Sizzle!
Kaido clenched and opened his fist. His palm glowed with a crimson-black Haki that crackled like lightning, snaking between his fingers.
Haki is a power hidden deep within the human body. When one learns to control this special energy, it transforms into a formidable weapon. Most people possess both Armament Haki and Observation Haki, and these two types can be continuously refined through intense training and battle.
The quality and quantity of Armament Haki vary from person to person. Generally, it is divided into three stages: Hardening, Emission, and Internal Destruction. If you were to grade them, they would correspond to Beginner, Advanced, and Top-tier levels.
Observation Haki sharpens the five senses, granting a type of extrasensory perception. It allows a user to sense the aura of others and feel changes in their emotions. It is primarily used for premonition and avoiding danger. When cultivated to an advanced level, a user can even achieve Future Vision, seeing a few seconds into the future.
This Haki has multiple functions: sensing attacks, predicting an opponent's next move, gauging the strength of living beings, and perceiving the location of objects outside one's field of vision. While these are basic abilities, their range and intensity depend on the individual.
It's rumored that a rare few possess an exceptional form of Observation Haki that can sense thoughts or even convey the user's consciousness to others, influencing their minds. For example, Patrick Redfield can delve deep into an opponent's mind, reading their thoughts and recalling their memories.
Conqueror's Haki, however, is the exception—appearing in only one out of millions. Its intensity is tied directly to the user's spirit and willpower.
"A year of training here is worth several years of hard work in my previous life..."
Ever since he became an Azure Dragon Fruit user, Kaido hasn't stopped training to refine his body. Although his current physical strength can't yet compare to his peak from his previous life, deflecting swords, spears, and halberds is easy for him now. He figured if he keeps this up for another five or six years, he'll match his former peak. After that, he'll focus on awakening the Azure Dragon Fruit.
As the strongest Devil Fruit, the Azure Dragon Fruit provides the most comprehensive set of abilities. It grants endurance, flight, and various supernatural powers. It's like having the powers of several fruits in one! No other Devil Fruit is quite so perfect.
Kaido knew that a Devil Fruit only awakens when the user's power finally catches up to the fruit's potential. In his previous life, he never took that final step. If he had managed to awaken his fruit back then, he might not have lost that final battle.
"The Azure Dragon Fruit's abilities are so complete it doesn't even seem like a normal fruit... If I can perfectly sync with it, how terrifying will my awakening be?" Kaido muttered, his eyes full of confidence.
With the experience from his past life, his mastery of his powers was already top-notch. Suddenly, his ears twitched. He glanced behind him toward the ridge as Byojack walked up with a swagger and a wide smile.
Kaido stood still, a slight smirk playing on his lips. The cold wind ruffled his long hair. "Byojack, it's rare to see you out here. What's up? Did something good happen?"
Byojack laughed. "I can't hide anything from you, can I? My brother was monitoring the Den Den Mushi at a nearby Marine base and picked up some big intelligence."
Kaido's interest was piqued. "Tell me."
"Vice Admiral Zephyr is leading three nearby Marine bases to surround and take us down!" Byojack burst into laughter, looking like he was actually looking forward to the chaos. "How's that for big news?"
"Oh?" Kaido narrowed his eyes, a playful smile on his face. "You don't seem worried at all."
Byojack waved a hand dismissively. "With you and me working together, we'd have a fighting chance even if Garp and Sengoku showed up! We aren't going to sweat a guy like 'Black Arm' Zephyr."
Kaido laughed loudly. "You've got that right!"
"Zephyr has a huge reputation among the commoners and the Marines," Kaido continued. "If we crush him, it'll be the perfect way to shut the Marines up after they've been acting so arrogant since the God Valley Incident."
The Marines had hyped up the God Valley Incident to turn Garp into an invincible hero. It worked so well that he'd become a symbol of faith for them, drawing countless young people to join the Marines just to be like him.
Kaido hated it. Garp was strong, sure, but the way the Marines handled the PR was pathetic. He figured Zephyr's mission was likely related to the Oren Kingdom.
"Tell the men to get ready. I don't want this new paradise of ours to get burned to the ground."
Byojack understood immediately. "Where are we fighting?"
Kaido's eyes turned cold, his smile turning dangerous. "The uninhabited island, Tracros. And after the battle, it'll be time to settle the score with certain people."
Byojack was tall, but he was still a head shorter than Kaido. From where he stood, he saw a momentary flash of bloodlust in Kaido's eyes.
Meanwhile, near Winter Island at Marine Branch Base G21...
In the conference room, the heads of three Marine bases—two Vice Admirals and one Rear Admiral—sat around a table, staring silently at the files in front of them. They had been ordered to rendezvous at Base G21 to hunt down Kaido, a former apprentice of the Rocks Pirates.
Even though he was just an "apprentice," they weren't taking any chances. His bounty was already over 700 million Berries. A bounty like that for a mere apprentice showed exactly how dangerous the Marines thought he was.
"I wasn't at God Valley, but the reports say he's a Zoan user," a young female Rear Admiral said. She wore earrings and a punk-style outfit, a slender cigarette hanging from her mouth.
The smell of smoke drifted across the table, making the bearded Vice Admiral Wellen frown. He squeezed his legs together and said in a high-pitched, whiny voice, "Rear Admiral Lily, please don't smoke in here!"
Pfft!
The other two Marine officers nearly spit out their food. They slammed their hands on the table, clutching their stomachs and laughing. "Too high! Your voice is way too high!"
Rear Admiral Lily even started mocking him, mimicking his leg-rubbing and pinching her throat to copy his voice. She and Vice Admiral Kerber burst into another round of laughter.
"Hey! You're being disrespectful! Eek-ya!" Wellen's face turned bright red with anger. He made a girlish gesture and gave Lily a frustrated shove.
Bang!
The shove sent Lily flying. She spun through the air and slammed into the wall with a loud crash. A massive crack webbed across the wall, and half the ceiling snapped and fell.
As luck would have it, the debris landed directly on Zephyr's head just as he pushed the door open to enter.