, where the very air seemed to thrum with predatory energy.
"Very good." Kai smiled and nodded, satisfaction warming his features.
He really did plan to empty Rusukaina Island, though certainly not in the way Gloriosa meant. His smile held secrets that would have made the old woman's blood run cold.
The Beast Pirates without beasts? Could they still be called the Beast Pirates?
Those were five hundred fierce beasts capable of defeating pre-timeskip Luffy, each one a walking nightmare of claws, fangs, and raw fury.
Kai even felt that the Gifter army relying on artificial Devil Fruits in the original work probably couldn't match these beasts in individual strength.
Of course, things were different now. Judge's artificial Devil Fruits used the lineage factors of those very beasts, creating a twisted symphony of science and nature.
Speaking of which, he wondered where Golden Lion was hiding to research IQ plants right now. The old fool was probably wasting his time on inferior specimens.
The fierce beasts he was studying probably weren't as good as the ready-made ones on Rusukaina Island.
Heh, what an old unlucky fool.
The next day brought the acrid scent of adventure and the promise of violence.
Rusukaina Island.
This uninhabited small island welcomed unprecedented commotion today, the very ground seeming to vibrate with anticipation.
"Woohoo!"
"Fenrir, charge!"
In a dense forest clearing where ancient trees stretched their gnarled fingers toward the sky, a horned girl rode on the back of a massive white wolf. Bell-like laughter scattered along the wind as they weaved freely through the woods, her joy as infectious as morning birdsong.
What a harmonious scene of humans and nature coexisting in perfect balance.
If you ignored the fresh bumps stacked one upon another on the white wolf's head like a mountain range of indignity and its aggrieved, teary eyes that spoke volumes about the injustice of being used as a living mount.
Bonney watched with naked envy, her small fingers gripping Kuma's pants leg tightly as she looked up at him with longing eyes that could melt the hardest heart.
"That's too dangerous..."
Kuma was about to refuse when he caught sight of his daughter's eager little gaze, those innocent eyes that held all the trust in the world. His resolve crumbled like a sandcastle before the tide.
"Alright, but only for a little while."
"Yay! Papa is the best!" Bonney cheered joyfully, her small voice carrying pure happiness as she hugged Kuma's thick leg with all her might.
The father and daughter went off to find a suitable small animal, their footsteps creating a gentle rhythm against the forest floor.
Kai wasn't worried about this development.
The moment they landed, he had swept the entire island with his Observation Haki like a spider sensing vibrations across its web. While there weren't zero animals that could threaten Kuma, ensuring his own safety was no problem. The man was built like a fortress and twice as reliable.
"ROAR!"
Just then, a deafening roar suddenly echoed from the forest depths, the sound rolling across the landscape like thunder made manifest.
The sound waves reached everywhere, making tree branches and leaves sway wildly in an impromptu dance of terror and startling countless birds from their perches. Squawks and cries filled the air as wings beat frantically against the sky.
"Hmm?" Kai raised an eyebrow slightly, interest sparking in his eyes like flint striking steel.
A formidable opponent had arrived.
He looked toward the sound and saw dust clouds rolling in the distance, accompanied by the dull trembling of the earth that seemed to announce the approach of something ancient and terrible. A huge black shadow like a moving mountain was charging toward their location at a speed that didn't match its massive size, defying the very laws of physics.
A lion!
A giant lion over fifty meters tall, with bulging muscles that rippled like steel cables beneath scarred hide and battle wounds covering its entire body like a roadmap of violence. Each scar told a story of survival, of victories hard-won against equally monstrous foes.
"ROAR!"
It roared again, announcing the arrival of the overlord with all the ceremony of a king entering his throne room.
This island was home to top-tier beasts that even Luffy would need to activate Gear Fourth to defeat, creatures that existed in that rarefied air where only the strongest survived.
And this lion was clearly one of them, an apex predator among apex predators.
Kai suspected this was the origin of Luffy's Lion Bazooka technique, the inspiration drawn from facing such magnificent terror.
"Ace, Sanji, Zoro, do you want to give it a try?" Kai stroked his chin, a smile of interest curving his lips like a blade finding its target.
"I couldn't ask for more!"
Zoro's eyes instantly ignited with high fighting spirit, his mouth curling into an excited arc that spoke of battles dreamed and bloodshed anticipated.
He bit the Wado Ichimonji between his teeth with practiced ease, drew his other two swords with a metallic ring that sang through the air, arranged them in a triangular formation behind him, and shot out like an arrow loosed from a master archer's bow!
"Three-Sword Style: Tiger Hunt!"
