Though he had lived two lives and had already become part of this world, he still held on to some of the mindset from his previous life.
There was something wrong with his state of mind. The killing intent surrounding him seemed on the verge of slipping out of control, but he had forcibly suppressed it with his Observation Haki, drawing it back into his body. He would need a few days to get himself back in order, but there was no time for that now.
"Do you still have the strength?" Teach turned to Mobius and asked. "There are some people at the other breeding facilities we need to deal with. There should be others in there like Pito."
Mobius knew what Teach meant. He raised his body, braced both hands against the ground, and slowly got to his feet. "Of course. Where are we going next?" His chest heaved as he spoke, and blood still stained his teeth.
"Yeah. There are several breeding facilities like that in the city, and some out in the wilderness, too. I've found them all." Listening to Mobius, Teach suddenly felt that he had grown. He couldn't help smiling. "Go change your clothes. We don't want anyone noticing you."
The two left the place, now turned into hell. As they crossed the river between the palace and the western district, Teach threw his sword into the water. The killing continued. It would not stop.
Meanwhile, an unexpected group of visitors had already reached Pet Island. The Roger Pirates arrived first, mooring their ship in a secluded spot along the shore. "Looks like there's a major battle going on on the island!" Roger had sensed it from far away: a fierce battle was raging in the middle of the island.
"Yeah. I think I can sense a familiar presence." Rayleigh closed his eyes slightly, feeling it out, then opened them and said, "It seems to be that guy Kaido." They knew Kaido fairly well. Not long ago, he had come to challenge them, and they had shamelessly ganged up on him, beating him so badly he couldn't fight back and could only roar helplessly.
"Looks like Kaido is the reason Garp came here. Did he drive us all here so he could take us out at the same time?" A towering, powerfully built man appeared, with short blond hair, headphones on his head, and a wild grin on his face.
"Then we'll stop Garp from interfering with Kaido—and teach him a lesson while we're at it. He damaged our precious Jackson!" Roger was a little angry. Looking at the Jackson, now one-fifth damaged, he couldn't help feeling a pang of heartache. "We're not afraid of him in a head-on fight."
"Haha! What if Kaido comes after us? We gave him a pretty serious beating last time," Gaban, Roger's right-hand man, laughed.
At his words, the Roger Pirates remembered the time they had all ganged up on Kaido, and burst into laughter.
"Then we'll beat him up too. It's been a long time since we fought. We should stretch our muscles before we get rusty," Rayleigh said with a laugh. A few words from each of them were enough to settle their plans.
"How long until the Jackson is repaired?" Roger asked the shipwright beside him.
"There's no way around it. The damage is too severe. The materials on board are only enough to patch up part of it. We'll have to go ashore and buy more lumber." The shipwright looked at the Jackson with a pained expression, then added angrily, "Go have your fun. It'll take about a day. And remember, give Garp a good beating for me!"
"Haha, we will! Then let's intercept Garp outside the central royal city." Roger strode forward, and the crew followed one after another. "Hey, Shanks, are we going too? We're going up against those two monsters, Garp and Kaido. It'd be safer to stay on the ship," Buggy said anxiously, grabbing Shanks by the clothes as he tried to follow.
"Of course we're going! With Captain Roger and Vice Captain Rayleigh there, we'll be fine. And if we stay on the ship, we'll have to help repair it. Watching them fight will be way more interesting." Shanks laughed and jogged after the others. Buggy heard him and thought it made sense. Seeing Shanks run off, he waved and shouted, "Slow down! Wait for me! I'm coming too!"
Meanwhile, Garp's massive warship docked at the port. "The Marines are here! The Marines are here!" Many residents at the port spotted the warship and shouted excitedly. The pirates were invading the royal city, and the Marines' arrival gave them hope.
"It's Marine hero Garp! I can't believe he's here. The kingdom's saved!" Everyone recognized the unmistakable warship with the dog-head figurehead. It was Marine hero Garp's vessel.
"Haha, they're giving us a warm welcome!" Garp laughed as he stepped off the warship.
"Vice Admiral Garp, we've already wasted a lot of time. We need to head to the royal city right away. Headquarters has sent word several times. It looks like Brady is having trouble holding on." The officer beside him was anxious, but Garp remained completely calm.
"All right. I'll go on ahead. The rest of you follow." Hearing that, Garp's smile faded. He had sensed the battle on the island, too. With a flash, he stepped into the air with Geppo and flew toward the royal city.
The battle in the royal city continued. One giant beast after another was knocked down by Kaido, showing the many civilians and pirates just how powerful he was. He was like a tireless machine, his condition showing no sign of deteriorating. It seemed he could fight for three more days and nights.
This monster, Brady thought. He was in poor shape, and Kaido was far stronger than he was. The bones in his left arm were already broken after taking Kaido's Thunder Bagua. His Armament Haki hardening hadn't been enough to stop the attack. He had also taken a punch to the chest. It had been a long time since he had fought anyone. After returning and becoming king, the provocateurs among the pirates had been dealt with by the beast army, while he himself had only occasionally fought the giant beasts.
But that feeling of battle was steadily returning, and Kaido could sense Brady's strength rising. He was getting better at fighting.
"These useless Marines—why aren't they here yet?" the crown prince, Sabre, shouted, watching the kingdom's greatest pillar, his father, struggle and get hurt. He had been waiting so long. If the king died, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The Snake King and Dragon King had both gone to gather their forces, hoping to help King Brady. The Snake King had sent out his assassin corps. Teach had wiped out many of them, but some remained. Dragon King Laimer had mobilized the army to guard the outskirts of the royal city and stabilize the situation inside, allowing the civilians to leave in an orderly fashion. If his father were in danger, he would send out his hundreds of thousands of troops to rescue King Brady.
