"Waaah~ So high up!! Is this what they call riding the clouds and mist? As expected of a dragon!"
Osy shouted with unrestrained excitement as she stood on the drifting flame cloud beneath them.
"This cloud… actually feels solid to the touch. The texture's like cotton, and the buoyancy feels just like a life preserver on water. How is this even physically possible?"
Obey was equally curious, crouching and poking at the surface beneath her feet, muttering things like "P…NTR…" under her breath.
"Captain Kaido," Ra asked gracefully, sitting upright on the cloud as if she were on a throne of air, "may I ask where we're headed?"
"The place we're goin' to is called Test Island, down in the South Sea," Kaido replied. "Some guy's been causin' a stir there lately—old man's gonna go drag him into the crew."
"Oh? And what person is he?"
Perhaps sensing Kaido's boredom, Ra humored him with another question.
"Name's Thane. Used to be part of a research group called MADS. That bastard's got a real knack for buildin' weapons."
"Thane, huh? What kind of person do you think he is? Maybe a mature big-sister type with long blonde waves and curves for days?"
Osy elbowed Obey, who was still absorbed in her cloud analysis.
"Childish. Osy, can't you use that pathetic scrap of processing power in your head for something meaningful?"
Obey rolled her eyes and pushed her sister aside.
"Who says I'm not using it properly? I've already learned to understand what Ra-sis is saying!" Osy protested.
To be fair, both of them did learn absurdly fast. After a few short lessons from Ra, they could already handle the most basic phrases in the local tongue.
Still, they preferred to chat privately in Chinese.
"You only understood the part about 'blonde and busty'? Weren't you the one who said you weren't into women? Why not use that time to recall more about One Piece instead?"
"I tried~ But nothing useful came to mind! All I remember is that the main guy's name is Luffy, and the Pirate King was some dude named Roger."
"Oi, red-haired brat—you just said Roger's name, didn't you? You know Roger?"
Kaido's ears perked up right away; the pronunciation of "Roger" didn't change much between languages, and he caught it right away.
"I'm not 'Oi,' I'm Osiris! And of course I know Roger—though he doesn't know me~"
Her grammar was clumsy, but Kaido understood well enough.
"Wororororo~ Of course you do! Who doesn't know Roger on these seas? I even crossed blades with that bastard a few years back. He's one terrifyingly strong man!"
Kaido's voice carried raw excitement at the memory, battle-hunger rekindled in his eyes.
"But one day, I'll defeat that man!"
'Yeah right, dream on. He's the Pirate King, what are you, the King of Bad Hair Days?' Osy muttered in Chinese under her breath—mercifully too quiet for Kaido to hear.
[Judging by what he said, Roger hasn't been executed yet… Does that mean we're still before the main story begins?]
Ra caught that key detail right away. She didn't know the series, but even she'd heard that the anime started with Roger's public execution.
"Could you tell us about the current balance of power in this world, Captain Kaido?" Ra asked smoothly.
"Since we fell onto that deserted island, we've known almost nothing about the outside world."
"Fine, listen up. You've probably heard of the Four Seas and the Grand Line."
Kaido glanced down through the clouds as he spoke.
"Right now, the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line are still under the control of those damn bastards from the World Government.
As for the second half—the so-called New World—that's mostly ruled by the remnants of Rocks' old crew. Guys like Whitebeard, Shiki, John, and Big Mom."
It was rare for Kaido to talk this much, but apparently, even a war-hungry dragon needed a way to pass time in flight.
"Rocks?"
The names Four Seas and Grand Line didn't mean much to Ra yet, but that name clearly carried special weight from Kaido's tone.
Seeing her interest, Kaido's eyes flickered with nostalgia.
"Yeah. I used to sail under that guy for a while. He was a man of insane ambition—wanted to be King of the World itself!"
"But in the end, he was beaten down at God Valley by Roger and the Marines." He paused, then smirked. "Not that there's anything to regret. The chaos that came after—that's the kind of sea this old man loves."
[So this is what happened before the story begins…] Ra thought silently.
Before she could ask further, Kaido suddenly warned,
"Hold on tight. Red Line's up ahead—I'm gonna climb higher."
With a roar, he surged upward through the clouds, piercing the sky until they reached ten thousand meters.
