Jack

"Boss Kaido, are you joking?"

Queen was so shocked that he nearly dropped the cigar from his mouth. His tiny eyes bulged wide as he flailed his arms. "This brat? No matter how I look at him, he's still just a little kid!"

Even that monster Charlotte Big Mom could never have stood on equal footing with the two of them at this age!

"I never said it would happen now."

Kaido waved a hand. "This brat has the potential to surpass you two! When the time is right, he'll become the Beasts Pirates' Third Calamity!"

"Third Calamity!!"

"Third Calamity!!"

"Third Calamity!!"

The pirates around them began shouting loudly, their faces filled with fervor.

Sirius grinned, planted his hands on his hips, and puffed out his chest.

Standing at the center of a crowd and basking in boundless glory felt pretty good too.

In this life, he would experience everything he had never gotten to experience in his previous one!

He would definitely live an incomparably happy life!

But the Three Calamities—

If he replaced Jack as the Third Calamity, what would his nickname be?

He could breathe fire, but King was already the Flame Calamity.

Likewise, Queen was the Plague Calamity, so Poison Calamity would feel too overlapping.

How about Fang Calamity? Or Mouth Calamity? After all, he was especially sharp-toothed and sharp-tongued, in the literal sense.

Sirius could not help smiling even wider. What terrible nicknames.

"So that's how it is?"

After hearing Kaido's words, King nodded in understanding. He looked at Sirius. "Then I'll properly train this brat and make him into a strong man who can satisfy you, Mr. Kaido."

"Very good."

Kaido nodded in satisfaction. "King, you're always so reliable!"

Looking up at King, whose appearance and expression he could not make out at all, Sirius suddenly remembered that the right-hand men of every generation of Pirate Emperors seemed to be very reliable.

Even Shiryu on Blackbeard's side had saved Blackbeard's life at a critical moment.

Thinking of that, Sirius looked at Queen. There was a reason this guy's status was lower than King's.

"Ha ha ha ha! But Boss Kaido, wouldn't that make Jack seem pretty pitiful?"

Completely oblivious to Sirius's gaze, Queen shouted teasingly, "Jack! Hey, Jack! Did you hear what I said?"

"I heard you, Queen Brother!"

A tall figure immediately squeezed out of the crowd.

Sirius took a closer look.

He was an absurdly huge child.

He did not seem to be much older than Sirius. His build was still very pudgy, with a chubby body and chubby limbs, except he was far too tall—probably around four meters. Standing before Sirius, he looked like a giant.

The boy wore a deliberately resolute expression on his chubby face. Then he sniffed, bared a mouthful of sharp teeth, and shouted, "I'm here, Queen Brother!"

He then bowed to Kaido and King respectively. "Boss Kaido! Brother King!"

Oh, so this kid was the future Drought Jack?

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

If he remembered correctly, Jack seemed to be the same age as Yamato, two years older than him.

This guy was really tall. As expected of the Beasts Pirates' tallest member besides the Numbers in the future.

"Heh heh."

Queen grinned and patted Jack on the shoulder. "Did you hear what Boss Kaido just said? He said he's going to make this brat the Third Calamity! Haven't you always aimed to become a Calamity? Someone beat you to it now. Don't you have anything to say?"

Jack lowered his head and glanced at Sirius, then pouted and shook his head. "I-I'll listen to Boss Kaido!"

Hey, hey, hey, tears were already welling up in his eyes!

Was the future Ship King really this soft when he was little?

Sirius could not help curling his lips into a smile.

"Wow, what an arrogant brat!"

Queen was still stirring things up. "He's still smiling!"

"That's enough, Queen!"

Kaido shot Queen a glare. "Sirius is someone I value. Stop making snide remarks here."

"Yes."

Queen immediately put on a serious expression and nodded respectfully.

Only then did Kaido nod in satisfaction. Looking at Jack, he said, "Jack, you came at the right time. Take Sirius to find somewhere to stay. Pick a room near yours, then go find Maria and Yamato. You little brats should get acquainted."

"Yes, Boss Kaido!"

Jack immediately pounded his chest and shouted, "Leave it to me!"

Then he turned to Sirius. "Follow me."

Sirius looked at Kaido.

"Go on, brat."

Kaido said, "I have important business to discuss. Tomorrow, go find King with Jack."

"Okay, Uncle Kaido."

Sirius cheerfully followed behind Jack, leaving the plaza and entering the main building.

As the clamor gradually faded behind them, Sirius watched Jack silently lead the way ahead. Then his short legs suddenly sped up, and he came level with Jack, tilting his head up to look at him.

"You're Jack, right? I'm Sirius."

Jack did not answer. He merely pursed his lips and continued forward in large strides.

He was really hard to get along with.

Sirius clasped his hands behind his head and thought with a grin.

Jack led Sirius up several floors and stopped before a paper sliding door. At last, he turned around and said to Sirius,

"This will do. All the daily necessities are inside."

He raised a hand and pointed to another door across the corridor. "That's my room. If there's anything else you need, tell me."

Pretty distant.

Seeing Sirius stand there with his hands in his pockets without moving, Jack asked in surprise, "Aren't you going in to take a look?"

"That can wait."

Sirius said. He was not picky about accommodations at all, considering he had just finished a year of survival on a Desert Island.

"Didn't Uncle Kaido say you were supposed to take me to find the others? Let's go."

Sirius was full of enthusiasm. He was very curious what the Beasts Pirates were like during this period.

Jack pursed his lips, seeming somewhat hesitant. Then he said seriously, "You're being far too disrespectful to Boss Kaido! You should call him Captain or Boss!"

Sirius smiled. "You seem to really admire Uncle Kaido?"

"It's Boss Kaido!"

Jack emphasized. Then he sniffed and declared solemnly, "Boss Kaido is The Strongest in the World! He's the man who will become the Pirate King!"

He was like a fan promoting his favorite idol.

But with Whitebeard still at the height of his prime, Uncle Kaido was probably still a little short of becoming The Strongest in the World, wasn't he?

Jack had no such awareness. He merely said with a face full of admiration, "I'll become Boss Kaido's right-hand man! I'll follow him to the summit of the pirate era!"

"So, just like Uncle Queen said earlier, your goal is to become a Calamity too?"

"..."

Jack froze for a moment. Only then did he remember that Kaido had already personally designated the guy before him as the future Third Calamity.

He could not help feeling a little dejected.

But soon, Jack gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and stared with blazing eyes. "Even though Boss Kaido has already decided, I won't give up just like that! I'll prove to Boss Kaido that I'm the one most suited to become the Third Calamity!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Sirius burst out laughing. "Isn't that great? Since we have the same goal, that makes us companions, doesn't it?"

"Huh?"

Jack, who had originally thought Sirius would mock him mercilessly, tilted his head in stunned confusion.

Sirius pushed off with both legs and leaped directly onto Jack's broad shoulders, sitting down there. He patted Jack on the cheek. "Let's go, good brother. Time to find the others."

"G-good brother?"

Jack looked completely at a loss.

What was with this guy?