After witnessing King Brady's true strength, they understood how important his power was to the kingdom, even though he still fell short of Kaido. The lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers couldn't compare to Brady's value. With his abilities, rebuilding the kingdom would be easy.
"What's keeping Garp? Has he forgotten what I told him?" Kong shouted as he watched the battle from Marine Headquarters.
"Take this!" Kaido laughed and charged straight at King Brady. A giant beast blocked his path, but Kaido grabbed it by the head with one hand. With overwhelming strength, he seized its body and slammed it hard into the ground.
Then he continued charging toward Brady.
Kaido was far faster than Brady, but the powerful attacks of the giant beasts kept pounding into him.
Kaido ignored them completely. Haki flowed over his body, deflecting the beasts' attacks. He was going to finish Brady off in one blow.
"Damn it, how did it come to this?" Seeing Kaido charge at him, Brady panicked. He wasn't the only one; the three princes watching the battle were panicking, too. "Thunder Bagua!" Kaido roared, swinging his lightning-wreathed kanabo down at Brady.
At the last possible moment, a figure dropped from the sky and appeared beside Kaido. The Justice cloak on his back billowed high as his iron fist crashed into Kaido's right cheek. Kaido didn't even have time to react. Up close, anyone could see his face twist out of shape from the punch, a clear testament to its tremendous power.
Kaido's body flew backward. The punch sent him a hundred meters away, crashing into the ruins.
His entrance drew everyone's attention. "Haha, that was close! I almost arrived a moment too late," Garp, the Marine hero, laughed, standing with his hands on his hips.
Everyone had watched Kaido's final attack. They had thought that the result would be settled with that single strike, but at the last moment, just when it mattered most, everything had taken a shocking turn.
"Oh! What am I seeing? Marine hero Garp! The war isn't over yet—and now we've witnessed an astonishing reversal!" Morgans cried out. "With Marine hero Garp here, Kaido won't be able to do anything to King Brady of the Kate Kingdom." That was his prediction, and it was what most people thought, too.
"Damn you, Garp!" Kaido rose from the ruins and rubbed his sore, swollen right cheek. With his recovery, the injury disappeared in no time. He hadn't expected Garp to suddenly show up and ruin everything.
But that only roused his fighting spirit. "Just in time, Garp! Let's have a big fight!" He wasn't afraid of Garp. When he ran into him, his first thought was to fight him head-on.
At that moment, Kaido turned his head to look toward a spot east of the royal city. Garp did the same, his expression growing serious. What was going on? Everyone was curious. They didn't have to wait long. The Reporter Bird in the sky had already noticed the newcomers and turned the camera. In the distance, a dozen or so figures were approaching. They came closer, their outlines gradually becoming clearer, until they finally appeared before everyone.
"What am I seeing? A fourth force has appeared!" Morgans stared wide-eyed at the images on the Transponder Snail and shouted excitedly. "Look who it is! The Roger Pirates—the crew of Roger, one of the three legendary pirates! Can you see them? Most of the Roger Pirates' main forces are here. The situation has changed once again. This is so thrilling!"
At the World Economic News headquarters, the editors, staff, and President watched helplessly as Morgans, microphone in hand, excitedly stood on a table and yelled. With his albatross form, he looked ridiculous, as if he were about to burst into song.
"Roger, why aren't you staying hidden like a good pirate? What are you doing here? Are you planning to interfere in this battle?" Garp asked sternly. "Haha, of course not, Garp. We came to find you. You nearly destroyed our Jackson. I won't be satisfied until we give you a proper beating!" Roger laughed, already prepared to fight. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, and the rest of the crew were ready for battle as well.
"Why have the Roger Pirates appeared here? Should we send reinforcements?" They had thought that Marine hero Garp's arrival would bring things to an end, but now the Roger Pirates had shown up, too.
"No. It's too far." Tsuru shook her head. "The only one we could send is Sengoku, but he's currently keeping an eye on both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Flying Pirates. He can't leave. Besides, Garp is strong enough that his life won't be in danger. We have to trust him." Tsuru sighed. "But we'll have to prepare ourselves to lose the Kate Kingdom."
"What did I just hear? What did I just hear? Garp nearly destroyed the Roger Pirates' ship? Now that's big news! Big news!" Morgans laughed.
The residents and pirates watching in various places couldn't help frowning.
"Who's that commentator? I really want to beat her up," one man said, clenching his fist.
"Yeah, you feel that way too? That commentator is so annoying," a pirate beside him said.
"Damn Roger!" The moment Kaido saw Roger, his eyes reddened with anger. He wanted to charge over and fight, but he managed to hold himself back. Their last battle had left a shadow in his heart, and seeing so many members of the Roger Pirates made him feel a little uneasy.
With Roger holding Garp back, Kaido had the perfect chance to take out Brady first, then join their fight. With Garp keeping several of the Roger Pirates' strongest fighters occupied, he had nothing to worry about.
Thinking this, Kaido raised his kanabo and charged straight at Brady. Brady's expression changed. He had thought he was saved, only for another troublemaker to appear.
Seeing Kaido charge, Garp tried to intervene, but the instant he moved, a streak of sword light shot straight at him. Garp leaped to the side and dodged the slash, then raised his iron fist and slammed it down. In the next moment, Roger was right in front of him, sword in hand.
"Boom!" Fist and sword collided, sending waves surging outward. This was no sparring match. They knew each other all too well, and both were giving it everything they had.
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