"Whoaaa—this is so cool—aaahhh!" Osy's scream trailed behind them, half terror, half thrill.
Two days later, around noon, they finally arrived at their destination: Test Island.
Kaido didn't waste a single word. He inhaled, then exhaled—
a blast of fiery breath engulfed the palace courtyard below, erasing it in an instant.
"Whoa—seriously?! That's how you make an entrance?!"
Osy, now perched on Kaido's back, was stunned.
After two days together, her impression of Kaido had softened.
Sure, the guy had a temper, but he wasn't that bad.
And surprisingly, he'd been rather patient with the three of them.
"Of course! This old man doesn't have the patience to play hide and seek. Easier to smoke the bastard out directly!"
Inside the palace, the King of Test Kingdom, Edith III, was holding a grand feast to celebrate the crushing of the rebels—thanks to the devastating new weapon built by Thane.
"Ha-ha-ha! With those Plague Shells Thane made, those filthy rebels were wiped out in no time!"
The bloated king, whose waistline nearly matched his height, stuffed roast pork into his mouth as he spoke, showing not a hint of royal grace.
"Your Majesty," a sharp-faced minister with gold-rimmed spectacles said eagerly, "why not raise the taxes even higher? That way, those peasants won't have any money left to rebel again."
"Hmm? Hmm! Ha-ha! Well said, Finance Minister!
Let's raise it to a hundred percent! Those lowborn wretches—every breath they take belongs to me, and yet they dare to covet my money!"
"With Thane's weapons, who'd dare defy me now?!"
"With our current strength, our kingdom should be more than qualified to become a member of the World Government! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"
"Indeed, Your Majesty! Why not dispatch a ship to contact them and negotiate our entry?"
"Negotiate? Bah! Why should we? They should be the ones begging us to join them!"
"Yes! His Majesty is right!"
The nobles at the banquet all rose to agree, their laughter filling the grand hall—
Until a deafening BOOM! split the sky above them.
Boom!!
A wave of searing heat swept through the grand banquet hall, sending nobles and ministers flying like rag dolls. King Edith III himself was half-cooked on the spot.
"Tell Sain to crawl out here right now—otherwise I'll burn this whole country to ash along with him!"
Kaido's thunderous roar echoed across the small island, his voice so powerful it pierced every wall and ear.
The island's residents took one look at Kaido's colossal form in the sky and collapsed in terror. The timid ones fainted outright.
"Ahhh!!"
"Eeeeek!!"
"Help! Somebody help me!!"
Screams, cries, and pleas for help merged into one chaotic chorus as pandemonium engulfed the royal palace.
Servants, maids, nobles, and royals scattered like a nest of frightened rats overturned.
"W-what is that monster!?" a trembling noble gasped.
"Q-quick, call the army to protect us!"
"The King sent all the soldiers to loot the rebel families—there's not a single guard left in the palace!"
"T-then contact the Marines!"
"Useless! We're not a member of the World Government—they won't interfere!"
"I heard that monster call out Sain's name! This disaster's because of him!"
"Find Sain! Hand him over to that monster!"
The Crown Prince, recalling Kaido's threat, grabbed a shivering maid and ordered her to find Sain.
Under the young prince's predatory glare, the terrified maid bit her lip and stumbled off to do as she was told.
Meanwhile, Kaido continued circling in the air, his gaze sweeping over the palace grounds.
Then, a young maid stepped out of the ruins, trembling violently. She looked up at Kaido and stammered, "L-Lord Kaido… we—we'll bring Sain out right away, p-please don't attack the palace anymore…"
Her parents' lives gave her courage beyond fear, enough to finish that short plea.
"Hiding behind women now? Hah! As I thought—these so-called nobles are all worthless trash!"
Ignoring the nobles' wailing and pleas, Kaido opened his jaws wide and exhaled. In an instant, the royal palace vanished beneath his dragon's breath, reduced to molten ruin. Only the maid—drained of courage and collapsed on the ground—remained alive.
"Well, look at you being all soft-hearted, Boss Kaido~"
Ossie's teasing tone was unexpected. Kaido merely snorted.
"Soft-hearted? I just slaughtered everyone in that palace, you red-haired brat."
"But you spared the maid they forced to talk to you, didn't you?
