Teething

By the time physical training ended, it was already past seven in the evening, and the sky had gone completely dark.

King looked at Yamato, Jack, and Maria sprawled on the ground. By then, all three of them were utterly exhausted and collapsed where they lay.

Unlike the morning exercises, everyone's evening training plan was different. After all, there was an enormous gap in the three's physical abilities. Yamato, the strongest, naturally underwent the most intense training, while Black Maria could only handle the lowest level.

The sole exception was Sirius, who sat off to the side looking as energetic as ever despite his clothes being completely soaked through with sweat.

As long as he had food to eat, his recovery ability was simply unreasonable.

"That's enough training for today. Go have dinner."

After leaving those words behind, King turned and walked away, quickly vanishing into the darkness.

Sirius stood up, walked over to the three lying on the ground, and looked down at them. "Come on, guys. Time to eat."

"I can't."

Black Maria shook her head weakly. "I can't move at all anymore. Today's training was more intense than ever."

"Me too."

Jack tried hard to sit up, but unfortunately failed. In the end, he could only lie there like a salted fish.

"I'm so tired, Sirius. I don't want to move at all."

Even Yamato could not get up. Her eyes were dull as she looked at Sirius, sniffling and looking aggrieved. "But I'm so hungry."

"I'm hungry too," Black Maria echoed faintly.

"You guys really are hopeless."

Sirius shook his head. His body suddenly swelled as he transformed into a gigantic Black Wolf. He lay down in front of the three. "Climb on. I'll take you to get food."

"Sirius!" Yamato's eyes instantly regained their light.

Black Maria even raised a hand and lightly wiped at the corner of her eye. "Sirius, the hero has arrived."

"It's not that dramatic."

Sirius said casually, "Doesn't Jack also like carrying me around everywhere?"

"Who likes it?! You climb on by yourself, okay?!" Jack complained.

While they chatted, Yamato and the others slowly climbed to their feet and shakily crawled onto Sirius's back.

Jack and Maria had the advantage in size and could climb right up, but Yamato had to climb up on her own.

Still, the three of them eventually got settled, and Sirius carried them toward the dining hall.

While Sirius and the others went to eat, King had already started his own dinner, together with Kaido and Queen.

His mouth stretched into a long beak, picked up a meatball, then retracted. Chewing, King spoke seriously.

"That brat's ability is absurdly powerful! I noticed it, Mr. Kaido. In fact, even if he does not train actively, as long as he keeps eating, he can continue growing stronger."

"Although I don't know the true nature of that ability, one thing is certain: compared to powerful direct combat ability, that extraordinary growth potential is what makes that brat truly terrifying!"

At this point, King's tone became solemn. "That brat, Sirius, has the potential to surpass everything and become the strongest!"

"The strongest?"

Kaido swayed the large bowl brimming with alcohol in his hand and raised an interested eyebrow.

"Wororororo! Then that brat really is a dangerous one!"

Queen burst out laughing. "Boss Kaido, why not just kill him? Wasn't that brat pretty close to Kozuki Oden before? He might become a threat."

King said nothing. He merely watched quietly as Kaido raised his bowl and drained it in one gulp.

"Wororororo! Don't say something so stupid, Queen!"

Kaido laughed loudly. "War has never been a one-man game! If I want to stand atop the tides of the era and start the greatest war in the world, I need more power!"

"That brat is part of it!"

"Fine, if that's your decision, Boss Kaido." Queen shrugged, with no intention of pressing the matter.

"King, teach that brat well." Kaido casually poured himself more wine. "I'm actually looking forward to it—the day that brat refuses to behave!"

"Wororororo! The strongest? It'll be interesting, won't it?"

Kaido did not care about the matter at all.

"I understand."

King nodded, then added, "By the way, Mr. Kaido, there's something else. When Sirius defeated Yamato today, he broke Yamato's Spiked Club. Yamato was very upset, and then she awakened Conqueror's Haki!"

"Huh?"

Queen nearly choked on his food. His entire face turned red, and only after repeatedly pounding his chest did he finally recover. He said in disbelief, "That happened?"

"Upset?"

