"Kaido!" Gecko Moria gritted his teeth, his eyes nearly spitting fire, but he also understood that he currently lacked the means to take revenge on Kaido.
Straw Hat Kid and Kaido.
Two people with grudges against him stood before him, and neither was someone he could handle now.
Luffy stared blankly at Kaido, his face also filled with panic and shock.
"Why is Kaido here?"
At this moment, the Navy's three Admirals turned their attention to Kaido.
The threat posed by this unexpected intruder had now surpassed that of Straw Hat Kid.
"How scary." Kizaru still spoke in that same tone. "I never expected even Kaido to show up."
"This war has nothing to do with you, but if you intend to disrupt it, we'll deal with you first!" The stone slabs beneath Akainu's feet had already been melted by lava, displaying his killing intent.
"Oh my, trouble after trouble." Frost seeped from Aokiji's hand.
"Don't think you'll be able to escape."
Sakazuki cast a cold sideways glance at Straw Hat Kid.
You have a new private message.
Su Lin: "I'm Su Lin, not Kaido. Don't expose me!"
"Eh—!" Luffy suddenly cried out, looking incredulously at the distant Kaido.
This idiot...
Su Lin thought speechlessly. If he weren't afraid that Luffy would transform into Gear Fifth and smash him apart, he would never have told Luffy in advance.
"Eh—?!"
From everyone's perspective, Straw Hat kept glancing toward the lower left of his vision before looking up at Kaido, leaving them utterly confused.
"Straw Hat Kid!" Kaido bellowed, drawing the attention of the entire battlefield.
You can call me Teacher Kaido now.
"Teacher Kaido? Why?" Luffy shouted in confusion, not understanding what Su Lin meant.
"Teacher Kaido!!!???"
The surrounding Navy soldiers cried out in shock.
The distant Pirates and Navy soldiers heard it as well.
"Straw Hat Kid is Kaido's disciple?!"
"Gurararara, cough, cough." Whitebeard laughed so hard he coughed several times. "This is far too interesting."
It was even more absurd than someone claiming Devil Fruits tasted good.
This strange turn of events had pushed the situation in an even stranger direction. Did this mean Kaido had come to help Straw Hat Kid?
Whitebeard had yet to be dealt with. There was already a Straw Hat Kid on the field who could clash with Admirals and the Fleet Admiral, and now Kaido had arrived as well.
If Vice Admiral Garp had not fallen.
In this moment of crisis, everyone instinctively placed their hopes on the former Navy hero.
When had Vice Admiral Garp gotten back up from the ground?
When had Monkey D. Luffy gone to Kaido to become his disciple? That was impossible.
Kaido had always been in Wano Country, and the Navy had constantly monitored his movements. Their paths had never crossed.
Wait, Sabaody Archipelago. Straw Hat's group had been sent flying by Kuma and vanished without a trace. Could it be...?
Sengoku began to suspect that, during those ten days, Kaido had been the one teaching Straw Hat Kid how to use Haki!?
But even if a Yonko had taught him, that was still far too fast.
Was Straw Hat Kid truly that talented? Unprecedented, unheard of. That bastard Garp had actually let a grandson with such talent become a pirate.
Sengoku no longer knew how many times today he had wanted to immediately fight Garp.
No, the problem now was Kaido's stance.
"Gar—p—!" Sengoku extended a golden palm and swung it at Garp.
"What happened?" Garp suddenly sprang up and caught Sengoku's palm with one hand. "Why are you attacking me?"
"Quit talking nonsense!"
"Look at the mess your grandson, Straw Hat Kid, has caused!"
"You have to deal with your grandson's mistake today!"
Public or not, it no longer mattered. It was not a secret among the higher-ups anyway. If he and Garp did not seriously step in today, the situation would become impossible to control.
But to the middle-ranking Navy officers, this news exploded like a bomb.
"Straw Hat Kid is Vice Admiral Garp's grandson?!"
"Eh—!"
The soldiers on both sides suddenly no longer wanted to keep fighting.
It felt like they had consumed far too much gossip today.
Even Marco, Jozu, Onigumo, and Vice Admiral Tsuru stopped fighting, pulling apart to watch the focal figures in the middle of the battlefield.
"That Garp's grandson."
"Isn't he Ace's younger brother?"
"Isn't Ace Gol D. Roger's son!?"
"How is Navy hero Garp involved too?!"
Thud, thud, thud—
"No, I can't take it anymore. My head is a mess! What is going on with this family?!!!"
Some Pirates had already started banging their heads against the ice.
"Why is the grandfather a Navy hero while the grandson became a pirate?!" an elite Navy soldier shouted, clutching his head.
"No wonder Vice Admiral Garp was knocked down with one punch. He was deliberately going easy on him."
"..."
Was that something a Navy lieutenant commander should be saying? The people nearby silently moved farther away from him, afraid they would be mistaken for having said it.
"Hey! Kaido!" Garp stood atop Sengoku's fist, completely failing to notice Sengoku's displeased expression. "When did Luffy become your disciple?"
"Oh? He's your grandson?"
Monkey D. Luffy: Exactly! When did I become Kaido's disciple!
Su Lin: This is to commemorate Teacher Kaido's painstaking efforts! Don't worry about it. Cooperate with me and stall for time. Use Gear Fifth if you need to—I won't hold back.
Su Lin: Of course, go a little easier on me.
In everyone's eyes,
"Kaido" did not answer Garp. While frantically sending private messages, he began running toward Luffy.
Aokiji's eyebrow twitched as he turned into ice and flashed to Kizaru's side.
"Today, I'm here to give you your final lesson!" Conqueror's Haki wrapped around the spiked club like black lightning.
"On this sea! Only Haki—lasts forever!"
Accompanied by "Kaido's" thunderous roar, the ground shattered and the iron club smashed toward Luffy.
"Kaido and Straw Hat Kid are fighting!"
Amid the cries of alarm, Conqueror's Haki clashed between the club and the fist.
At the Sabaody Archipelago, Rayleigh, who was drinking and eating meat while watching the live broadcast, took a sip of alcohol and said helplessly, "That was too dangerous. Is Kaido really that good at teaching?"
He had never expected Ace to be the old captain's son. It was already too late for him to head to the Summit War now; the Navy had hidden the news too well.
Still, Luffy's increase in combat strength truly shocked him. He had originally thought he might have a chance to train the boy, but it seemed Luffy had found a more suitable teacher.
Only the Red Hair Pirates knew it was fake, because Kaido was currently confronting them.
Rubber Stamp!
Thunder Bagua!
Thud—
Rumble—
Luffy: "Su Lin, what's with your appearance and strength?"
Su Lin: "Just think of it as something I copied. This appearance is Mr. 2's ability."
Su Lin: "The most important thing is spending money. Spending money makes you stronger."
Luffy: "What does spending money mean?"
There was no room for the onlookers to doubt it. The Conqueror's Haki Su Lin was using came from the One Piece, provided by Gol D. Roger, and its intensity had nearly spread throughout all of Marineford.
(End of Chapter)