And it's Ossiris, got it? If that's too long, just call me Ossie!"
"I spared her because she had the guts to face me. She's stronger than everyone who hid behind her. And the strong—have the right to live."
Kaido didn't even bother reacting to Ossie's complaints. His reasoning was simple and absolute—the natural law of the strong devouring the weak.
"Ossie, you don't seem too bothered by all those people dying?"
It was Ra who spoke this time, her tone curious. She'd noticed that Ossie's reactions weren't what she'd expected, and that piqued her interest.
"Huh? Why should I be, Sister Ra? I didn't even know them," Ossie said, puzzled.
"What she means," Obey explained, "is that you're surprisingly cold toward the sudden deaths of so many people."
"Uh… well, I didn't kill them, did I? And it's not like I don't care at all~ I'm glad at least the little maid survived," Ossie added, as if that settled the matter.
[Seems I misjudged them. Both of them have been influenced by divinity—just subtly. It's never shown before, but it's there.]
[Who knows how it'll develop later.]
Ra thought it over, then decided to shelve the matter. It wasn't exactly important to her anyway.
As an outsider, she still held her detached stance—whatever happened in this world wasn't her concern.
"But now that you've killed everyone, how are we supposed to find this Sain guy, big guy?" Obey asked bluntly, always the practical one.
"You two pick up the common tongue fast," Kaido grumbled. "But at least show some manners and call me Captain, you blue-haired brat!"
Still, despite his words, Kaido couldn't help feeling secretly pleased that Obey had finally spoken to him.
"That bastard Sain won't come out on his own. Small countries like this couldn't force him even if they wanted to. I'm just making it impossible for him not to show himself."
"We attacked a whole country in broad daylight—won't that World Government do something about it?" Obey asked again.
"Wororororo~ The World Government doesn't care about unaffiliated nations.
In fact, they want these countries destroyed. That way, other independent nations get scared and beg to join them—handing over their freedom in the process," Kaido said, laying bare the cruel truth.
"To them, a tiny island with no resources or value is no different from trash by the roadside."
———
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the island, a shadowy figure crept out from a hidden corner beneath the palace wall.
"Tch, it's so damn tight in here! Did they not consider the size of the cargo when they dug this tunnel? Ugh!"
Finally, with a metallic duang~, the figure popped out, lugging a large, round case.
He was a peculiar-looking man—wearing dark purple shades, violet lipstick, and long, flame-shaped golden hair. His ears bore large hoop earrings, and his build was lean and wiry.
This was Sain—a weapons researcher whose flamboyant, pirate-like appearance couldn't look less like a scientist.
"So it's that guy… I thought the World Government was finally making their move against MADS."
"Guess I'll have to abandon this test site. Well, the Plague Bomb research is almost done anyway."
Lighting a cigar, Sain exhaled and glanced cautiously toward the sky where Kaido hovered.
But just as he was about to avert his gaze and run, Kaido suddenly turned—locking eyes right on him.
[Finally decided to show yourself, huh, Sain.]
Kaido dissolved his dragon form, landing in front of Sain in human shape. The three small figures followed, touching down beside him.
"Wororororo~ Long time no see, Sain!" Kaido greeted with a booming laugh.
Seeing that escape was pointless, Sain gave up and faced him calmly.
"So it really is you, Kaido. I should've known. You actually escaped from Punk Hazard's lab—guess the Marines couldn't hold you after all."
"Leaving MADS behind, huh? You know as well as I do the World Government won't tolerate that organization much longer. They'll crush it soon.
You've been wandering the seas these last few years looking for a place to hide, haven't you?"
Kaido cut straight to the point.
"Join me. Become one of my officers. Under my flag, no one will dare touch you, Sain!"
Sain eyed the spiked club in Kaido's hand, then thought of the faces of those World Government agents.
He took a long drag from his cigar, then shook his head. "Not yet. My child was born three years ago—in the South Blue. He's still too young. I can't leave him until he can take care of himself."
"Huh?"
"Wororororo~ You? A kid? Didn't see that one coming. Ton ton ton~"
Kaido laughed loudly, tipping back his gourd of liquor and gulping greedily. After days of flight, he'd been thirsting for that drink.