Kaido's brow instantly furrowed, and he roared, "What kind of joke is that?! You're saying that stupid girl was upset over a weapon she can have as many of as she wants?"

"How can my daughter be so weak?! And she actually lost to that brat? King, increase the training intensity! What I need is a daughter who can help me rule Wano Country, not some useless crybaby!"

"Huh? Wait, Boss Kaido, isn't Conqueror's Haki the important part?" Queen froze.

Yamato had awakened Conqueror's Haki at only eight years old!

Shouldn't she at least get some praise for that?

"What's there to care about? She inherited my bloodline. Isn't that only natural?" Kaido said coldly. "Did you hear me, King?"

"I understand."

Even his beloved daughter only deserved his affection when she could be useful.

That was Mr. Kaido.

Naturally, Sirius and the others had no idea about the conversation between Kaido and the other two. They were eating in the dining hall.

Although Yamato and the others had nearly exhausted their stamina, Yamato had inherited Kaido's bloodline, while Jack and Maria were Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit Users with remarkable recovery abilities. After Sirius brought them to the dining hall, if nothing else, they had at least recovered enough strength to eat.

Then, after wolfing down a meal, they recovered quite a bit more stamina.

"So, Yamato, what exactly was that earlier?"

Jack asked with his mouth stuffed full, his words somewhat muffled.

"What was what?" Yamato looked utterly confused.

"It was something called Haki, right?"

Sirius explained while eating. "I've heard of it."

"Haki?" Jack froze. "I've heard of it! Brother King and Queen Brother can both use it! Yamato can use that?"

"That's amazing, Yamato!" Black Maria did not really understand what Haki was, but that did not stop her from wrapping an arm around Yamato and praising her with a smile.

"Huh? Did I do something really amazing?"

Yamato paused, then a proud smile appeared on her face. "I don't know what happened, but I guess I'm pretty amazing!"

Sirius smiled but said nothing. He simply continued eating by himself.

Suddenly, he felt something hard in his mouth. He spat it out and found a tooth.

He instinctively ran his tongue over his teeth and found that one of his front teeth was missing.

"Oh! Sirius lost a tooth too?" Yamato leaned over, looking at the tooth in Sirius's palm with delight. "Uncle Queen said that once you finish changing teeth, you'll soon become an adult! Sirius is growing up too!"

Was it really normal teething?

Although his body really had reached the age when children changed teeth, whenever Sirius thought about King's merciless beating that afternoon, he felt there might have been outside factors involved.

Could he ask for compensation in a situation like this?

Still, teething was teething. Sirius had originally intended to throw the tooth away, but then something suddenly occurred to him.

Looking down at the tooth in his hand, Sirius suddenly grinned. He had come up with a very good idea.

"Yamato, don't throw away any teeth you lose in the future," Sirius said.

"Huh? Why?" Yamato asked curiously.

"Didn't I break your Aken? Maybe I can give you an even better one!" Sirius grinned, revealing the gap in his front teeth.

"Waaah—Aken—"

The moment her beloved Spiked Club was mentioned, Yamato's mood immediately sank. She began taking tiny bites of her meat.

Sirius's mouth twitched, and he could only change the subject. "So why does Yamato like using a Spiked Club?"

A cute little girl and a rough Spiked Club really did not match at all.

After all, the other woman in the original story who used a Spiked Club as a weapon was Alvida!

"Why?"

Yamato blinked, then replied naturally, "Because Father gave it to me! Aken is my treasure!"

"I don't think Sirius was asking why you like Aken," Black Maria corrected her.

Jack chimed in, "He was asking why you like using a Spiked Club as a weapon."

"Oh, right."

Yamato nodded blankly, then smiled. "Because it's Father's weapon! It's really powerful!"

"I see."

Sirius smiled.

He did not say anything else about whether she should switch to another weapon.

What right did he have to ask Yamato to change?

Since they were friends, he should respect her choice.

"Don't worry, Yamato. I'll definitely give you an even better Spiked Club!"

That was what Sirius said.

Thanks to 'Will I Lose Weight in 2021' for the five hundred big rewards, and thanks to 'South of the Bridge, North as Well' for the one thousand big rewards.