"ROAR!!!"
The lion's massive roar shook the entire island, sending tremors through the ancient earth beneath their feet.
From the other four corners of the island, powerful auras stirred like sleeping titans awakening. Four distinct presences turned their attention eastward, their instincts recognizing the challenge in that earth-shaking cry.
Kai gazed at the enraged giant beast before him, his lips slowly curving into a playful arc that promised violence.
The next instant, a pale, slender palm pressed against the lion's muscled chest.
"Dragon Claw!"
A tremendous force, like an invisible siege hammer, struck the lion with devastating precision.
The explosive sound of splintering wood filled the air as the lion's massive body flew backward uncontrollably for over a hundred meters. Ancient trees thick enough to embrace snapped in half like fragile wheat stalks, dust clouds erupting skyward as the beast carved a path of destruction through the forest.
When the dust settled like a brown curtain falling, the lion lay collapsed on the ground. Its sides heaved like massive bellows, each breath a struggle as it fought to remain conscious.
When it saw that demon-like figure walking toward it unhurriedly over scattered branches and debris, the lion's survival instincts screamed louder than its pride.
The beast ignored its body's pain, struggled to its feet with trembling legs, and ran toward the forest depths with desperate urgency.
"Too late to run now."
Kai's playful voice rang out like a death sentence. His figure vanished from the spot, and when he reappeared, he was already standing atop the lion's massive head like a conqueror claiming his throne.
He crouched down, gently patting the lion's rough, scarred scalp as if stroking a beloved pet.
"Submit or die. Choose one."
The words were spoken softly, but they carried the weight of absolute authority.
Powerful beasts possessed high intelligence, and Kai had no doubt it could understand his meaning. The lion's golden eyes, still blazing with fury moments before, now flickered with the harsh reality of survival.
Sure enough, after a moment's hesitation that felt like an eternity, the lion's strong survival instinct completely overwhelmed its overlord pride.
It obediently lowered its massive body, pressing its great head to the earth while making appeasing purring sounds deep in its throat. The sound was almost pathetic coming from such a magnificent predator.
"Good boy."
Kai smiled with satisfaction, rewarding the beast by rubbing the coarse fur on its head. "Now, take me to meet your friends. I'm very much looking forward to them."
The lion nodded eagerly, and Kai caught a barely perceptible gleam of schadenfreude in its intelligent eyes.
Those creatures weren't its friends at all, but mortal enemies competing for territory. They had spent years fighting brutal battles for dominance over this savage island.
This terrifying little human wanting to deal with them suited the lion perfectly. It wouldn't be the only unlucky one, after all.
Several hours later, on Rusukaina Island's eastern coast, an unprecedented gathering took place.
Giant lion, giant ape, giant snake, giant elephant, giant rhinoceros!
The island's five great overlords were now, for the first time in their violent history, gathered together without tearing each other apart.
However, except for the giant lion, which still looked relatively decent, the other four all sported bright red bumps on their foreheads like badges of defeat.
Kai stood before the five mountain-like giant beasts, as tiny as an ant compared to their massive forms. Yet the aura he emanated made all five apex predators afraid to even breathe loudly.
"Remember what I said. Obey orders, and you'll live very comfortably. Otherwise..."
His gaze turned cold as winter steel, and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees.
The five overlord-level beasts immediately nodded their massive heads like obedient students being scolded by a terrifying teacher.
"Kai! Are you done with your business?"
Yamato came sliding over on a surprisingly large snake, having played to her heart's content across the dangerous island. The snake's belly was noticeably bulging, clearly having enjoyed a hearty meal during their adventures.
"Hm? You changed mounts?" Kai raised an eyebrow at the dejected giant python beneath her feet.
"Yeah! This island is so interesting!"
Yamato jumped off the snake's back with athletic grace, excitedly counting on her fingers as she shared her jungle tales like precious treasures. "Fenrir got gored to death by Minotaur, Minotaur got bitten to death by Hydra, and finally, Pegasus got swallowed by Jormungandr!"
Kai's mouth twitched involuntarily.
Good grief, Yamato's sightseeing trip had directly slaughtered through both Greek and Norse mythological systems with the enthusiasm of a tourist collecting souvenirs!