Sharp blade light tore through the air with a sound like silk being ripped, slashing viciously toward the lion's massive head with deadly precision.
CLANG!
An ear-piercing sound of metal against metal exploded across the clearing, the noise sharp enough to make teeth ache.
Zoro's blades couldn't tear through the lion's skin, only leaving a few shallow white marks like chalk lines on a blackboard and causing some golden fur to drift down like autumn leaves.
"So hard!"
The words escaped his lips in a breathless gasp of disbelief.
He couldn't even break through its defense! The reality hit him like a physical blow.
Zoro's pupils constricted to pinpricks as he immediately tried to withdraw, his instincts screaming danger.
However, the lion's reaction was surprisingly fast for something so massive.
A gigantic paw like a sky-covering canopy, carrying the terrifying power to crush boulders into powder, slapped down toward Zoro like swatting an annoying fly. The wind pressure alone was suffocating, pressing down with the weight of inevitability.
BANG!!!
Zoro only had time to cross his three swords in front of him for defense before being mercilessly swatted away without any resistance, his body becoming a projectile launched by raw, overwhelming force.
His form plowed a deep furrow dozens of meters long in the earth before barely stopping, dirt and debris flying in his wake. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, bright red against his pale lips.
"Moss-head, you're really pathetic!"
Seeing that Zoro was still breathing, his chest rising and falling with stubborn determination, Sanji relaxed and couldn't resist the opportunity to mock his rival. "Watch me!"
"Next..." Sanji began, but before he could finish his declaration, Ace could no longer contain his burning impatience.
"My turn!" Ace rushed forward first, his body already wreathed in flickering flames that danced like excited spirits.
Then, with almost comedic timing, he flew back at an even faster speed than Zoro, his trajectory painting a perfect arc through the air before he crashed beside the swordsman with pinpoint accuracy. The impact kicked up a cloud of dust that settled over both defeated warriors like a shroud.
The two became brothers in misfortune, lying side by side in matching human-shaped craters.
"Phew..."
Sanji pulled out a cigarette with practiced nonchalance and lit it with a small flame from his fingertip, taking a deep drag as smoke curled around his face. His gaze became as sharp as a hawk's, focused and deadly serious.
"Kai-aniki, I'll prove that I'm the strongest rookie under your command!"
The declaration rang out with absolute confidence, his voice carrying the weight of pride and determination.
"Collier Strike!"
After several graceful backflips in the air that showcased his acrobatic prowess, Sanji reached the lion's forehead and unleashed a barrage of kicks with both legs, each impact precise and powerful.
The massive strikes landed on the lion with meaty thunks that echoed across the clearing, instantly causing the beast obvious pain for the first time in this encounter.
This time, the lion felt genuine discomfort and let out an enraged roar that shook the very foundations of the forest, fury blazing in its golden eyes like molten metal.
These little humans in front of it were too annoying, buzzing around like persistent mosquitoes that refused to be swatted away.
The giant paw brought destructive wind pressure down again at alarming speed, moving with the inexorable force of a falling mountain.
BANG!
Sanji hastily raised his right leg to defend, muscles straining against the impossible force, but the power gap between them was simply too vast, an unbridgeable chasm of raw strength.
He predictably suffered the same fate as his companions, his body joining the growing collection of defeated warriors.
The ground was smashed into yet another human-shaped crater, the earth bearing witness to another failed challenge.
Fortunately, with his exoskeleton fully awakened, Sanji's defense had grown rapidly, and he actually retained a trace of consciousness despite the devastating impact.
"Cough... cough cough..."
Sanji struggled to stand up, his body protesting every movement, but Kai had already appeared before him like a guardian angel, gently patting his shoulder with paternal care.
"Alright, you're no match for that guy right now. Grow for a few more years."
The words were spoken with gentle finality, acknowledging both current limitations and future potential.
With that simple statement, Kai slowly stood up, his calm gaze turning toward the lion that had fallen into a rage from being repeatedly provoked by what it saw as insignificant insects.
The moment Kai's gaze fell upon the massive predator, the usually lawless lion suddenly felt a palpitation deep in its chest, an instinctive recognition of something far more dangerous than itself.
Its beast instincts, honed by countless battles and narrow escapes, told it with crystalline clarity that the man before it was not to be trifled with.
But immediately after, its pride as the island's overlord instantly overwhelmed its fear like fire consuming paper.
It was the undisputed king of this forest! Except for those few old rivals who had earned their place through blood and violence, who could make it retreat voluntarily?
The lion's eyes blazed with renewed fury as it prepared to show this presumptuous human exactly why it ruled this domain of monsters.