Kaido's Sudden Attack

"Good! I'll head to Marine Headquarters right away!" Hawkeye Mihawk said with a nod.

Hawkeye Mihawk had already come up with an excuse for the huge commotion on his island.

His island was shrouded in thick purple mist year-round. Besides, outsiders all knew this was Mihawk's territory, and no one dared approach it. The outside world had no way of knowing what went on within his domain.

His excuse was that he had gotten carried away while practicing his swordsmanship!

For anyone else, that excuse might have had zero credibility. But when it came to Hawkeye Mihawk, no one would doubt it!

After bidding farewell to Ye Yu and Perona on the island, Hawkeye Mihawk set off alone on a small raft toward Marine Headquarters!

With Hawkeye Mihawk sitting aboard that little raft alone, there were not many people in the New World who dared block his path!

To prevent the Marines from growing suspicious of Mihawk, Ye Yu decided to let Hawkeye Mihawk leave first and separate from him.

He boarded his own warship, lay down on the deck, and began sunbathing.

"No rush. There's still some time before Ace's execution. I'll rest for an hour first. Let Hawkeye Mihawk arrive and attend the Seven Warlords meeting ahead of me," Ye Yu said lazily as he basked in the sun.

"Urouge, go get me something tasty to kill time."

Ever since Ye Yu had gained Urouge as his underling, he had become so lazy that even fetching things himself felt troublesome...

Upon hearing that, Urouge excitedly brought Ye Yu some food.

To Urouge, being able to serve Ye Yu was the greatest honor imaginable!

Thus, Ye Yu lounged beneath the sunlight, surrounded by piles of food and wine on the deck as he began enjoying life.

Such boring hours would have been unbearable without something to eat and some sunlight to soak up.

While Ye Yu was sunbathing, clusters of dark clouds suddenly appeared in the sky. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, with even purple bolts constantly striking the sea.

Urouge had just finished cleaning the deck. Looking up at the sky, he spoke to Ye Yu.

"This damn weather changes whenever it wants. Captain Ye Yu, you should head into the cabin!"

Ye Yu looked toward the sky and narrowed his eyes.

Just before the downpour reached Ye Yu, it was blocked by an invisible barrier and flowed along it onto the deck.

"I don't think going into the cabin will help."

"It seems someone wants to come and take revenge on me," Ye Yu said calmly, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

Just then, Ye Yu activated his Devil Fruit ability and discovered that a massive Azure Dragon was flying toward him from due north!

In the world of One Piece, there was only one person capable of transforming into an Azure Dragon! Kaido of the Beasts, known as the strongest creature!

Ye Yu had been worrying about how to pass the time, and Kaido of the Beasts was so eager to deliver experience points to him?

How thoughtful!

"Revenge?" Urouge looked utterly confused.

Before long, a colossal creature indeed appeared from the north.

Urouge's scalp went numb with fear, and his lips began to tremble.

"Dragon... that is... a Dragon!"

The entire sky instantly erupted into a torrential downpour. Purple lightning rained down from the heavens as fierce winds mixed with the rain and swept wildly through the air.

The enormous body that blotted out the sky hovered above Ye Yu's warship. Its bell-sized eyes stared fixedly at Ye Yu on the deck.

Without even needing to grow angry, it radiated authority. An overwhelming pressure descended in an instant.

Urouge swallowed hard. What kind of constitution did his captain have? His opponents every day were either Admirals, the world's greatest swordsman, or... the Four Emperors!

Following a captain like this, he had better be careful not to get scared into having a heart attack!

The giant dragon in the sky finally spoke.

"I finally caught up to you, hahaha!"

"Bastard! You made me waste a trip to the Sabaody Archipelago!"

"Was it you, brat, who killed Jack the Drought?" The massive dragon head tilted to one side, its eyes filled with disdain.

No matter how Kaido looked at the young man before him, he could not see how such a carefree-looking fellow had managed to take out his trusted subordinate.

Ye Yu finally spoke as well.

"That's right. I killed that idiot Jack. I even had his tusks made into artwork. Want to take a look?" Ye Yu said with a smile, not taking Kaido of the Beasts seriously at all.