"Fine then. I'll wait. I'll even keep a spot open for you—officer of the Beasts Pirates. Here—take my Vivre Card. Come find me when you're ready!"
And with that, Kaido flopped right down and began snoring, fast asleep. The long journey had clearly worn him out.
Sain sighed in relief. The straightforward brute had actually saved him a lot of trouble. If Kaido had come here to fight, there was little he could've done.
Pocketing the Vivre Card, Sain prepared to leave the country.
He already had the weapon data, and with the commotion Kaido caused, the World Government was bound to send CP agents to investigate.
But just as he turned back toward the hidden tunnel to pack up the remaining equipment—his expression suddenly changed.
He'd noticed something—and froze in shock.
To be honest, if Kaido hadn't right away drawn all the attention, and if the three girls hadn't been standing quietly behind him the whole time, Sain would have noticed those three dazzling little ones right away.
"Eh—?! You three little ones are Kaido's daughters? No, no, no, there's no way that brute could have such adorable girls!"
"My name is Ra. These two are my younger sisters, Osiris and Obelisk.
We've just joined the Beasts Pirates. As your future comrades, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sain."
Ra smiled and gave a graceful nod, her manners refined and impeccable.
[So cute! Her voice is so sweet! And she's so polite! Could she be a princess from some noble family?
If only my boy could find a girl like her one day~]
Ra's presence at once melted the heart of the man who was already a father himself.
"What a polite young lady! How about Uncle Sain takes you girls out for something delicious? Uncle knows all the good spots around here~"
"Hey, creepy old man! Quit looking at us with those sleazy eyes!
Ra was just being polite, don't push your luck!" Osiris shot back, clearly disgusted by Sain's gaze.
"Osie," Obey chimed in coolly, "for someone who looks like that, it's already impressive enough he's still alive. Let's not be too harsh."
"You—you—you two little brats…" Sain's mouth twitched.
"All right, you two, mind your manners." Ra stepped forward, seeing his embarrassment. "My apologies, Mr. Sain. My younger sisters can be a bit impolite at times."
"Are you heading back to your laboratory? Would you mind if we had a look inside?"
"It's fine, it's fine… Kids will be kids~"
Ra's soft voice had an oddly calming effect—half of Sain's irritation evaporated at once. Considering that anyone Kaido vouched for had to be extraordinary, he let it go.
"Hmph~ Since your sister said so, I'll let you brats off this time."
"Tch! As if I cared!" Osiris crossed her arms and looked away.
But Obey didn't reply—her attention seemed to have shifted toward the mention of a "weapons lab."
"Come on, then. I'll show you brats what real craftsmanship looks like." Sain led them toward the hidden tunnel.
"Eh? We're just gonna leave Boss Kaido lying there like that?" Osiris was still uneasy with Kaido's habit of falling asleep anywhere.
"Relax. Even asleep, there's no one on this island who could hurt Kaido," Sain said confidently, fully aware of Kaido's monstrous resilience.
"Captain Kaido's been traveling nonstop. Let him rest," Ra added, just as unworried.
———
"Ta-da! Behold—this is the great Sain's weapons laboratory!
From firearms to laser weapons to biological arms—everything here was designed and built by yours truly!" Sain spread his arms proudly at the sight of his weapon-filled lab.
"Wow! Didn't expect the creepy old man to actually have some skill~ pew pew pew~" Osiris said, right away picking up a pistol-like gadget and pretending to shoot.
"Don't call me creepy old man! I'll have you know I'm devilishly handsome! There are enough women who love me to circle the Grand Line twice!"
"Confidence is good," Obey replied flatly, lifting up a laser cannon, "but fooling others is one thing—don't fool yourself."
"Hmm… What's the structure behind this thing?" the blue-haired girl muttered, already trying to disassemble it.
"Hey! Don't break that! That's one of my masterpieces! Even Vegapunk couldn't replicate it—I was gonna graft it onto my own body!" Sain yelped, seeing her nimble hands taking it apart.
"Hmph↑ It's just a toy for children. I'm not impressed."
With a few swift clicks, she reassembled the cannon flawlessly and set it down.
"Oh? You've got some talent, blue-haired brat. How about joining me as my assistant?" Sain's eyes lit up—clearly impressed.
