Winter Island: The First Stronghold
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions echoed across the deck. Wald's figure flickered, leaving a trail of afterimages as he moved at blinding speeds. He lunged at Kaido from every conceivable angle, but Kaido stood unmoving in the center of the deck, calmly predicting Wald's every move.
After more than half an hour of continuous attacks, Wald hadn't managed to graze even a corner of Kaido's clothing. Panting like a bull, Wald felt a wave of defeat wash over him. Even with his speed and strength multiplied twenty-fold, he had achieved nothing.
"Damn it!" Wald growled. "How do you keep seeing through my attacks?"
Kaido chuckled, his massive frame radiating confidence. "Observation Haki. When you cultivate it to a profound level, you can see a few brief seconds into the future. It's called Future Vision."
"Observation Haki?" Wald muttered.
It had been more than two months since Kaido defeated Wald. During that time, Kaido had taught him about the three types of Haki. Wald had been secretly training in private, but so far, he had only barely touched the threshold of Beginner Armament Haki, and even that was inconsistent.
"I guess I don't have the makings of a king," Wald sighed deeply, collapsing onto the deck. He looked up at Kaido. "So, where are we headed this time?"
"Winter Island," Kaido said, gazing into the distant horizon. "The land of snow."
Tucked away in Kaido's belongings was the Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Hellhound, a Mythical Zoan he had snatched from God Valley. He intended to give it to King. While the Ancient Zoan Pteranodon was powerful, it couldn't compare to the raw power of a Mythical Hellhound.
In his previous life, Kaido hadn't met King for another three years. Back then, he had no crew and wandered the seas alone, often getting captured by the Marines just because he was hungry. It was during one of those stints in a World Government research facility that he met Abel.
But this time, Kaido had no intention of waiting. Three and a half years was too long to waste. Winter Island was his first target—not just for recruitment, but for its resources. The island was rich in iron ore and energy, perfect for manufacturing firearms and cannons.
Arrival at the Frozen Frontier
Half a month later, the crew arrived at Winter Island. The landscape was a vast, blinding expanse of white.
"What a strange place," Wald remarked, impressed. "The weather is clear on one side, but it's a total blizzard on the other."
As the ship approached the shore, the temperature plummeted. Heavy snow fell so thick it looked like a wall of fog.
"Pirates! Pirates are coming! Notify Sir Kuro immediately!" a lookout shouted from the shore, shivering in his thick cotton coat.
The soldiers on the beach unholstered their rifles. "This is the territory of Winter Island!" the lookout yelled. "Pirates, if you come any closer, don't blame us for being impolite!"
"Captain, what's the plan?" Gairam asked.
"Why are you panicking, Gairam?" Wald sneered. "Just charge through!"
Gairam steered the ship forward while Sebastian gripped his spiked sledgehammers, a look of arrogant amusement on his face. The Winter Island soldiers opened fire, but Wald just laughed as the cannonballs splashed harmlessly into the sea.
As the ship drew close to the docks, Wald leaped into the air. He landed on the shore with the force of a falling meteor, the ground cracking beneath his feet.
"Safe landing!" Wald chuckled.
The soldiers scrambled to aim their rifles, but Wald was already moving. He tore through them like a wolf in a flock of sheep. He snatched a rifle from a soldier's hands and pulled the trigger.
"Twenty-fold Scattershot!"
The bullets expanded the moment they left the barrel, becoming the size of cannonballs. In ten seconds, the entire twenty-man squad was wiped out.
The Surrender of the Snow Country
Kaido and the rest of the crew disembarked. Sebastian draped a haori coat over Kaido's shoulders as they walked toward the town.
"How was that, Kaido?" Wald asked, looking triumphant.
"As expected of you, Wald," Kaido praised. "You'll be even stronger soon."
"Of course! I'm your right-hand man, after all!"
They approached a white town filled with tall spires. A large group of soldiers guarded the main gate, led by a man in Viking attire holding a massive axe.
"Pirates," Knight Commander Kuro shouted, his mustache twitching with rage. "This isn't where you belong. Leave now while you still can!"
Kaido sneered. "See, Wald? They think numbers actually matter."
"Looks that way," Wald grinned, his fighting spirit flaring. "This many people is barely an appetizer."
Byojack looked on with concern. "Are you sure about this, Wald?"
"Don't worry, brother! I'm invincible!"
Wald shot forward like an arrow. He lunged through the ranks, snapping weapons and bones with ease. Anything he threw—stones, broken swords—became a deadly projectile under the influence of his Moa Moa no Mi.
Gairam joined in, using his powers to cube the ground and kick the blocks into the crowd like runaway wagons. Within minutes, five hundred soldiers lay wailing in the snow.
"Kuro... that's enough. Let's surrender."
An old, gaunt man walked out from behind the gates, surrounded by guards. It was the King of the island.
"Your Majesty...!" Kuro gasped from the ground, his face twisted in shame.
Kaido laughed, resting his spiked club on his shoulder. "A wise choice, Henry XI. You won't regret this."
He looked out over the town and then back at his crew.
"Everyone, this is our temporary base. From here, we will forge the strongest pirate crew the world has ever seen!"