Maria and Yamato

"Mr. Kaido, what's the deal with that kid?"

On the highest floor of Onigashima, in a room, Kaido was talking with his two most trusted subordinates when King asked.

"Fufufufu, it was quite a coincidence,"

Kaido took a swig from a massive sake jug, casually wiped his mouth, and then grinned, "I happened to land on the Desert Island where he was."

"Mufufufu, isn't this just a repeat of those two brats, Jack and Maria?" Queen, sitting on the other side, couldn't help but laugh heartily. "Boss Kaido, you really are good at picking up kids."

"That kid is special."

Kaido put down the sake jug in his hand and raised his right hand, displaying his wrist to his two subordinates.

"This!"

King stood up in shock.

He saw several circular scars on Kaido's wrist.

"He left me scars that can't be erased!"

Kaido retracted his hand and grinned, "He has abilities on par with mine!"

"A Mythical Zoan?"

Queen slowly let out a sigh of relief, the shock on his face gradually fading. "Then indeed, that kid is incredible! Jack is completely outshone."

"Please leave him to me, Mr. Kaido."

King said solemnly, "I will train him to be the pillar of the Beasts Pirates!"

"I can rest assured leaving him to you."

Kaido nodded gently. "It's perfect timing that Sirius arrived. Yamato has found the best opponent. Fufufufu, monsters, they should indeed grow up with monsters!"

"When they grow up, we will be the strongest pirate crew on the sea!" King said with some excitement.

"Fufufufufu!!"

Kaido also burst into laughter.

"Mufufufufu!!" Queen joined in the laughter.

For a moment, the room was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

"Ahem, speaking of which, Boss Kaido,"

Mid-laugh, Queen suddenly remembered something, coughed twice, and said seriously, "We received a message from Orochi. Kozuki Oden seems to have realized he was being fooled. The war should be imminent. Orochi wants us to come over immediately."

Kaido's eyes lit up instantly. "Double happiness!! Has this day finally arrived? Fufufufufu!! Then notify Orochi!"

"Prepare yourselves, we're going to war!"

"So, you were also picked up by Uncle Kaido?"

Sirius sat on Jack's shoulder, chatting with Jack while observing the surroundings.

Once he started talking, Jack no longer maintained his cool demeanor, after all, he was just an eight-year-old child.

Under Sirius's questioning, Jack clearly explained his life story.

Jack's parents were Fish-Men living in the human world, and as one could imagine, their lives were not happy.

A few years ago, Jack's family encountered a human slave-catching team. To protect Jack, his parents desperately delayed them, ultimately dying together.

Wandering alone, Jack was fortunate enough to eat a Devil Fruit, and then he met Kaido, who took him in. Kaido also happened to help him wipe out that slave-catching team.

"Boss Kaido is my great benefactor!"

Jack declared solemnly, "I will definitely become the biggest figurehead of the Beasts Pirates to repay Boss Kaido's kindness! And make him the Pirate King!"

"Mm, you definitely can." Sirius agreed.

Jack was stunned for a moment. He turned his head to look at Sirius, asking with astonishment, "You think I can do it?"

"Of course!"

Sirius stood up and stretched out his small hand to pat Jack's head. Good heavens, this kid's head alone was almost as tall as Sirius himself.

To make this gesture, Sirius had to raise his hand.

He smiled and said, "Uncle Kaido told me before that this sea is vast enough to accommodate any crazy dream. Your dream isn't so grand that it surpasses this world, is it?"

"...Heh heh."

Jack suddenly scratched his head and gave a simple, honest laugh. He suddenly found this kid, who was competing with him for the position of Third Calamity, quite likable.

He suddenly broke into a run, "Let's go, I'll take you to find Maria and Yamato! I'll introduce you to them."

Grabbing a lock of Jack's hair to maintain balance, Sirius threw a punch, "Then let's charge, Jack! Towards our dreams!"

"Oh!!"

Jack stepped forward excitedly, fired up!

When the little Giant-like Jack ran, the wooden floor vibrated incessantly.

Although he looked a bit chubby, Jack had great stamina. He ran the whole way without even showing signs of being out of breath.

"They should be here! They're usually here around this time."

Jack stopped in front of a massive door.