Kozuki Hiyori walked over with her usual grace, her silk kimono somehow remaining pristine despite the jungle environment. Looking at these five fortress-like giant beasts, her delicate eyebrows furrowed with practical concern.
"Kai-sama, these giant beasts... the Rayquaza probably can't transport them."
"Of course not." Kai nodded with amusement.
The Rayquaza was only a hundred-meter class ship, while these five beast overlords were all over fifty meters tall at minimum. Unless he possessed some magical shrinking device, he could transport one at most, and even that would be a tight squeeze.
However, who said he had to transport the cargo personally?
The Beast Pirates had a certain transportation expert with very specific qualifications.
"Hey, Kaido-san, I found a great place for our Beast Pirates..."
Kai called without hesitation, his voice carrying across the Den Den Mushi connection.
Kaido on the other end was a monster who could physically uproot Onigashima and sustain multiple rounds of combat with barely a scratch. Unless the legendary "Nation-Pulling Demon" Oars was resurrected, Kai could hardly think of a more suitable candidate for this particular job.
"You bastard brat! What do you take me for?! A cargo-hauling laborer?!"
The Den Den Mushi instantly mimicked Kaido's furious expression, its features twisting with rage. Saliva seemed ready to spray through the receiver onto Kai's face.
Kai calmly wiped away the nonexistent spit and smiled with the confidence of someone holding all the cards.
"Those are hundreds of beasts only slightly weaker than the All-Stars, with several even capable of matching the Tobiroppo."
The other end of the call fell into telling silence.
A few seconds later, Kaido's impatient roar came through, but Kai could hear the eager undertone beneath the bluster.
"If you dare lie to me, brat, you'll regret it!"
See, that worked like a charm.
Kai didn't believe for a second that Kaido would pass up such a treasure trove of powerful creatures.
"There's one more thing." Kai took advantage of the moment before Kaido hung up to blurt out his additional request.
"Troublesome! Only you would dare order me around like this."
Kaido neither agreed nor refused, rudely cutting the communication with typical dramatic flair.
Several days later, the salt-tinged air carried anticipation.
Kai's group returned to Rusukaina Island once more, but this time they chose not to land. Instead, they waited aboard the Rayquaza, watching the skies with patient expectation.
They didn't have to wait long.
"Oh? Here already?"
Kai stood at the bow, his lips curving into a knowing smile as he spotted movement in the distance.
Complaining loudly but being quite honest physically, eh, Teacher Kaido?
A massive, elongated black shadow slowly emerged from the cloud cover like some primordial dragon from legend. Soon, a ferocious dragon head poked through the white veil, scales gleaming in the afternoon sunlight.
Kaido descended to the Rayquaza's deck in his human form, his massive frame making the ship creak under his weight.
"Thanks for the hard work."
Kai walked up with a welcoming smile, genuinely pleased to see the crew's captain.
"Kai-lando!" came two tiny voices in perfect unison.
From Kaido's broad left and right shoulders, small figures emerged like flowers blooming from stone.
It was Princess Mansherry and her loyal guard Leo, both looking somewhat worse for wear after their aerial journey.
"Quick! Take these two noisy little things away!"
Kaido crossed his massive arms, his expression carefully neutral despite the obvious care he'd taken with his tiny passengers.
"Of course."
Kai carefully lifted the two Tontatta tribe members with gentle hands, treating them like precious cargo.
These were his trump cards for winning over Hancock, and their well-being was crucial to his plans.
After observing them closely, he smiled with genuine relief. "Kaido-san, you took pretty good care of them."
Looking more closely, while Princess Mansherry's small face was pale with exhaustion, she didn't seem traumatized by Kaido's presence. Rather, she looked weak from an extremely long, bumpy journey through turbulent skies.
Kaido just snorted coldly, but there was a hint of pride in his dismissive grunt.
"You'd better pray I have a satisfactory result today."
"Don't worry, this trip won't be in vain."
Kai smiled slightly, not minding Kaido's little tsundere performance. He knew the man well enough to recognize genuine anticipation beneath the gruff exterior.
The real work was about to begin.