Crackle!
The roaring bonfire surged over two meters high, illuminating the pitch-black forest.
A beast carcass over ten meters long was skewered above the flames, sizzling with oil and filling the air with mouthwatering aromas.
"Ah—"
At that moment, Luo Xia, who had been unconscious for most of the day, suddenly screamed and sat bolt upright like a dying patient jolting awake. His head throbbed as if splitting apart, and his body felt like it might fall apart at any moment.
His first instinct was to check his buttocks—thankfully, there was no pain there. His chastity remained intact.
"You're awake. Have some liquor; it'll help."
Kaido of the Beasts casually tossed his gourd of liquor over.
Luo Xia caught it and gulped down several mouthfuls. As the strong liquor burned down his throat, the pain in his body seemed to ease somewhat.
"Here!" Kaido thoughtfully threw him a large piece of meat with bone still attached.
Without ceremony, Luo Xia took it and began devouring it ravenously.
Since Kaido hadn't killed him while he was unconscious, at the very least, he didn't need to worry about his safety now.
"My name is Kaido. And you? Do you have a name?" Kaido asked.
"Luo Xia."
"Luo Xia, you're strong. In this world, few can fight me to such an extent, and even fewer can survive my Roaring Thunderous Bagua without dying. Your physical resilience is extraordinary, and I sense you still have immense potential."
Kaido of the Beasts didn't hold back his praise and acknowledgment of Luo Xia.
Luo Xia remained silent. This wasn't exactly something to be proud of.
After all, the end result was him being knocked out cold by Kaido's club.
In the split second before losing consciousness, he vaguely remembered Kaido asking him something about which dragon he wanted to slay. It was downright humiliating.
"Staying on this island forever holds no appeal. The outside world is where the real excitement lies—wealth, power, fine liquor, delicious food... and women. Whatever you desire, I can give it to you..." Kaido spoke eloquently. "So, will you join my crew and help me change the world?"
"Sure." Luo Xia replied indistinctly between mouthfuls of meat.
"What?" Kaido blinked, unsure if he'd heard correctly.
"I said yes!" Luo Xia nodded earnestly.
"Urororororo—" This time, Kaido heard him clearly and confirmed that Luo Xia had accepted his invitation.
He had expected to expend more effort in persuasion, perhaps even having to test Luo Xia's limits a few more times to subdue such a wild powerhouse.
To his surprise, Luo Xia had agreed so readily.
What Kaido didn't know was that no further persuasion was necessary.
After ten years on this island, Luo Xia had long grown weary of his solitary, primitive existence.
Now that he knew this wasn't the Fairy Tail world—with no Black Dragon and no sign of the Fairy Tail protagonists—what reason did he have to stay?
Though this world lacked Lucy, Erza, or Mirajane, it had Nami, Robin, Vivi, Perona, Shirahoshi...
Compared to the Fairy Tail world, the world of pirates was even more magnificent and thrilling, filled with endless surprises and adventures.
Kaido didn't need to convince him—Luo Xia was already itching to leave this godforsaken place.
The problem was, he couldn't escape the island alone, not with the massive whirlpools of the Storm Sea surrounding it. His flame-propelled flight was only suitable for short distances and couldn't be sustained for long.
For now, the only way off this island was by hitching a ride on the Azure Dragon. That was why Luo Xia had agreed to Kaido's offer without hesitation.
Aside from that crucial point, joining the Beast Pirates wasn't a bad deal for him either.
For starters, with the Beast Pirates as his backing, he wouldn't need to waste effort building his own crew, making it convenient for whatever he wanted to do.
Secondly, Kaido was a widely recognized "great teacher"—one strike taught Ryūō, two strikes imparted Conqueror's Haki Infusion, and three strikes not only awakened a Devil Fruit but even mutated one that had been cultivated for over twenty years.
Luo Xia also wanted to experience Kaido's "stick education." His expectations weren't high—just unlocking the Flame Dragon King Mode would suffice.
Lastly, as a Dragon Slayer Wizard, how could Luo Xia cower and retreat after a single defeat?
His dragon-slaying mission had to be seen through to the end. By accepting Kaido's invitation and joining the Beast Pirates, he could now find "dragons" anytime and attempt to slay them.
And one last thing—just a side note—Kaido's daughter Yamato was really fair-skinned… no, really big…
Of course, some might argue that the Beast Pirates were a crew of notorious villains, and a fine young man raised under the red flag should make it his mission to defeat Kaido.
To that, the Luo Xia from ten years ago, just after crossing over, might have wholeheartedly agreed. But now, things were different.
After spending a decade on the island, Luo Xia had deeply understood the law of the jungle—survival of the fittest.
On this island, the weak had no right to live. Only the strong could dominate.
Similarly, in this irredeemable world of pirates, weakness was the original sin. Strength alone was the true path.
"Come, come, let's keep drinking!" Kaido cheerfully passed the gourd of liquor again.
Luo Xia naturally didn't hold back, taking hearty swigs.
"Urorororo, good! You're exactly the kind of man I've been looking for," Kaido said, pleased.
In recent years, as the Great Pirate Era continued to unfold, powerful figures had emerged one after another on the seas.
The Beast Pirates, under his leadership, had risen above the competition to become one of the sea's overlords, standing in a three-way stalemate with the Whitebeard Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates.
But compared to Whitebeard and Big Mom, the Beast Pirates' foundation was still too shallow, lacking in core strength. They urgently needed powerful officers to bolster their ranks.
Luo Xia's joining was a massive boost to the crew—his strength alone was worth several officers.
"Oh, right, Luo Xia—how about you go by Ace from now on?" Kaido suddenly suggested.
King, Queen, and Jack were already taken, and Ace was still vacant.
"I refuse," Luo Xia replied without hesitation. That name sounded like a death sentence.
"Then Stud? Or maybe All-in? Blackjack?" Kaido threw out several options.
"Can't I just keep my original name?" Luo Xia countered.
"Urorororo, fine."
Luo Xia: "..."
The next morning.
Layers of dark clouds pressed heavily across the sky.
CRACK!
A bolt of lightning connected heaven and earth, striking Kaido's body.
With a shake, he transformed into a massive Azure Dragon, stirring fierce winds.
Luo Xia leaped up, landing steadily atop Kaido's head.
Kaido frowned slightly, displeased, but considering Luo Xia had just agreed to join, he decided not to be too petty and let him have this one act of audacity.
"Little White, King Kong, Godzilla…"
Luo Xia's gaze swept over the giant "companions" in the forest.
"Goodbye. I'll come back when I have time."
"Awooo~ Awooo~ (He's leaving, he's leaving! This bastard is finally gone!)" The giant white wolf howled at the sky.
"Ook ook ook (Go, go, don't come back)" The silverback gorilla kept pounding its chest in celebration.
"Moo ook~ (Ten years, do you know how we've lived these ten years?)" The group of giant beasts simultaneously 'laughed uproariously at the sky'.
"Ah, let's go, let's go," Luo Xia patted Kaido's head. "If they keep bidding farewell like this, I might actually start feeling reluctant to leave."
Kaido: "???"
Not wanting to leave?
Impossible!
Almost without hesitation, Azure Dragon Kaido went full throttle, stepping on Flame Clouds to soar into the sky.