At that moment, the crews aboard the Moby Dick and Kaido's flagship finally saw their captains disengage and head back toward their ships. King and Ace were the first to react.
"Kaido-sama—"
King moved like a shadow, his speed bordering on instant as he arrived at Kaido's side and bowed respectfully.
Ace was slower by comparison, but the moment he arrived, flames erupted around him, deliberately cutting off the space between Marco and Kaido—just in case either side tried anything sudden.
Kaido glanced at King and broke into a grin.
"It's break time. No need to be so tense. Go prepare food and drinks—I'm about to starve."
"Yes," King replied without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Ace and the others rushed to Marco's side.
"Marco, are you alright?"
Marco forced a grin, wiping the sweat from his face.
"I'm fine. Just hurry up and bring the food. I'm dying of hunger."
"Don't worry," someone replied. "It's already prepared."
Back aboard the Moby Dick, Marco devoured everything in sight. Now that he had mastered Life Return, his digestion was frighteningly efficient. While he still couldn't store energy, the accelerated digestion allowed his physical strength to recover rapidly.
Mental exhaustion, however, was another matter. That kind of fatigue could only fade with rest.
On his ship, Kaido was likewise indulging in a mountain of meat and barrels of wine. Three straight days of nonstop combat had drained even him. The Beasts Pirates stood silently nearby, watching their governor eat.
As he chewed, Marco's words replayed in Kaido's mind.
An invisible force…
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. Ever since reaching his peak a decade ago, no matter what method he tried, his Haki and Devil Fruit had refused to advance any further. His body could grow tougher, his Haki could grow larger in quantity—but qualitatively, he was stuck.
Shanks had broken through.
Even though Kaido believed he had the upper hand against Shanks in a fight, he couldn't deny the truth—
Shanks had reached a higher realm of Haki.
The thought irritated him.
He glanced down at King and muttered, "King… Joy Boy, he—"
Kaido stopped halfway through.
Even to him, the question felt ridiculous.
"Kaido-sama?" King asked, puzzled.
"…Never mind." Kaido waved it off. "It's nothing."
By five o'clock the next morning, both Kaido and Marco stood once again on Nanku Island, facing each other as the fourth day of battle began.
"Worororo," Kaido laughed. "Looks like you slept well. You're in high spirits, Marco."
"You don't look too bad yourself," Marco replied calmly.
When Marco fought Linlin, his stamina had barely exceeded 8,000. Later, through… special means, he'd pushed it past 10,000. Now, with his Devil Fruit awakened and his boosts fully stacked, his stamina had soared past 20,000.
In a battle of endurance, Marco was confident he wouldn't lose.
Kaido licked his lips, his eyes burning with excitement.
"Honestly, these past three days have been exhilarating. Whitebeard, Oden—both of them preferred decisive battles. You're different."
"You're a Zoan like me. A rare Mythical Zoan, no less—and you've even awakened it."
"The opponents I've faced all had something lacking—stamina, defense, recovery, Haki. But you?"
Kaido grinned.
"For the first time in decades, I've met someone who doesn't fall short in strength, speed, stamina, or Haki. Fighting you feels incredible."
Marco sighed, rubbing his temple.
"So basically, we're both high-defense, high-HP monsters. Neither of us can finish the other quickly. If someone's going to win, it'll come down to who lasts longer."
"Worororo!" Kaido roared with laughter. "Exactly! Punch for punch—that is a real man's fight!"
Marco raised an eyebrow and pointed at the spiked club in Kaido's hand.
"…Says the guy using a weapon."
Kaido paused for a split second, then his eyes lit up with unmistakable excitement. Without hesitation, he hurled the spiked club in his hand far away, laughing loudly as it spun through the air.
"Now then—are you satisfied?"
Marco blinked, genuinely caught off guard.
"You actually threw it away? I was just complaining. If you lose to me barehanded, don't turn around and say I won unfairly."
He hadn't expected Kaido to be so decisive—discarding his most trusted weapon without a second thought. After all, Marco didn't use a weapon because he lacked skill with one, whereas many of Kaido's most devastating techniques relied heavily on that spiked club.
"Worororo! That doesn't matter anymore," Kaido said cheerfully. "Right now, I just want to enjoy this fight to the fullest."
He inhaled deeply, his voice booming across the battlefield.
"Kami-e Battle Body… release!"
As the words left his mouth, the grotesquely exaggerated muscles covering Kaido's body began to recede. His massive inverted-triangle torso slimmed down, and his thick, pillar-like legs gradually grew leaner.
Ten seconds passed.
By the end of it, Kaido's limbs were noticeably more streamlined—closer to how he had looked in his younger days. His arms, chest, and abs were still powerful, far beyond an ordinary man's, but the bloated, inflated appearance was gone. Standing there now, he looked almost a decade younger.
