Kaido Wanted to Be Cultured

"Garp... The World Government and the Marines were a massive organization. With the soldiers from all the affiliated nations included, they numbered tens of millions.

How could anyone possibly keep track of every action taken by tens of millions of people? Even if I noticed the upper ranks doing something insane, all I could do was turn a blind eye."

The moment he finished speaking, an all-out brawl broke out in Garp's home. Garp threw a punch straight at Sengoku.

Because of their personalities, Sengoku had handled more military affairs among the Marines of Garp's generation. Though his answer had not stated it outright, it showed that Sengoku knew about this.

"You've always had this problem! You bastard, all you ever think about is climbing higher!"

"Shut up! What can you change when you're only standing beneath the cliff?!"

Sengoku did not hold back either. Neither of them used Haki, and Sengoku did not use his Devil Fruit power. They fought with nothing but their bodies until they were both bloodied and battered, eventually parting on bad terms.

"Taiwan Novel Network, super convenient, t̆̈̆̈w̆̈̆̈k̆̈̆̈̆̈ă̈̆̈n̆̈̆̈.c̆̈̆̈ŏ̈̆̈m̆̈̆̈, easy reading."

"You idiot son, why didn't you help me beat up that bastard just now?"

"..."

Dragon said nothing. He merely looked at Garp with the gaze one would reserve for a hopeless fool.

Though he did not say a word, the meaning was abundantly clear.

[Me, fight Sengoku? Are you kidding me?]

In a few more decades, Dragon might have had that ability. But for now, it was difficult for him even to intervene.

"I'm leaving the Marines."

Ignoring Garp, Dragon calmly stated his decision.

"Mm."

Garp was not surprised by Dragon's decision. This was exactly the sort of thing his son would do.

"What about you, Dad? Are you going to become your Marine hero?"

"Hero... Dragon, beneath this cliff, there are still so many things that need protecting."

"I despise you."

Knowing what this organization was like, yet still choosing to deceive himself and continue working for it—Dragon could not understand that choice.

"Do as you please. But I really didn't know about this mess before. Let me remind you of something: Sengoku told me that someone in the Marines once said similar 'nonsense.'

That person disappeared afterward. No matter what you plan to do, remember that.

And... you'd better not become a Pirate."

"I won't. This is a... revolution."

West Blue. After sailing north for several consecutive days, Nereus's ship entered the Calm Belt once again, making quite a few people feel much better.

The sea rarely stayed calm. Even large Marine warships, despite their immense tonnage, could not remain as steady as land.

Those accustomed to sailing were fine, but some of the people from God Valley had never traveled far by sea. They had suffered terribly from seasickness.

"Have we reached land...?"

A pale-faced man looked hopefully at the Fish-Man standing watch nearby.

After spending several days together, they had come to feel that these Fish-Men were not frightening.

Although some individuals looked rather unusual, they bore them no hostility and had even helped them adjust to life at sea.

"Not yet. We've only entered the Calm Belt. There won't be any wind in these waters, and the sea will be calmer. You should be able to rest more comfortably for a while."

"I still feel the ship rocking... I really envy you people who were born knowing how to swim. You probably can't understand the agony of seasickness..."

"Hahahaha, that's true. Seasick Fish-Men are incredibly rare. Once we cross this Calm Belt, we'll be close to our destination. It won't take long."

This was not an isolated case. With the debt of saving their lives already established, and the barriers caused by the unknown swept away, it was not difficult for the two races to get along.

Nanamo had already become the leader of the children among these survivors, occasionally taking them to play on deck.

At that moment, there was another large figure on deck who had fallen into a state of self-imposed gloom.

It was not Big Pan, but Kaido.

"Come on, Kaido. Isn't it normal that you can't beat Dad? You've been losing to him for years. It's already been three days this time—why are you still hung up on it?"

"Names... names... What kind of names should I use..."

Kaido ignored Nanamo and continued muttering to himself about something else.

A few days earlier, when the ship had docked to replenish its freshwater supply.

"Wororororo! Nereus, waiting around is boring. Come fight me! I'm not the same as before!"

Such things had happened often on Beehive Island. Kaido would challenge the others on the island from time to time. As for the outcome... that mainly depended on his opponent.

Whenever Nereus or Rocks got serious, Kaido would basically get beaten senseless.

Since being ruthlessly crushed last time, Kaido had not challenged Nereus for quite a while.

Now that he had obtained a Devil Fruit, Kaido believed he had become stronger, so he issued another challenge.

"What, now that you have Devil Fruit powers, you think you can beat me?"

"If I don't try, how will I know?"

By that logic, Nereus and Rocks were on the same level. And at God Valley, the darkened Rocks had still displayed absolute dominance.

But Kaido believed that battle did not count. First, Rocks had somehow become stronger, and Kaido himself had eaten his Devil Fruit less than an hour earlier, so he had not yet mastered it.

That environment had not been suitable for a satisfying fight either, so Kaido wanted to try again.

"Fine. If you want to try, I'll indulge you. It won't take much time anyway."

As he spoke, Nereus rolled his shoulders and walked toward a relatively open area nearby. Kaido leaped into the sky and transformed into a massive Dragon, soaring into the clouds.

Ever since eating the Devil Fruit, Kaido had fallen in love with the oppressive presence granted by his gigantic beast form, and he often fought in that state.

"Then I won't hold back! Dragon!"

Kaido abruptly opened his jaws wide. Scorching energy condensed at high speed before a blazing Dragon Breath, carrying terrifying heat, poured downward at Nereus like a torrent of lava bursting through a dam.

[Fish-Man Karate: Secret Art: Water Dragon Piercing!]

The battle had taken place right by the shore, and with his profound mastery of Fish-Man Karate, Nereus easily controlled the seawater beside him.

The nearby sea suddenly churned. As Nereus threw his punch, an enormous volume of seawater shot forth with it, howling as it tore through the air and met the blazing breath head-on.

The water Dragon was already immensely destructive in itself, but it was not merely a stream of water. At the very front of its waves was a spearhead formed from invisible Haki.

The two attacks collided in midair. Kaido's breath was cleanly split in two down the middle, while blazing flames and steam scattered to either side.

Nereus's attack did not slow in the slightest, striking Kaido's enormous Dragon head squarely!

The powerful Haki contained within the water was like an invisible sledgehammer, instantly piercing through Kaido's defenses.

Hit by that heavy blow, Kaido's vision went dark. He fell straight from the sky and landed in a shallow muddy flat below, kicking up murky water and mud into the air.

At that moment, Big Pan happened to be nearby practicing how to control the Water-Repellent Membrane. After Kaido was defeated, he quietly said to Nanamo, who was sparring with him, "Princess Nanamo, look at him. Even the name he came up with isn't as good as mine. Pshishishishi..."

Of course, that quiet voice was only quiet in Big Pan's own opinion. In reality, it was quite loud, and many people heard it.

Nereus had held back in the end, so Kaido had not passed out. But for Kaido at that moment, perhaps passing out would have been better.

After being mocked over that, Kaido thought back to God Valley. Everyone else's moves had names like Sky Breaker, Divine Departure, and Abyssal Curse, while he alone had casually shouted something as simple as Dragon.

Thus, after that challenge, Kaido began researching the issue of "culture," intending to devise a perfect set of names for his moves.

Judging by this, he would not escape this state until he came up with a complete set of names.

"Princess Nanamo! Lord Nereus! Something's happening!"

While Kaido was still brooding over names, a Cloud on the horizon was rushing toward them at high speed...