Lucky Roux took a bite of his elbow meat, watching the two figures locked in a standoff in the distance, and remarked.
"Has the boss had enough fun? Looks like he's lost an arm. But the boss is truly impressive. Meeting Kaido for the first time and managing to fight him to this extent."
Benn Beckman exhaled a puff of smoke, dispelling a trace of worry from his mind. "Don't underestimate Kaido. His energy has dropped by less than half since he arrived, while Shanks' is down to just a third. Prepare to drive Kaido back. We'll take Shanks and leave this place."
Indeed, from the beginning, the Red-Haired Pirates had never intended to engage in a decisive battle with Kaido here, nor had they planned to claim this island as their own.
They had merely come to resupply, and Kaido's arrival was an unexpected turn of events.
Now that Shanks and Kaido had exchanged dozens of blows and gained enough insight, it was time to retreat.
"You go fetch the captain. I'll keep Kaido occupied." Yasopp swiftly leaped into the crow's nest on the mast, aiming his long rifle at Kaido's head, while his Observation Haki firmly locked onto Kaido.
Sensing that he was being targeted, Kaido suppressed his anger and spoke with a dark expression.
"Shanks, I admit you're completely different from before. With your current strength, you've earned a place in the New World. But this is my territory. If we really go to war, your Red-Haired Pirates should be prepared for casualties."
After being injured, Kaido had quietly dialed King's number.
King had already mobilized the forces of Wano Country and was rushing here.
Kaido was confident that the Red-Haired Pirates couldn't kill him before King arrived, so he showed no signs of backing down.
Upon hearing Kaido's words, Shanks couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahahaha, Kaido. As Captain Roger said, you may seem rough, but you're actually the most afraid of dying. I bet your Beasts Pirates are already on their way here, aren't they?"
Kaido's face grew even uglier, but he didn't refute it.
Shanks continued, "Kaido, both you and I know I don't have the strength to kill you yet. But deep down, you understand that if you let me leave here, sooner or later, I'll gain the power to kill you. So, do you want to try and see if you can keep me here?"
Faced with Shanks' words, Kaido didn't respond.
Although he desperately wanted to kill Shanks, now wasn't the time.
He also knew that trying to kill Shanks under the protection of the Red-Haired Pirates was an extremely difficult task.
Benn Beckman and Lucky Roux quickly ran from the ship to Shanks' side.
"Captain, let's go."
"The Beasts Pirates are almost here. If we don't leave, another big battle will break out."
It wasn't that the Red-Haired Pirates feared the Beasts Pirates, but they currently had no ambition to conquer the world.
What they wanted now was to follow the path Roger once took, heading straight for the Final Island until the day they could go no further.
As for Kaido, they didn't consider him a significant threat.
If he couldn't kill them now, as time passed, it would only become even more impossible.
Shanks nodded and followed Benn Beckman and Lucky Roux. Only Kaido remained, gripping his club, lost in thought.
Long after the Red-Haired Pirates had left, King finally arrived, jumping down from the sky and nervously approaching Kaido.
"Kaido-san, are you alright?"
Kaido's face was dark, his eyes filled with furious flames, which he began to suppress only after seeing King.
"King, I've realized that the Beasts Pirates' strength is still insufficient. Notify Queen that his human experimentation plan can be implemented on a large scale. Also, tell that kid from the Donquixote Family to speed up the production of artificial Devil Fruits. I need a large quantity of Zoan-type artificial Devil Fruits."
Kaido's gaze was icy cold.
He couldn't wait to build the Beasts Pirates into a powerful army to deal with the Red-Haired Pirates.
....
The shift in history created a grudge between Kaido and Shanks.
From then on, Kaido developed the Beasts Pirates with the sole purpose of destroying the Red-Haired Pirates and dominating the world.
Perhaps Kaido, being caught up in the situation, didn't realize it, but to outsiders, Kaido and Shanks resembled the previous generation's Shiki and Roger.
"That's all the latest information from the New World, Admiral Raleigh."
The straight-backed messenger soldier reported the newest intelligence to Raleigh.
Raleigh was interested in the conflict between Shanks and Kaido.
Logically, the Red-Haired Pirates shouldn't have clashed with Kaido at this stage.
Both Pirate Crews should still be in the phase of accumulating strength.
However, after reviewing all the intelligence, Raleigh could only express admiration for Kaido's suicidal behavior.
"Has this guy lost his mind? Was the dose of sedative injected during the blood draw back then too high?" Raleigh was puzzled.
"By the way, Admiral Raleigh, ahead is where Commodore Miles is stationed. Should we proceed with equipment resupply and rest?"
Raleigh snapped back to attention and agreed.
Miles, his disciple—it had been a long time since they last met.
He wondered how strong Miles had become by now.
Raleigh remembered giving Miles a mysterious gift once and wondered if he had made use of it.
"Full speed ahead. Destination: Brickersham Island."
Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!
The battleship, operating at full capacity, emitted loud whistling sounds as its speed increased.
The whistling sounds seemed to carry Raleigh's memories back to the past.
When the battleship reached the port, Raleigh immediately spotted the tall figure standing there.
After three years of training in the Navy, Miles had grown to a height of 2.63 meters, noticeably taller than everyone else.
However, compared to Raleigh, he still fell significantly short in height.
Tears welled up in Miles's eyes as he waved his hands excitedly.
Unwilling to wait for the battleship to dock slowly, Raleigh used Soru and vanished from the deck, appearing right beside Miles.
Seeing Raleigh standing next to him, Miles embraced him.
"Master, it's been so long."
Raleigh pushed his disciple away with a look of disdain, yet reached out to pat Miles's shoulders and arms.
Finally, he placed his right hand on top of Miles's head.
"You brat, it's been a long time."