"Perhaps that modified body of yours has given you some illusions! A true great pirate possesses more than just a flawless, powerful physical body; they possess Haki that swallows the world and a conviction of being undefeated through a hundred battles!"
"Thinking you can stand against me alone is your greatest mistake!"
Hearing Kaido's words, Vegapunk tilted his head slightly:
"Um... it seems you've misunderstood something?"
"I have always been very precise about my own role. Why would you think a scientist like me would come to duel a great pirate like you one-on-one?"
As he spoke, Vegapunk waved his hand slightly. From the prison behind him, a massive number of Advanced Mechanical Warriors and Bio-modified Weapons swarmed out.
At the same time, lights flashed on the outskirts of the Beasts Pirates. A vast number of Vegapunk's creations instantly surrounded the entire Beasts Pirates in a counter-encirclement.
Damn! I was just joking, can you take these guys back?!
Kaido swallowed. These robots didn't look like ordinary fodder no matter how you sliced it. Under normal circumstances, the Beasts Pirates wouldn't be afraid.
But now... Kaido looked at his weak-kneed Devil Fruit Users. Almost all the powerhouses of the Beasts Pirates had eaten Ancient Zoan-type Devil Fruits, and the elite level below them had eaten Artificial Devil Fruits. Now, they were almost all taken out in one go.
The only ones left with any fighting capacity were the fodder, but could he rely on these small-fry to deal with Vegapunk's battle robots? Kaido wasn't that naive.
"Wait!"
Kaido suddenly waved his hand and spoke hurriedly:
"Kozuki Hiyori, you are the daughter of a samurai family after all; surely you wouldn't strike an opponent who has lost the ability to resist! And Yamato, that Kozuki Oden you admire wasn't the type of person to bully the weak either!"
Kaido himself was a battle maniac and, being full of self-confidence, wasn't afraid of being besieged by these robots. However, protecting his subordinates under such an assault was far too difficult for him.
It was easy for Kaido to kill people, but he didn't have the ability to protect so many. His Devil Fruit ability wasn't oriented in that direction either.
If all his elite subordinates died here, the Beasts Pirates might as well be wiped out. Kaido didn't want to be a commander without an army!
"Their opinions are irrelevant. As a scientist, I don't care about things like honor. I've even used weakening methods like this, so do you really think I care about such things!"
Vegapunk had a grin on his face, looking all smiley, which made Kaido so angry he wanted to smash his club into his face—and he immediately did just that.
"Go to hell! Once you're dead, all this will be over!"
The spiked club swinging in mid-air suddenly halted. Kaido felt his whole body stiffen, as if some strange power had taken control of him.
The stiffened Kaido lowered his gaze slightly and saw Vegapunk's shadow extending out, perfectly merging with his own massive shadow.
Shadow Imitation Technique! A signature Ninjutsu from Konoha's Nara Clan. It seems ordinary and unremarkable with little destructive power, but the effect of this crowd-control Ninjutsu is actually staggering.
Basically, as long as an expert of the same level is caught, they have no chance of escaping, and it also has a significant restraining effect on even higher-level experts. If there are partners nearby to help, even an opponent two or three levels higher can be taken out by a hard control and a critical strike if they aren't careful!
In the Naruto World, the Nara Clan's shadow techniques were already famous. Almost anyone who wasn't a Genin fresh out of the Ninja Academy had some understanding of this mysterious and eerie Ninjutsu.
However, despite such fame and the recognizable pineapple-shaped hair of the Nara Clan, there are still countless Ninjas who fall for the Nara Clan's shadow techniques every year. Besides the high intelligence inherited by the Nara Clan, the shadow techniques themselves are truly silent and hard to guard against.
Not to mention, this was the first time a shadow Ninjutsu had appeared in the One Piece World, and it came with the effect of a first-encounter kill, naturally controlling the defenseless Kaido instantly.
Although Vegapunk's raw strength surpassed Kaido's, especially with Kaido currently restricted, in a real fight, a Conqueror's Haki user like Kaido would almost 100% enter a 'power-up' state. Even if Vegapunk could win by pushing himself to the limit, he would likely end up half-dead and severely injured.
Since he wasn't exactly a combat-type character, he'd rather quietly be a support! Given the power comparison between the two, no matter how Kaido exploded, he wouldn't be able to break free from the Shadow Imitation Technique before Vegapunk's Chakra was exhausted.
As for wanting to exhaust Vegapunk's Chakra, that would likely take at least seven or eight hours—not to mention seven or eight hours, if Vegapunk pulled out some black technology and Kaido didn't dodge, seven or eight seconds would be enough to take him down!
"Bas... Bastard! What kind of weird Devil Fruit ability are you using! Let me go!!"
"Don't talk nonsense, just stand there and watch! For a thick-headed Pirate Crew like yours where everyone has a Zoan Devil Fruit, it's far too easy to target you!"
Curling his lip slightly, Vegapunk's mechanical creations had already begun fighting the Beasts Pirates' fodder. Without any elite backbone, the opposition crumbled at the first touch.
Moreover, with all the powerhouses down, those fodder soldiers had no strong desire to fight, and a large number of surrenders soon occurred.
A giant Pirate Crew like the Beasts Pirates was almost like a maritime kingdom; it was impossible to maintain it through simple friendship like small Pirate Crews. Therefore, ordinary pirates only saw the Beasts Pirates as a backer and had little loyalty.
"Damn it, you bastard! Vegapunk, you guy, if you have the guts, let me go and fight me head-on!!!"
The controlled Kaido roared from the side, but Vegapunk looked indifferent and flatly refused:
"Sorry, I'm a brain guy. I don't want to have a wrestling match with a muscle-head like you."
Just then, King, who had been gasping for breath and crouching unnoticed on the ground, suddenly leapt up, condensing an energy ball of fire and ice in his hands.
"Ice-Fire Great Explosion!"
As the energy ball formed by the two energies exploded instantly due to internal instability, it directly sent Vegapunk stumbling back two steps.
But most importantly, in the intense light of the explosion, the shadow connecting Vegapunk and Kaido vanished, finally granting Kaido his freedom.
"Well done, King!"
Kaido was instantly overjoyed. His Conqueror's Haki surged out, even generating black lightning in the void.
"Go to hell! You bastard Vegapunk! Thunder Bagua!"
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