Having easily dealt with one enemy, Carne didn't let his guard down; he was still on the battlefield.
Although Kaido was there, he wouldn't be in any mortal danger, but you never knew when some sneaky person might stab you in the back.
Carne searched for another enemy. Having just killed someone, Carne felt no unease; instead, he was even more invigorated.
The long blade in Carne's hand was now coated in a layer of ice crystals, shining brilliantly in the sun like a precious sword carved from ice.
Carne raised his long blade and charged towards the nearest enemy.
That person was still fighting with the Beasts and had no time to react before Carne cleaved him in the back with a single strike. Blood flowed freely, and the gruesome wound was tinged with ice crystals, showing signs of freezing.
Seeing the enemy injured, one of the Beasts didn't hesitate to chop off his head with a single blow, then roared at Carne.
"Brat, don't steal my prey!"
After saying that, he continued to search for his next enemy.
Carne snorted, ignoring him, and also searched for his next target.
Along the way, Carne and other members of the Beasts killed several enemies. Carne moved through the chaotic battlefield like a ghost.
Just then, a brawny man with a huge build and wielding a giant axe suddenly blocked Carne's path.
"Brat, you're so young to be a pirate. Being a pirate isn't child's play!"
The brawny man roared and swung his giant axe at Carne.
"Don't underestimate me, you bastard!!"
Damn it, he was always being overlooked because he was too small, which infuriated Carne. Even if he still looked like a child, being underestimated was truly unpleasant.
Carne's roar seemed to flip a switch. The cold air around Carne surged out like a opened valve.
In an instant, the surrounding few meters were enveloped in a thick layer of frost, making it impossible to see what was happening inside. Everyone caught in the cold air immediately felt as if they had been buried in an endless ice cave, shivering from the cold, and even the fighting stopped.
Kaido, standing at the bow of the ship, had been keeping an eye on the situation on the battlefield, especially this brat Carne. He was a good prospect, and one of the few Oni, so he had to keep a close watch.
When he saw Carne's surroundings suddenly covered in frost, Kaido also thought of a certain possibility.
"Good kid!"
Just then, a beast's roar suddenly came from within the cold air. Although the roar sounded incredibly young, there was an inherent suppression of a superior over an inferior.
Immediately following, a ten-meter-long dragon appeared from the frost. Its body was like glistening ice, crystal clear, and each scale seemed to be carved from ice crystals, appearing domineering yet noble under the sunlight. However, compared to its somewhat slender dragon body, its dragon head seemed a bit large, with a pair of ice-blue dragon horns and two small white horns in between.
Everyone was stunned by this sudden giant beast, except for the members of the Beasts Pirates, because they had all seen their Captain's dragon form. They were only curious who this giant beast had transformed from.
"Wurorororo..."
A sudden burst of laughter came from far away, drawing closer, followed by an incredibly explosive Haoshoku Haki emanating from Kaido. Everyone was intimidated by this sudden Haki; those with weaker strength were already foaming at the mouth and had passed out with eyes rolled back.
Victoria, who was fighting King, was also intimidated by this terrifying Haoshoku, and his long blade paused for a moment.
King naturally wouldn't miss this excellent opportunity, thrusting his blade straight at Victoria's heart.
Victoria's body also gave a warning in this critical moment. In the end, it was just a hair's breadth from his heart, but it had still pierced his body, leaving him severely wounded.
At this rate, defeat was inevitable.
Kaido was already in a good mood, and seeing Carne transform into a dragon made him even happier.
Kaido's favorite were powerful Animal-type Devil Fruit users, especially those with dragon forms, because he himself was a giant dragon.
"My subordinates, this battle should end!"
With Kaido's entry, the morale of the Beasts Pirates members soared, each one acting as if they had been injected with adrenaline. Most of the people on the opposing side had already been intimidated by Kaido's Haoshoku and collapsed to the ground. Even those who hadn't collapsed had lost the will to fight.
"Don't kill me!"
"I surrender, I am willing to submit."
The terrified pirates threw down their weapons and knelt, begging for mercy.
Victoria looked at the scene before him, coupled with his own severe injuries. If he didn't surrender now, there would only be death.
He didn't want to die, so he endured the pain and shouted, "Captain Kaido, I surrender, I am willing to submit to you, all my treasures are yours."
Upon hearing this, King stopped his attack and subdued Victoria, awaiting Kaido's decision. The remaining crew members, seeing their Captain surrender, had even less desire to fight and threw down their weapons, surrendering.
"Wurorororo..."
"Brat, come here."
Kaido ignored Victoria and instead called Carne over.
Carne, transformed into an ice dragon, didn't know why Kaido called him, but he still went over.
As Carne left, the thick cold air quickly dispersed, leaving behind only a few pirates who had been frozen solid.
"Boss Kaido."
Carne approached Kaido. Carne was in his dragon form and already possessed the ability to fly.
Kaido looked at Carne in this form, like an old father looking at his son, becoming more and more satisfied the more he looked.
Carne felt a bit uncomfortable being stared at by Kaido like that.
"Wurorororo..."
"Brat, how should these people be dealt with?!"
Kaido got straight to the point without any pleasantries.
Carne was clearly stunned when he heard this. Kaido called him for this matter.
Carne understood. Kaido was clearly letting him make the decision, which brought a warmth to Carne's heart.
Even if Kaido took these people under his command, Carne wouldn't say much, but it would still be somewhat uncomfortable. Perhaps in the future, when he had enough strength and his value in Kaido's eyes surpassed theirs, he would then kill them for revenge.
But now, Kaido directly gave him this opportunity. Although it had the intention of winning over people's hearts, it didn't prevent it from being effective!
Carne was touched internally but said nothing, instead expressing himself through action.
Carne flew to Victoria, his dragon eyes staring intently at him.
Victoria felt a chill run through his body under that gaze. Facing this giant beast, he couldn't muster any thought of resistance.
Carne transformed back into human form. The human-form Carne now had some changes: he had grown taller, already surpassing one meter, his black hair had turned ice-blue, and his entire body had become slightly bulkier.
In his dragon form, Victoria didn't know who this was, but now that Carne had transformed into human form, Victoria's pupils constricted. Although there were some changes, he still recognized him at a glance.
Wasn't this the child from the family of three they had ambushed a week ago?! And it seemed he had escaped not long ago.
Who would have thought that the child who had just escaped not long ago would return with a behemoth like the Beasts Pirates?
Carne said nothing, then picked up a pirate's sword nearby, killing intent evident in his cold eyes.
Although he occupied the original body, perhaps due to the original body's influence, he was also filled with hatred for those who had killed the original body's parents.
Carne didn't hesitate and didn't give Victoria a chance to speak. With a surge of cold air, he lopped off his head with a single strike.
No blood splattered; the moment his head was severed, a layer of ice crystals appeared on his neck, freezing the wound!