Xia Te and Kaido landed on the ground almost at the same time.
The instant their feet touched down, both charged forward again. Twin blades and the kanabo collided violently—
Advanced Haki clashed, causing the very air to tremble, streaks of dark lightning flickering between them.
"You brat! How did those two swords end up in your hands!?"
Kaido roared while attacking relentlessly.
Those were the very blades that had left the only scar on his body—there was no way he could forget them.
"There's a lot you don't know."
Xia Te sneered.
He suddenly retreated over ten meters, slamming his palm onto the ground.
"Lion's Earth Roll!"
The coastal land surged upward, forming a massive lion's head midair. With a deafening roar, it lunged toward Kaido.
"Golden Lion's move!?"
Kaido's expression shifted slightly, then twisted into a savage grin. His arm spun like a propeller as he gripped his kanabo.
"Do you even know who I am?!"
In the next instant, Kaido charged straight into the lion's gaping maw.
A second later—
The massive lion head, larger than a warship, exploded from within.
At the same time, Kaido transformed into his Azure Dragon form, unleashing a devastating breath attack that blasted forward like a beam.
Xia Te narrowed his eyes, finally getting serious. He crossed Ame no Habakiri and Enma into an X.
"Golden Lion Cross Slash!!!"
A full-powered strike erupted, its sword energy threatening to split space itself.
Back when Shiki fought Luffy, he never used this move—this was swordsmanship from before he lost his legs.
As the former World's Greatest Swordsman before Mihawk, it was obvious how much his strength had declined after losing the ability to wield two swords with his hands.
The collision between sword energy and dragon breath caused the entire shoreline of Kuri to collapse.
Shiryu, Law, and the others rapidly retreated, raising their arms to shield themselves from the shockwave.
One misstep, and they'd be dragged into the destruction.
"This is insane!?"
"So this is top-tier power in the New World…"
"The island's going to sink! Can't someone stop them!?"
Even Enel and Shiryu couldn't interfere in a battle of this level.
Only Weevil had the strength to intervene—
but he only obeyed Xia Te.
Without an order, he wouldn't move.
"Kaido-sama! Please stop! They're here to negotiate!"
At that moment, King, leading the Beast Pirates, finally arrived and shouted urgently.
Earlier, King had tried to report the deal via Den Den Mushi—
but Kaido, being the brute he was, heard "intruders" and ignored everything else, instantly flying back in dragon form.
Seeing Xia Te's crew, he didn't bother asking anything—he attacked immediately.
Now, hearing King's words—
"Hmm?"
Kaido halted midair, looking down.
"What's going on?"
King stepped forward and quickly explained:
"Regarding your plan to strike Hachinosu (Pirate Island) while Whitebeard clashes with the Navy… the Xia Te Pirates are willing to cooperate…"
He summarized the deal Kaido hadn't listened to earlier.
"Oh? Interesting."
Kaido returned to human form, a grin spreading across his face—
but the next second, his expression turned furious.
"But you've got some nerve! Asking for my territory of twenty years right off the bat?!"
Moody as ever—pleased one second, enraged the next.
"Trading one Wano for Whitebeard's territory—you lose one country but gain land ten times larger. How is that a loss?"
Xia Te folded his arms and countered calmly.
"Hmph! Don't take me for an idiot!"
Kaido snapped.
"Even if you deal with Red-Hair, if Whitebeard survives, he'll counterattack after the war! Who knows how much I'll actually keep then?!"
Xia Te clicked his tongue inwardly.
So Kaido wasn't just muscle after all.
In the original story, even after Luffy provoked him repeatedly, Kaido didn't eliminate him early—
Xia Te had assumed he was just a brute.
Apparently not.
"Then let's compromise."
After a brief pause, Xia Te proposed:
"I'll take only the Flower Capital. The rest—Kuri, Ringo, Hakumai, Udon, and the Seastone mines—all stay with you."
The moment he said this—
Kaido and the Beast Pirates' eyes lit up.
What they cared about most was Udon, the Seastone production center.
Compared to that, the Flower Capital—though prosperous—was far less important to a war-driven crew like theirs.
Xia Te continued:
"As for manpower, I'll only take artisans—courtesans, servants, cooks. The samurai? They're all yours."
"Deal!!"
Kaido agreed instantly, without hesitation.
Shiryu and the others were stunned.
The samurai of Wano were a force even the Navy feared.
Why give them away?
But only Xia Te, as a transmigrator, knew the truth—
Those samurai were all double agents.
They were loyal to Kozuki Oden and ultimately to Momonosuke.
In the original timeline, they became the core force opposing Kaido alongside the Straw Hats.
They were useless to him.
So—
He might as well leave all those "traitors" to Kaido.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.
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