Chapter 229: You Want to Surpass Me? Master Kaido Logs Online
Kaido didn't take the incident with Gecko Moria to heart. An opponent incapable of leaving even a single scar on his body was destined to be nothing more than a passing stranger in his life.
Having both grown up clawing for survival on brutal battlefields, Kaido and Douglas Bullet actually shared a similarly extreme mindset.
In Kaido's logic, the strong preying on the weak was the absolute law of heaven. No matter how the strong trampled upon the weak, it was entirely justified.
In his eyes, Moria was undeniably one of these weaklings, completely unworthy of his attention.
As for the people of Wano Country, they firmly believed Moria had died during his clash with Kaido. The frozen battlefield littered with mutilated corpses was enough to testify to the sheer brutality of that slaughter.
After that day, a new gravestone appeared in the snowy wastes of Ringo. Inside the isolated, closed-off borders of Wano, ordinary citizens possessed no channels to learn about the outside world. They had absolutely no idea what bizarre fate had ultimately befallen Moria.
Sebastian and Wobbegong didn't linger in Wano Country for long. They were there on business, not on vacation. After achieving their objective and taking a brief rest, they immediately set sail back to Fish-Man Island.
By the time Kaido finished dealing with the intrusion and all other miscellaneous affairs, the two Fish-Men were long gone.
The most disappointed person regarding this outcome was Queen. He had meticulously prepared to throw a massive banquet and put on a spectacular performance. It seemed he would have to wait until next time.
However, shortly after Kaido returned, Yamato actively approached him.
"Father, that short Fish-Man uncle said you used to be on the same ship as a man named Nereus?"
Before being infected by the "Kozuki Oden virus" and influenced by Oden's lingering "horcrux," Yamato had been a relatively normal child. The fact that she eventually turned out the way she did... while Oden's influence was a massive factor, Kaido himself had to shoulder a significant portion of the blame.
After all, Kaido's parenting philosophy consisted entirely of: Make the kid stronger. Nothing else matters. The process doesn't matter. His various extreme parenting methods only accelerated the onset of her bizarre obsession.
But for now, everything was still relatively normal.
"The same ship? I suppose you could put it that way. That's what the outside world generally believed back then. Why do you ask?"
The mention of Nereus's name piqued Kaido's interest. During the era of the Rocks Pirates, Nereus had looked out for him a few times. In Kaido's heart, Nereus was one of the very few people he considered trustworthy.
"The short one... Wobbegong, was it? That guy used to love bragging about Nereus's legendary achievements..."
"Bragging? So you're saying the stories he told were fake?" Kaido raised an eyebrow.
"Well, that depends on what he told you. But if it was about things like liberating slaves, slaughtering Marines, and single-handedly invading the World Government... all of that is absolutely true.
"Urororo! Thinking back on it now, I actually miss those days quite a bit. There were a lot of naive fools on that ship, but they were definitely an interesting bunch!"
As he spoke, Kaido suddenly burst into maniacal laughter. He grabbed a massive jug of sake from the side and began chugging it down, seemingly lost in the memories of a bygone era.
"Nereus's strength is absolutely unquestionable. If he doesn't willingly step onto dry land, he is an invincible, untouchable existence within the ocean."
Gulp... gulp... gulp...
Kaido didn't finish his thought out loud: Even if he does step onto dry land, there are barely a handful of people in this world capable of exchanging a single blow with him. That man is an unadulterated monster.
"However... while he is strong, his ideology is still hopelessly naive. The only reason those people were reduced to slaves is simply because they weren't strong enough.
"As long as you are strong enough, outsiders can never dictate your fate. You can always carve out a path of survival with your own two hands."
Kaido recalled his own past. The foolish king of the Vodka Kingdom had actually intended to hand him over to the Marines, simply to exchange his life for a seat at the World Government's table.
If he had been even slightly weaker back then, he probably would have been hauled off by the Marines, and his future would have been entirely rewritten.
"How is that naive?!" Yamato protested. "Practicing your own will and fighting for your beliefs is incredibly cool! That uncle said he was the great hero of Fish-Man Island! I want to be just like him when I grow up!"
"Urororo! Just like him, you say? What an incredibly ambitious thought..."
Crash... shatter!
Kaido violently smashed the empty sake jug into the ground, shattering it into pieces. Yamato completely failed to notice that Kaido's massive hand had already gripped the hilt of his kanabo. She was still staring into space with stars in her eyes, excitedly fantasizing about her heroic future.
"Right? It's so—"
BOOM!
Before Yamato could finish her sentence, Kaido's kanabo smashed violently into the ground right beside her. Even though he used barely a fraction of his strength, the resulting shockwave terrified Yamato out of her wits. She scrambled away, tumbling and crawling frantically to the side.
"Father! What are you doing?! Why are you attacking me?!"
"Hm? I am helping you realize your dream!" Kaido roared. "I will not change my stance! That kind of behavior is inherently naive! But Nereus is strong! His absolute, overwhelming strength makes everything he does completely reasonable!
"But you, my daughter... you are far too weak! Without strength, you have absolutely no right to spout empty ideals!
"If you want to achieve that goal, you need to get stronger immediately! And there is no method of growth faster than the crucible of combat!"
Kaido swayed unsteadily as he stood up, looking heavily intoxicated.
Yet, his massive hand gripped the kanabo with terrifying precision. Every single swing smashed into the ground within inches of Yamato, leaving her battered, terrified, and constantly scrambling for her life—but never actually placing her in lethal danger.
What happens when someone gets drunk is highly unpredictable. Some drunks randomly donate their money to charity; others use the alcohol as liquid courage to commit horrific crimes.
Whether they are genuinely unleashing their true nature under the influence of alcohol, or simply using drunkenness as a convenient excuse to do whatever they want... only they themselves truly know.
And as for Kaido...
Given his monstrous constitution, he could literally be submerged in a vat of pure alcohol and never lose his physical coordination. He simply, genuinely enjoyed the feeling of being drunk.
"Aaaah!"
"Help me!!!"
"He's trying to kill me!!!"
"Urororo! That's right! Run faster! Getting stronger requires time! But until you get stronger, you must survive by any means necessary! Dodging and running away is not shameful! Enduring humiliation is not shameful! Only by surviving do you have a future!
"Since you want to become someone even stronger than me, then you'd better start... RUNNING! Thunder... Bagua!"
He called it a Thunder Bagua, but the actual force behind the swing was probably less than a "0.8-gua." But that didn't matter. It was more than enough to serve its purpose.
"I never said I wanted to be stronger than you!" Yamato screamed tearfully.
"Hmph! You'll understand in the future! But if you still have the energy to talk back, it means you still have energy to spare!"
The other members of the Beast Pirates on Onigashima turned a completely blind eye to this spectacle, possessing absolutely zero intention of intervening.
Living on Red-Haired Shanks's or Whitebeard's ship was relatively much safer.
Neither of those men would ever harm their own subordinates. The moment you boarded their ship, you became a comrade, a son, or a daughter. As long as you didn't violate their ironclad rules, those two captains acted as fiercely protective patriarchs, shielding you from the storms of the world.
But Kaido and Big Mom were entirely different beasts. Big Mom's punishments included directly plundering your lifespan or amputating limbs. And Kaido was utterly reckless and unpredictable.
These subordinates didn't share the "father-daughter" bond that Yamato and Kaido did. If they dared approach Kaido while he was in his "drunken" state, a single stray swing of his club would easily send them straight to the afterlife.
The only person who possessed the strength to potentially intervene was Queen, and he chose to completely ignore the situation as well. With this free time, he'd much rather go research some brand-new, flashy stage entrances.
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