Sirius tilted his head back to look. Hmm, compared to me, it's huge, but for Jack, it's normal.

Knock, knock, knock.

Jack politely raised his hand and knocked on the door.

Sirius's ears twitched. He could hear footsteps from behind the door.

The door swung open.

A young, tender face peeked out from behind the door.

She looked at Jack. "What is it? It's Jack, what's up?"

She was looking at Jack, not up at him.

This girl was the same height as Jack, an astonishing four meters tall.

She had golden hair, tied up and secured into a bun with several small, knife-like hairpins. She wore a slightly elaborate kimono. Despite her large size, she was a very cute girl.

One of the future Flying Six, Black Maria.

"Maria, where's Yamato? Is she here?"

Jack asked.

"Yamato!"

The girl named Maria turned her head and shouted into the room, "Jack's looking for you!"

Then she turned back and moved aside. "Come on in."

Jack nodded with a muffled sound and stepped into the room.

It was a spacious room, but it was quite dim without any lights.

The only light in the room came from an insect.

It was a snail.

Sirius looked at the snail placed on a high platform at the back of the room in surprise.

It was a Den Den Mushi.

Two beams of light shot out from the Den Den Mushi's eyes, spreading out and projecting an image onto the white screen on the opposite wall.

They were watching a movie!

"Jack, is Father looking for me?"

A tender voice rang out.

Sirius lowered his head and saw a small, white-clad girl.

She wore a white kimono over red hakama, with wooden clogs. Her white hair was tied into a ponytail, gradually turning a beautiful blue at the ends. She had a pair of red horns on her head.

Like Black Maria, she was also a very cute little girl.

"Boss Kaido asked me to bring Sirius over for you two to meet."

Jack said truthfully.

"Sirius?"

The white-haired little girl, Kaido's daughter, Yamato, blinked. "Who is it?"

Sirius jumped down from Jack's shoulder and greeted them with a grin, "Hello."

"Wow! What a cute child!"

Black Maria, who had closed the door and walked over, covered her mouth and chuckled when she saw Sirius. "Looks like Mr. Kaido has a new catch today."

"Cute?"

Sirius raised his hand and ruffled his hair, which he had casually torn out and looked messy, and asked happily, looking up.

"Yes, super cute!"

Black Maria said exaggeratedly. She added with a hint of disdain, "At least much cuter than Jack."

"Hey!" The not-so-cute Jack said indignantly.

"Thank you, you're cute too." Sirius's eyes curved into crescents. He was happy to be praised.

"Being complimented by a cute child."

Black Maria covered her face with her hands, looking very touched. "I'm so happy!"

She's not much older than me, but she's trying so hard to act like an elder.

Sirius thought with a smile, What a cute kid.

"Your name is Sirius?"

At this moment, Yamato approached Sirius, scrutinizing him with great curiosity.

Yamato was two years older than Sirius and a head taller, if not more.

Although Yamato's adult physique couldn't compare to her father's, she was still nearly three meters tall, a height befitting an Admiral. Thus, Sirius still appeared somewhat undersized.

"You're Yamato, right?"

Sirius extended his hand to her. "Uncle Kaido mentioned you to me. I'm Sirius, a newcomer who just joined the Beasts Pirates today. From today on, we're comrades."

Yamato froze for a moment, then suddenly beamed with joy. She eagerly reached out and clasped Sirius's hand. "Yes, I'm Yamato! We're comrades from today on!"

Children's friendships are simple, and even simpler for adorable kids.

"My name is Black Maria."

Black Maria said happily, "You can just call me Maria, Sirius."

"Hello, Maria."

Sirius naturally went along with it.

"Hello, Sirius!" Maria replied with a smile.

"Do you want to watch a movie together, Sirius?"

Yamato tugged on Sirius's hand and pointed to a screen nearby. "Father brought it from overseas. It's really interesting!"

"I'm very interested,"

Sirius released Yamato's hand, rubbed his stomach, and said with a troubled expression, "But I'm really hungry right now."

He hadn't eaten anything since meeting Kaido.

"I know where to get food! I'll take you to eat!"

Yamato excitedly grabbed Sirius's hand and ran towards the door.

"Wait for me, Yamato!"

Maria chased after them with a smile.

Jack trailed behind, glumly following them.