"I refuse! I don't need to follow you. With my ability, I'll make weapons far better than these."
"Bwahaha! What an arrogant little thing! Fine then, I'll be waiting for that day!"
Unbothered by the rejection, Sain continued packing his instruments.
"Hmm? Mr. Sain, are you leaving already?"
"Yeah. I only came here to test new weapons and collect data. Now that that's done, it's time to move on."
"Let us help you, then."
Sain almost refused—his lab was full of delicate, precision instruments—but somehow, Ra's calm, pleasant tone made him agree without thinking.
Within minutes, the girls had everything neatly sorted and packed into three perfectly labeled crates.
"Here you go. Please check if we missed anything."
"N-no… nothing at all."
Sain stared, dumbfounded, at the efficient packaging—every inch of space used flawlessly, each item protected yet compacted to the limit.
[This is bad! So bad! Are girls this cute, polite, capable, and considerate even real!?
Ahhhh~ Now I suddenly want a daughter! What's wrong with me!?]
"The rest are large machines and workbenches that can't be moved," Sain muttered. "I'll blow them up later for secrecy."
"There's no need to trouble yourself, Mr. Sain," Ra said gently.
She raised one slender finger and tapped the air. A burst of golden flame erupted and swept across the lab—then vanished in less than a second.
Everything within was gone, yet the walls and floor were perfectly intact.
"Hissss~"
Sain sucked in a sharp breath. The sudden chill in the air betrayed the shock he felt.
He'd just realized—this gentle, well-mannered girl was by far the most terrifying of the three.
It was like petting a housecat only for it to suddenly morph into a cosmic devourer and swallow a few aliens whole.
[So this sweet little gold-haired girl was the real monster all along… No wonder those two brats behave so well around her! And wait… Kaido's burn marks earlier—could she have caused those!?]
The thought made him shudder. After all, Kaido wasn't the kind of man to go around collecting random kids.
[Crap, crap, crap! I didn't say anything rude to her earlier, did I? I didn't, right!?]
"Mr. Sain? Are you feeling all right? You're sweating quite a lot—was the equipment too heavy?"
"Do you need us to help carry the rest?" Ra asked with genuine concern.
"Eek!"
Her sudden question nearly made Sain jump.
"N-no, no need, Miss Ra! I'm fine! Really fine!"
"Mr. Sain?"
"S-Sain! Just call me Sain! No need for honorifics—we're comrades now, after all! Haha~"
"All right then, Sain. You don't need to be so tense. Just call me Ra."
"R-right! We're companions now. P-pleased to work with you. Ha… haha~"
———
The moment he boarded his ship, Sain hurriedly untied the moorings and hoisted the sails in one smooth, practiced motion—enough to make anyone suspect he'd been a sailor in another life.
Once the ship was a safe distance from shore, he popped his head up over the rail to wave goodbye.
"Haha~ Look, Obey! The creepy old man's so scared of Ra he's hiding like a groundhog, only poking his head out!" Osiris laughed, waving back.
"He's a bit strange, but his weapons were impressive. I've never seen a true laser gun before—not even back on Earth," Obey said thoughtfully, clearly intrigued.
"Let's go. While Captain Kaido's still asleep, we can explore the town—see what life in this world looks like." Ra turned to leave, watching Sain's golden head vanish below deck.
"Okay~" the other two replied in unison.
———
Half an hour later, the three returned, disappointed.
Kaido's earlier rampage had left the island in chaos; most shops were shuttered and the streets deserted. Their hopes of sightseeing had been dashed.
"You three brats are back?"
Kaido was awake again, sitting atop a treasure chest and drinking. Several more chests lay scattered around him, all overflowing with Berries.
"What's all this?"
"A bunch of idiots calling themselves rebels brought it. Said it was thanks for killing their king. Hah! What a bunch of fools." Kaido snorted dismissively, clearly unimpressed.
"Sain's gone?"
"Mm."
"In that case, let's head back too."
"Eh? Already? But we haven't eaten yet!" Osiris complained, clutching her stomach.
"Find a Marine ship on the way. We'll eat there."
"Huh? A Marine ship? Why a Mar—"
Before she could finish, Kaido's flames swept them up onto a drifting cloud of fire. With a thunderous gust, the four of them vanished into the horizon.