Weakness

The value of the treasures accumulated at God Valley was impossible to estimate. They were treasures gathered from all over the world.

The pirates who left God Valley alive had all gained something, more or less. It had even become the "startup capital" for their futures.

Among the many pirates, Kaido was probably the most straightforward one. Aside from the Fish-Fish Fruit, Azure Dragon Form, that he had snatched from Charlotte Linlin, Kaido's gains were infinitely close to zero.

Now, his pockets were even cleaner than his face. Other than the Spiked Club and clothes on him, there was nothing else of value to be found.

If Nereus kept talking, who knew what old debts he might dig up.

Although he had already eaten a Devil Fruit, Kaido knew full well how wide the gap in strength between them was.

That Devil Fruit had certainly enhanced his strength, but not enough for him to surpass the other man.

Inviting Nereus had merely been a spur-of-the-moment idea. Kaido had no desire to find himself another boss now.

As Kaido pondered how to change the subject, he suddenly spotted Dragon controlling the sails.

For Kaido, picking a fight was a good way to change the subject. Being the one doing the beating was still better than being beaten.

"Kaido, I'm not blind. If I didn't want to, do you think this Marine would still be alive? What exactly do you want? Say it."

Nereus did not intervene. He could tell whether Kaido truly intended to kill or was merely fooling around.

But Dragon was different. At present, he was only a new recruit in the Marines. In a sense, his treatment was far worse than Koby's.

Although Kaido's swinging club stopped in midair, the gust it stirred up still slammed into Dragon's face, making cold sweat pour down his forehead.

"Worororo, is this another one of your twisted hobbies? Looks like this Marine is rather unfortunate."

Weak.

That was Kaido's only assessment of Dragon. Since Nereus was interested in him, Kaido naturally would not do anything else.

After all, they had known each other for many years. Kaido was well aware of some of Nereus's habits.

When faced with opponents who were extremely weak yet ignorant of their own limits, Nereus would sometimes become playful and use his abilities to toy with them, like a cat catching a mouse.

"I was originally just hungry and came looking for something to eat. I didn't expect this warship to belong to you now. You don't mind if I find something to eat, do you?"

"Go look for it yourself. The storeroom should be..."

"I know where it is. Then I won't hold back."

With that, Kaido made his way to the warship's storeroom as if he knew the route by heart. Since the Marines had many large-bodied soldiers as well, the passageways aboard the warship had been expanded to a certain degree.

Though they were somewhat cramped for Kaido, he could still get through them.

Watching Kaido navigate the warship's layout so expertly, Dragon felt conflicted and did not know how to judge it.

Nereus's people had always liked commandeering warships for their own use, and Kaido had often treated warships as dining halls. Over time, every one of them had become quite familiar with warships.

Before long, Kaido found some smoked and pickled food that was easy to preserve. He did not care much about the taste and casually began eating, only grumbling a couple of times about not finding any alcohol.

"Kaido, you were at that battle in the center of God Valley, weren't you? I saw you fly over there."

"That... I was there at first."

"What happened back then?"

By the time Nereus arrived, Kaido and the others had long since left. Only Garp, Roger, and the controlled Rocks remained.

Although Nereus had heard the course of events from Garp, Roger, and Rocks's soul, he still wanted to hear how others would describe it.

"At the time, I had just gained my Fruit ability when I sensed that strange thing and wanted to try fighting it.

"That woman Linlin kept chasing after me to kill me. She seemed furious that I had stolen the Fruit from her. Worororo!"

Speaking of it, Kaido did not seem embarrassed in the slightest, but then his expression suddenly turned serious.

"Linlin, Newgate, Rocks, Garp, Roger, and I all attacked that thing together.

"But it was useless. That spider-like freak had a black shadow on its back, and our attacks did absolutely nothing to it. It was as if it couldn't be killed.

"If I had to give an example... it was very similar to your ability."

Even damage inflicted with Haki had been as good as useless. In Kaido's memory, the only person with such power was Nereus.

"Can't be killed... No, Kaido. There is nothing in this world that is truly impossible to kill. If it can't be killed... it only means its weakness has not been found yet."

"Oh? You too?"

"That's right, me too. Provided you can find my weakness."

Kaido did not continue asking. Asking any further would be impolite, and clearly the sort of thing that would get him beaten up.

Nereus was not joking either. Things like sunlight and silver had no effect on him, unless someone found a God Fruit and used it to bless those things first.

His weakness... was his heart.

If someone could break through Nereus's Haki shield and destroy his heart beneath that ability which was no different from elementalization, they could kill him once.

If that process were repeated countless times, the goal could be achieved.

"Come to think of it, Nereus, what are you planning to do next?"

"I'll return to Fish-Man Island first. It's time to start preparing for certain matters."

"I see. You're still heading back to the New World, right? Let me ride along for a few days. I still haven't decided whether my first step should be finding a ship or recruiting some subordinates."

"Do as you like. But as I said, don't cause me any extra trouble."

"I know. Before a new voyage begins, I should rest and build up my strength too."

Kaido agreed with Nereus and found an open spot on the deck to rest. Nereus did not pay him much attention.

Kaido was the kind of person who did not care about methods when pursuing his goals. If his own strength was sufficient, he would not mind having a fair duel.

But when he lacked the strength to achieve a goal he absolutely had to accomplish, Kaido would not stubbornly follow the rules either. He did not care about ambushes or the like. That was the survival rule of Kaido, who had stepped onto the battlefield as a soldier when he was young.

Still, Kaido could be trusted in matters like this. After all, there was no conflict of interest between them now, and they had some history together on Beehive Island.

"Marine, what about you? What do you plan to do next?"

Nereus looked at Dragon, who had finished tidying the sails, and casually asked.

"I... I don't know. There are still things I want to go back and clarify. After that... I'll leave the Marines."

Dragon's voice was filled with uncertainty about the future, but he was extremely resolute about leaving the Marines.

After witnessing what had happened at God Valley, he could not convince himself to continue upholding that so-called justice in an army that deceived itself and others.

"Not a bad choice. Would you consider working for me?"