"What?" The giant dragon in the sky widened its eyes. Its bell-sized eyes blazed with fury as it stared at Ye Yu, unable to believe that Ye Yu dared speak to the supposedly immortal Kaido in such a tone!

Now that he had confirmed it was Ye Yu, Kaido had no intention of saying anything further.

His enormous dragon mouth opened, exposing sharp fangs as a savage expression covered his face.

"Dragon's Breath!"

A scorching beam of energy burst from the Azure Dragon's gaping maw.

In an instant, the blazing flames reached Ye Yu. It was said that this terrifying power could easily destroy an entire mountain peak!

Ye Yu smiled faintly. Were all the members of the Beast Pirates such reckless brutes?

He closed his eyes, and an invisible Conqueror's Haki defensive shield appeared in the sky. When Kaido's Bolo Breath reached the Conqueror's Haki shield, it could not advance even an inch.

Urouge on the deck was also covered by the defense. He could see just how powerful that blast of energy was—the moisture in the surrounding air had been completely vaporized—yet it still could not advance a single inch!

"Hey, Kaido, you really are hot-tempered. How about we fight on that island? I can't really cut loose here," Ye Yu said casually, pointing at Kuraigana Island nearby.

Fighting on the warship meant he had to watch out for it, which was far too troublesome. Ye Yu decided to shift the disaster onto Kuraigana Island...

That island had already been wrecked beyond recognition by him anyway. Damaging it a little more would not matter.

Still, Hawkeye Mihawk was going to suffer for it. Ye Yu laughed to himself.

At worst, he could teach Mihawk a couple more moves. That sword-crazed man would surely forgive him...

The Azure Dragon in the sky grinned widely, looking down at Ye Yu with contempt.

"Pick wherever you want. I'm invincible in a one-on-one fight! Hahahaha!"

After glancing at the clock on the ship, Ye Yu gave Kaido a sympathetic look. He still had twenty minutes before departure. That amount of time... would be enough for Kaido to suffer!

Once they arrived on the island, Kaido spoke again.

"You brat managed to block my Bolo Breath earlier. Looks like you do have some skill."

"No wonder you could defeat Sakazuki. But... you must have been completely exhausted afterward, right? Hahaha!" Kaido said, tilting his dragon head as his bell-sized eyes stared fixedly at Ye Yu.

Ye Yu gave Kaido a look as if he were an idiot.

Kaido did not care.

"Brat... Sakazuki lost because of your Barrier-Barrier Fruit, didn't he?"

"Coincidentally, one of my partners in Wano Country has a subordinate with that same Devil Fruit ability!"

"So naturally, I know the weaknesses of that Devil Fruit ability as well!" Kaido said smugly.

Now Ye Yu understood. Kaido believed that the reason he had defeated Sakazuki was because he possessed the Barrier-Barrier Fruit.

No wonder Kaido remained so confident in facing him even after learning that he had defeated Sakazuki.

Looking at it that way, Kaido was a little smarter than Jack the Drought.

But... unfortunately, Ye Yu was practically a bug in the world of One Piece! Trying to judge him with an ordinary person's mindset would never work!

The corners of Ye Yu's lips rose slightly. He looked up at the giant dragon in the sky and slowly spoke.

"Kaido, whether it's the Barrier-Barrier Fruit or not, you'll find out soon enough."

"A guy who's been captured eighteen times shouldn't be shouting in front of me. Invincible in a one-on-one fight? Others may believe that, but I don't!"

"How many times has Whitebeard beaten you in a one-on-one fight? Do you think I don't know? Whitebeard even told me all the details of how badly you got beaten!" Ye Yu said with a smile as he faced Kaido in the sky.

It had to be said that Ye Yu was extremely skilled at provoking people!

After hearing Ye Yu's words, veins bulged across Kaido's dragon head. This damned brat really knew how to bring up exactly what he did not want to hear!

"Roar!" With a dragon's roar, Kaido's blood pressure surged, and he launched another attack at Ye Yu!