Marco stared at him in disbelief.
"Kaido… you—"
"Worororo," Kaido grinned, his eyes gleaming. "This is my original form, Marco. More than ten years ago, I fought a former Marine Admiral. I secretly learned this technique from him. If I remember correctly, it's called Life Return: Kami-e Battle Body."
"Life Return: Kami-e Battle Body?" Marco frowned slightly. The name rang a bell—Lucci had used something similar back in the day.
Kaido continued casually, "You know the Rokushiki, right? The Marine body techniques."
Marco nodded. Not only did he know them—he could use them himself.
"This is one of their ultimate applications," Kaido explained. "By controlling the body, you can force muscles into a strengthened state, greatly boosting power and defense. The downside is obvious—it drains stamina like crazy."
He flexed his fingers, then relaxed them.
"On the other hand, you can also weaken your muscles, sacrificing strength to gain speed. That consumes less stamina, but it's situational."
His gaze sharpened as he looked at Marco.
"After fighting you for three days, I've figured you out. Your strength, defense, recovery, and Haki are all terrifying. But your speed—while fast—lacks explosive burst."
Marco raised an eyebrow, surprised despite himself. Speed was indeed his lowest stat; everything else had already broken the ten-thousand mark.
"So what?" Marco smirked. "You planning to use Kami-e Battle Body to out-speed me?"
"Worororo, no need," Kaido replied, laughing. "That version is only useful against opponents with poor defense or slow reactions."
"And against you?" He shook his head. "Meaningless. Your recovery is too strong. Trading strength for speed won't help me at all."
Kaido spread his arms slightly.
"The real reason I released Life Return is simple—to conserve stamina."
"I'm an Ogre. My stamina is absurdly high. For years, I maintained the strengthened Kami-e state just to match my own power—it became a habit. But keeping that state active burns stamina unnecessarily."
He looked straight at Marco, eyes burning with anticipation.
"And since you're an Awakened Mythical Zoan, this fight is going to be a battle of attrition."
"So there's no reason to keep wasting energy on muscle enhancement anymore."
Hearing this, Marco was once again stunned by Kaido's monstrous stamina. He couldn't help but complain, half in disbelief, half in exasperation.
"You really are a freak of nature. You always look like a drunk who's only good for smashing things, but who would've thought you were training nonstop all this time?"
"Worororo—then stop talking and come on!"
Kaido clenched his fists and surged forward, taking the initiative once again.
From five in the morning until deep into the night, the two clashed without pause, only separating when exhaustion finally forced them to retreat and rest. Both were Zoan-type Devil Fruit users, monsters in endurance and recovery. Marco learning Conqueror's Haki Infusion during battle, he had held a slight edge over Kaido. Now, with Kaido revealing his true form, even that advantage had vanished—their strength stood perfectly balanced.
Yet neither of them knew that while they were locked in a struggle for the title of world's strongest, a far darker scheme was quietly taking shape elsewhere.
—
Maple Leaf Island.
The Kid Pirates had temporarily taken over the island. Inside the only clinic, Eustass Kid lay on a hospital bed, his body wrapped in thick bandages. Where his left arm once was, there was now only empty space.
Killer stepped inside and looked at him gravely.
"Kid… how are you holding up?"
Hearing the voice, Kid opened his eyes. His right hand instinctively gripped the stump of his missing arm, a vicious light flashing in his gaze.
After challenging both the Phoenix Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates, he had set his sights on the Red-Haired Pirates. Yet once again, he hadn't even laid eyes on Red Hair himself—only to run into his vice-captain, Benn Beckman. A single gunshot. That was all it took.
The memory made his chest tighten.
"I'm fine," Kid muttered hoarsely.
Killer crossed his arms, his expression heavy.
"The Red-Haired Pirates may be few, but they're all elites. Benn Beckman's strength is said to rival that of a Yonko himself. We underestimated them."
Kid clicked his tongue in frustration.
"Yeah. I was careless… but next time, I won't lose."
"For now, you should focus on recovering," Killer said firmly. "We'll settle everything else later."
Kid didn't respond.
Suddenly—BOOM!
A violent explosion rocked the island, shaking the clinic to its foundations. Both of them stiffened.
"Don't tell me…" Kid growled. "Are the Red-Haired Pirates chasing us?"
"I'll check it out!" Killer said, rushing outside.
Kid could no longer stay in bed. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself upright. If an enemy had truly come after them, resting was no longer an option. Reckless as he was, Kid knew when to fight—and when to retreat.
They stepped outside.
What greeted them made Kid's blood run cold.
The members of the Kid Pirates lay scattered across the ground, one after another, all defeated.
Kid lifted his head slowly, staring at the figures standing calmly before him.
"…So it's you."
At the front of the group stood Blackbeard, grinning broadly.
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